ABSTRACT
Although many aspects of marketing do not change much over time, other aspects do. Markets themselves change, sometimes very quickly, with new customers, new suppliers and new or improved products.
Understanding what is happening in a company's target market(s) is critically important to devising and implementing achievable business strategies and plans. Market research involves the collection, analysis and understanding of information about current and possible future markets. Markets are usually categorised into three types.
Retail markets involve the sale of goods (products) or services to individual consumers (people) through multiple channels of distribution. The term “retailer” is generally used for a provider of products or services who fills the small orders of many individuals, who are end-users.
Wholesale markets are where products (but not services) are sold in bulk quantities to retailers. A wholesaler sells goods to businesses, which then sell them on to numerous retailers. It is worth noting here that the lubricants business does not generally involve wholesalers.
Industrial markets comprise organisations that acquire goods and services, not for their own sake, but to facilitate the supply of other goods and services which ultimately may be bought by retail consumers.
Unlike marketing and selling, which focus on the needs of buyers, market research has a wide-ranging brief. Market researchers need to be interested in why a buyer buys and why a seller sells. They are fact finders who seek the most accurate information possible, within imposed constraints of time and money. Their aim should be to reduce a company's risk by eliminating, or hopefully minimising, the guesswork out of business decisions.
This chapter explores and discusses the market research process, methods of performing market research, types of customers, analysis of competitors and how a company can identify its competitive position in a market, sources of information about customers and markets and how to analyse and report the results of market research.
