ABSTRACT
Research is the foundation of successful marketing. Research needs to be undertaken before a new hospitality concept is developed, and provides the information that underpins the annual marketing plan (see Chapter 15). This chapter explains how marketing research provides the foundation for effective marketing decision-making. We introduce the marketing information system as the starting point for marketing research activity and then review the wide range of internal and external information sources available to hospitality managers. Both secondary and primary data collection techniques, and qualitative and quantitative data, are discussed with relevant examples. We discuss how to conduct secondary online research and, finally, we explain the marketing research process.
