Marketing Research Proposals and Planning

Name: Marketing Research Proposals and Planning
Author: Bob Badowski

Learn how to develop and execute a successful marketing research plan.

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 5 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

(electronic music) In these lessons, you'll learn how to create a marketing research plan and execute it to gather relevant data for your team. You'll then learn how to present it to your audience in a deliberate way so you can make recommendations they can use in decision making. The first step in developing marketing research is to develop a research proposal or plan. This plan performs best when it contains key elements of what the project entails and how the project will be conducted. Here's what you can do to create this plan. One, formulate objectives. The best first step is to develop the purpose of the marketing research. Why do you want to research a particular market? And what benefits will you receive from researching it? This stage can also include an overview of the project and the scope and timing of the project. Two, define goals. We suggest you keep your project goals clear, concise, specific, and measurable. It's also helpful if they're well defined as to how the information will be collected and what type of data needs to be collected to reach those goals. Three, conduct background research. If applicable, background research can also take place at this point. You can ask what kind of research exists in the field currently and are there other types of research that can help aid you in developing your research. Four, determine your approach. The best time to look at what type of approach you'll take to collect the data is after the objectives and goals have been well defined. Will this be a large project or a small project? Do you need quantitative data, qualitative data, or both? What do you think you'll do with the data once you get it? Five, craft a design. The design of this research has to do with the targets that you are trying to study. You could use qualitative analysis or quantitative analysis or both to gain the best understanding and achieve your research objectives and goals. Ultimately, you want to understand why customers do what they do and what prompts them to buy or use your product or service. Six, do field work. The field work part of marketing research is the data collection portion. In a qualitative marketing research study, you can interview, use focus groups and web scraping, conduct innovation research, narrative research, or even use observational research. In a quantitative study, you would either survey, run an experiment, conduct a correlation study, or use biometrics. It's best to have knowledgeable professionals collecting the data depending on the type of research that you're doing so you can get the best data possible. Seven, report findings. When reporting data findings, it's best to understand who your audience is. What does the audience want to know? What do they need to know? And what type of information will be helpful for them to make decisions? If you have a more sophisticated audience, then you may be able to go further in depth. If the audience does not have a research background, then surface-level research and findings might be more beneficial. Eight, establish a timeline. In any research plan, it's helpful to establish when to begin the research and an overall timeline. This can include dates for data collection and deadlines for when the results of the research need to be clearly defined. This will be helpful to the business so that they understand the timeline, how long the research will take, and when they will expect to see results. Nine, address costs. Based on the type of research, scope, and methodology, it's best to explain and list costs. If conducting primary research, the timeline will likely be longer with more cost involved, while the secondary research cost can be limited. Also, depending on the number of subjects or target markets you decide to research, costs may be increased. 10, present recommendations. You can also spell out recommendations you would make based on this research. The initial goals of the research plan are usually to point to the desired recommendations. These recommendations are best if clear, concise, and actionable. This plan can then be compiled and presented to the decision makers. Once approved, recommendations can be executed in the timelines that were designed in the marketing research plan.

Beginner Provider : Bob Badowski 5 Lessons · 15m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Urdu, Chinese

Course Description

Businesses regularly have questions about their products and services, but difficulty often arises when trying to find a way to conduct an effective and efficient marketing research process. This is why building a proposal and plan before beginning the actual research can be so useful. Once you’ve done that, you can determine best methodologies, conduct useful research, and analyze it in a way that can benefit all parties. But being able to plan before you dive in is crucial.

In KnowledgeCity’s Marketing Research Proposals and Planning course, you’ll learn how to develop a research proposal and plan. You’ll discover various tools that will guide you in choosing an appropriate research methodology and approach for your team’s goals and vision. You’ll also learn the best ways to collect useful data, and explore how to interpret and integrate that data so that you can best present the marketing research to diverse groups and formulate informed recommendations. With these tools, you’ll be able to guide your team through a variety of successful marketing research projects.

What You'll Learn

Develop a marketing research proposal and plan before beginning research
Execute a research plan and project
Analyze the time and costs of conducting marketing research
Determine the best data analysis techniques and methodology
Create data-driven marketing recommendations
Present marketing research and recommendations to diverse groups

Key Takeaways

Building a proposal and plan before beginning the actual research helps you determine the best methodologies, conduct useful research, and analyze it to benefit all parties.
Choosing an appropriate research methodology and approach should align with your team's goals and vision.
Collecting useful data and then interpreting and integrating it allows you to present research effectively and formulate informed recommendations.
Planning before diving into research is crucial to guiding a team through successful marketing research projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in this course?

You'll learn how to develop a research proposal and plan, discover tools to choose an appropriate research methodology and approach for your team's goals and vision, collect useful data, interpret and integrate that data, present marketing research to diverse groups, and formulate informed recommendations.

Who is this course for?

It is designed for people who need to conduct marketing research for a business and want to plan effectively before beginning, so they can guide their team through a variety of successful marketing research projects.

What topics or lessons does the course cover?

The course covers Developing a Research Plan; Choosing an Approach and a Method; Interpreting and Integrating Data, and Moving Ahead; Presenting Research and Making Recommendations; and a Test Your Knowledge section.

Why is building a proposal and plan before research useful?

Building a proposal and plan before beginning the actual research lets you determine best methodologies, conduct useful research, and analyze it in a way that can benefit all parties, since planning before you dive in is crucial.