Marketing research an organised effort to gather information about the market and the customers.Systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data related to the market and the surrounding environment.Environment surrounding a company may be grouped as Micro environmentMacro environmentMarket research helps:Understand the specific marketing situation facing a company.Identify the needs and wants of customer segmentIdentify viable target segmentServe them better through formulation of appropriate marketing startegiesThe goal is to achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness

Marketing research understands and predict consumer behaviourObjective: to study the marketing environment and the customers who are a part of it.Focus: to establish trends and identify opportunities and threats in the environmentConsumer research process and tools used to study consumer behaviourObjective: to study consumers as individuals or as groupFocus: to understand consumption behaviour and consumption patterns

Two approaches are followed in consumer researchTraditional approach:PositivistinterpretivistCurrent approach:DialecticalPositivist

InterpretivistResearch paradigms in consumer behaviour:Quantitative research used by the positivistsQualitative research used by the interpretivistsTo study the consumer behaviour both the approaches are followed.Consumer research process:Marketer need to have knowledge about the environment in which they operate.The environment could be both at a micro level and at a macro levelMarket research focuses on study of the consumer and the environment.Consumer research focuses on the consumer and his consumption behaviour.Companies could either conduct consumer research through services of their in house marketing information systems or outsource the activity to marketing research consultants.Consumer research can be studies as a 5 stage procedure.Defining the problem or the research objectivesDeveloping the research planCollecting data both primary and secondaryAnalysing the dataPreparing a report and presenting the findings