MARKETING RESERCH 1
Marketing Research
Samantha Bostwick
Liberty University
BUSI 520: Strategic Marketing Management
Dr. Wilson
September 16th, 2021
Author Note
Samantha Bostwick
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Samantha Bostwick
Email: snbostwick@liberty.edu
MARKETING RESERCH 2
Marketing Research
Marketing research is an essential component of making good marketing decisions for
any firm. Marketing research can be defined as a systematic process of collecting and analyzing
data to increase the certainty of marketing decisions (Pizam, 2005). This discussion will explain
the concept of marketing research and examine a practical application of marketing research.
This discussion will conclude with a marketing research question for further analysis from the
reader.
The Concept of Marketing Research
The concept of marketing research is to satisfy the needs of a customer through thorough
analysis of accurate, relevant, and timely information to create effective marketing strategies that
drive the business (Marshall and Johnston, 2019). In today’s world information is easy to come
by and marketers face the problem of having too much information and the task of managing and
extrapolating the relevant data. This requires market information systems that help collect,
analyze, and recall relevant information to meet the needs of the decision makers. Information is
pulled from many sources both internally and externally. Internal information sources include
customer orders and CRM documents, financial databases, marketing documents, salesperson
generated data, and marketing plans (Marshall and Johnston, 2019). Collecting information from
outside of the company is an ongoing effort for firms known as marketing intelligence. Many
external factors can affect marketing decisions including the political and legal environment,
economic conditions, transformations in technology, natural world events such as pandemics,
competition, and patient demographics. Proper analysis of external factors is done on a
continuous basis to interpret the information and develop strategies that facilitate competitive
advantage.
MARKETING RESERCH 3
The market research process consists of a six-step process where the marketer defines the
research problem, establishes a research design, searches for secondary sources, collects data,
analyzes that data, and reports the findings. Tarka (2019) studied effective marketing research
processes, specifically the differences between marketing managers and researchers and found
that researchers were more likely than managers to follow the market research process. The
researchers were able to improve internal information policies more effectively than the
managers driving competitive advantage through appropriate research data. Marketing research
utilizing the market research process is essential to develop accurate and relevant information
that aids in decision making when determining marketing strategies.
Marketing Research Practical Application
The COVID pandemic has affected many aspects of people’s daily lives, even seemingly
mundane tasks such as getting a cup of coffee in the morning have been altered. Starbucks, a
market leader in the coffee industry conducts its own market research via its website, its mobile
app, and its Starbucks rewards platforms (Marr, n.d.). When the pandemic started Starbucks
quickly utilized big data to identify factors that could positively affect customer purchase
decisions in the wake of a global health crisis. Shim et al., (2021) studied customer purchase
behavior at Starbucks during the pandemic and found that purchase intention was influenced
positively by four main factors, perceived health, hygiene, quarantine activities, and the ease of
use of the Starbucks mobile app. With 90 million transactions a week and the companies
consistent contact with customers via its app the coffee chain has unpresented access to research
market responses to its health and safety practices. Starbucks was able to communicate with its
large customer base via the app to announce special measures being taken to keep customers safe
such as mask mandates, eliminating indoor seating, enhanced cleaning measures, and
MARKETING RESERCH 4
streamlining the ordering process by offering the option to order ahead and pay for in sore
pickup to eliminate time in the store (Starbucks, 2021). The company is able to track sales trends,
purchase orders on the app, and customer feedback via engagement tools on the Starbucks
mobile app to research ongoing customer satisfaction with the safety measures in place thus
driving business.
Marketing Research Question
As discussed, marketing research and the market research process are essential for a
company to understand the needs of the customer through the collection, storage, and use of
information. The business environment is more digital than it has ever been, and information is
rampant. Marketers in today’s business environment are challenged with the storage,
extrapolation, and recall of both internal and external marketing data. In view of the digital age
that we are in consider the following research question: what downsides do marketing and
research professionals need to consider in utilizing mobile applications for market research?
MARKETING RESERCH 5
References
Marr, B. (n.d.). Starbucks: Using Big Data, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence To Boost
Performance. Forbes. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/05/28/starbucks-using-big-data-
analytics-and-artificial-intelligence-to-boost-performance/?sh=2927f55c65cd
Marshall, G. W., & Johnston, M. W. (2019). Marketing management (3rd ed.). New York, Ny
Mcgraw-Hill Education.
Pizam, A. (2005). International encyclopedia of hospitality management. Elsevier.
Shim, J., Moon, J., Song, M., & Lee, W. S. (2021). Antecedents of Purchase Intention at
Starbucks in the Context of Covid-19 Pandemic. Sustainability, 13(4), 1758.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041758
Starbucks. (2021). Stories.starbucks.com. https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2020/what-
customers-need-to-know-about-starbucks-response-to-covid-19/
Tarka, P. (2019). A scale for testing of knowledge on the effective marketing research processes:
multiple-group confirmatory (MGCFA) and multiple indicators-multiple causes (MIMIC)
approach. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 7(2), 94–121. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41270-
019-00049-4
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