Marketing Research or Market Research is all research activities in the field of marketing and is carried out systematically starting from the formulation of the problem, research objectives, data collection, data processing and interpretation of research results. One role of marketing research is as a key benchmark when a business wants to develop the products and services they offer to customers. Marketing research or market research aims to formulate a marketing strategy so that each strategy designed can seize market opportunities well.
In 1987, the American Marketing Association (AMA) defined Marketing Research or Market Research as a function that connects consumers, customers and the general public with marketers (producers) through information. The information gathered will be used to identify and determine opportunities and problems that exist in the field of marketing. The results of marketing research will give us direction on what things need to be improved and improved in the marketing process that we do.
What is the Role of Technology in Marketing Research?
There is no denying that technology has a significant impact on the development of marketing research or market research in modern times. Why is that? Advances in technology, especially on social media, software for data collection and other sophisticated analytic tools have made it easier for many parties to do marketing research or market research. That is why advances in technology and market research have greatly influenced modern markets like today.
About 15 years ago, we were busy inviting someone or attracting a group of people to become respondents and be questioned, as well as information related to products or services that we market. However, technology has changed all that. Researchers do not need to be tired of searching for respondents who want to provide information. They can find it through social media and conduct interviews directly through video calls or research files that can be accessed directly through social media. It’s easy to be easy, fast and doesn’t require too much money.
Technological developments also have a tremendous impact on the speed of information obtained. Researchers quickly complete the data collection they expect, so marketing research or market research is also faster.
Especially with the help of panels all over the world, this has greatly facilitated many companies in gathering, processing and analyzing the data they need in the blink of an eye. After the necessary data has been compiled, the research team will disseminate analysis tools that can help manage that much information to be easier and faster.
And, in a short time the results of our marketing research or market research can be seen and used as a benchmark in making marketing strategies.
Why has technology become a phenomenal part of marketing research? Technology has become phenomenal because it gives the effect of very fast mobility. For example, let us imagine if we conduct research in two big cities, there are certainly too many respondents needed.
If we think back, how can we complete a marketing research in a short time with a large number of respondents and abundant information. Of course we will be overwhelmed, right? Well, this is where technology plays its role . Technologies such as cloud, analytics and social media really provide “fresh air” for researchers to make marketing research or market research appropriate for their marketing strategies later.
We also need to know that the changes that occur in marketing research are also driven by several main factors. According to the entrepreneur’s website, there are 4 main factors that play an important role and have an impact on marketing research or market research, which of these four factors is the impact that exists on technology. Let us consider the following explanation.
1. Technology Makes Data Collection Easy.
Technology has created some modern software that makes it easier for market researchers to be more specific and focused in measuring data, understanding various information and processing all feedback given by customers to our products and services. Proverbial, technology has made many market researchers not to be overwhelmed in processing data that is “large”.
For example, when we do marketing research in a city related to mosquito repellent products that we sell, the software will help us to collect data, information and feedback from the people in that city. More specifically, a large population in a city will definitely produce a lot of data, right? This is where the software plays its role to make it easier for a lot of data to be more easily collected into one.
2. Technology Facilitates Advanced Analysis Process.
If the data collection has been completed, it does not mean that our marketing research work is complete! In fact, analyzing data is as important as gathering data. Logically, if we have succeeded in collecting data, but we are not right in analyzing existing data, does our work in collecting data be the same in vain?
The more data that is collected, this is a challenge for us because the data processing and analyzing process will also take longer. The good news is that technological developments have made it easier for us to analyze so much data from respondents.
In fact, companies can develop in-house modules to understand the data sets and information that they get, so that eventually all of the data can be turned into meaningful reports.
3. Technology Creating Social Media to Conduct Marketing Research.
Unlike a few decades ago, people who lived in different countries would find it difficult to be able to greet and communicate directly with low cost. Thank you technology! Because thanks to the presence and development that technology has provided, technology has succeeded in bringing social media into our lives today. Social media makes it easier for us to interact and communicate with many people around the world at the same time.
The speed of communication offered by social media is very beneficial for modern businesses in the digital era today. As we know that the business world always wants things that are fast and precise. Social media provides many social platforms to make marketing research or market research run more easily, for example, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, etc. are very easily accessed by respondents through their respective social media. This condition created by social media makes it easy for market researchers and respondents (consumers) to meet easily.
For example, we have a Twitter and Facebook account from traditional food products that we sell. We have found several complaints and flattery given by consumers for our products. This becomes very meaningful data for our business because through these data, we can make it as marketing research material.
4. Technology Helps Create New Research Roles.
Another impact brought by technology on marketing research or market research is the emergence of new roles that are increasingly expanding the scope of marketing research. For example, the development of technology that produces social media has made some social media loved by many young people. The most commonly used example of social media is YouTube. We can see now how many food vloggers who upload their videos on YouTube in order to provide reviews of domestic and foreign products. The comments written and delivered by video viewers or the reviews submitted by the vlogger itself can be further material for our marketing research.
