Why do marketing managers need research and what is its role in decision making?

Question

Why do marketing managers need research and what is its role in decision making?

Answer 1

Marketing managers need research because:

- they need to understand what are the needs of the customers

- they need to know the buying process of customers and how they make decisions in purchasing a product

- they need to know how and where customers buy the products

- they need to know the customers' feedbacks on their products

For example a marketing manager handles a tissue product. The research manager would want to know which factors are important to buyers -- is it softness, durability, single ply or double ply, is it the design of the tissue, the design of the box, shape of the box, etc.

Marketing research can give information on what are the most important factors to consider  (there are mathematical tests based on survey results that can give this info) -- and this will enable the marketing manager to craft the positioning of the product as well as advertising.

If research shows that customers are looking for ecofriendly product and their tissue has an edge in terms of being ecofriendly , then ads can be built around their tissue being eco friendly.

Answer 2

Without market research the marketing manager is making decisions blindly or at best using hunches and anecdotal evidence.  Making marketing decisions without research is like picking stocks without looking at the financial statements.