Small businesses and larger corporations conduct marketing research to determine the needs of customers and consumers in general. Companies do research on existing customers to determine their satisfaction levels with current products or the interest level in new products. Consumer research is extremely important, because consumers may purchase competitive products if a company fails to garner customer feedback. Companies employ varied techniques to garner important consumer information.
Companies observe focus group responses behind a one-way mirror. A focus group is usually run by a moderator or experienced focus-group interviewer. Companies use focus groups to gather initial information about consumers. For example, a small food manufacturer may be introducing a new drink. Company marketing professionals may want to get help naming the product or narrowing their choice flavors down to two. Hence, the marketing department may conduct focus groups with individuals from different demographic groups, such as people who make over $75,000 per year or women between the ages of 35 and 54. Most focus groups are conducted with eight to 10 participants, according to Microsoft. Companies will sometimes run multiple sessions of focus groups.
Telephone surveys are usually conducted in large volume, which makes the results more representative of the population. For example, a small food manufacturer may survey 300 or more customers in several markets to determine how much it is willing to pay for a new cereal. Statistically, the results of the 300 surveys would be similar to how the entire population would respond to the survey.
Companies may observe the behavior of consumers rather than talk to them on the phone or in person. For example, a small manufacturer may observe whether consumers choose a particular product on the shelf because of special packaging. A company may use cameras or have researchers stand in the aisles and record actions of customers.
Companies use market segmentation to identify consumers that are most likely to purchase their products. For example, a marketing research manager may study demographic information from customers to determine the average age, income level and attitudes of his company's customers. The marketing manager may then identify where these clusters of customers reside within certain markets and target his advertising toward them.
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