Week 1: What I am expecting from this class

According to the American Marketing Association’s definition of Marketing Research it is the “…function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information--information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process.” I expect to gain the skills to do the marketing research that I may need to do for my future job. By the time these eleven weeks are up, I’ll be able to specify the information required to address issues, learn how to design methods for collecting information, manage and implement the data collection process, analyze and understand the results, and then know how to communicate the findings and their implications.

My hope is that I will know what it takes to make the market research vital for a business’ success. I want to be able to provide insight into a company’s existing customers and identify the potential for new customers, to classify the customer’s needs and behavior patterns, analyze the competitors and spot business opportunities, and help resolve business problems to better assist with developing decisions and strategies. On top of this, I want to supply good marketing research. As stated by Reference for Business, “Following are the characteristics of good marketing research: 1. Scientific method… 2. Research creativity… 3. Multiple methods… 4. Interdependence of models and data… 5. Value and cost of information… 6. Healthy skepticism… [and] 7. Ethical marketing.”

Lastly, I expect to know how to perform the fundamentals of research that is described by Scott Smith, Ph.D., in his article found in Qualtrics Insights.  I should be able to “Ask the right questions, ask the right people, ask questions the right way, obtain answers to questions, relate answers to the needs of the research user/client, and communicate effectively and in a way that the client understands.” Provided I get all of this down, I should pass the class and have more added to my arsenal when I get into the business world.