While the Marketing Information System has its focus on managing the flow of relevant information to decision-makers in the marketing department, marketing research is concerned with the function of generating information for marketing decision-makers.
There are occasions when there are no easy answers for a variety of marketing situations that marketing managers face. Such situations may call for conducting formal marketing studies of specific problems and opportunities. Marketing research is intended to address carefully defined marketing problems or opportunities. It helps in identifying consumer needs and market segments, furnishes information necessary for developing new products and formulating marketing strategies, enables managers to measure the effectiveness of marketing programmes and promotional activities, develops economic forecasting, helps in financial planning, and quality control. Research undertaken without precisely defining the problem and objectives usually results in wasting time and money.
For conducting marketing research, companies develop systematic procedures for collecting, recording, and analysing data from secondary and primary sources to help managers in making decisions. Marketing research is different from market research, which is information collected about a particular market or market segment. In the process of marketing research, companies collect a lot of different types of information. David G. Bakken is of the opinion that it is easy to think of all these in terms of three Rs of marketing:
1. Recruiting New Customers.
2. Retaining Current Customers.
3. Regaining Lost Customers.
To recruit new customers, the researchers study different market segments to develop the right products and services consumers need and want. To retain customers, the marketer may conduct customer satisfaction studies. Marketers realise that good relationship with customers is important for long-term positive sales results. Regaining lost customers can be a formidable problem. It needs innovative marketing and outstanding communications. The information collected with respect to the first and the second Rs helps regaining the lost customers.