Marketing

13

Marketing research

13.1 Introduction

The American Marketing Association (AMA, 1961) defines marketing research as: ‘the systematic gathering, recording and analysing of data relating to the marketing of goods and services’. Kotler (1994) defines it as: ‘systematic problem analysis, model building and fact finding for the purpose of improved decision-making and control in the marketing of goods and services’. Doyle (1994) states that marketing management consists of five tasks, one of which is marketing research and explains: ‘Management has to collect information on the current and potential needs of customers in the markets chosen, how they buy and what competitors are offering’.

Research attempts to find reliable and unbiased answers to ...