How to write a marketing research report?

Step 1: Conduct a market survey

Market survey is the first step towards writing a research paper. Marketing survey requires collection of quantifiable and UN-quantifiable data from sample group of consumers who may either be randomly chosen or carefully selected according to specific company requirements.

Step 2: Be clear about your research objective

Surveys may differ from each other on the basis of their research objectives. Some surveys may either be product-oriented, customer-oriented or brand-oriented. For instance, surveys like brand equity research, brand name testing, ad tracking and commercial eye tracking are done to test the association of a brand with a group of customers. On the other hand, product-based surveys include demand estimation, distribution channel audits and test marketing. Finally, there is another group of sample surveys which are performed to exclusively reveal the insight into customer behavior.

Step 3: Perform situational analysis

From consumers, the marketer must move on to the survey of the company and its relative position. A marketing researcher must conduct two types of analysis. These are internal analysis and external analysis using a variety of marketing tools like SWOT, PESTEL and Porter’s Five forces model. These tools help companies to identify their competitive advantage within a particular industry. For example, here is the SWOT and PESTEL analysis of Marks and Spencer. It is a multinational retailer of clothing, luxury food and homeware, headquartered in the City of Westminster, London.

PESTEL Analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Ethical and Legal Analysis) of Marks and Spencer

Political:

Marks and Spencer has been in recent years mired in political controversy. Pro-Palestinian groups have claimed that Marks and Spencer is pro-Zionist.

Economic:

The Company should learn from the 1997/98 incident. Profits margins were pushed up to untenable levels and the company depended extensively on British supplies unlike its rivals which depended on low cost countries for their supplies.

Social:

Marks and Spencer has indulged in several social and charitable causes. The company follows fair trade and environment-friendly policy. It has also associated with charitable causes like breast cancer.

Ethical:

Marks and Spencer for instance follows a policy under which a Muslim service person may refuse to provide services to a man with pork and alcohol.

Technological:

In 2000, Marks and Spencer dropped the St. Michael brand and replaced it with Marks and Spencer brand as part of its product innovation strategy.

 

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