Market Research vs Marketing Research
Market research and marketing research are two similar concepts that are very confusing for those studying marketing. For manufacturers and retailers, market research means getting more knowledge about the target market and customers in a bid to achieve higher sales. Marketing research is a broader term that deals with different strategies of marketing. There are many more differences between the two concepts that will be highlighted in this article.
What is Market research?
Market research is all about understanding the target market. It is a systematic study that requires collection of data and its analysis by experts about the size and nature of the competition, the policies of the government, the profile of the target customers, and so on.
The top managers of a company are always interested in carrying out research about the market where the products of the company are sold. This research is aimed at gathering information about the needs of the customers, their profiles, their purchasing powers, their likes and dislikes, and the perception of the products and services of the company in the minds of the people. The focus of research is always the prospective customer and the market where the products is introduced or being sold.
What is Marketing research?
As the name implies, marketing research is all about understanding various aspects of marketing. This is a field that aims to enhance the knowledge of the management about marketing techniques and their effectiveness. It may be about advertising, sales, competition, channel research, and so on. Gaining insight into various advertising techniques and their effectiveness enables an organization to decide upon the most effective mix of advertising strategy. Similarly, analysis of the competition allows a company to come up with strategies to stay one up or ahead of the competition.
What is the difference between Market Research and Marketing Research?
• Marketing research is a much broader concept than market research that is often a part of the marketing research.
• Marketing research is a field of study that aims at enhancing our knowledge about marketing processes on the whole.
• Market research is the study carried out by the management of an organization about the target market were the products or services of the company are going to be introduced or are being sold.
• Market research is all about understanding the target market whereas marketing research is all about learning different ways to serve the target market in a more effective manner.
• Learning about who you are going to serve is market research whereas learning how you will serve them is marketing research.
• Market research is often quantitative as it requires gathering information and analyzing it. On the other hand, marketing research is qualitative and allows a company to get to the most effective marketing technique.
• Market research is researching the market whereas marketing research is researching marketing processes.
• Market research is specific whereas marketing research is generic in nature.