How To Develop a Marketing Research Plan
Marketing research, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, is a process by which marketers gather, record and analyze data about business issues related to the promotion of their products and services. A marketing research plan is a written document that can help you identify your key customers, gain insights into your market segments, evaluate your competitors and communicate your marketing strategies.
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Instructions
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Define the scope of your marketing research. This means the first part of your plan should include an overview of your marketing research objectives and a description of the requirements needed to accomplish those objectives. Discuss the people whom you plan on targeting for your research, and how you will recruit them. Then create a set of research questions that will help you reach your goals through the marketing research process. Indicate in the plan the internal resources you currently have that will help you complete your market research and the resources you will need from external research vendors to help you.
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Outline your vendor selection process. In the second section of your plan, define the specific criteria you will use to select your market research vendor. Then, develop a vendor selection questionnaire based on those criteria. Create a statement of work, which includes the proposed initiatives you would like the research vendor to help with. Identify the internal teams who you will involve in the process of selecting a vendor. Send your questionnaire and statement of work to several vendors, and ask for proposals from each vendor. Review the responses, and select the market research partner who you think is the best fit before completing the next step of the plan.
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Describe your research methodology, which is the tools and methods you will use during marketing research. The two main types of research are qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative research methods are more subjective in nature and include questionnaires, focus groups or in-depth interviews. Quantitative research methods are more objective and numbers-based, and include surveys and tests. Include a description of your research design and methodology in the research in this section of your plan.
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Communicate the timeline and budget for your marketing research. For the last section of your marketing research plan, list each of the research methods you identified in Step 3, and include a timeline for when each of them will occur. Include a breakdown of budget and expenses for each of your methods. Finally, wrap up the plan by restating your objectives, and summarizing how your plan will accomplish those objectives.
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References
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