Marketing research can be used for product management, competitive intelligence, pre-launch strategies, test marketing, concept testing, sales analysis, corporate research, and advertising research. It helps with new product development, understanding competitors, launching products in select markets, testing concepts with consumers, analyzing sales trends, assessing corporate image and activities, and measuring advertising effectiveness. Syndicated research also provides regularly compiled market information from agencies on topics like retail sales, media consumption, and consumer attitudes.

1. Scope of Marketing Research

2. • Marketing research can be used in:
– Product Management: One of the major scope of
marketing research is to manage the current products
and new products. In product management Marketing
Research is very helpful.

3. – Competitive Intelligence – To understand the
competitive product strategy.

4. – Pre-launch strategy for new products
• Test Marketing – To monitor the performance of the
brand by launching in a select area and then taking it
across the country. In other words it is a small-scale
product launch used to determine the likely
acceptance of the product when it is introduced into
a wider market.
• Concept testing - to test the acceptance of a concept
by target consumers.

5. • Sales analysis: Marketing research is used to
study the sales trend and make suitable
strategies when required. It is used to
– Assess market potential
– Estimation of demand for a product
– Market share estimation
– Study seasonal variation for a product
– Market segmentation studies
– Estimate size of the market
– Need analysis to find out where the product fits in

7. • Corporate Research: Marketing Research is
used to analyze the corporate effectiveness.
Some examples are:
• Assessing the image of the company
• Knowledge of the company activities

8. • Advertising Research: Advertising is an arena in which
Marketing Research is extensively used. Some scope are:
• Readership feedbacks – Mainly carried out for
newspapers and magazines
• Advertising Recall – To assess the recall of television or
other advertising and thereby assess its effectiveness.

9. • Syndicated Research: This is compiled by agencies on a regular
basis and sold to organizations on subscription basis.
• Several research agencies collect and tabulate marketing
information on a continuing 'basis. Reports are sent periodically
(Weekly, monthly or quarterly) to clients who are paid subscribers.
Such services are found specially useful in spheres of movement of
consumer goods through retail outlets (ORG Retail Audit), incidence
of disease and use of branded drugs (MARL- prescription audit),
Television Program viewing (the Television Rating Points),
Newspaper & Magazine readership (NRS), assessment of market
potential of a city with population one lakh and above (Thompson
Indices), study of nation's attitudes and psychographics (PSNAP and
IMRB' s life style research on the cigarette market)