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Market Research

When to conduct Market Research?

The use of market research can help a business understand its customers and support the marketing strategy. However, in order to be a worthwhile venture, it is important to know when to conduct market research. A company should only undertake market research if:

•	They have enough funds- A business needs to have enough funds to be able to carry out the research and implement decisions resulting from research.

•	There is an opportunity- Market research should only be undertaken if there is an opportunity in the marketplace. There would be no reason to conduct research into a new product entry of black and white TV’s for instance. •	Results will affect strategic direction- If a company has already made up its mind on what it will do in the near future, market research would be a waste of time and money. However if results are likely to influence a company’s decision making, it is more likely to be worthwhile.

•	Decision making information doesn’t exist- Market research should only be conducted if information hasn’t been published previously or the company wanting to conduct the research hasn’t undertook the same type of research recently.

Strategic Planning

Benefits of strategic planning

The development and implementation of a strategic plan can bring about many benefits to a business organisation in the future. Strategic planning allows an organisation to prioritise tasks and develop new objectives which can be communicated with all of the business functions. Analysing the internal and external capabilities of a company through PESTLE or SWOT can allow an organisation to be prepared for changes in the macro environment for the future and adapt to minimise potential problems.

There is argument that an organisation will also be able to decide whether any area within the marketing mix needs to be changed or developed to be able to position itself better to selected market segments. A company that can adapt to changing environments especially before competition would develop a competitive advantage through differentiation with the end result being achieving corporate goals.

Distribution (place)

Lead/ summary

Distribution (or place) is one of the 4 components within the marketing mix. Distribution is the process of a product or service being made available from the initial producer to the end consumer who needs it. It is also considered to be the activities and processes that make the product available to target consumers. In some cases, this is performed directly from the producer or service provider but in most instances, there is the use of several channels with intermediaries.

Distribution is often overlooked in marketing; however channel in use directly affect many other marketing decisions. Pricing strategies depend on whether a product will be sold mass market or in specialist stores. New products can only be brought to market if its current channel of distribution can support this and promotion strategies can only be used in areas where the product is bought or service consumed.

The other three components of the marketing mix are price, product and promotion.