Topic: The Importance of Market Research
Blog Link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/surajjangvarma/2016/10/16/market-research-major-key/
This blog post, written by fellow COMM101 student Suraj Jang Varma, masterfully paints a picture of the importance of market research for all businesses. He mentions the examples Tata and Niantic to demonstrate to what extent market research can help or hinder a business. I am in accordance with his point of view that market research is essential when it comes to market penetration, product development, market development, and diversification.
I would like to build on his argument using more examples, in order to demonstrate the importance of market research. Firstly, market research is defined as “the process of assessing the viability of a new good or service through research conducted directly with the consumer which allows a company to discover the target market and record opinions and other input from consumers regarding interest in the product.” This is considered an everyday practice in most businesses, as the needs and wants of the customer must be assessed before they are addressed by a a good or a service. A classic example of this is when Listerine was founded in 1880 as a surgical antiseptic, when sales weren’t living up to expectations, market research was conducted, and the product was rebranded. The new Listerine was sold as a floor cleaner, and later, as a cure for Gonorrhea. The brand continued to experience limited success till the 1920, when the breakout occured. When the owners discovered that there was a demand for a over-the-counter oral cleaning product. This is when the Listerine that people are familiar with came into fruition, as a product to freshen breath.
Another example of market research is the Coca-Cola brand. They started as a low cost cola, costing only 5 cents. Much later on, when the brand was cemented as a global superpower, market research was conducted by Coke, and they discovered that the world was becoming more ‘healthy minded’ and decided to innovate. They came out with two new products in quick succession, with Coke Zero, and Coke Light. the former was a low calorie solution, while the latter was a zero calorie solution. These came with new packaging and colours, and yet had a familiar feeling. Many people attribute Coke’s success over Pepsi in recent years to this innovation, sparked by market research. Coke has been conducting practices like this as soon as this year (2016), where they launched Coca-Cola Life, a new product, aimed at a new demographic.
As can be seen with the above case studies of Listerine and Coke, as well as Suraj’s blog, market research is one of the most important activities a business can conduct, they have the power to make or break a brand.