Reasearch Design Methods Have you ever thought how a new-best-seller product e.g. Iphone be made ? How did the producers get an idea to create product such Iphone? How did they choose the way to market the product?
Those questions above perhaps ever emerge in our mind, especially for those who try to market a new product and want to get success. In modern marketing concept, consumers are the main central of business where product to be marketed must meet the consumers’ wants. However, it is not an easy job since consumers are getting more complex today. They will buy only products those meet their expectation. Therefore, producers have no option other than producing products as consumers wants, even those are sometimes seem impossible.
Understanding and creating marketable products, as I said before, is not an easy job. In this tight competition producers even have to take years to create the perfect product. Through market research they attempt to collect a complete information about their target consumers, how is their behavior, their habit, all their expectation about particular products, etc. Although in this article, the example given is on the marketing case, but you must remember that research in real- business is also required by other departments such as the departments of finance, human resources, operations, and so on.
Before we talk more about the importance of research, lets recall again our memories about definition of research. Research basically defined as a set of activities to figure out any important information about particular material that will be used to support an idea. For example, if you intend to find out how consumer response to the product that you are selling then you can conduct a market test or research on consumer satisfaction. Another case if you want to find out if the new shares you buy will provide a positive benefit in the future then you can do research on the profitability of the company whose shares you bought it.
According to Mc.Carthy (2007) there are four importances of research for business:
1. Description function.
Research helps us describe how particular phenomena could happen. For example, when you want to know how respondent will response your new product then you get the answer by conducting a market testing research. In that research you might make the product prototype and let some potential consumers try your prototype. By that research you can figure out how their attitude toward your product.
2. Explanation function.
Besides, provide you with information about "how things happened", research also helps you find "the cause" why particular phenomena could happen. For instance, you already know how your potential consumers' response to your new product. Then, you can conduct a deeper investigation, e.g. by interviewing them why they act like that, why they like or dislike your products, etc.
3. Prediction function.
After we can figure out what is the cause of any phenomena, then we can make a prediction in the future. For example, from our previous research we figure out the mayor consideration for consumers buy a smart phone is its physical form so that we can predict that mostly people may choose some brand of smart phone based on its physical form. Therefore, in the future we should develop a good-looking-physical-form product as consumers may want.
4. Control behavior.
This function is the highest level in research function because not all products which have passed research for years could success in shaping consumers' behavior. Control behavior means we not only can predict, but also we can shape and direct our consumers' behavior. We can use a phenomenal product such Iphone as our example. When the first time Iphone5 was launched in China last year, it incredibly could reach more than two million units sold in only three days after it launched. We note that Iphone5 actually not only achieved that sophisticated sales number, but also it has successfully changed consumers behavior toward smart phone. We used to think that telephone, even mobile phone, must have a lot of buttons. However, Iphone changes that paradigm with a belief that modern mobile phone needs only one button.
From explanation above we now understand how important research for our business. Research provides information needed by company to make right decision. When we conduct research, we must put attention on objectivity of information we gained. Objective means information we gained should be based on fact, even the fact is not the same as our expectation or in other words it rejects our previous hypothesis. In spite of that fact is different from our first hypothesis does not mean this information cannot be used. It instead can prevent us from make a wrong decision that will trap us to bigger problem.
