International Marketing Research Process
        
          a. Conduct Preliminary Research
        
          Carry out some preliminary research by going online and 
          searching for existing survey reports on your topic of interest. 
          There might not be much especially if you are looking for 
          very specific information, but you might find something close 
          either for a different country or a report that gives you some 
          ideas on how to go about your primary research. 
        
          b. Develop a Research Brief
        
          To get the most out of your marketing research project, put 
          together a brief with the objectives of your data collection. 
          What exactly do you want to understand better? Be as 
          specific as possible, for example: “What percentage of adult 
          working females aged between 25 and above living in urban 
          areas use my product brand?”
     International Marketing 
     Research Process
     
      c. Identify the Right Marketing Research Agency
     
      Research agencies come in all shapes and sizes. It 
      often helps to understand an agency’s main data 
      collection method which, more often than not, tells 
      you what their strengths are. What you will note is 
      that many of the international marketing research 
      agencies have wide-ranging capabilities in data 
      collection and use multiple data collection modes. 
      However, often the cost for these agencies is higher 
      than for agencies that only specialize in one data 
      collection method. For you as the consumer, the 
      scope of your project will determine which agency you 
      will work with.
     International Marketing 
     Research Process
     
      d. Determine Your Data Collection Mode
     
      Once you have listed your objectives, deciding on which 
      of the following research methodologies to utilize 
      becomes easier. Deciding on which type of research to 
      run also helps further narrow down the agency best 
      suited based on their capabilities. The data collection 
      mode you use will impact both the type of data you 
      collect and how it is collected.
     
      Data is generally grouped into two categories, 
      qualitative and quantitative. Simply put, qualitative data 
      is unstructured and is often exploratory by nature. When 
      analyzed, responses may be grouped into similar 
      categories but they cannot be ranked in the same way 
      quantitative data can.
     International Marketing 
     Research Process
     
      e. Conduct Data Analysis
     
      The most important aspect of market research is 
      being able to analyze the data once it has been 
      collected. A thorough analysis should guide you on 
      how to act on the insights you have gathered. It is 
      therefore crucial that the research agency, through 
      their insights report, address the questions you had 
      set out at the start of your survey. For example: 
      What is my product’s current position in the market, 
      who are my actual customers, and which aspects of 
      my 4 Ps do I need to work on? Analysis capabilities 
      of the agency and the tools being used by the 
      analysts and if they meet your needs
     International Marketing 
     Research Process
     
      f. Complete A Post Project Review
     
      Having a session with the research team after 
      completion of your project to share feedback 
      and discuss the project execution is sometimes 
      overlooked. Such an undertaking involves 
      various departments but is important to 
      understand why a project did or did not go as 
      smoothly as planned. A post-project review 
      session helps in both parties knowing what 
      areas worked and which ones the agency or the 
      client will need to improve for their next 
      project.