After determining the need for a marketing research project, the next steps should be developing the project objective. The objective works as a guiding force for the entire study. It outlines the target audience, what information is to be gathered, how it will be collected, and the measurement criteria. Determining the objective up-front will eliminate the chances of misunderstandings before the study is designed. This will guarantee that all decision-makers are aware of all components involved with the project and will have the opportunity to approve the direction of the research before extensive resources are used towards the study. The marketing research objective is a collaborative effort between all critical members of the company project, and all should be in consensuses with what goal should be achieved. Its imperative that the research objective is detailed and focused to eliminate scope creep and unattainable expectations. Having too many needs and goals can create barriers and produce ineffective data.
Next Steps
Before moving on to the following steps, if you haven’t yet read my blog post on assessing the need for marketing research, now is a good time to do so. It’ll help you determine what goals you’re trying to achieve with the study. If you have, use the key components mentioned above as a jumping-off point to develop your marketing research objective.