Informal marketing research means gathering marketing data whenever the opportunity arises. Organization members simply collect data when possible, without waiting for a planned survey. Employees often hear about something that competitors do better. Formal marketing research is the use of planned research studies to gather specific marketing information. The process is circular, not linear.
Marketing research can be complex.
The marketing research process starts when you need facts and figures to solve a problem. A tentative explanation of the relationship between marketing elements, called a hypothesis , points toward a working explanation for what is happening. Because marketing problems don't occur in a vacuum, you also need to consider the context of the present situation. The research design serves as a plan of action for studying the marketing problem. Depending on the problem definition and the hypothesis to be explored, you can conduct one of three types of research.