For example, when shopping for a car, a buyer may decide to consider only cars that achieve between 18 and 24 miles per gallon in fuel economy. Accordingly, any vehicles with more, or less, fuel economy will not be included in the set of cars from which the consumer will make the final purchase decision. Often, decisions are made without sufficient information. In these cases, a manager must rely on intuition. This is especially true in small business situations.
Marketing research provides an alternative basis on which the marketing manager can make decisions.
Good marketing research requires a high level of coordination among marketing managers and research analysts. In order for this coordination to be possible it is necessary for marketing managers to be able to understand the process. Without this background it is not possible to judge properly the value of data collected and the analytical methods used. The goal of marketing research is to provide information that marketing managers can trust in their decision-making process. The scientific method is a decision-making approach that involves testing ideas before accepting them.