UNIT 2 APPLICATIONS OF MARKETING

RESEARCH AND ETHICAL

ISSUES

Learning Outcomes
After going through this unit, you should be able to:
●● describe the status of the marketing research industry in India.
●● appreciate the role of new technologies in marketing research.
●● explain the common applications of marketing research.
●● assess Indian businesses’ adoption of marketing research
●● outline the ethical considerations for conducting marketing research
studies.
●● examine the difficulties in conducting marketing research in India.
Structure
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Marketing Research in India
2.3 Ways of Conducting Marketing Research in India
2.4 New Technologies in Marketing Research
2.5 Common Applications of Marketing Research
2.6 Adoption of Marketing Research by Indian Businesses
2.7 Ethical Issues
2.8 Problems in Conducting Marketing Research in India
2.9 Summary
2.10 Key Words
2.11 Self-Assessment Questions
2.12 Project Question
2.13 Further Readings

2.1 INTRODUCTION
You have learnt meaning, nature and importance of marketing research in
Unit 1. You have also gained familiarity with steps involved in conducting
marketing research. In this unit, we shall discuss the role and organization
of marketing research in India. More specifically, we shall explore as to why
marketing research is becoming important in India and what organizational
arrangements firms have for conducting researches. Major users and uses
of marketing research in the country shall be identified. The unit shall also
examine the problems which the researchers face while doing researches in
India. 27
Concepts and Applications
2.2 MARKETING RESEARCH IN INDIA
According to Statista, the size of the market research industry globally is
around US$74 billion, with more than half (US$47 billion) coming from
within the U.S. Kumar (2021) states that post covid, the market research
industry is anticipated to recover at a CAGR of 4.1% from 2021, reaching
USD82.87bn in 2023.
As per a report by Market Research Society of India, the marketing research
industry which was $2.1 billion in FY21 is expected to grow 12-14 per cent
annually and reach $4.2 billion by FY26 and $ 10 billion by 2030. The
revenue growth trend is shown in figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1: Revenue Trajectory for Indian Research Industry (INR ‘000Cr, USD b)
https://www.mxmindia.com/2021/12/indian-research-and-insights-industry-to-double-
by-2026/

However, three-fourths of its revenue comes from international outsourced

market accounts. In FY21, marketing analytics services accounted for 52
per cent of the total industry revenue, while traditional market research
and syndicated/publishing services brought 32 per cent and 16 per cent,
respectively. The report expects by FY26, analytics services to account
for 59 per cent, while market research and syndicated/ publishing services
will account for 27 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively. The FMCG and
retail sectors contribute 27 percent to the research revenue, followed by
information, communications and telecom (16 per cent), and banking,
financial services and insurance (15 per cent). Table 2.1 exhibits the Indian
Market Research Industry Structure. The analysis predicts that by 2030,
when the industry is anticipated to grow over the USD 10-billion threshold,
the abundance of people combined with experience in technology,
infrastructure, cost competitiveness, and data handling would cause an
upward shift in the sector.
The marketing research industry in India comprises a wide range of research
providers, from “conventional” marketing research enterprises meeting
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domestic demand to those concentrating on the worldwide market. The Applications of Marketing
Indian marketing research industry has advanced up the value chain from Research and Ethical Issues
its early days of outsourced marketing research operations and secondary
research to support advanced tech-enabled and analytics services. As a
result, international markets account for around 3/4 of the revenue generated
by Indian service providers. India is placed fourth by industry size in the
ESOMAR (European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research) report
on Global Market Research 2021. A growing portion of tech-enabled
research, which includes a robust analytics area, contributed to an increase
in profits for the Indian marketing research industry.
Table 2.1: Indian Market Research Industry Structure
Percentage
(%)
Customers of MR FMCG and retail sectors 27
services
Information, communications and 16
telecom (ICT)
Banking, financial services and 15
insurance (BFSI)
Manufacturing 10
Media 9
Healthcare 8
Automotive 4
Utility 1
Others 10

Customer Location Domestic 24

International 76

Services Offered Traditional market research 32

Syndicated/publishing services. 16
Marketing analytics services 52
Types of MR Full-service MR agencies, Media and 25
Service providers Audience measurement agencies

Captives 14
IT and BPO Companies 27
KPOs 22
Report publications 11
Field Marketing agencies 1
Source: https://www.mrsi.co.in/mrsi_data/annual/aug-2022/1660112795354.pdf

It is obvious that market research is expanding in India. The market research

sector has expanded as a result of telecommunication disruptions, technical
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Concepts and Applications advancements, the emergence of the middle class, a young population
familiar with global brands, and lower research expenses in India. The
number of Indian market research companies has rapidly increased in recent
years, and American and European businesses are increasingly interested in
outsourcing their market research projects to India. Businesses in developed
countries can save on market research by outsourcing it to India.
The main driver of demand from abroad is the enormous cost advantages of
conducting market research in India. The cost of data processing is roughly
50% lower in India than it is in industrialized nations. As a result, the
outsourcing business is expanding and seeing its worth double yearly. India
has the second-largest number of English speakers in the world and a stable
political system. The middle class is expanding and includes both young
adults and those with strong brand knowledge. India is a desirable country
for foreign businesses because of these factors. India is a popular destination
for outsourcing since it has built a pool of qualified market research experts
that can provide companies with top-notch study methodology, data
processing, analysis, and reporting.
Activity 1
Make a list of the organizations in your area that offer marketing research
services. Additionally, interact with any two of them—whether offline or
online—and ask what kinds of research services they offer to clients.
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2.3 WAYS OF CONDUCTING MARKETING

RESEARCH IN INDIA
In general, a company has two options for conducting research: either using
its own people or contracting with outside organisations. Some businesses
use both available options. The company’s sales and marketing personnel
can undertake in-house research, or they can have a department or staff
member who is specifically trained to conduct marketing research. Only
major organisations that frequently need research choose for this form
of organisational structure due to the high costs associated with hiring
specialised research workers or creating a separate research department.
Small businesses and organisations that do not frequently require research
prefer to conduct research studies with their sales or marketing staff.As and
when the need arises, some of the sales and marketing people are picked
up and assigned the research tasks. Because these individuals generally
lack specialised knowledge of marketing research and, in addition, perform
routine sales and marketing activities, the quality of the studies conducted
by such individuals remains in question.
Utilizing outside organisations or specialists, such as marketing research
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organizations, advertising agencies, and consultants, is another crucial Applications of Marketing
approach of information gathering. As a result of the country’s growing Research and Ethical Issues
need for research services, a large number of marketing research companies
have emerged. These companies offer both customised and syndicated
research services to help business firms. Customized research is research
that has been made to specifically address the information demands of a
single client. Since just one company benefits from such research, the full
expense of the study is borne by that one company alone. On the other hand,
syndicated research entails the gathering of a shared pool of data to satisfy
the information needs of various organisations. The expense to a single firm
is significantly lower because the results of such a study are shared among
multiple companies. These studies are frequently carried out on a regular
basis by the research agencies, and the information obtained in this way is
made available to the businesses via subscription.
The most common data collection method utilised by marketing research
companies in India is interviews. These interviewing techniques are among
the top 10 commonly used methods and include in-depth interviews, CATI
(Computer-Assisted Telephonic Interviews), CAPI (Computer-Assisted
Personal Interviews), PAPI (Paper and Pencil Interviews), and face-to-face
interviews. Focus groups, internet surveys, desk research, mystery shopping,
and recruiting are additional frequently used methods. Some businesses
also use panels and ethnographic methods. Interviewing methods used in
marketing research studies in India are shown in Table 2.2.
Table 2.2 Interviewing Methods used in Marketing Research
in India
Rank Content Percentage

1 In-depth Interviews 71%

2 Focus Group 69%

3 Online Survey 67%

4 CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephonic 64%

Interviews)

5 Desk Research 44%

6 CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal interviews) 42%

7 Mystery Shopping 42%

8 Recruiting 40%

9 PAPI (Paper And Pencil Interview) 38%

10 Face-to-Face Interview 38%

Source: Segal and min

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Concepts and Applications Many companies offer project-specific marketing research services to their
clients. As exhibited in table 2.3, services linked to data collection and
processing are most frequently offered. Report writing is the second most
common type. The majority of companies did offer the full range of these
services, including collecting data, analysis, and report writing.
Table 2.3 Marketing Research services for Specific Projects in India
Rank Content Percentage

1 Data Analysis and Processing 86%

2 Data Collection 59%

3 Report Writing 55%

4 Survey Programming 64%

5 Data Entry and Tabulation 41%

6 Open-ended Coding 32%

7 Data Cleaning and Validation 32%

8 Transcription 32%

9 Questionnaire Design 27%

10 Multivariate Analysis 27%

Activity 2
In what ways is marketing research organised at your company? List the
arrangements your company has in place for both internal and external
research. (Alternatively, you could approach another organisation with
which you are familiar and complete this task.)
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2.4 NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN MARKETING

RESEARCH
India has made incredible progress in the digital arena. Internet users
increased from 0.62 million in 2010 to 843.06 million in 2021 (the second-
largest in the world). According to Statista, this figure is expected to reach
1.5 billion by 2040, with smartphone usage vastly outpacing that of desktop
and laptop usage. Smartphones are now present in 84 percent of households.
In India, affordable cell phones have been available since 2010, making
way for their widespread use and increased digital literacy. The Indian
government further deregulated the industry after seeing the potential of
investments in its telecommunications sector. With its low-cost, high-speed
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4G data plans and free voice calls in 2016, Reliance Jio disrupted the Indian Applications of Marketing
telecom industry. Due to the fierce competition in data pricing, other telecom Research and Ethical Issues
companies were forced to lower their prices, which increased the number of
Indians with access to affordable mobile internet.
These technology improvements are a major benefit for Indian marketing
researchers given the cost savings of using the internet or phone instead of
face-to-face interactions. The rise in social media use has also significantly
benefited the expansion of market research in India. Face-to-face research
predominated before the pandemic. To learn more about their customers,
businesses use a number of standard market research techniques. These
have historically entailed time-consuming and expensive market research,
focus groups, surveys, and interviews. On the other hand, the initial wave of
the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown increased digitization, making
it easier to employ social media and technology for research initiatives.
The market research industry in India today has access to new technology
and is implementing them to gather, analyse, and present data more quickly
and correctly. Advanced analytics and social media are all being used by
Indian market researchers. An effective solution is provided by recent
advancements like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and “big data.”
Furthermore, AI is capable of reading market data in any language, which is
quite helpful in a multilingual country like India.
New technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning are
expected to provide substantial opportunities, as they will enable faster
analytics and report creation . Tuck (2021) identified the future trends in
marketing research:
●● Augmented reality and virtual reality: Virtual environments can
be used for product concept testing, early-stage product feasibility
analysis, and understanding consumer behaviour.
●● Artificial intelligence (AI) helps derive insights from a large set of
data.
●● interpreting natural-language discussions with the aid of technology.
●● Online qualitative research and social listening for a detailed
understanding of the market and customers.
●● Combining the capabilities of real-time research with agile market
research could result in a comprehensive perspective of a consumer’s
past, present, and future habits at the rate at which they change.
Kumar (2021) states that the surveys would be shorter due to the decreasing
attention span in humans and that organizations would prefer to do in-house
research. This is supported by Michael (2020)   who describes the techniques
that are currently in use and under consideration in the future by both the
supplier and the clients (Figure 2.2). It can be seen that while clients would
depend more on online communities and mobile surveys, the supplier’s role
for these is decreasing, indicating a shift to more in-house research. We will
discuss the impact of new technology on marketing research in detail in
Block 4 of this course.
Figure 2.2: Techniques of the future: client vs supplier

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Concepts and Applications

2.5 COMMON APPLICATIONS OF

MARKETING RESEARCH
We have already discussed the scope of the marketing research functions
in Unit 1. In this section, we will further explain the common applications
of marketing research. Marketing research is frequently used to make
decisions about new product development, market share estimation,
competitor information gathering, demand estimation, product modification
decisions, customer satisfaction measurement, product positioning, market
segmentation and diversification decisions, advertising theme/message
decisions, pricing decisions, customer service decisions, product elimination
decisions, and channel evaluation.
An Exploratory Investigation of Marketing Research Services in India
by Segal and Min details the types of studies and Specialized or Niche
Services offered by Indian marketing research companies. As exhibited in
Table 2.4, customer satisfaction surveys are the most frequently requested
research service in India, and advertising research is the second most used
technique. Following usage and attitude research, consumer research,
concept and product testing, brand and pricing research, tracking studies,
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and segmentation research. Applications of Marketing
Research and Ethical Issues
Table 2.4: Types of Marketing Research used in India
Rank Content Percentage
1 Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty 62%
2 Advertising Research 55%
3 Segmentation Research 45%
4 Usage and Attitude 44%
5 Consumer Research 42%
6 Concept Testing 40%
7 Product Testing 40%
8 Brand Research General 38%
9 Pricing Research 36%
10 Tracking Study 33%
Indian marketing research companies offer a broad range of specialised
services and distinctive competencies. However, consulting (54%) is the
most widely used service and includes services in the following fields:
market overview; trade competition; customer, retail, and shopper marketing;
brand and portfolio management; pricing and promotion strategies; product
innovation and renovation; social media intelligence; strategic consulting;
and segment consulting. A second prevalent service is a retail audit (38%).
Other audit categories (13%) include stock audits, audits for outlets with
multiple brands, audits for accessible facilities, mystery audits, image
measurement, and audits for retail stores. As can be seen in Table 2.5,
social research is the other common specialised research service offered by
marketing research businesses in India (29%).
Table 2.5 Specialized or Niche Services Offered by Indian Marketing
Research Companies
Rank Content Percentage
1 Consulting 54%
2 Retail Audit 38%
3 Social Research 29%
4 Audit (General) 13%

Activity 3
What objectives has your company had for conducting marketing research
in the past two years? List the major applications. (Alternatively, you could
approach another organisation with which you are familiar and complete
this task.)
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Concepts and Applications
2.6 ADOPTION OF MARKETING RESEARCH
BY INDIAN BUSINESSES
Sharma, M. states that the Indian business community has not accepted
marketing research to its fullest, as:
●● India presents a fortunate case of seller’s market, from the angle of
manufacturers and marketers.
●● There is no need to go in for this costly exercise. The majority of
business houses are of the very strong opinion that systematic
marketing research calls for a lot of time, money, and talent; if the
same amount of time, money, and talent were used for expansion
and other purposes, it would be more profitable than wasting it on
marketing research when firms are making profits without it too. Shaw
(2021) also supports this by stating Indian companies understand the
importance of market research and use it effectively. However, they
are amongst the lowest-paying countries for market research.
●● The business community is happy with the market information
supplied freely by the intermediaries such as wholesalers, retailers,
and agents. They do not believe in deliberate efforts to collect,
analyze, and interpret market information.
●● Many Indian manufacturers do not have the operational freedom
to manufacture and price products as they like. For example, in the
automobile industry, early change of models is not permitted; several
items are reserved for the small-scale sector. Under these restricted
working conditions, the manufacturers say that marketing research is
of no use.
●● Many firms capable of spending on marketing research question
the validity of it, stating that marketing research is not a panacea
to business ills like product failures, reduced profits, dwindling
profitability, and so on.
●● Even if the company welcomes marketing research, it cannot substitute
managerial decisions. It is only an aid and not an end in itself.
However, business conditions are rapidly changing. India is not
going to remain a seller’s market for ever; competition is increasing;
consumer behaviour is rapidly changing. There is therefore a good
scope for marketing research in India in competitive and non-
competitive activities.
Irwonline (2019) defines the rules for conducting effective research in
India as follows:
●● Rule #1: Speak Their Language(s)
India’s 22 official languages have 400 different dialects. Researchers
should be able to communicate with the different groups effectively.
●● Rule #2: Don’t Get Lost in Translation
Flowing from rule 1 is the need for translation of research to different
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 languages. However, literal or pure translations often don’t account Applications of Marketing
for true spoken language, and they can often lead to misinterpretations Research and Ethical Issues
by both interviewers and respondents. That’s why it’s always in the
researcher’s best interest to work with a local translation partner who
understands the local slang.
●● Rule #3: Respect the Culture
There are a number of cultural elements that must be considered
before launching a research project in India. It has a strong influence
on their perspectives.
●● Rule #4: Don’t Always Rely on Modern Technology
There is a need to bring in managerial expertise while interpreting the
data.
●● Rule #5: Beware of Fraud
Interviewers could demonstrate a pattern of “straightlining” questions
or steer the interviews toward the shortest paths of completion.

2.7 ETHICAL ISSUES

The above rules also bring in the ethical issues that need to be looked at
while conducting marketing research. Ethical considerations need to protect
the rights of respondents and maintain scientific integrity. Some of the
ethical considerations are detailed in Table 2.6.
Table 2.6: Ethical issues in Marketing Research
Ethical issue Definition

Voluntary Respondents should be free to opt in or out of the

participation study at any point in time.

Informed consent Participants should know the purpose, benefits,

risks, and funding behind the study before they
agree or decline to participate.

Anonymity and The anonymity of the participants is maintained.

confidentiality Personal and identifiable data should not be
collected or disclosed.

Potential for harm Physical, social, psychological, and all other types
of harm are kept to an absolute minimum.

Results Results should be accurately shown.

communication
The Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO) has
listed the dos and don’ts for ethical research:
●● DO respect the rights of all research participants: confidentiality,
transparency and privacy. Ensure that all participants are voluntary,
and that they have the right to withdraw their consent at any point
37
Concepts and Applications during the research process. Respondents must also be informed if
they are being filmed or recorded.
●● DO establish with the firm you have hired to conduct the research that
they are conducting it in your best interest, not theirs—that is, that the
research being run is of no benefit to their personal or firm interests.
It is best to come to an agreement about the means of research and the
cost of research before anything is begun.
●● DO be sure to cite the name of the firm that conducted the research,
the purpose, and the dates of the study in any reports. Through
transparency, you’ll show your viewers that your research is
trustworthy, and that the strategies you used were effective.
On the other hand, there are the “don’ts”:
●● Don’t ask the researchers for confidential information about the
respondents or their responses.
●● Don’t dictate the methods used by the firm you’ve hired to conduct
the research—leave it to the research professionals—but they should
explain the ‘why’ of their recommendation.
●● Don’t ask for quantitative analytics from a qualitative study, and vice
versa. If you need a certain kind of data, make sure the study is done
in a way that the results are useful for your organization and purposes.
●● Don’t conduct primary research (new data) when you can purchase
the results of a secondary study (already collected data) for the same
purpose for much less. Why pay for a costly survey or focus group
when someone else has already done something with the needed
results?

2.8 PROBLEMS IN CONDUCTING

MARKETING RESEARCH IN INDIA
India may be viewed more as a continent than a country, therefore conducting
marketing research presents unique challenges. This is due the diversity
of cultures, traditions, customs, behaviours, languages, and even regional
dialects. It is difficult to conduct market research in India because of the
vastness of the nation, demographic diversity, infrastructure problems, and
cultural issues. The following section discusses some of the key issues that
you, as a researcher, would encounter when carrying out marketing research
in India.
India is a diverse country where one size does not fit all. When planning
surveys and studies, as well as choosing local markets, researchers must be
aware of the cultural peculiarities unique to various regions of the nation.
The size and diversity of India’s population is a major factor while conducting
marketing research. India must be divided into several hundred districts in
order to conduct national surveys and interview thousands of individuals
due to its size and diversity. This is much beyond the capacity of any small
or medium-sized business and would require a significant amount of time,
money, and a large number of field personnel.
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The problem for the researcher is complicated by linguistic complications Applications of Marketing
and cultural diversity. The 22 official languages of India have several Research and Ethical Issues
dialects. For any serious poll performed in the country, the questionnaire
must be translated into a minimum of five to six distinct languages. The
inability to accurately translate specific technical jargon or phrases usually
contributes to the issue of data not being comparable across regions.
Accessibility for people living in the country’s interior is still another major
problem. India has a rural population of over 70%, and the rural market has
been expanding five times faster than the urban market. However, given
the vastness of the nation and its extremely diverse population, conducting
market research in India’s rural areas continues to be prohibitively
expensive. Additionally, rural places exhibit greater complexity due to
hyper-localization of languages, dialects, and traditions than metropolitan
centres do. Due to poor literacy rates, mail interviews have limited value.
The only other option that seems to be workable is personal interviews, but
even these are plagued by transportation issues and a shortage of competent
staff in small towns and rural locations.
Market research companies in India must target a number of cities, each
with its own language and cultural peculiarities, in order to collect data for
nation-wide studies. Even while Indian market researchers are aware of the
difficulties and how to navigate them, it might be difficult to convince clients
that the high expense of conducting nation-wide studies is worthwhile.
Indian businesses are among the most demanding but pay the least for market
research, despite the fact that they recognise its value and make great use
of it. About 30% of employees leave Indian market research organisations
each year due to low salaries. High-calibre research expertise is difficult to
retain in India due to the relative lower compensation.
The accessible secondary data are frequently not as reliable due to incomplete
coverage and redundant information. Data are not easily accessible for a
number of aspects that the researchers are interested in. Although the nation
conducts a census every ten years, the full results are not made public for
a considerable amount of time. Even the trade and industry organisations
do not have complete and up-to-date lists of manufacturers and tradesmen.
Additionally, the production and sales statistics for the sector and enterprises
are not accurate, current, or comprehensive.
The existence of appropriate sampling frames is a need for the use of
random sampling and other complex sampling techniques (i.e., a list of
the target market population from which the samples are drawn). The lack
of such lists in the country makes research jobs more difficult and causes
the researcher to adopt non-probability sampling techniques, which has a
negative impact on the validity and reliability of the survey results.
The application of marketing research in India is further hampered by attitude
problems. For instance, according to a study by the Consulting and Research
Enterprise (CORE) group, only two-thirds of the executives of the firms
surveyed believed that the results of marketing research accurately reflected
reality and that the information was trustworthy enough to be used in making
decisions. Approximately 58 percent of businesses disagreed when asked if

39
Concepts and Applications the expenditures of conducting marketing research are low compared to the
benefits that result from doing so, indicating that marketing research is not
especially useful. Furthermore, just 57% of the executives disagreed the
idea that “gut instinct is more essential than marketing research”. The others
either agreed with the assertion or expressed uncertainty. The managers also
seemed quite anxious about how long it would take to do the marketing
research study. Only 42% of respondents disagreed that market research
“often takes too long to be of any real use.” Many executives believe that
marketing research in India falls well short of expectations in terms of both
quality and sophistication.
Despite the many challenges that lie ahead, there will always be a demand
for competent, creative market researchers. Even while automation and
technology may be intruding on the domain of market researchers, you still
need people to find information and insights. Techies and problem solvers
will be combined in the top market research teams of the future, who will
employ technology to simplify and accelerate their investigations. India’s
future success as a source of market research to the world will be ensured by
a high-quality, precise, quick, and affordable research workforce.

2.9 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have discussed the ways of conducting marketing research in
India. More specifically, we explained the common applications, role of new
technology, and adoption of marketing research by Indian businesses. The
unit has also examined the ethical issues and problems that the researchers
face while doing research in India. Because of excessive regulations and a
lack of competition in the market previously, not much need was felt for
marketing research in India. However, with the dismantling of the licencing
system and other regulatory measures during the last two decades or so,
increasing competition in the market, fast-changing technology, and growing
consumer sophistication, it is no longer possible for the marketing managers
to solely make decisions based on their gut feelings and past experiences.
They have come to increasingly rely upon the information collected through
the process of marketing research. The Indian firms make use of both in-
house staff and outside research organizations, advertising agencies, and
consultants for getting research conducted. Seeing the growth in demand
for outside research services, a large number of marketing research
organizations have come up in the country to provide both customized and
syndicated research services.

2.10 KEY WORDS

In-house research: Research conducted by the staff within the firm.
Outside research services: Hiring services of the persons, organizations
and agencies outside the fin-n for conducting researches. The outside
organizations include marketing research agencies, advertising agencies
and consultants.
Marketing research agency/organization: It is a firm or an organization
which specializes in the area of marketing research and earns revenue by
40
conducting researches for its clients. Applications of Marketing
Research and Ethical Issues
Customized research: A type of research conducted by the marketing
research agency for its client. The whole research project is designed to
collect the information as required a particular client.
Syndicated research: A type of research in which the research agency
collects a pool of data for serving the information needy of a number of
clients. Since the information so collected is sold to a number of clients, if
costs much less to a single firm purchasing such information,

2.11 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1. What are the major reasons for growing importance of Marketing
Research in India’?
2. What are the different ways of conducting marketing research’?
Describe the scope for outsourcing of marketing research services in
India?
3. Discuss the role of new technologies in marketing research.
4. Suggest some possible areas where marketing research would find
increasing application in India’?
5. Comment: “Ethical considerations need to protect the rights of
respondents and maintain scientific integrity.”
6. Briefly comment on the problems faced by researchers in conducting
marketing research in India?

2.12 PROJECT QUESTIONS

Browse through business magazines and newspapers and identify marketing
research studies done in India. Classify them by industry and the type of
research (product related, pricing related etc.)
Based on this, identify the potential for marketing research in India.

2.13 FURTHER READINGS

●● 5 Rules of Conducting Market Research in India, https://lrwonline.
com/perspective/5-rules-of-conducting-market-research-in-india/
2019
●● Bajpai, N. Marketing Research: An Indian Perspective, Jain Book
Depot
●● Economic Times (2019) Market research industry to touch $4.2 billion
by FY26: Dec 16, 2021, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/
company/corporate-trends/fmcg/articleshow/88321591.cms?utm_
source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
●● Ethical Considerations in Research | Types & Examples, October
18, 2021 by Pritha Bhandari. Revised on May 7, 2022., https://www.
scribbr.com/methodology/research-ethics/
●● Ethical Marketing Research: What You Should and Should NOT
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Concepts and Applications Do https://www.marketing-partners.com/conversations2/ethical-
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