Mkt/441 Week 3

963 Words4 Pages
The Importance of Marketing Research Paper MKT/441 January 28, 2012 Cyndie Shadow * Introduction Marketing research is a key element of the business planning process and when intelligently used is key to business achievement. The function provides a competitive edge to organizations that are able to accumulate, analyze, and use the information versus those that don't. The more an organization’s marketing team understands about their target audiences and the ways in which they wish to receive and respond to information, the better they become at putting together successful marketing programs to reach that audience. This paper will define marketing research as well as discuss the different types of research McDonald’s Restaurants uses to understand its customer base and tailor products, marketing programs, and communication to the needs of specific groups. Define Market Research Marketing research is the planning, collection, and analysis of data relevant to marketing decision making and the communication of the results of this…show more content…
The company is world-renowned for its golden arches, and a varied menu that includes the Big Mac, McNuggets, and other well-known food items. The restaurants are operated by the company or by independent owners under franchise agreement. The company’s main competitors (in order of sales) are Starbucks, Wendy’s and Burger King, (McDonald’s, 2012). McDonald’s continues to build its brand and stay competitive through the use of marketing research. Specifically, the company strives to identify and understand customer desires in a constantly changing environment so that it meets those needs better than the competition, (The Times 100 Business Case Studies,
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