1. Linking Business
and Education to
Research
Eric Agullana Matriano, EdD, PhD
Dean, College of Business and Accountancy
Director, Planning and Development
July 11, 2021
3. Successful businesses worldwide
periodically conduct market research
in order to stay tuned to changing
market trends and to retain their
competitive edge.
Vital Role of Research in
Business Success
4. This includes factors such as market
size (in terms of number of
customers), sales revenues (for
existing products), market
segmentation (geographic, gender,
personality, etc.), the demand and
supply scenario, and other factors.
businesses worldwide periodically
conduct market research in order to
stay tuned to changing market trends
and to retain their competitive edge.
1. Market Information
6. New customers can be identified by understanding:
Who are likely to use your products?
What is their age group?
What is their gender?
What is their marital status (single, married or divorced)?
How many children do they have?
Where do they reside?
3. Identifying Potential
Customers
7. Evaluate and understand the precise needs
of potential customers and develop your
products and services accordingly. Even
existing products and services can be
suitably modified based on the results of
such research.
4. Identifying Customer
Needs
8. Potential customers may exhibit behavior
patterns and preferences, such as a
preference for only one brand or switching
brands frequently; trying out new products;
a preference for products of a particular
type, size, color, price range, or other such
parameters.
5. Customer Behavior Patterns
9. Research can provide you with valuable
information about existing competitors,
their adopted strategies, impact on target
consumers (and their reactions), and other
such details.
6. Competitor Analysis
10. Research helps identify existing gaps and
new business opportunities such as
untapped or underserviced markets, as well
as changing market trends such as
population shifts, higher education levels,
increased leisure spends and more.
7. Identify Business Opportunities
11. For example, decreased sales could
result from the entry of a new
competitor, a substitute product,
reduced brand awareness or negative
brand image.
8. Resolving Business Problems
12. The information collected through
research can enable you to set realistic
expectations and make appropriate
estimations about sales forecasting,
market share, growth rate and other
such critical factors.
9. Accurate Business Decisions
13. Research data can help you in developing
strategies for product or service pricing,
distribution and logistics, advertising media
usage (radio, TV, newspapers etc.), making
decisions for new products and services,
and timing the market. It can guide you
towards better decisions on starting,
consolidating, diversifying or reducing
business activity.
10. Develop Business Strategies and
Models
14. 11. Testing of new products
• Business research tests the possible success of fresh
products. Businesses need to know what kinds of
services and products consumers want before they
produce them. Research will reduce risk.
15. 12. Testing of new products
• Business research tests the possible success of fresh
products. Businesses need to know what kinds of
services and products consumers want before they
produce them. Research will reduce risk.
16. 13. It can also help in the recruitment
and training of employees.
• It’s through proper research that human resource
managers are able to determine and recruit qualified
manpower. Recruitment of workers with the right
skills and attitudes aids the company to improve its
productivity levels. It also helps the company train and
develop people.
17. 14. In-house research is required for
professional and self development of the
workers through training and mentoring.
• Organizational research and analysis would also be
needed for assessment of performance management,
process reengineering, departmental assessment and
well-being of staff members.
18. • The significance of market research is seen in the following benefits
accrued by businesses:
• Improved communications between the company and its target
customers through accurate understanding of customer needs and
meeting them effectively, leading to enhanced customer satisfaction
• Minimized risk through precise analysis of the customer's exact
demands and developing perfectly matching products and services,
thus reducing errors and failures
• Measuring business success through analysis of the research data and
evaluation of business progress and growth. Even possible pitfalls and
solutions can be gauged
19. Challenges in Writing Research in Business
•Challenge 1: Choosing the Right Topic
Your research topic is the foundation on which
everything else rests, so it’s crucial to choose
carefully.
“You can’t do anything else until you figure out the
basic focus of your topic,” says Dr. Susann V. Getsch
20. Challenges in Writing Research in Business
•Challenge 2: Choosing the Right Methodology
“The best way to choose it is not to choose.” The
methodology that’s used comes from the
research question, not from your personal
preferences for one design or another.
(Crawford, 2020)
21. Challenges in Writing Research in Business
•Challenge 3: Finding Study Participants
-Don’t waste your money
-Leverage the power of a network
-Don’t be afraid to reach out.
22. Challenges in Writing Research in Business
•Challenge 4: Getting Institutions to
Participate
- Sometimes recruiting study participants requires
going through institutions, which may put up barriers,
particularly if your research is controversial or
sensitive, and this presents an additional challenge.
23. Challenges in Writing Research in Business
•Challenge 5: Staying Motivated and
Working Your Plan
Sometimes, in the course of a large research project,
the biggest challenge can be internal—maintaining the
motivation to keep going despite obstacles in your
research and the pressures of work and personal
commitments.
24. Challenges in Writing Research in Business
•Challenge 6: Dealing With Your Data
The final challenge is knowing how to make sense of
the data you’ve collected
Editor's Notes
Successful businesses worldwide periodically conduct market research in order to stay tuned to changing business/market trends and to retain their competitive edge. Whether your business is in a start-up stage or in an expansion phase, research is vital for understanding the critical characteristics of your target market to increase sales revenue, profit, ROI and overall business success.
The importance of research can be best perceived by understanding the various factors that impact your business.
Why do customers select your products or those of your competitors?
What value do they perceive in your products?
What is the key decision factor? Is it service, product quality or prestige?
What factors influence buying decisions?
Which magazines and websites do they browse?
Studying the competition. Businesses frequently make use of research to study key rivals in their markets. Businesses will often begin with secondary research information or information which is currently accessible. Research is important for any organization to remain competitive in the market. The top function of research is to supply a business with an outlet to correctly determine its customers. With the help of surveys, an organization can analyze the preferences of its target consumers. Furthermore, these studies could also provide a business the chance to examine its competitors in the industry and analyze and emulate key strategies which could help in its operations.
Undertaking research can help a company avoid future failure. Carrying out research can also help a business determine whether now is the right time to expand into another town or whether it needs to apply for a new loan. It may also help a small business decide if a process should be altered or if more needs to be done to meet the requirements of the customer base.
– Research can help design a new product or service, figuring out what is needed and ensure that the development of a product is highly targeted towards demand.
– Research can help design a new product or service, figuring out what is needed and ensure that the development of a product is highly targeted towards demand.
Whether you are a current student or a doctoral graduate, conducting research is an integral part of being a scholar-practitioner with the skills and credibility to effect social change. Fortunately, many of the research challenges you will face—from choosing a topic, to finding study participants, to staying sane throughout the process, and every step in between may be answered.
