An observance made many years ago was that most companies spend about 99.4% on promoting their products and the rest on research. The equation would work better if the amount spent on research was increased to about two or 3 percent. This is a situation that is compromised today by many organizations. The marketing strategies that are implemented in the companies today go with what is called "the gut feeling".
Today however, the story is quite different and with the advancement of this fast paced world, companies need to use marketing information more competently.
This comes about because of factors such as:
The shortened time span available for executive decision-making
The fact that marketing activities are more complex and broader in scope than in the past
The knowledge explosion and IT revolution
The question that needs to be answered is whether this should be outsourced to companies that are experienced in the field of marketing or have it done in house. Most of the large corporations have all the marketing strategies built and designed in house. There are a few of them that have it outsourced to other companies and you will have a third kind who look at the situation and then decide. To help you decide if outsourcing is for you or not we will look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of the outsourcing option.
The marketing research firm that you hire is very experienced in the field. The specialization is focused on reporting, analyzing and gathering information. The job will be done in the least amount of time and in the most professional manner.
The staff at a market research firm will accommodate people who specialize in statistics and psychology to name a few. If you are indulging in a full scale consumer survey you would need the help of such people and it is very likely that keeping such people in the firm would be senseless. Whereas the marketing research companies caters to these needs.
The research company that you will employ for you organization. Will have special facilities for testing and observing people and products. These facilities include rooms with mirrors that can be viewed outside in and not inside out; electronic interviews, ability for data processing and testing centers for products.
The best advantage is the secrecy pledge that the market research company has with you. Your consumers will never know it's you and the information you will get that is not one sided.
The disadvantages of outsourcing are:
No one understands the customer better than you.
You will have less control over the input that comes in.
Market research companies will not work in the way you would want them to.
