Does Marketing Research Really "Have a Seat At the Marketing Strategy Table"? an Exploratory Research

Abstract

Purpose - One of the major functions of marketing research is to provide relevant and necessary information to marketing decision making process. In other words, marketing research should bring the "voice of the customer" to the strategic marketing decision making "table". In addition, marketing research provide information to managers to be used in specific marketing actions as well as in a general manner that would allow them to understand their customers and environment in a better way for future strategic planning. However, it is a significant question whether marketing research really has a critical position in strategic marketing decision making in most of the firms, particularly in Turkey. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore marketing research's position in marketing decision making process in Turkish firms. Design/methodology/approach - An exploratory in-depth interview method was used. Five professional marketing researchers and four marketing research/consumer insight managers were interviewed in Istanbul. Through in-depth interviews with the participants, marketing research's position in strategic marketing decision making was discussed. Based on the analysis of these in-depth interviews, the role of marketing research in marketing decision making and its changing position are explored. Findings - Marketing research surely has an important role in marketing decision making. As bringing the "voice of the market" to strategic marketing decision making process gets more and more important, marketing research managers in firms evolve to consumer insight managers. Marketing research's role in strategic decision making is essential in especially multinational firms. That is, any marketing related decision or innovation decision needs to based on marketing research findings. Furthermore, findings of any marketing research project could be used in scenario development for future strategic directions and for a general enlightenment in firms' management. Research limitations/implications - Because of its exploratory nature, this research should be considered to be a starting-point for further research. Marketing research's actual role in determining firms' strategic options and the extent to which the findings of marketing research projects are used for specific marketing actions should be investigated in further research, possibly thorough some kind of quantitative research. Originality/value - In marketing literature, basic assumptions about marketing research show that research should be used in the marketing decision making process, and the more the marketing research inputs the more healthier would be the decision making process. However, it poses a significant question whether these assumptions about marketing research holds in reality, especially in Turkey. This study explores the validity of these assumptions and discusses the changing role of marketing research function in firms.