The Importance of Market Research: Whole Foods

The Importance of Market Research: Whole Foods

Marketing research is invaluable to an organization. The information that is gathered from marketing research allows the management team to make educated decisions. Market research tools are chosen for various reasons, it may be a financially feasible choice for the organization or the organization may be graced with the capability to use many different tools. This paper discusses market research and lists a few tools used by one of the world's largest retailers of natural and organic foods, Whole Foods.

Marketing research is the collection and analysis of data relevant to a particular market and the “communication of this analysis to management” (McDaniel, 2006). Whether the organization is a local store or a large corporation, marketing research is important for quality management, customer retention, and understanding trends. Marketing research is important for receiving feedback on the success of the marketing mix (product, price, promotion, and place) and for discovering and launching new opportunities.

There are so many reasons why marketing research is beneficial to an organization of any size and success rate. It can be used to develop options through market segmentation, opportunity analysis, or studying product usage. It can be used to test new products or advertising. It can also be used to assess product performance. Of course, the research is only beneficial to the organization if the benefits outweigh the costs, so it is important to know when to decide research is necessary.

Some types of marketing research could be studying product usage, corporate image, and customer satisfaction through surveys. Consumers can be asked to trial new concept products or get feedba...

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...ting research to stay in touch with their customers. They understand that to maintain a leader in their industry they must stay connected to the people that shop in their stores.

Works Cited

Customers still place value on value. (2011). Retrieved from http://wholefoodsmarket.com/pressroom/blog/2011/09/13/customers-still-place-value-on- value/

McDaniel, C. & Gates, R. (2006). Marketing research (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

New Survey Shows Shoppers Eating More Meals at Home, Cooking Meals to Save Money. (2011). Retrieved from http://wholefoodsmarket.com/pressroom/blog/2009/09/03/new-survey-shows-shoppers- eating-more-meals-at-home-cooking-meals-to-save-money/

Stelzner, M. (2011). Reaching Millions With Twitter: The Whole Foods Story. Retrieved from http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/reaching-millions-with-twitter-the-whole-foods- story/