Companies need information about their customers' wants and needs, the marketing environment, and their competition. Marketing research provides a method for marketers to gather current information to create their marketing strategy. The chapter describes several methods: observation, experimental, interviews, focus groups, and one of the most common, surveys/questionnaires. Everyone has been a part of marketing research!

Please discuss the following questions in your initial response.

• Describe a situation in which you have taken part in marketing research. What type(s) of research methods were used?
• What information did the company obtain from you?
• Do you feel that you were valuable to the company's understanding of its target demographic?
• What is your preferred method of market research? Why?
• What difficulties do you think researchers experience in gathering data?