The only way to find success is to answer who, how, what, where, and why. It is significant to find out the actual market JavaJoy is targeting in terms of its taste and consumer buying power. JavaJoy has not been able to penetrate deep into the market perhaps due to its high prices, it is therefore important to find out how JavaJoy could cover a wider market by filling the gaps. All this process requires is a sound research based on which strategic planning could be done. It could be almost impossible to conduct the research ourselves as this could bring numerous complexities as we do not have a research department within the company, there are time and money constraints as well. It is therefore very suitable to find a partner who has specialized in conducting the research at a large scale. However, there are numerous other reasons to select a research partner instead of going for the whole research solo.
Selecting a research partner could be difficult especially when you already know a lot about the research process as later arguments can develop between you and the researcher, but it is important to select a research partner as conducting a research on your own (being a part of the company) could bring biases to the research. The key consideration should therefore be the coverage of the research; the research partner has to research a wider market area. It is expected that the researcher would make a sound judgment of selecting a research method that could best provide the analysis, also there should not be any mistake while picking up the samples as any irrelevant sample would not only result in obsolete data but also would be a waste of time. There could be certain other factors important while selecting a research partner, as we may need a long-term help from the researcher in terms of constantly identifying the changing trends in the market while the actual research may still be very limited.
Marketing research process is always helpful in any research whether small scale or large scale, in the present research both the parties would help each other accomplish the task. The researcher may need to know certain facts about the JavaJoy’s target market, such information can only be made available to the researcher if we (as a part of JavaJoy) are aware of what the research is going to involve. The other point is the validity of research; the research is highly likely to be a success if we work together with the researcher as in this case the researcher would even be aware that any inaccuracy of data would be immediately identified putting the researcher’s position at the stake. However, we must also be aware that too much interference in the researcher’s task could worsen the situation. So it can be said that a significant part of research process would be impossible without our help to the researcher.
It could be extremely cost-effective if we decide to research the market ourselves. Firstly, it may require us to employ hundreds of people to collect data and secondly, as we are not specialized in the research process, the research may lead to something which is irrelevant to us and it may just be a total waste of money and time. It is therefore important to employ someone who is specialized in conducting the research at a large scale as this study is going to involve a considerable population and so a careful planning is required.
References
Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L. (2006) Marketing Management, 12th ed, Pearson Education Inc, New Jersey.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2003) Research Method for Business Students,3rd ed, Pearson Education Limited, England.
Sekaran, U. (2003) Research Methods For Business: A Skill Building Approach, 4th ed, John Wilry and Sons Inc, USA.