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How marketing research contributes in formulating marketing plans and strategies of an organization, A case study of LIC India Hassan Shahzad ID xxx

Abstract

Regardless the geographical scope of a business operations of an organisation it is inevitable to know what its customers wants or expect from them in terms of product, price, quality or services. How an organisation can understand its customer s wants or needs and expectations. What problems need to be sorted and where such problem lies. How customer satisfaction can be achieved. These questions need to be answered and marketing research is the primary mechanism through which companies understand their current, as well as potential, customers. As companies contemplate their marketplace they must consider it in the context of operational scope in terms of geographical location i.e. national, regional or international. This research is aimed to explore marketing research, marketing research process and design to develop a roadmap or framework for organizations seeking to know their customers to maximize profits by customer oriented approach. The case study organization for this research is Life Insurance India (LIC). An attempt will be made to discuss LIC research marketing approach (Primary consumer research) and how it is used in products development, advertising and to determine market buyer characteristics.

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Introduction
With growing competition and ever changing business environment the importance to learn more about what customer wants and needs are, customer expectations and preferences, and what influences their choices etc are most important and fundamental questions needs to be answered for the strategic management. The answers for all these and many more relevant questions can be sought by the research marketing. Research marketing provides the basis for all marketing and sales strategies and operations. There are several definition given by experts for marketing research most of them emphasis on creating a link between customer and marketer through market intelligence and information identifying opportunities and challenges, devise action required to capitalize those opportunities and sorting problem. It may involve answering some very basic but important questions e.g. what competitors are doing and where do you stand, your own market share, and last but not least what are the customers, their preferences and buying behavior, what products or promotion may increase demand and which medium should be use to market the products (Stowe Shoemaker, 2004) Marketing research is the way to gather market intelligence and other pertinent information that enable managers to identify, interpret and act or react according to the customer wants and competitors strategy. It can provide valuable information and key elements leading to efficient marketing strategies/plans and actions (Prabhu and Stewart, 2001). Marketing information can be understood by its decomposition into marketing research and marketing intelligence. However, both aimed to provide information to management for efficient and prudent and timely decision making. Salespeople can serve well as primary source of marketing intelligence (Webster, 2005). It is due to their presence and position; they can provide important and timely information to their organization about customers and competitors (Lorge, 1998). Culture has a strong impact on Marketing research as it is one of the most influential factors in determining individual behavior of customers e.g. National culture and norms will determine how people of that culture eat, live and perceive about their likes and dislikes etc. (Triandis, 2000). National cultures are a powerful means by which to examine the generalizability of marketing theories and to reveal their boundary conditions (Clark, 1990).

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Marketing research is an organized and systematic effort to gather market information regarding market trends, customer s preferences and potential for a new product in any particular market. Marketing research and research market generally used interchangeably, however technically experts assign different meaning as marketing research is concerned with marketing process and research market is associated with markets. Marketing is a key business operation and it has strong connection with every other business operation and process in an organization. Primary objective of any business organization is to make profits and to maximize profits with the passage of time; marketing is the way to achieve such objectives. However, it is done with a focus on customers and their needs by taking action to satisfy those needs (by offering products or services) while making reasonable profits. Marketing can be defined as a series of activities designed to identify customer needs, preferences and attitudes and fulfilling them by making them agree that your products and services would serve best their needs.

These activities include market research and analysis, product development, pricing, advertising, promotions, publicity, sales and customer service. Developing a marketing plan is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that your business will make a profit (John Hulland., et al 1996). Marketing research is a key component of a successful and
viable marketing strategy. Market Research is a scientific way to get advantage over competitors by getting timely and relevant information or signals from the market. Market research provides important information to identify and analyze the market need, market size and competition. There is no doubt that technology has given unprecedented driving force to every form of business; manufacturing and services. There are three important areas i.e. service marketing, customization, and customer relationship management (Rust. et al 2004) Information technologies lead to an increase in the amount of information and knowledge held by organizations that include information and knowledge about markets, customers and competitors. Fast data storage and retrieval allowed them to make use of huge archives of data which otherwise would not have been possible. Data analyses have been revolutionized by decision support systems used by strategic management in decision making process. Information about customers and market can be used for marketing research by transforming information into useful knowledge.

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The service sector has seen unprecedented growth particularly in developing countries and given a whole new approach to marketing management that can be used by other sectors also (Vargo and Lusch, 2006). Service sector has shifted the focus from product to customer and customer relationship (Rust and Thompson, 2006). Hence, marketing research in service sector should focus on customer and customer relationship to devise customer oriented marketing strategies. Insurance and insurance products are part of financial services providing risk coverage in different forms and events based on risk assessment of those events. Insurance industry has grown enormously in the last couple of decades due to increased uncertainty surrounding us in everywhere in our lives. Insurance services and products encompass almost every potentials loss that may occur in an individuals or even groups of people in different settings or relationships. In some instances insurance becomes a legal obligation e.g. employee indemnity insurance by the employers, motor insurance etc. insurance companies used to rely on agents for sales and imparting information about company products and benefits but with unprecedented development and access on information and communication technologies has changed the marketing ways and means.

Businesses are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of customer relationship management (CRM). Unfortunately CRM initiatives had more failures than success so far due to high level of complexity involve in designing and implementation. Yet it does not undermine the importance of customer relationship management. Organizations are keen to learn more about their customers by collecting relevant data through CRM so they can provide more personalized services to enhance customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The ability to collect, manage and use customer information is a key asset that can become sustained advantage (Hogan. et al 2002)
Being service sector industry insurance companies need to be customer centric in their product development and marketing strategies, customer satisfaction may depend how a company approaches its potential customers and how effectively product communication has done particularly in Indian context where cultural and ethnic diversity need to be considered carefully. Indian economy is one of the fastest growing economies and has huge potential for insurance sector yet Indian market is very different from other emerging markets in terms of ethnic and demographic diversity. Hence, the importance of marketing research to identify present and future needs of the customer,

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product development that reflects needs of the divers market and last but not least effective marketing and advertising strategies to maximize market share. LIC offering a variety of products for life insurance, products are overwhelmingly cultural oriented, it means most products are designed to address family needs (family as s unit). Most products revealed strong market segmentation i.e. various income groups, urban and rural, in rural setting agriculture as predominant occupation influence products e.g. crop insurance etc.

Research question: How marketing research contributes in formulating marketing plans and strategies of an organization. Research objectives: y y y y y y y y y To identify various components of a viable marketing research process and design. Marketing research in different settings. To determine the influence of technology advances on marketing research. Interpretation of research report and implementation. To analyze scope (geographical) and context (theoretical) of marketing research. To devise International marketing research framework analysis and challenges involved To understand Globalization and marketing research To evaluate the impact of Economic crises and market research Finally, the case study organization will be evaluated in terms of the objectives set for

this research to draw recommendations if any.

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