4+ Sample Market Research Proposal

Joe Newsum, founder of Kentley Insights, said: “2021 is all about economic volatility with the virus, shutdowns, vaccines, stimulus, policies, consumer and business demand, bankruptcies, globalization, and more. This volatility will hit every industry in its unique way, and leaders will depend on market research to discern reality from fiction to help drive fact-based decisions for a better future.” Despite the difficulties that many of us are going through at the moment, many business professionals need to rely on market research to pinpoint the realities around us and create wise decisions as we welcome the dawn ahead of us. In this article, we are glad to assist you in creating a clear and effective market research proposal. We will discuss the different types, benefits, basic components, and steps in preparing this proposal, plus we have various downloadable market research proposal templates for you to use. Keep on reading!

What is a Market Research Proposal?

A market research proposal is a simple and imperative document which is commonly used in expressing the framework of a certain study. It clearly presents relevant interpretations of new ideas on a particular research project in an orderly manner. Many business firms competing in the global industry need accurate information to elevate their decision making. By using this proposal, it can facilitate research in various locations and countries to dig deeper into the minds of the consumers to uncover some of the unknown reasons why they make a purchase decision for the type of product or service being considered. 

Based on a research report, market research is changing as there exists a transition to online research. 60% of researchers report that they’ve had to move all of our research online. Thus, it is very important for digital marketers, advertisers, business professionals, managers, and others to develop an effective market research proposal.

Different Types of Market Research Proposal

Many researchers acknowledge that there are a wide spectrum of methods of seeking knowledge about consumers, industries, and organizations, and that each form of knowledge is significant such as observations, introspection, ethnography, informant diaries, videography, etc. On the contrary, other researchers recognize the value of adopting a multi-method research design when it comes to collecting richer data and reaching data reliability, triangulation, and validity. However, what are different types of market research proposals that you need to create? Below are different types of market research proposals that you may consider:

1. Brand Research Proposal

How many of your customers are willing to recommend your brand? Does your target audience know who you are and consider you a serious option? What do people think of as your company’s identity or differentiating qualities? Brand research is a useful research method which helps in creating and managing a company’s brand, or identity. A company’s brand is the images, narratives, and attributes people connect with it. From concept creation to new product launches and rebranding, brand research can be applied at every phase in the life cycle of a business or organization. Developing an effective proposal for a brand research is a good way to allow researchers to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a firm or organization, helping them to determine notable features and advantages that sets the business apart from its competitors. 

2. Campaign Effectiveness Research Proposal

If you need to evaluate whether the advertising messages of a business firm or organization are reaching the right people and delivering the desired outcomes, then you need to start writing a research proposal for campaign effectiveness. This type of research should be used when you need to spend your advertising budget effectively. To get a picture of how your target market views advertising while assessing weaknesses in the campaign, you need to conduct quantitative research.  So, create an enticing proposal for your campaign effectiveness research project. 

3. Competitive Analysis Research Proposal

One of the essential parts of any business and market plan is competitive analysis. This type of market research method is beneficial when you are just getting started, transferring into a new market, or performing a health check of your business or organization. Thus, a market research proposal for competitive analysis will help marketers and researchers to develop a thorough analysis of their primary competitors and their marketing strategy, customer perceptions, sales volume and many other fundamental aspects. We suggest that you create a competitive analysis research proposal to your management and executives.

4. Consumer Insights Research Proposal

When you develop a strategic marketing plan, it is crucial that you know your customers well. To assist you in getting to know more about your customers, you should perform consumer insights research. This research method will help you anticipate the necessities of your consumer, ignite innovation, customize your marketing, solve business problems, and many more. Before you utilize this type of market research method, you need to construct a research proposal for consumer insights. 

5. Customer Satisfaction Research Proposal

Indra Nooyi said: “The basics of business is to stay as close as possible to your customers—understand their behavior, their preferences, their purchasing patterns, etc.” Creating some assumptions that you are aware about the needs and preferences of your customers is not a recipe for your marketing success because it is important to reach out, ask them, and initiate a conversation. Thus, it is wise to develop a simple yet structured proposal for customer satisfaction research to enable customer retention and improve the overall performance of your business. 

Benefits of a Market Research Proposal

Conducting market research serves beneficial functions within a business firm or organization. It provides an exploratory function when several researchers have a limited understanding or no knowledge concerning a particular marketing event or a particular result, this method can be used to get to know customers’ psychology.  Also, it has a descriptive function when it collects and presents information pertaining to a marketing phenomenon. However, what are some of the notable benefits of market research proposals? You can read the details as follows:

1. Promote Exploration and Investigation

Designing a market research proposal is a process that will assist marketers, advertisers, company executives and other business professionals to delve deep into a consumer’s mind to reveal several reasons or thought processes that drive into making a purchase decision in a particular product or service. If business managers are not sure why their company may be losing customers or sales appear to be declining, it is crucial to initiate a market research. Thus, preparing a simple yet appealing proposal for market research can help you in promoting further exploration and investigation of your target audience. 

2. Better Customer Insight

The primary objectives, and overall demonstration of information about a particular marketing event, as well as details describing the primary consumer of a product or service from the market research are written in a proposal. With this crucial information, it will assist managers, product and service developers, supervisors, business executives and other key people in the company in building better customer knowledge and insight. 

3. Lead Positive Changes 

Writing an engaging project proposal for market research can lead towards positive changes in a wide array of ways, not just for the managers, developers, advertisers, and company executives but for the company or organization as a whole. Conducting market research provides managers and developers, as well as researchers a dynamic strategy for being productive and effective in setting up the path for the improvement and positive changes of the company. 

4. Data Discovery and Analysis

Several business firms, institutions, corporations, and organizations encounter some issues and concerns inside their firm or organization that can be risky. An impeccably-written market research proposal will help the management, committee, company executives, or key people who will receive your proposal to understand that your proposed market research can discover and analyze data, as well as to investigate relationships and phenomena within data that have been accumulated through market research. So, this research proposal is important to allow marketers and the management to discover interrelationships with data.

5. Allow Forecast of Market Share

One of the integral functions of market research is allowing data to be utilized in predicting or forecasting the outcomes of a marketing decision or consumer action. Retailers apply this research to identify what items a consumer is likely to purchase together in order to use suggestive selling. For instance, Barnes & Noble uses this research technique when customers from the website choose a specific book and the software then suggests other books they might also like to purchase. Thus, creating a market research proposal can help business managers and executives to forecast the market share of a brand extension or latest product introduction.

Basic Components of a Market Research Proposal 

In this section, you will learn how to craft a remarkably -written market research proposal so that you are able to entice the attention of the readers of your proposal which include the management, committee, company executives, and many others. However, a proposal contains different types of components. Take into account of the following elements for you to create a spectacular document:

Introduction: The most integral component of a market research proposal is the introduction. It presents a striking statement as it defines the focus of the market research which includes the background information and the marketing issue or concern that will be assessed. So, be clear on the primary goals and objectives of the research as they will shape survey or interview questions, and guide the final outcomes. Market Research Methodology and Design: Outline the approach that you will perform in market research. So, describe the research methods and strategies that will be utilized for the market research such as online focus groups, in-depth interviews, phone surveys, omnibus surveys, mystery shopping, feasibility studies, etc. Then, provide the details regarding the design stage of the market research as you outline the structure of individual market research instruments like a survey document or interview guide. Significance of the Market Research: It is crucial that you concentrate on the market research question to help you determine questions that need to be assessed after the market research is completed. Then, emphasize the significance of the market research to entice the readers to give you a thumbs up in your proposed market research project. Professionalism: While writing your market research proposal, you need to keep up the professional tone of the document, and eliminate the use of colloquial words or vague terms. Maintain a friendly tone with a sufficient balance of formality. Be mindful, reliable, and ethical.

How to Write a Market Research Proposal

When writing a clear and comprehensive market research proposal, you need to uphold a systematic and logical approach when you develop the overall theme or topic of your market research study. In this matter, we suggest that you follow the simple steps below while freely using one of our action research proposal templates in this article:

Step 1: Identify Specific Market Research Goals and Objectives

Clearly explain your intentions and goals in performing market research. Your research questions are involved in the goals and objectives so make sure that they address your expectations, what you like to obtain from the market research, and what you plan to do after the research. So, consider several main aspects of your market research project and identify your goals. We recommend that you think carefully about the possible results you want to fulfill. 

Step 2: Write a Brief Overview of the Market Research 

Next step is writing a clear overview of the market research you will be conducting. To finish this part, you first need to collect reliable evidence linked to your research question. Thus, you need to demonstrate the process through which a business firm or organization can determine the viability of a new product or service. Also, guarantee that this information is not merely your personal idea or opinion, but is grounded in factual evidence. 

Step 3: Describe Market Research Methods, and Activities

Describe the market research strategies and activities that will be included in your plan for your market research proposal.  Several market research strategies that you can use are market penetration strategy, market development strategy, product development strategy and diversification strategy.  Determine your market research project requirements, as well as the present condition of your resources. Then, coordinate your activities and tasks in your fieldwork for your market research process with the use of some charts, graphs, tables, and other visual diagrams. 

Step 4: Proofread and Revise the Document If Necessary

Check your document and proofread it. If possible, you may ask for some help with other market researchers, especially if you need to know the quality and essence of your market research proposal from the perspective of others. This is crucial for an efficient review and revision of your market research proposal.

Step 5: Prepare the Final Draft

Last but not the least, prepare the final draft of your market research proposal that consists of systematic and compelling details about your pitch. Schedule a meeting with the management, marketers, or the key individuals who will receive your market research proposal. 

FAQs

What are the different types of market research?

The different types of market research are brand research, campaign effectiveness research, competitive analysis research, consumer insights research, customer satisfaction research, customer segmentation research, product development research, and usability testing research.

What are the fundamental elements of a market research proposal?

When preparing your market research proposal, you need to consider these fundamental elements such as a concise description of a market research problem or issue, a compelling overview of the market research,  objectives, approach, design, fieldwork, reporting, timeline, thorough description of research methods and solutions, the financial budget, purpose, significance, potential benefits, references, and citations.

What are the basic methods of creating a research proposal?

First, you need to create a thought-provoking introduction. Next, specify the research problem and describe the background of your research study. Explain your purpose clearly, as well as the value of your project. Then, elaborate in full details the methodology of your research work. After that, develop a thorough review and careful analysis of your resources and materials. 

What are the general types of market research methodologies?

The general types of market research methodologies are target audience surveys, interviews, focus groups, and customer behavior observation.

According to a statistical report, revenues from the market research industry grew from $ 32 billion in 2008 to $ 73 billion in 2019.  Although the pandemic immensely affected the global economy and commerce industry, there are many new trends that suddenly arrive as they open fresh opportunities for many business firms and organizations.  This article reminds you, researchers, and other business professionals  about the different types and benefits of market research proposals which include further exploration and investigation, better customer insight, data discovery and analysis, and forecast for market share. Thus, we recommend that you carefully follow the aforementioned tips and steps in this article so that you are able to craft a compelling and unique market research proposal. Plus, download our market research proposal samples here today!