Marketing research 195
Conclusion
Marketing research should not be carried out
merely for its own sake; it is a business
technique to be used as a service, not as a
means of providing employment for marketing
researchers! But the process does need to be
managed by senior management. It may be
thought of as the equivalent of a taxi-cab
service and its relationship with the passengers.
The taxi-driver (marketing researcher) must be
able to drive and know how to reach a certain
intended destination. The passenger (client)
must know where they wish to go and have the
ability to pay the fare. Close co-operation
between the parties will result in a mutually
beneficial contract; as Zaltman (1998) notes:
‘Researchers must engage managers and cus-
tomers more actively in the research under-
taking by enabling them to represent fully their
thinking’.
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