Our industry
Is market research a science? A service? An art? The answer is certainly in the eye of the beholder, and the truth lies somewhere in the middle. However, one thing is clear: market research enables understanding – of people, markets, products and brands – and in a world that is rapidly changing, this is becoming increasingly important.
Market research begins with a question, which determines the methods, approaches and the survey itself. From the survey findings, an answer is formulated, which the companies or organizations need in order to decide whether a product or advertisement appeals to a certain target group, or whether it is worth opening a new shop in a particular location, adjusting a price, or changing the position of a product on the shelf. Most newly introduced products disappear from the market within a year. Market research helps to avoid risk, by testing in advance whether a product has good prospects for success.
The market research industry has grown steadily over the past few years. According to the latest edition of the ESOMAR Industry Report, global sales of USD 28 billion were generated in 2007, which is 3.9% more than in the previous year.
In order to encourage further growth in the market research industry, and to promote and support it, GfK belongs to various market research associations. At international level these are ESOMAR and the US market research organization ARF.
ESOMAR
ARF
What is market research?
Market research, which includes social and opinion research, is the systematic gathering and interpretation of information about individuals or organisations using the statistical and analytical methods and techniques of the applied social sciences to gain insight or support decision making. The identity of respondents will not be revealed to the user of the information without explicit consent and no sales approach will be made to them as a direct result of their having provided information.