Market research is a relatively small part of the professional and business services sector. Commercially available revenues in 1998 were roughly $1bn (£7bn) worldwide, representing only about 0.1% of overall sales value. However, its economic and social impact is highly significant and my thesis is that this importance is growing and the scope of research is continually expanding. In making this case, it is useful to look first at how research has evolved to its present state. Research, as we know it, developed in the first half of this century but expanded most rapidly in the late 1950s and 1960s. The post-war drivers of this were companies and their brands operating in competitive environments in which consumers/customers had choices. Product development had always drawn heavily on research but the arrival of commercial television as a highly effective but very expensive means of brand communication catalysed a big leap forward in research spend. At this time (the 1960s), commercial survey research was dominated by FMCG clients. About one third of expenditure was on market and media measurement, through retail audits and household panels. Two thirds was spent on custom/ad hoc projects, both qualitative and quantitative, largely product development and communications research plus U&As. Then, as now, there was also a much smaller part of the research scene accounted for by social, political and public opinion studies.
The paper traces the development of international marketing research over the years and shows that it has now become an established part of the activities of hundreds of research companies throughout the world. It is argued that an international dimension' pervades most market research these days, particularly under the influence of the major multinational marketing companies that represent the industry's main source of income.
A number of changes in society, technology and the way people use health care facilities, are leading to a greater recognition of the strong influence patient decision making can have on the fortunes of the industry. Examples are quoted to illustrate the valuable guidance that can be gained from the enormous variety of market research now being conducted amongst patients. The cases range from product-related ethical pharmaceutical research to the studying of sufferers self-medication behaviour and attitudes and their wider views on health care systems and institutions.
International marketing strategies and styles vary widely from the marketing of almost identical brands through to the meeting of similar consumer needs across several countries via radically differing mixes of product, communication variables and price. Similarly, companies involved in marketing products or services in more than one country take many forms, ranging from home- based exporters through to multi-national concerns with operating subsidiaries in a number of countries. The most significant international businesses tend to be in this latter category and a key factor is the division of the various aspects of marketing policy making between the head or regional offices and the local operations. With such variations in strategy and structure it is not surprising that information needs are similarly diverse. It can be helpful to classify the main areas of research input as contributing to 1) market; 2) strategy or; 3) problem orientation.