To this end he prepares reports and makes recommendations on subjects ranging from preferences of prospective customers to methods and costs of distribution and advertising. He researches available printed data and accumulates new information through personal interviews and questionnaires. Likewise, some marketing workers specialize in one industry or area. For instance, agricultural marketing specialists prepare sales forecasts for food businesses, which use the information in their advertising and sales programs.
In dealing with jobs in business development, knowing what customers want, why they want it, and what price they are willing to pay for it have been concerns of manufacturers, producers of goods and services, and product managers for some time. The sampling of public opinion to determine how many people would react in any given situation is not new. In 1824, the Harrisburg Pennsylvanian printed the results of a straw vote on the upcoming presidential election taken in Wilmington, Delaware. In 1916, the Literary Digest began its now historic poll. It mailed out millions of ballots to people selected from telephone directories and other lists. With the increase in business ventures and the trend toward better distribution of manufactured products, businesses saw in market research a way to maintain contact with what the people wanted. Market research began in an effort to serve these business interests in relation to the sales business development jobs The application of research methods to other fields followed and, in the 1930s and 1940s, the statistical needs of the government gave new impetus to the increase of knowledge in the field. Emphasis on the market research did not really occur until after World War II. From this point, however, new knowledge of techniques and increased uses of the findings have developed at a rapid pace.
Through the many aspects of marketing research involving jobs in business development, the preferences of people are noted in the type of goods and services provided by business. The marketing of goods, from the identification of customer likes and dislikes to the distribution of company products, is the concern of the marketing research worker. Part of the business development careers, the marketing research worker collects, analyzes, and interprets all kinds of information that would help a company improve its product, arrange sales and distribution policies, and make decisions regarding its future plans and direction. One area of market research is company services and products. Here studies are made on current products or those in an experimental stage. Information on the brand name or trademark and product design or packaging are illustrative of the data collected. Also included in this aspect of market research would be studies of the services and products of competitors.
Another area of marketing business development jobs is sales methods and policies. Here, the marketing research worker is concerned with detailed studies of the firm's sales records. Information on sales in various geographical areas is analyzed and compared in relation to previous sales records, to changes in population, and to total and seasonal sales volume. In this way, peak sales periods and sales trends in various sections may be noted. Such information helps plan future sales campaigns, sales quotas, and commissions. Likewise, advertising research is closely related to sales research. Studies on the effectiveness of advertising in different sections of the country and of the advertising media used are conducted and compared with sales records. These data are helpful in planning advertising campaigns and in selecting the media to be used in different regions of the country.
Market research on consumer demand and opinion usually reflects the opinions of the men and women who use the goods or services. Questionnaires and interviews are usually used to gather information on consumer reaction to the style, design, use, and need for the product. The purpose of these studies is to attempt to find out who uses the product, or to ascertain potential users of the product or services. This will be a good reference for a business development manager jobs to augment the company sales and product promotions. In addition, consumer opinion about the product or services is sought as well as suggestions for its improvement. Information of this type is helpful, for example, in forecasting sales, in planning modifications in design, or in determining color changes or options.
Moreover, there are actually four basic market research jobs which involve in the business development jobs. One is the statistician who develops samples and weights questionnaire returns. Another, the project supervisor, plans a study from the beginning. In conjunction with statisticians and other specialists he or she may design the questionnaire, determine the number and location of the interviews to be conducted, then analyze the returns and make the final report and recommendations. The heavy office work, such as examining the questionnaires when they come in from the field, counting the answers, fitting no categorical answers into codes, and making up the primary count for the reports, is done by tabulators and coders. The final type of market research worker is the field interviewer who must meet all kinds of people and obtain from them the various kinds of information that have been set out in the questionnaire. Indeed, the role of the marketing research personnel and product manager has meant a lot to the success of company's product marketing, promotions, and sales.
