Planning processes in companies and corporate groups generally follow a structured sequence. A market research project works in much the same way. Individual project steps may vary depending on the research objective and study design, but a clear sequence helps ensure that objectives, data collection and analysis are properly aligned.
Homburg and Krohmer distinguish eleven typical phases of a market research project:
- Define the problem
- Define the research design
- Determine the information sources
- Assign responsibility
- Define the data collection method
- Define the sample
- Design the research instrument
- Conduct the data collection
- Edit and code the data
- Analyse and interpret the data
- Present the results
The 11 phases can be grouped into three project stages
1. Planning and preparation: Phases 1 to 4 establish the problem to be investigated, the structure of the study, the information sources to be used and who is responsible for the project.
2. Data collection: Phases 5 to 8 cover the practical execution of the research. This includes choosing the data collection method, selecting the sample, designing the questionnaire or another research instrument, and carrying out the data collection itself.
3. Analysis and use of the results: In phases 9 to 11, the collected data is prepared, analysed and interpreted. Finally, the findings are presented in a form that can support decisions or further action.
What does this mean for online market research?
With an online survey, several of these steps can be handled directly in the survey tool. A clearly defined research objective, the right target group, a well-structured questionnaire and a planned approach to analysis are particularly important. Defining these points before launch reduces the need for later corrections and makes the results easier to interpret.
For a more detailed practical overview, see Planning and conducting an online market research project.
We have also summarised further background and practical experience from online market research in our PDF:
What is LamaPoll?
LamaPoll is a survey tool for creating online questionnaires. Our survey tool lets you create, run and analyse online questionnaires quickly and easily. Create your questionnaire in just a few steps, customise it for your organisation and conveniently invite customers or employees by email. An online questionnaire enables you to gather insights quickly and easily to improve customer or employee satisfaction. You can register for the LamaPoll survey tool free of charge and immediately create and run online surveys with up to 50 participants. If you need more responses for your online questionnaire, simply choose one of our plans: billed monthly, cancel any month. You can also choose from our online questionnaire templates and examples.
