Types of marketing research

* test marketing - a small-scale product launch used to determine the likely acceptance of the product when it is introduced into a wider market

* concept testing - to test the acceptance of a concept by target consumers

* mystery shopping - An employee or representative of the market research firm anonymously contacts a salesperson and indicates he or she is shopping for a product. The shopper then records the entire experience. This method is often used for quality control or for researching competitors' products.

* store audit - to measure the sales of a product or product line at a statistically selected store sample in order to determine market share, or to determine whether a retail store provides adequate service

* demand estimation - to determine the approximate level of demand for the product

* Commercial eye tracking research - examine advertisements, package designs, websites, etc by analyzing visual behavior of the consumer

* sales forecasting - to determine the expected level of sales given the level of demand. With respect to other factors like Advertising expenditure, sales promotion etc.

* customer satisfaction studies - exit interviews or surveys that determine a customer's level of satisfaction with the quality of the transaction

* distribution channel audits - to assess distributors’ and retailers’ attitudes toward a product, brand, or company

* price elasticity testing - to determine how sensitive customers are to price changes

* segmentation research - to determine the demographic, psychographic, and behavioural characteristics of potential buyers

* consumer decision process research - to determine what motivates people to buy and what decision-making process they use

* positioning research - how does the target market see the brand relative to competitors? - what does the brand stand for?

* brand name testing - what do consumers feel about the names of the products?

* brand equity research - how favorably do consumers view the brand?

* advertising and promotion research - how effective are ads - do potential customers recall the ad, understand the message, and does the ad influence consumer purchasing behaviour?

* Internet Strategic Intelligence - searching for customer opinions in the internet: chats, forums, web pages, blogs... where people express freely about their experiences with products, becoming strong "opinion formers"