Last year I completed the Mark Ritson MiniMBA in Marketing. The course is typically geared towards marketing executives, offering formal training in a discipline many haven’t formally studied. For me, as a researcher, it was an opportunity to lift the lid and find out how modern-day marketers are being trained to think, what they are being told really matters, and where research sits within that system.
Throughout the course, Mark broke down the core aspects of marketing and repeatedly emphasised that marketing is far more than just advertising and comms. In fact, comms represents only a small part of what marketers should understand and be involved in.
Mark demonstrates how the other three Marketings Ps (Product, Price and Place) are just as important. Even more important, however, is how you arrive at those tactical decisions in the first place; through understanding the market, defining their audience and designing a coherent strategy. One of the vital steps in that journey is Market Research.
Market Research is one of the ten modules on the course - a whole week dedicated to the discipline. It goes beyond simply explaining qualitative and quantitative methods. Instead, it explores how research illuminates decision-making: how different methods generate different types of insight, for different needs, at different stages of the marketing cycle.
Mark shares how a well-designed survey can deliver far more than answers to individual questions. When structured effectively, the data can be used to understand broader issues such as market sizing, competitor comparisons and identifying gaps within the sales funnel.
He speaks enthusiastically about the value of ethnography, getting close to customers in their own environments, to properly understand their habits and behaviours. He emphasises the importance of group discussions to unpick positioning, stress-test strategy and evolve ideas into something stronger and more relevant. He also highlights how research with loyal customers can uncover new uses, associations and strengths of a brand; often people use products in ways brands themselves have not fully recognised.
More importantly, Mark speaks about qual and quant as complementary forces, yin and yang. One feeds the other. What one reveals, the other can validate. Together, they create a more complete and reliable foundation for strategic change.
The implication is clear. If marketing is about making informed choices across Product, Price and Place, then research underpins those choices. Without it, strategy risks being shaped by assumption. With it, organisations are better equipped to understand their market, identify opportunities for growth and make confident decisions about where and how to compete.
It is encouraging to see such a strong advocate for research within mainstream marketing education. At The Nursery, we share the view that research is not a bolt-on, but a core driver of clarity and change. We learn far more about people’s world, and the brands that occupy them, by engaging in the right way, with the right approach and by asking the right questions.
The Nursery have a whole host of methods to illuminate insights about your brand, across all stages of the marketing cycle. From real life stories to youth research to friendship pairs.
To find out more, get in touch with us at hello@the-nursery.net