It’s always interesting to get different viewpoints and perceptions on the discipline of marketing. People often ask me ”what is marketing?”, while providing their viewpoints. Sales and advertising are two elements that come to mind, which makes perfect sense when you consider the average consumer’s interaction with brands.

There are a wide variety of aspects and activities that can be deployed when executing marketing initiatives, particularly in business to business (B2B) environments. Perhaps one of the least acknowledged and undervalued capabilities is market research, which assists in developing deeper insights on the opportunities that can present themselves in different markets.

Investigating a variety of data and research reports will reveal the market conditions and opportunities for growth. For example, many industry sectors in Australia are predicted to remain flat in the foreseeable future, while markets in China and South East Asia are experiencing significant growth fuelled by a growing middle-class of consumers. Australia is well positioned to take advantage of the situation, we are in close geographical proximity and have a solid reputation for quality raw materials and finished products.

Exploring deeper, further analysis helps to quantify opportunities in discrete product categories, which can then be matched to capabilities of the organisation. You may have existing products in your portfolio that can immediately slot into a growing category, or may simply require minor alterations such as packaging. Other products could be reformulated or re-engineered to meet export market and consumer needs, or you can start from scratch and develop new products or services using current expertise and intellectual property.

While this all sounds like common sense, you may be surprised to find that many organisations tend to skip this step of the marketing planning process, or only undertake research on an as-needs basis.

So, if you are looking to develop a new marketing plan, or you’ve set yourself the task of identify opportunities for growth, start from the beginning and do your research.