How to develop a research plan

What does this guide cover?

This guide provides a general non-technical introduction to the marketing research planning process for staff within arts organisations. It covers a number of questions that need to be answered when putting together a research plan.

Who is this guide for?

This guide is aimed at those people who work within arts organisations who have limited experience in conducting marketing research and who want to gain a general overview of the planning process.

What is marketing research?

In practice, the terms Market Research and Marketing Research are often interchanged and used as substitutes for one another. However, there is a technical difference between the two terms in so far as Market Research is concerned specifically with research about markets (e.g. audiences, suppliers, competitors), whereas Marketing Research covers a much broader range of activities and is concerned with research into the marketing process (communications activity, branding, pricing, retail and/or exhibitions and events programmes as well as audience trends).

Basically, Marketing Research should be thought of as the systematic process of collecting, analysing and presenting objective, useful marketing information to assist management in decision-making. It should help marketers to identify, service, and satisfy the needs and desires of their audiences and will cover information collected from sources both inside and outside the organisation.

Download the guide to read more:
How to develop a research plan (PDF)