Marketing, Internet and Competitive Intelligence

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1. How has the Internet impacted marketing research? Time, cost, approaches and validity.

The Internet has impacted marketing research by being both time and cost efficient, and allowing for various approaches to data collection (e-mails, surveys, questionnaires, to name a few), and has demanded more stringent ethical standards for the marketing researchers (similar to other method of research, though) to protect the individuals involved in the research.

For example, opinion and marketing research conducted over the Internet must conform to the same standard rules and ethical principles outlined in Marketing Research Association's (MRA) Code of Data Collection Standards. In fact, in an age of globalization at many levels of business, it is the goal of MRA to assure that only legitimate opinion and marketing research is conducted on the Internet with full disclosure, respectful recruiting techniques, and consumer protection in accordance with MRA's Code of Data Collection Standards. (1)

Time and cost Marketing research can reach a large population of people in less time and cost than other types of marketing research. However, the very fact that the Internet is inexpensive to use and difficult to regulate means that it can be open to misuse by less experienced or less scrupulous organizations, often based outside the research industry. Any Internet surveys that fall below the high standards promoted by the MRA under the Code of Data Collection Standards and Recommended Best Business Practices will make it more difficult for legitimate researchers to use the Internet for research. Misuse of Internet opinion and marketing research could seriously damage the credibility of legitimate opinion and marketing research and is an abuse of the goodwill of Internet respondents and users in general. ...