You may be a marketing student or you may be a brand or product manager but the requirement is still the same, you need to write a marketing research proposal either as an assignment or to support your brand or product. So how do you go about writing an effective marketing research proposal that will impress your tutor or persuade your boss to give you the funds to do the research you need?
Start with a Brief Introduction
You should briefly describe the contents of your proposal document and what you expect the reader to do as a result of reading it. Two or three sentences at most will do.
For example if your marketing research proposal is for the pre-testing of advertising to support a new product launch your introduction may be like this…
This document outlines a rationale for carrying out marketing research into consumer reaction to a series of possible advertisements targeted at the consumer group for XYZ product. Approval of this proposal will enable the funds to be allocated to implement this research which will guide the future advertising production process that will be necessary to support the launch of XYZ product.
Give a Well Defined Objective
What is the purpose of your research? What are you hoping to find out as a result of carrying out the research?
Continuing with example used in the introduction your objective may read like this “To test up to six newspaper advertisement concepts for XYZ product with groups of consumers matched to the profile of the potential buyers of XYZ product”.
Nature of the Research
Remember, your marketing research proposal may be read by someone that is not familiar with the process of marketing research so you need to say clearly what the research will look like… “Groups of consumers will be shown advertising concepts finished to a high level and placed within relevant media i.e. daily upmarket newspapers and monthly magazines to test their reaction. The testing will be in the form of group discussions led by a trained moderator“.
Target Customers
Who are the people who might be in the market for XYZ product? What do they look like in demographic terms? What sex are they? What age profile are they likely to be? Where do they live? What is their marital/family status likely to be? You need to define the audience clearly in your marketing research proposal so that the correct samples are recruited for the actual research.
Budget
How much will the research cost? What does the budget cover, just the research or does it include the cost of producing the advertising concepts as well? Is there any contingency in case the results are not conclusive and you need to carry out further research?
So, you now have a template for how to write a marketing research proposal. Follow this structure and you will be able to produce an effective and persuasive document.
It can be helpful to see how other students have dealt with marketing research proposals by looking at examples. Try, for example, EssaySauce.com which is a free resource.