The Market Research Toolbox: A Concise Guide for Beginners Second Edition

I bought this book when my boss assigned me a market research task that could determine company direction. He gave me the task because of my past work with surveys and usability testing. I wasn't comfortable flying by the seat of my pants on this one -- determining company direction isn't the same as determining what people didn't like about a Help system you created or determining what does and doesn't work well in a computer program's user interface.

So I bought this book, and I'm glad I did. McQuarrie minced no words in explaining what market research is and what market research can and can't do for you. He next helped me determine the real goal for my research, and showed me what market-research tools are best suited for achieving that goal. He even told me what tools *not* to use. He did all this in the first 35 pages. The rest of the book describes the tools in the box. I only read the chapters about the tools relevant to my task. Within two hours, I had learned exactly what I needed to know for success -- no more, and no less.

I especially appreciate McQuarrie's writing style, which Strunk and White would call "vigorous." He packs a lot of information into very few words.

Take note: McQuarrie explains that his book will help you determine what tools you should use and tell you the basics of using the tool. However, he cautions that you should hire specialists to actually use the tools, because there is a lot of specialized knowledge behind successfully using each one. If you're determined to use these tools yourself, McQuarrie tells you what other books to read to get started.


a quick reference guide   June 28, 1999
34 out of 37 found this review helpful

A quick reference guide for all projects. It can be just a memory check for experienced people but is invaluable in terms of time and effort for the beginner


Great "toolbox" guide   December 11, 2000
Marc Butterfield (Omaha, NE USA)
21 out of 22 found this review helpful

This is a great book to provide a guide throughout any type of market research. I particularly found the section "Combining Research Techniques into Strategies" VERY helpful. It allows you to view a la carte what items you should be aware of when you are performing a certain type of research strategy (i.e., Market Segmentation). This is a "must have" for any type of Marketing or business professional!


A good overview   April 21, 2000
Eugene Koh (Torrance, CA United States)
23 out of 25 found this review helpful

Good conceptual overview. McQuarrie not only explains the distinction between exploratory and confirmatory market research; he also discusses which tools to use for each.

Tools discussed include secondary research, customer visits, focus groups, surveys, choice modeling, and experimentation. Although he doesn't provide much depth for each, he does provide a bibliography for further reference.


An essential entry-level guide to marketing research   October 15, 2006
D. Ogawa
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

"If you intend to execute a particular market research project yourself, you will certainly need to read more than this book - for the sake of brevity, this book won't go into a great deal of depth on any single technique, but will merely open the toolbox and explain its contents and application," states author Edward F. McQuarrie, who clearly sums up the purpose of this book in the preface.

This book gives a clear overview of different types of market research (secondary research, customer visits, focus groups, survey research, choice modeling, and experimentation), as well as related topics such as questionnaire design, probability sampling and data analysis. The units end with clear "Do's and Don'ts,' as well as very helpful lists of suggested readings for those interested in learning more about a particular area of research.

While I found this book extremely informative, I personally would have liked a few more examples to clearly illustrate some of the points. In any case, I recommend this book to marketers, who want to learn more about the benefits and limitations of marketing research techniques.