Is it Research? Or is it an Experiment?

Is there really a difference between conducting a research survey and conducting an experiment? When you think of it the purpose of doing a survey is really just to test a theory or to find out and gather information and details that you didn’t have before to help you support a question or a topic. The same can be said about an experiment. The purpose of an experiment is to essentially test a theory in order to solve a problem or a topic. So what’s the difference between a marketing survey and a marketing experiment, or is there really no difference at all?

What exactly is a market research survey?

To keep it simple market research survey is used to help marketers determine what is best for their company by using consumers to solve their marketing problems. It allows for marketers to learn everything they can about their customers, their thoughts, feelings, likes, dislikes, what they value, etc… in order to match products/services to the right customer groups and ask the necessary questions in order to help the business continue to be successful. Surveys can be conducted through various methods like online, in-person, through the mail etc…. Surveys are an effective tool for marketers to use when trying to figure out how the customer feels or sees things. You’re not manipulating any aspect of anything, you’re simply just asking questions.

What is a marketing experiment?

When you think of a marketing experiment, some might imagine a marketer sitting in a clean sterile laboratory with test tubes, microscopes, and other equipment around them trying to solve the next big problem, but it’s not really like that. A marketing experiment is

figuring out cause and effect essentially. As a marketer you’re trying to figure out if you change an aspect of a product, an ad, the price, etc… what will happen. Market research is typically done after the product is launched or actively in the market in order to see what improvement(s) or changes that are being measured, if any will work. Whether they’re conducted in a lab or in the field depending on exactly what they want to test experiments are great when trying to determine the cause-and-effect relationship of why something may be happening or what’s going on.