Final answer:
Marketing research is the systematic process of gathering, recording, and analyzing market-related data, which includes understanding customer behavior and market trends to inform business decisions. Methods like surveys, interviews, and field research are commonly used. It helps in optimizing marketing strategies and making informed business decisions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Marketing research is defined as the process of systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing data about customers, competitors, and the market. This suggests that the correct definition in the provided options is 1) The process of systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing data about customers, competitors, and the market. To elaborate, marketing research involves various methodologies and tools to collect data, such as surveys, interviews, observation, and field research. The purpose of this extensive research is to understand consumer behavior, evaluate market trends, and ultimately inform business decisions. Sociological research provides an example of the complexity and rigorous nature of scientific research methods which are also applicable in the realm of marketing research. Moreover, marketing geography is a specialized area where business geographers utilize marketing research for identifying customer demographics and optimizing marketing strategies.
In the context of marketing, companies may conduct surveys to acquire information on customer demographics, like the electronic chain store mentioned wanting to learn about their customers' ages. Librarians might use tally sheets to ascertain the proportion of books checked out by children versus adults, while political parties might conduct telephone polls to gauge voter reactions to debates. These instances exemplify how data collection through research methods plays a critical role in marketing strategy.