marketing research

sometimes i use to wonder why market research is so important why cant a service sector for eg hotel goes by its gut feeling ...i use to think market research  is a waste of time but i what hit me as a reality was something different knowing the choice and needs of your target customers is much better than just going by your gut feeling there are contradictions that market research increases your cost but sometimes it may be the other way round sometimes you feel a particular feature will be loved by the consumer like including video stations in a coffee bar ,but actually people visit a coffee bar for conversation whereas playing video station will be least preferred  thus your gut feeling going completely against you idea of coffee bar meant for a conversation this is the impact of market research it sometimes helps to reduce unnecessary cost which would have been incurred if gone through our gut feeling....i dont completely contradict gut feel as sometime customer dont know themselves what they need and we marketeer are responsible for creating the need but a blend of both is a win win combination