Download Marketing 333

Chapter 9 – Decision Support Systems and
Marketing Research
Marketing Decision Support
Systems
Decision
Support Systems
An interactive, flexible
computerized information
system that enables managers
to obtain and manipulate
information as they are making
decisions.
Marketing Decision Support
Systems
Database
Marketing
The creation of a large
computerized file of
customers’ and potential
customers’ profiles and
purchase patterns.
The key tool for successful
one-to-one marketing.
The Role of Marketing
Research
Marketing
Research
The process of planning,
collecting, and analyzing
data relevant to a
marketing decision.
Marketing Research Studies
Products
Uses
Advertising
Awareness
Prices
Familiarity
Packages
New concepts
Names and Logos
Traffic patterns
Services
Wants
Buying habits
Needs
Colors
Politics
The Role of Marketing
Research
Descriptive
 Gathering and presenting factual
statements
Diagnostic
 Explaining data
Predictive
 “What if?”
Uses of Market Research
Why marketing research?
 Improve quality of
decision making
 Trace problems
 Focus on keeping
existing customers
 Understand changes in
marketplace
1
Define
Problem
2
Plan Design/
Primary Data
3
5
6
7
Follow Up
Prepare/
Present
Report
Specify
Sampling
Procedure
4
Analyze
Data
The Marketing
Research Process
Collect
Data
Marketing Research
Marketing
Research
Problem
Determining what information is needed
and how that information can be
obtained efficiently and effectively.
Marketing
Research
Objective
The specific information needed
to solve a marketing research problem;
the objective should provide insightful
decision-making information.
Management
Decision
Problem
A broad-based problem that
requires marketing research in order
for managers to take proper actions.
Types of Data
 Secondary Data
 Previously collected and
assembled for some
purpose other than the
one at hand
 Primary Data
 Gathered and assembled
specifically for the
project at hand
Sources of Secondary Data
Internal Corporate Information
Government Agencies
Trade and Industry Associations
Business Periodicals
News Media
Secondary Research Data
 Advantages
 Less expensive than
primary data
 Obtained quickly
 Disadvantages
 May be too old
 May not be in the right
form
 May not be able to assess
accuracy
The New Age of Secondary Information:
The Internet
1
Analyze your topic
2
Test run a word or phrase in a search engine
3
Learn as you go and vary your approach
4
Don’t bog down in strategy that doesn’t work
5
Go back to earlier steps better informed
Planning the Research Design
Which research
questions
must be answered?
?
How will
the data
be analyzed?
How and when
will data be
gathered?
Primary Data
Primary
Data
Information collected for
the first time. Can be
used for solving the
particular problem under
investigation.
Advantages of Primary Data
 Answers a specific research question
 Data are current
 Source of data is known
 Secrecy can be maintained
Disadvantages of Primary Data

Expensive

“Piggybacking” may confuse respondents

Quality declines if interviews are lengthy

Reluctance to participate in lengthy
interviews
May take a long time to collect data

Primary Data Collection
Methods
 Surveys
 Observation studies
 Experiments
Survey Research
Survey Research
The most popular technique
for gathering primary data
in which a researcher
interacts with people to
obtain facts, opinions, and
attitudes.
Forms of Survey Research
In-Home Interviews
Mail Surveys
Mall Intercept Interviews
Executive Interviews
Telephone Interviews
Focus Groups
Forms of Survey Research
Mall Intercept
Interview
Executive Interview
Survey research method that
involves interviewing people
in the common areas of
shopping malls.
A type of survey that involves
interviewing businesspeople
at their offices concerning
industrial products or services.
Forms of Survey Research
Focus Groups
Seven to ten people who
participate in a group
discussion led by a
moderator.
Questionnaire Design
Open-Ended
Question
An interview question that encourages
an answer phrased in respondent’s
own words.
Closed-Ended
Question
An interview question that asks
the respondent to make a selection
from a limited list of responses.
ScaledResponse
Question
A closed-ended question
designed to measure the intensity
of a respondent’s answer.
Questionnaire Design
Clear and concise
No ambiguous language
Only one question
Unbiased
Reasonable terminology
http://www.createsurvey.com
Online
Observation Research
Observation
Research
A research method that relies on
three types of observation:
people
watching people
people watching an activity
machines watching people
Observational Situations
People
watching
people
People
watching
phenomena
Machines
watching
people
Machines
watching
phenomena
Mystery
shoppers in a
supermarket
Observer at
an
intersection
counting
traffic
Video
cameras
recording
behavior
Trafficcounting
machine
monitoring
traffic flow
Situation
Example
http://www.bmiltd.com
Online
Ethnographic Research
Ethnographic
Research
The study of human behavior
in its natural context; involves
observation of behavior and
physical setting.
Experiments
 “Laboratory”
experiments
 Test Markets
The Sampling Procedure
Sample
A subset from a large population.
Universe
The population from which
a sample will be drawn.
Types of Samples
Probability Samples
Non-Probability Samples
Simple Random
Sample
Convenience
Sample
Stratified
Sample
Judgment
Sample
Cluster
Sample
Quota
Sample
Systematic
Sample
Snowball
Sample
Types of Errors
Error when there is a difference
Measurement
between the information desired and the
Error
information provided by research
Sampling
Error
Error when a sample somehow does not
represent the target population.
Frame
Error
Error when a sample drawn from a
population differs from the
target population.
Random
Error
Error because the selected sample is
an imperfect representation of
the overall population.
Field Service Firms
Provide:
 Focus group facilities
 Mall intercept locations
 Test product storage
 Kitchen facilities
 Retail audits
Analyzing the Data
CrossTabulation
A method of analyzing data that
lets the analyst look at the
responses to one question in
relation to the responses to one
or more other questions.
Preparing and Presenting the
Report

Concise statement of the research
objectives

Explanation of research design

Summary of major findings

Conclusion with recommendations
Following Up
 Were the recommendations
followed?
 Was sufficient decision-making
information included in the report?
 What could have been done to make
the report more useful to
management?
Impact of the Internet

Allows better and faster decision making

Improves ability to respond quickly to
customer needs and market shifts

Makes follow-up studies and tracking
research easier

Slashes labor- and time-intensive research
activities and costs
Uses of the Internet by
Marketing Researchers
Administer surveys
Conduct focus groups
Other types of marketing research
http://www.greenfieldonline.com
Online
Internet Samples
Unrestricted
Internet
Sample
A survey in which anyone with
a computer and modem can fill out
the questionnaire.
Screened
Internet
Sample
An Internet sample with quotas based
on desired sample characteristics.
Recruited
Internet
Sample
A sample in which respondents
are prerecruited and must
qualify to participate.
Role of Blogs in Marketing
Research
 Refined technologies
allow companies to
mine data available in
Internet blogs.
 Companies can
identify the most
influential bloggers
and learn exactly what
they are saying (and
how they are saying
it).
Scanner-Based Research
A system for gathering
Scanner-based
Research
information from a single group
of respondents by continuously
monitoring the advertising,
promotion, and pricing they are
exposed to and the things they
buy.
BehaviorScan
InfoScan
Competitive Intelligence
Competitive
Intelligence
An intelligence system that
helps managers assess their
competition and vendors in
order to become more
efficient and effective
competitors.
Sources of Competitive
Intelligence
Internet
UCC Filings
Company Salespeople
Suppliers
Experts
Periodicals
CI Consultants
Yellow Pages
Government Agencies
Trade Shows