Download Marketing Research

Turning Marketing Information
into Action:
Marketing Research
Chapter 8
Marketing Research Defined:
• Marketing Research is a process of:
– Defining a marketing problem or opportunity,
– Systematically collecting,
– And analyzing the data,
– Recommending actions based on the research,
– with the intent to make the organization better
off.
Why Conduct Marketing Research:
• Mainly to reduce RISK and reduce
UNCERTAINTY.
• Marketing Research is Most Valuable when:
• There is a great deal of uncertainty
• There are sever consequences to a given set of actions.
• There are several apparently equally viable alternatives
to a problem.
Good, Reliable Marketing Research
is Difficult:
• Respondents to questions on product or Idea may not be
familiar it, may not have given it any thought and as a result
give a uneducated response that is misleading to researchers.
• Respondents may not give answers to certain questions,
preferring to keep their opinions to themselves.
• Respondents may say they would like to buy a product service
or idea, however when time comes to buy, they may choose
not to.
Key Research Terminology
• Research must be:
– A) Reliable - Research results should reflect the
true nature of what is being measures. You
should be able to repeat a reliable experimental
method and get similar results each time.
– B) Valid - The research measures what it is
designed to measure.
Types of Marketing Research
• Ask yourself: What is the nature of the
problem?
– Is this a first time problem or unfamiliar problem? (Use
Exploratory Research)
– Are we trying to find out about the basic characteristics of
the population or to profile particular marketing
situations? (Use Descriptive research)
– Are we trying to link the establish a “cause and effect”
relationship in a marketing situation? (Use Causal
Research)
Types of Marketing Research
(Exploratory Research)
– If you are looking at a research problem that is highly
unusual, unfamiliar and difficult to understand it is
essential to get a ‘handle’ on the issues surrounding the
problem first – before doing specific research.
– Research conducted to clarify the scope and the nature of
the problem is known as Exploratory Research.
• You have been asked to determine the needs of a group of
African immigrants in the town of St. Anthony.
– Possible Exploratory Research questions – Where is St. Anthony? How many
and what services are available in St. Anthony? What are these people
doing – what are their needs?
Types of Marketing Research
(Descriptive Research)
– If you are looking at a research problem that has specific
characteristics – what are these characteristics?
– Research conducted to describe the basic characteristics of
a given population is known as Descriptive Research.
• You have been asked to determine the ‘typical shopper’ for
Mercer’s Marine in Clarenville.
– Possible Descriptive Research questions – Gender?, Age?, Hometown?,
Fisherperson?, Recreational Boater?
Types of Marketing Research (Causal
Research)
– If you are looking at a research problem that we feel has a
relationship between two or more variables – one variable
influences another?
– Research designed to identify cause-and-effect
relationships among variables. Normally Descriptive
Research is only done after Exploratory and Descriptive
Research is conducted.
• You have been asked to determine if there is a relationship
between the opening of the recreational food fishery and sales at
Mercer’s Marine in Clarenville.
The Basic Marketing Research Process
Step 1 - Problem Definition
Exploratory Research?
Secondary Data?
Depth Interviews?
Focus
Groups?
Step 2 – Formalize Research Design
Survey?
Experiment?
Probability or Non Probability Sampling?
Step 3 - Data Collection and Analysis
Step 4 - Communication of Conclusions
Observation?
The Marketing Research Process (1)
• Define the Problem or Marketing
Opportunity.
– Separate symptoms from problems
– Problems spur questions.
The Basic Marketing Research Process
Step 1 - Problem Definition
Exploratory Research?
Secondary Data?
Depth Interviews?
Focus
Groups?
Step 2 – Formalize Research Design
Survey?
Experiment?
Probability or Non Probability Sampling?
Step 3 - Data Collection and Analysis
Step 4 - Communication of Conclusions
Observation?
The Marketing Research Process
• Do Initial Research.(Page 1 of 2)
– Find out about the issues involved?
• This is the exploratory research stage where you
casually and informally seek out information on
answering the problem. This information may come
from internal sources or external sources.
The Marketing Research Process
• Do Initial Research .(Page 2 of 2)
– Sources of Exploratory Data
• Secondary Data Analysis: use existing data the others have
collected or you have collected for other purposes.
Secondary data may come from internal or external sources.
• Focus Groups (Primary Data)
– Informal interview sessions with 6-10 people
• Depth Interviews (Primary Data)
– Detailed interviews with people relevant to the research process
The Basic Marketing Research Process
Step 1 - Problem Definition
Exploratory Research?
Secondary Data?
Depth Interviews?
Focus
Groups?
Step 2 – Formalize Research Design
Survey?
Experiment?
Probability or Non Probability Sampling?
Step 3 - Data Collection and Analysis
Step 4 - Communication of Conclusions
Observation?
The Marketing Research Process
• Formalize Research Design.
– Once you have defined the problem and completed your
initial research you move to collect specific data on the
problem at hand -- this is Primary Data gathering.
– Ways to collect Primary Data
• Sampling - note the different types of sampling.
• Qualitative Research - interviews, focus groups
• Quantitative Research - Observation, surveys and experiments.
The Basic Marketing Research Process
Step 1 - Problem Definition
Exploratory Research?
Secondary Data?
Depth Interviews?
Focus
Groups?
Step 2 – Formalize Research Design
Survey?
Experiment?
Probability or Non Probability Sampling?
Step 3 - Data Collection and Analysis
Step 4 - Communication of Conclusions
Observation?
The Marketing Research Process
• Surveys
– Note the various advantages and disadvantages of
telephone, personal and mail surveys.
– Note problem questions Note the different question
types:
• Open Ended - fill in
• Closed Ended - dichotomous, semantic differential, Likert
scale
– Sampling – probability and non-probability samples
The Marketing Research Process
• Experiments
– Hypothesis - A statement to be proven true or
false. E.g. More ice cream is sold when it is hot.
– Independent Variable - The one you manipulate the Cause variable. E.g. the temperature.
– Dependent Variable - The variable that depends
on the independent. E.g. How many ice cream
sold
The Marketing Research Process
• Observation
– Observation involves watching, either
mechanically or in person, how people behave.
• For an example of mechanical observation see
• www.facebook.com/clarenvillecampus
The Basic Marketing Research Process
Step 1 - Problem Definition
Exploratory Research?
Secondary Data?
Depth Interviews?
Focus
Groups?
Step 2 – Formalize Research Design
Survey?
Experiment?
Probability or Non Probability Sampling?
Step 3 - Data Collection and Analysis
Step 4 - Communication of Conclusions
Observation?
The Marketing Research Process
• Data Collection - Analysis and
Interpretation
– Once the data is gathered, it must be analyzed in
order to yield useful information, that can be then
acted on.
The Basic Marketing Research Process
Step 1 - Problem Definition
Exploratory Research?
Secondary Data?
Depth Interviews?
Focus
Groups?
Step 2 – Formalize Research Design
Survey?
Experiment?
Probability or Non
Probability Sampling?
Step 3 - Data Collection and Analysis
Step 4 - Communication of Conclusions
Observation?
The Marketing Research Process
• Communication of the Conclusions
– Ensure a clear and concise presentation.
– For the report to be effective at resolving the
problem researched, management must be
committed to act on the results of the research.
– Implemented actions must be monitored
– Ongoing research
– Ethical considerations