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INTERNATIONAL MARKETING 6e
Chapter 7
Building the Knowledge Base
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Defining the Issue
 What
is marketing research?
 Traditional view
• “the function that links the consumer, customer,
and public to the marketer through information”
 Redefined
view
• “systematic and objective identification of
information, collection, analysis and dissemination
of information for the purpose of improving
decision making related to the identification and
solution of problems and opportunities in
marketing”
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7-2
International versus Domestic Research
 Similar
but different
• International research involves the use of similar
tools and techniques as in domestic research, but
the market environments differ.
 The
•
•
•
•
primary differences
New parameters
New environments
Number of factors involved
Broader definition of
competition
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7-3
Recognizing the Need for Research
 Reasons
that executives may view
international research as unimportant:
• Lack of sensitivity to differences in consumer
tastes and preferences.
• Limited appreciation for the different marketing
environments abroad.
• Lack of familiarity with national and international
data sources and the inability to use them.
• Actual but limited business experience in a
country or with a specific firm may be used as a
substitute for organized research.
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7-4
The Benefits of Research
 V(dr)
- V(d) > C(r)
• V(dr) is the value of the decision with research
• V(d) is the value of decision without research
• C(r) is the cost of research
 Conduct
research if the value
of the decision with research
is greater than the value
of the decision without
research.
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7-5
Determining Research Objectives
 Research
objectives vary from firm to firm
because of the views of management, the
corporate mission, and the marketing
situation.
 Information needs are linked closely to the
level of international
expertise in the firm.
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7-6
Going International: Exporting
 Foreign-market
opportunity analysis
• Broad-brush approach to narrow down market
possibilities
• Cursory analysis of general market variablestotal and per capita GNP, mortality rates, and
population data
• Individual market data, product data,
market trends, and restrictions
• Consideration of
governmental restrictions
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7-7
Researching Foreign Market Potentials
Stage 1:
Preliminary Screening for Attractive Country Markets
Key Question:
Which Foreign Markets Warrant Detailed Investigation?
Stage 2:
Assessment of Industry Market Potential
Key Question:
What is Aggregate Demand for Each Warrant Selected?
Stage 3:
Company Sales Potential Analysis
Key Question:
How Attractive is the Potential Demand for Company
Products/Services?
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7-8
Going International: Importing
 Information
•
•
•
•
The reliability of a foreign supplier
Consistency of its product or service quality
Length of delivery time
Government rules and regulations
 Information
•
•
•
•
•
to know for importing:
needs for the importing decision:
Identify markets for desired supplies or materials
Reliability of a foreign supplier
Product or service quality
Length of delivery time
Government rules and regulations- foreign and
domestic
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7-9
Market Expansion Data Needs
 Detailed
information for penetrating a market
 Designing or fine-tuning the marketing mix
 Monitoring the political climate of a country.
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7-10
Secondary information requirements
 What
do you really need to know?
• Was sufficient research conducted to answer the
research question(s)?
• Is macro data sufficient or will micro data be
required to complete the market assessment and
selection?
• What market restraints are present ?
• Is knowledge of international accords required?
• Is specific product data necessary for marketing
mix determination?
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7-11
Evaluating Data
 Is
it appropriate to the task at hand?
 What is the quality of the data source?
 What is the quality of the data?
 How compatible and comparable are the data
to your problem?
 Are data categories comparable?
 Are there any societal implications of
obtaining data?
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7-15
The Primary Research Process
 Primary
research
• Conducted to fill specific information needs.
• Essential to strategic marketing plan formation.
• Useful in international market segmentation
 Determining
information requirements
• Formulate research questions to determine
precisely the information that is sought.
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7-17
The Primary Research Process… continued
 Industrial
versus consumer research
• Deciding whether to conduct research with
consumers or industrial users.
• Consumers are large in number and easy to
reach
• Industrial users are fewer in number and harder to
reach
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7-18
Determining Research Administration
 Centralized
• The research specifications are designed by the
home office and forwarded to country operations
for implementation.
 Coordinated
• An intermediary such as an outside research
agency brings headquarters and country
operations together.
 Decentralized
• Corporate headquarters establishes the broad
thrust of research and delegates design and
implementation to the local countries.
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7-19
Outside Research Services
 Deciding
factors in whether or not to use
outside research services
• The size of the firm’s international operations.
• The presence or absence of specialized expertise
in international marketing research in the firm
• The scale of the research to be conducted
• Quality of research versus its cost
 Choosing
a research firm
• Previous research experience
• General technical capabilities
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7-20
Determining the Research Technique
 Objectivity
requirements for the acquired data
• Standard collection techniques work best with
objective data. Subjective data collection takes
more effort to collect and interpret.
 Soft
data and hard data
• Subjective (soft) data from dealer interviews and
objective (hard) data from shipments, inventories,
and retail sales.
 Interviews
• Knowledge persons are a valuable information
resource (personal bias must be discounted).
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7-21
Determining the Research Technique
 Focus
groups
• Interaction within a group about a specific topic
can uncover hidden issues, perceptions,
emotions, and nonovert factors. Cultural
influences can restrict the usefulness of focus
groups.
 Observation
• Observation results can be influenced by
presence of the observer.
• Useful in understanding practices not captured in
or accessible to other research techniques.
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7-22
Determining the Research Technique
 Surveys
• Gather quantitative rather than qualitative
information through personal or remote contact
with the subject population.
• Can be difficult to conduct if method of contact
(eg.,telephone or mail) is unreliable or if cultural
influences bias response rates.
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7-23
Determining the Research Technique
 Survey
questionnaire design issues
• Question format
– Structured or unstructured
– Direct or indirect
– Ensure data equivalence
• Question content
– Consider interviewee’s ability and willingness to answer
– Adapt questions to societal constraints
• Question wording
– Use simple unambiguous words, terms and questions.
– Check for errors using translation-retranslation approach
and alternative wording for questions.
– Pretest the survey.
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7-24
Determining the Research Technique
 Presenting
research results
• Disseminate and communicate results clearly and
concisely to all interested and affected parties in
the organization.
 Follow-up
and review
• Check to determine if managerial decisions and
organizational actions are taken in recognition of
the findings of the research.
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7-25
The International Information System
 System
•
•
•
•
•
•
data must be:
Relevant
Timely
Flexible
Accurate
Exhaustive
Convenient
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