Marketing Research

when should you conduct marketing research

when management faces great risk and uncertainty

focus groups and qualitative services

provide facilities and recruit respondents for focus groups and other forms of qualitative research, such as one-on-one depth interviews

uncontrollable environmental factors

-economy -technology -competition -laws and regulations -social and cultural factors -political factors

broad statement of the problem and specific components of the problem

-focus on the key aspects and provide clear guidelines on how to proceed further,avoiding the first type of error -to minimize the possibility of a wrong decision due to an incorrect definition of the marketing research problem, the researcher should adopt this: 1) the marketing research problem is stated in broad, general terms, then reduced to specific terms

opening vignette

-importance of defining the problem -the process of defining the problem and developing and approach -tasks involved -discussions with dm-problem audit, interviews with experts, secondary data analysis, qualitative research -environmental context of the problem -management-decision problem -definition of the marketing research problem -approach to the problem -analytical framework and models, research questions and hypothesis, specification of information needed application to contemporary issues international, social media, ethics

marketing research process

1) defining the problem 2) developing an approach to the problem: includes formulating an analytical framework and models, research questions, and hypotheses 3)formulating a research design: framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project 4) doing fieldwork or collecting data: data collection is accomplished using a staff that operates in the field. 5) preparing and analyzing data: this includes the editing, coding, and transcribing of collected data 6) preparing and presenting the report: the entire project should be documented in a written report that addresses the specific research questions; describes the approach, the research design, data collection, and data analysis procedures, and presents the results and the major findings

The two broad forms of marketing research

1) research designed to identify problems 2) research designed to solve problems

international marketing research

Heinz example -difficulty in defining the problem: problem audit not conducted prior to entering foreign market, relevant environmental and behavior factors not taken into account -the researcher must be sensitive to underlying factors that influence consumption and purchase behavior or it will lead to an incorrect definition of the marketing research problem and an inappropriate approach

focus of the dm

SYMPTOMS: loss of market share FOCUS OF THE RESEARCHER: superior promotion by competition, inadequate distribution of company's products, lower product quality, price undercutting by a major competitor

theory

a conceptual scheme based on foundational statements, which are assumed to be true (axioms)

defining the marketing research problem

a general guideline for defining the research problem is that the definition should.. -allow the researcher to obtain all the information needed to address the management-decision problem -guide the researcher in proceeding with the project. researchers often err by defining the research problem either too broadly or too narrowly :focusing the problem definition too narrowly can be a serious flaw. might inhibit a full examination of plausible option, particularly innovative ones -the narrow focus on pricing alone leaves out other possible responses -a narrow definition of the problem could also lead to restrictive sampling, erroneous conclusions

conceptual map

a way to link the broad statement of the marketing research problem with the management decision problem 1) management wants to... 2) therefore, we should study... 3) so that we can explain....

components of approach

an approach to a marketing research problem should include the following components: analytical framework and models, research questions and hypotheses, and a specification of the information needed

analytical model

an explicit specification of a set of variables and their interrelationships designed to represent some real system or process in whole or in part -verbal, graphical, mathematical

problem defintion

analysis of social media can facilitate problem definition as well as an approach to the problem -insight on objectives, identify industry experts, natural source of qualitative secondary data and qualitative research -gain an understanding of the environmental context of the problem -environmental changes and their efforts/ just environmental context

mathematical models

analytical models that explicitly describe the relationships between variables, usually in equation form

graphical models

analytical models that provide a visual picture of the relationship between variables

verbal models

analytical models that provide a written representation of the relationships between variables

economic environment

another component of the environmental context -composed of purchasing power, gross income, disposable income, discretionary income, prices, savings, credit availability, and general economic conditions -the general state of the economy influences the willingness of consumers and businesses to take on credit and spend on big-ticket items -economic environment can have important implications for marketing research problems -a firm's marketing and technological skills greatly influence which marketing programs and strategies can be implemented -however, if the company is able to capitalize on its marketing and technological skills, its products and new introductions are more likely to succeed -a good understanding of the environmental context of the problem enables the researcher to appropriately define the problem -many of the factors to be considered in determining the environmental context can be researched via Internet -environmental context of the problem allows the researcher to define both the management-decision problem and the marketing research problem

marketing research problem

asks what info is needed and how it can best be obtained

management-decision problem

asks what the decision maker needs to do -action oriented -problem focuses on the symptoms, whereas the marketing research problem is concerned with the underlying causes

marketing research bubbles

assessing information needs marketing decision making providing information

a single marketing research project requires which of the following

both problem-identification and problem-solving

conclusive in depth

can either be descriptive or casual to test specific hypothesis and examine relationships information needed is clearly defined research process is formal and structured sample is large and representative data analysis is quantitative results: conclusive outcome: findings used as input into decision making

MIS and DSS

can greatly improve decision making by enabling management to access a wide range of information. and advanced form of DSS, called expert systems, sues artificial intelligence procedures to incorporate expert judgement. In addition to crunching numbers and storing and restoring and retrieving information, these systems are programmed to reason and make inferences

buyer behavior

central component of the environment includes the underlying motives, perceptions, attitudes, buying habits, and demographic and psychographic profiles of buyers an potential buyers

field services

collect data some field service organizations maintain extensive interviewing facilities across the country for interviewing shoppers in malls. many offer qualitative data collection services, such as focus-group interviewing

syndicated services

companies that collect and sell common pools of data designed to serve information needs that are shared by a number of clients. These data are collected primarily through surveys, purchase and media panels, scanners, and audits

specification of information needed

component 1) needs operationalized in terms of the attributes of the features desired 2) evaluation 3) no new info 4) no new info 5) standard demographic and psychographic characteristics

exploratory research

conducted to explore the problem situation to gain ideas and insight into the problem confronting the management or the researcher -might be used when management realizes a problem exists but does not understand why -it is dangerous when exploratory research is the only step taken toward developing a solution

market research industry

consists of suppliers who provide marketing research services

customer groups

consumers employees channel members suppliers

secondary data

data collected for some purpose other than the problem at hand, available from trade organizations, the Census, and the Internet -info made available by business and government sources, commercial marketing research firms, and computerized databases. secondary data are an economical and quick source of background information -analyzing available secondary data is an essential step in the problem-definition process and should always precede primary data collection. -secondary data can provide valuable insights into the problem situation and lead to the identification of innovative courses of action

conclusive research

descriptive or casual

Decision support systems

developed to overcome the limitations of MIS built in flexibility that allows decision makers to interact directly with databases and analysis models. -includes hardware, a communications network, a database, a model base, a software base, and the DSS user (decision maker) who collects and interprets information for decision making -Decision support systems differ from MIS in that they combine the models and analytic techniques of traditional marketing research with the easy access and retrieval of MIS. Well-designed DSS adapt to the decison-making needs of the user with easy interactive processes DSS can also enhance decision-making effectiveness by using "what-if" analysis

tasks involved in problem defintion

discussions with the decision makers, interviews with industry experts, analysis of secondary data, and qualitative research. the purpose of performing these tasks is to obtain information on the environmental factors that are relevant to the problem and to help define the management decision problem and the corresponding marketing research problem, as well as the develop an approach

NOs? Then don't conduct marketing research YES? Then conduct marketing research

does the management have a positive attitude toward research? are enough resources available to collect additional information and implement the findings? is additional information needed to make the decision? is the decision of strategic or tactical importance? does the value of additional information exceed the cost of research

a firm without an internal marketing research department or specialists

forced to rely on external, full-service suppliers a firm with an internal marketing research staff will make use of both full and limited service suppliers. the need for external suppliers arises when the firm does not have the resources or the technical expertise to undertake certain phases of a particular project

problem-identification research

involves going below the surface to identify the underlying problem that the marketing manager is facing. Often these problems are not readily apparent or they are likely to arise in the future. Problem-identification research can be designed to analyze market potential, market share, brand or company image, market characteristics, and sales. It can also be used in short-range forecasting, long-range forecasting, and uncovering business trends

if management has good intuition and judgement, marketing research may not be necessary

false

marketing research departments are often isolated, so a mutual understanding with other functions of the organization is not necessary

false

a marketing information system

formalized set of procedures for generating, analyzing, storing, and distributing information to marketing decision makers on an ongoing basis. Such systems are differentiated from marketing research in that they are continuously available designed to complement the decision maker's responsibilities, style, and information needs. The power of a MIS is in the access it gives managers to vast amounts of information, combining production, invoice, and billing information with marketing intelligence, including marketing research, into a centralized data warehouse. MIS offer the potential of much more information than can be obtained from ad hoc marketing research projects. However, that potential often is not achieved when the information is structure so rigidly that it cannot be easily manipulated

ethics in marketing research

four stakeholders: the marketing researcher, the client, the respondent, the public - the behavior of the stakeholders should be guided by the code of conduct. several organizations including the marketing research association (MRA) and american marketing association (AMA) provide codes in the area of ethical research behavior

problem audit

helps to identify the underlying causes of a problem; a comprehensive examination of a marketing problem to understand it's origin and nature 1) the history of the problem 2) the alternative courses of action available to the decision maker- the set of alternatives might be incomplete at this stage, the qualitative research might be needed to identify the more innovative courses of action 3) the criteria that will be used to evaluate the alternative courses of action: new product offerings might be evaluated on the basis of sales, market share, profitability, return on investment, and so forth 4) the nature of potential actions that are likely to be suggested based on the research findings 5) the info that is needed to answer the decision maker's questions 6) the manner in which the decision maker will use each item of info in making the decision 7) the corporate culture as it relates to decision making: the decision making process is dominant in some firms, in others the personality of the decision maker is more important ESSENTIAL -this is because most decision makers focus on the symptoms of a problem rather than its causes research that adds value goes beyond the symptoms to address the underlying causes

competitive intelligence does not involve which of the following

illegal activity

internet services

including social media research

application to contemporary issues

international social media ethics

key-informant technique

interviews with people knowledgeable about the general topic being investigated

experience survey

interviews with people knowledgeable about the general topic being investigated -expert interviews are more commonly used in industrial rather than consumer-research applicaitons -newgroups search for postings about topic of interest -surveying postings is great for making contacts with the experts in a particular industry

case studies

involve an intensive examination of a few selected cases of the phenomenon of interest

fieldwork

involves personal, telephone, mail, or electronic interviewing. Proper selection, training, supervision, and evaluation of the field force are essential to ensure high-quality data collection.

problem definition

is the most important step in research project stating the general problem and identifying the specific components of the marketing research problem

discussions with decision makers

it is essential that the researcher understand the nature of the decision faced by the firm's managers- the management decision problem- as well as the management's expectations of the research. opportunity to establish achievable expectations the decision maker needs to understand the capabilities, as well as the limitations, of the research research does not provide automatic solutions to problems, rather it serves as an additional source of information that the manager should consider in the decision making process all individuals responsible for resolving the marketing problem should be consulted in this early phase of the project. the quality of the project will be dramatically improved when the researcher is given the opportunity to interact directly with the key decision makers

marketing managers

market segmentation target market segmentation market programs performance and control

internal supplier

marketing research department within the firm -can be found in large organizations across a wide range of industries (at the corporate headquarters, this one marketing research department caters to all of the firm's research needs) (for smaller and decentralized firms that operate independent divisions, the market research function is distributed among the separate divisions -the recent trend has been toward centralization and a trimming of internal marketing research staff

problem identifcation

more common of the two forms of research and is undertaken by virtually all marketing firms -this type of research is used to assess the environment and diagnose problems

marketing research obtains its value from

objectivity

customized services

offer a wide variety of marketing research services customized to suit a client's specific needs. Each marketing research project is designed to meet the client's unique needs

technical and analytical services

offered by firms that specialize in design issues and computer analysis of quantitative data, such as those obtained in large surveys

problem-solving research

once a problem or opportunity has been identified, this is used to address the problem -problem-solving research addresses many topics, including market segmentation and product, pricing, promotion, and distribution

full-service suppliers

one of two of the external supplier options offer the entire range of marketing research services, from problem definition, approach development, questionnaire design, sampling, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation to report preparation and presentation further broken down into syndicated services, customized services, and Internet/social media services

primary data

originated by the researcher for the specific problem under study

external suppliers

outside firms hired to supply marketing research services -range in size from one-person shops to multinational corporations many external suppliers form strategic alliances with other firm's in the marketing research industry. These alliances enable participating firms to access each other's expertise and resources

problem acronym

past information and forecasts resources and constraints objectives of the decision maker buyer behavior legal environment economic environment marketing and technological skills

ethics in marketing research

personal interests or hidden agendas the client should be forthright in disclosing the relevant objectives and the purpose for which the research is being undertaken

environmental context of the problem

play an important role in defining the marketing research problem -these factors consist of past information and forecasts pertaining to the industry and firm, the firm's resources and constraints, decision maker's objectives, buyer behavior, the legal environment, the economic environment, and the firm's marketing and technological skills

controllable marketing variables

product pricing promotion distribution

pas info and forecasts

provide the researcher with a fuller picture of the underlying marketing research problem. not only should the firm's performance and projections be analyzed, but the firm's performance relative to the overall industry should be examined as well -valuable in uncovering potential opportunities and problems -past info and forecasts can be especially valuable if resources are limited and there are other constraints on the organization

legal environment

public policies, laws, government agencies, pressure groups that influence and regulate various organizations and individuals in society federal regulation and deregulation has had a huge impact on the marketing process in many industries must be taken into account by the researcher

research

recognition of information needs effective decision making systematic and objective exodus/dissemination of information analysis of information recommendations for action collection of information helpful to managers

research question

refined statements of the specific components of the problem -formulation should be guided by the problem definition and analytical framework

conclusive research

research designed to assist the decision maker in determining, evaluating, and selecting the best course of action in a given situation. can be used to verify the insights gained from exploratory research based on the assumption that the researcher has an accurate understanding of the problem at hand

approach to the problem in social media

researchers can update consumers and receive feedback if they're off -aided through the use of social media tools because they allow researchers to customize their interaction with each groups of consumers by selectivity choosing the platform on which to interact

MRA's ethical guidelines

respondent cooperation should be voluntary researcher's identity should be disclosed to respondents respondent's rights to anonymity should be safeguard privacy policy statements should be posted online data security should be maintained reliability and validity of findings should be disclosed to the public researchers interviewing minors should adhere to the children's online privacy protection act unsolicited e-mail should not be sent to those requesting not to receive any further e-mail

research design

roadmap for conducting the marketing research project; the framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project that specifies the procedures necessary to obtain the information needed to structure and/or solve the marketing research problem -begins by defining the marketing research problem

marketing research and social media

social media embodies social computing tools commonly referred to as Web 2.0. These are Web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web -social media are marked by user-generated content that is blurring the distinction between professional and amateur content. Key social interactions develop around the user-generated content marketing researchers can make use of these new social networks, and the open-source social computing tools from which they are built, to extend the boundaries of our research offerings social media are without limitations expectations about objectivity among bloggers and other social media users are lower. Social media users may not be representative of the target population in many marketing research applications. Social media as a source of samples suffers from at least two biases: first from self-selection in that the respondents can self-select themselves in the sample, and second from advocacy

limited service suppliers

specialize in one or a few steps of the marketing research process. limited-service suppliers specialize in field services, focus groups, and qualitative research, technical and analytical services, and other services

MIS

structured problems use of reports information displaying restricted can improve decision making by clarifying new data

lead-user survey

surveys that involve obtaining info from the lead users of the technology

Marketing Research

systematic (follows a predictable path) and objective identification, collection, analysis, dissemination, and use of information that is undertaken to improve decision making related to identifying and solving problems in marketing

resource constraints and objectives

take into account the resources available, such as money, research skills, and operational capabilities, operational and time constraints

pilot surveys

tend to be less structured than large-scale surveys in that they generally contain more open-ended questions and the sample size is much smaller

marketing research world wide

the United States accounts for about 40%, Western Europe 40%, and 10% Japan

selecting a research supplier

the first step involves compiling a list of prospective suppliers from trade publications, professional directories, Internet sources, and personal contacts Ask yourself: what's the supplier's rep? does the firm complete projects on time? is it flexible? is it known for maintaining ethical standards? are its research projects of high quality? what kind and how much experience does the supplier have? has the firm had experience with projects similar? do the supplier's personnel have both technical and nontechnical expertise? Professional Researcher Certification from the MRA? Has the firm formed any strategic alliances? what resources does it have access to? COMPATIBLE WORKING RELATIONSHIPS ADN GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS CAN BECOME PRIMARY CONSIDERATIONS WHEN HIRING AN OUTSIDE FIRM

client

the individual or organization commissioning the research might be an internal person might be an external entity if the research is being conducted by a marketing research firm -inappropriate problem definition is one of the major sources of failure in marketing research

secondary data analysis

the information that researchers obtain from decision makers and industry experts should be supplemented with available secondary data

problem-decision process

the process of defining the management-decision problem and the marketing research problem

competitive intelligence

the process of enhancing marketplace competitiveness through a greater understanding of a firm's competitors and the competitive environment. This process is unequivocally ethical. It involves the legal collection and analysis of information regarding the capabilities, vulnerabilities, and intentions of business competitors, conducted by using information databases and other "open sources" and through ethical marketing research inquiry. A heads-up on a new product, information on a rival's costs and prices, and a read on an ally's changing distribution strategy are a few examples

resources

time and money are always limited -it is better to forego a formal project than to undertake one in which the integrity of the research is compromised because of lack of resources -if the decision to be made is not of strategic or tactical importance, marketing research may not be warranted. In general, marketing research should be undertaken when the expected value of information it generates exceeds the costs of conducting the marketing research project. The more important the decision confronting management and the greater the uncertainty or risk-facing them, the greater the value of information obtained

the task of marketing research

to assess the information needs and provide management with relevant, accurate, and reliable, valid, and current information to aid marketing decision making companies use marketing research to stay competitive and to avoid high costs associated with making poor decisions based on unsound information

major goal of marketing

to identify and then satisfy needs of various customer groups

exploratory in depth

to provide insights and understanding information needed is defined only loosely research process is flexible and unstructured versatile, often the front end of total research design sample is small and nonrepresentative analysis of primary data is qualitative methods: expert/experience, surveys, pilot surveys, case studies, secondary data: qualitative, qualitative research results: tentative outcome: generally followed by further exploratory or conclusive research

objectives

two types when formulating the management-decision problem 1) the organizational objectives 2) the personal objectives of decision makers this may become a challenge when the two are not complementary

research design map

types of basic research design exploratory research descriptive research: -cross sectional -longitudinal casual research relationship among exploratory, descriptive, and casual research tasks involved in research design formulation information value and the cost of marketing research budgeting and scheduling the project marketing research proposal

objective evidence

unbiased evidence that is supported by empirical findings secondary sources

qualitative research

undertaken to gain a clear understanding of the factors underlying a research problem -unstructured in that the questions asked are formulated as the research proceeds. exploratory in nature and based on small samples. it might involve popular qualitative techniques such as focus groups, in-depth interviews, pilot surveys, case studies

hypothesis

unproven statement or proposition about a factor or phenonmenon that is of interest to the researcher

DSS

unstructured problems use of models adaptability can improve decision making by using what if analysis

competitive bidding process

usually used in selecting external suppliers, particularly for large jobs. Often the organization commissioning the research will issue a request for proposal, a request for information, a request for application, and invitation to bid, or a similar call, inviting suppliers to submit bids moreover, long-term contracts with research suppliers are preferable to selection on a project by project basis

range of data collection methods and the sources used to obtain the data

vary in sophistication and complexity. The methods used depend on the specific requirements of the project, including budget and time constraints. The data are then analyzed, and the results are formally presented to the client and used in decision making