Business + Marketing Chapter 4

Internal Data

Internal databases are electronic collections of consumer and market information obtained from data sources within the company network, including accounting, marketing, customer service, and sales departments

2 research styles

Quantitative How many? Which one? Count Precision Number Ex.: survey Qualitative What kind? Why? Discover Depth Picture Ex: Interviews

Research Plan

Research plan outlines sources of existing data and spells out the specific research approaches, contact methods, sampling plans, and instruments that researchers will use to gather data Research plan is a written proposal that includes: Management problem Research objectives Information needed How the results will help management decisions Budget

Types of Data

Secondary data consists of information that already exists somewhere, having been collected for another purpose Primary data consists of information gathered for the specific research plan

Information distribution

involves entering information into databases and making it available in a time-useable manner Intranet provides information to employees and other stakeholders Extranet provides information to key customers and suppliers

Marketing Research

is the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation facing an organization

Marketers can obtain information from

Internal data Marketing intelligence Marketing research

Focus groups

A group discussion: Focused on a series of topics introduced by a discussion leader Group members are encouraged to: express their own views on each topic elaborate on or react to the views of others Often synonymous with "qualitative research" 98% of consumer package companies have used focus groups

Secondary Data

Advantages vc Primary Data Quicker to get Usually less expensive Often data that no company can get for itself...e.g. retail sales Disadvantages Needed information may not exist Not developed for your specific purpose May be out-of-date May not be relevant, current, accurate and impartial

Ethnographic Research

Ethnographic research involves sending trained observers to watch and interact with consumers in their natural environment

Marketing Research Process*

Defining the problem + research objectives Developing the research plan for collecting information Implementing the research plan - collecting + analyzing data Interpreting + recording the findings

Advantages Can be accessed more quickly Less expensive

Disadvantages Incomplete information Often it's in wrong form for decision making Timeliness of information Large amount of information requires sophisticated equipment and techniques

Types of Research*

Exploratory research is the gathering of preliminary information that will help to define the problem and suggest hypotheses Descriptive research is to describe things such as market potential for a product or the demographics and attitudes of consumers who buy the product Causal research is to test hypotheses about cause-and-effect relationships

Marketing Intelligence

Marketing intelligence is the systematic and ongoing collection and analysis of publicly available information about competitors and developments in the marketplace The goal is to improve strategic decision making, assess and track competitors' actions, and provide early warning of opportunities and threats

Primary Research Approaches

Observational : involves gathering primary data by observing relevant people, actions, and situations Survey Experimental

Survey Research & Questionnaires

Survey research is the most widely used method and is best for descriptive information—knowledge, attitudes, preferences, and buying behavior Research involving: large representative samples fairly structured data collection procedures (e.g., large-scale questionnaire surveys) A Questionnaire is the most common research instrument to collect primary data In a survey one samples a population and asks each respondent in the sample a fixed set of questions The goal is projectable results—answers that are descriptive of the larger population in the same proportion as for the sample