Market Research: Getting the Marketing Information We Need

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Market Research Getting the Marketing
Information We Need
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Obtaining Good Information

• good information is critical to sound decision
  making
• data vs. information
• marketing research involves the development,
  interpretation, and communication of information
  to support strategic marketing
• marketing information may be collected by a firm
  or by a research supplier on its behalf, or may
  come from a marketing information system

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Who Does Marketing Research?

• Could be done inside or outside a firm
• some large firms have small marketing research
  departments which supervise the work of outside
  consultants
• there are many research consultants and
  full-service supplies across the country
• more and more companies are realizing the
  importance of research to provide the information
  needed for decision making

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Scope of Marketing Research

• Marketing research projects are designed to
  provide managers with answers about
• Whats happening in the market
• Whether new products are attractive
• Customer and non-customer characteristics
• What factors influence buying decisions
• Whether prices and advertising are attractive
• Whether they like dealing with us
• How solid our customer relationships are

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Qualitative or Quantitative?

• qualitative research is a means of obtaining
  deeply-held opinions includes focus groups and
  individual depth interviews
• many marketing research projects involve
  conducting a survey, by administering a
  questionnaire to a sample of respondents
• surveys produce quantitative data
• surveys may be conducted in person, by phone or
  the Internet, in shopping centres, or by mail

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Observation and Experimentation

• these are less widely-used research methods
• observation involves collecting data usually
  without the knowledge of the subject may include
  watching consumers as they shop or collecting
  data electronically (e.g. on the Web)
• experimentation involves the manipulation of one
  of more variables so as to observe the effect
  examples include the use of test markets and of
  simulations

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Planning the Research Project

• a typical marketing research project will involve
  a series of stages
• defining the objectives of the client
• conducting a situation analysis
• conducting an informal investigation
• conducting the formal investigation collecting
  the data
• analyzing data and preparing a final report
• following up

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Approaches to Marketing Research

• the marketing decision maker must decide whether
  he or she needs to collect primary data or
  secondary data
• primary data are collected specifically for the
  project while secondary data already exist,
  having been collected for another purpose
• syndicated data are collected by a research
  supplier and may be sold to a number of different
  clients

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The Research Project

• Conducting a typical research project will
  involve several steps
• Decide whether primary data are needed
• Decide how to collect the data through
  qualitative or quantitative methodologies
• Design a questionnaire or interview guide
• Select a sample
• Collect the data
• Proceed to data analysis and preparation of a
  report

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Marketing Research Procedure
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Data-collection Forms

• questionnaires or forms are used to record
  responses
• questionnaire design is often a source of bias
• the wording of questions must ensure that they
  are understandable and not leading
• questions may be in a variety of formats
• the layout of the questionnaire affects responses
• questionnaires are pretested to identify problems

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Planning the Sample

• in survey research, it is advisable to select a
  sample that is as representative as possible
• sample selection often contributes to bias
• random sample is best, but this is not always
  possible
• most marketing surveys use convenience samples
• sample size must be large enough to represent the
  population and to allow the client to have
  confidence in the results

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Information in Databases

• marketing data are available from many sources
  and are stored in computer databases
• data may be obtained from sources within and
  outside the firm, including customer purchase
  records
• customer loyalty programs contribute valuable
  data on purchases made
• other valuable data are collected by automated
  systems such as scanner-equipped checkouts

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Marketing Information Systems

• generally computer-based and involves the
  production, analysis, storage, dissemination, and
  retrieval of information to support marketing
  decision making
• it generates reports and studies as needed
• it integrates old and new data to update
  information and to identify trends
• it analyzes data using mathematical models that
  simulate the real world

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Issues in Marketing Research

• The main issue facing marketing research is the
  protection of consumer privacy
• Canada has enacted privacy legislation that
  affects how research may be conducted
• At a practical level, researcher must address
• Integration of data sources
• Obtaining a deeper understanding of consumers
• Gaining greater acceptance of research

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For next class...

• Read Chapter 7.