by Suwattana Sawatasuk
MARKETING RESEARCH
Marketing Research
 The systematic design, collection, and
analysis, and reporting of data relevant to a
specific marketing situation facing an
organization.
Marketing Research Process
1. Defining the problem and research
objectives
2. Developing the research plan for collecting
information
3. Implementing the research plan—collecting
and analyzing the data
4. Interpreting and reporting the findings
1. Defining the Problem and
Research Objectives
 What information is needed?
 Set the research objectives:
 To gather preliminary information that will help define
problems and suggest hypotheses: exploratory
research
 To better describe marketing problems, situations, or
market, such as the market potential for a product or
demographics and attitudes of consumers who buy
the product: descriptive research
 To test hypotheses about cause-and-effect
relationships: causal research
2. Developing the Research
Plan
 Researchers must determine the exact
information needed, develop a plan for
gathering it efficiently, and present the plan
to management
 Research plan consists of sources of existing
data, specific research approaches, contact
methods, sampling plans, gathering new data
instruments
 The research plan should be presented in a
“written proposal”
Primary and Secondary Data
 Primary data: information collected for the
specific purpose at hand
 Secondary data: information that already
exists somewhere, having been collected for
another purpose
2.1) Gathering Secondary
Data
 External information sources: commercial
data services and government sources such
as …
2.2) Primary Data Collection
Research Approaches:
 Observational research: gathering primary
data by observing relevant people, actions,
and situations
 Ethnographic research: a form of
observational research that involves sending
trained observers to watch and interact with
consumers in their “natural habitat”
2.2) Primary Data Collection
(con’t)
Research Approaches:
 Survey research: gathering primary data by
asking people questions about their
knowledge, attitudes, preferences, and
buying behavior
 Experiment research: gathering primary
data by selecting matched groups of subjects,
giving them different treatments, controlling
related factors, and checking for differences
in group responses
2.2) Primary Data Collection
(con’t)
Contact Methods:
 Mail, Telephone, and Personal interviewing
 Focus group interviewing: personal interviewing that
involves inviting six to ten people to gather for a few
hours with a trained interviewer to talk about a
product, service, or organization. The interviewer
“focuses” the group discussion on important issues
 Online Marketing Research: collecting primary
data online through Internet surveys, online
focus groups, Web-based experiments, or
tracking consumers’ online behavior
2.2) Primary Data Collection
(con’t)
Sampling Plan:
 Sample: a segment of the population
selected for marketing research to represent
the population as a whole
 3 decisions:
1. Who is to be surveyed (what sampling unit)?
2. How many people should be surveyed (what
sample size)?
3. How should the people in the sample be chosen
(what sampling procedure)?
2.2) Primary Data Collection
(con’t)
Research Instruments:
 Questionnaires: closed-end questions, openend questions
 Mechanical instruments: checkout scanners,
eye cameras
Planning Primary Data
Collection
Research
Approaches
Contact Methods
Sampling Plan
Research
Instruments
Observation
Mail
Sampling unit
Questionnaire
Survey
Telephone
Sample size
Mechanical
instruments
Experiment
Personal
Sampling
procedure
Online
3. Implementing the Research
Plan
 Involves in collecting, processing, and
analyzing the information
4. Interpreting and
Reporting the Findings
 Involving the interpreting the findings,
drawing conclusions, and reporting them to
management
Customer Insight
 Fresh understandings of customers and the
marketplace derived from marketing
information that become the basis for
creating customer value and relationships.
Customer Relationship
Management (CRM)
 Managing detailed information about
individual customers and carefully managing
customer “touch points” in order to
maximize customer loyalty.
Project Assignment:
Marketing Research
 Define the problems & set the research
objectives
 Plan the research:
 sources of existing data
 specific research approaches
 contact methods
 sampling plans (who, how many, how)
 gathering new data instruments