Chapter 4:
Marketing Research
and
Information Systems
Pride/Ferrell
Foundations of Marketing
Fourth Edition
Prepared by Milton Pressley
University of New Orleans
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Objectives
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Define marketing research and understand
its importance.
Describe the basic steps in conducting
marketing research.
Explore the fundamental methods of
gathering data for marketing research.
Describe how tools such as databases,
decision support systems, and the Internet
facilitate marketing information systems and
research.
Identify key ethical and international
considerations in marketing research.
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Marketing Research
• The systematic design, collection, interpretation,
and reporting of information to help marketers
solve specific marketing problems or take
advantage of marketing opportunities.
Importance of Marketing
Research
Irwin provides services
to help companies better
understand their
customers’ needs
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The Benefits of Marketing
Research
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Facilitates strategic planning
Assess opportunities/threats
Ascertain potential for success
Determine feasibility
Improves marketer’s ability to make
decisions
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The Marketing Research Process
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Locating and Defining Issues or
Problems
• Focusing on uncovering the nature and
boundaries of a situation or question related
to marketing strategy or implementation
– Departures from normal or expected
marketing results
– Typical problems requiring research
– Discover reasons for exceeding/not
meeting goals
– Evidence of possible or potential market
opportunities
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Defining the Problem
• Nature/scope of situation
• Clear definition of need
• Determine precisely what research is to
determine
• How will research be used?
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Designing the Research Project
• Research Design
– An overall plan for obtaining the
information needed to address a research
problem or issue
• Hypothesis
– An informed guess or assumption about a
certain problem or set of circumstances
– Accepted or rejected hypotheses act as
conclusions for the research effort
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Types of Research
• Exploratory Research
– Conducted to gather more information about a problem or to make
a tentative hypothesis more specific
– How are consumers car buying habits changing?
• Conclusive Research
– Designed to verify insights through objective procedures and to
help marketers in making decisions
– What % of consumers will consider an electric car purchase?
• Descriptive Research
– Conducted to clarify the characteristics of certain phenomena to
solve a particular problem
– How are consumers gathering information to assist in car buying?
• Experimental Research
– Research that allows marketers to make causal inferences about
relationships
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Differences Between Exploratory and
Conclusive Research
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Reliability and Validity
• Reliability
– A condition existing when a research
technique produces almost identical
results in repeated trials
– also considered as ‘repeatability’ if results
can be replicated
• Validity
– A condition existing when a research
method measures what it is supposed to
measure
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Collecting Data
• Primary data:
• Is observed, recorded or
collected directly from
respondents
• Is collected to address a
specific problem that
cannot be answered by
secondary data alone
Primary Data Collection
M/A/R/C works with multinational
companies to collect primary data
to maintain strong brand equity
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Collecting Data
• Secondary data:
• Is compiled both inside and outside the
organization
• Is for some purpose other than the current
investigation
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Methods of Collecting Primary Data
• Population
- all the elements, units, or individuals of
interest to researchers for a specific study
• Sample
- a limited number of units chosen to represent
the characteristics of the population
• Sampling
- the process of selecting representative units
from a total population
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Probability Sampling
• Probability sampling
– sampling technique in which every element in the
population being studied has a known chance of
being selected for study
• Random sampling
– type of probability sampling in which all units in a
population have an equal chance of appearing in
a sample
• Stratified sampling
– type of probability sampling in which the
population is divided into groups according to a
common attribute; a random sample is then
chosen within each group
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Nonprobability Sampling
• Nonprobability sampling
– sampling technique in which there is no
way to calculate the likelihood that a
specific element of the population being
studied will be chosen
• Quota sampling
– nonprobability sampling technique in
which researchers divide the population
into groups and then arbitrarily choose
participants from each group
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How Types of Sampling Align
Sampling
Probability
Nonprobability
Random Sampling
Stratified Sampling
Quota
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Survey Methods
• Mail
Sample Mail Survey
• Telephone
Sample Phone Survey
• Online
Sample Online Survey
• Personal Interview
Collecting Data Through
Surveys
Infosurv assists clients in the
development and execution of
online surveys
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Social Networking and Surveys
• Social networking sites
– can be used to gather useful information in
understanding consumer decisions –
provide a new way for marketers to
conduct market research.
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Forms of Personal Interviews
• Focus-group
• observation of group interaction when members are
exposed to an idea or concept
• In-home/Door-to-Door
• takes place in respondents’ homes
• Customer advisory boards
• small groups of actual customers providing feedback
on ideas, products, marketing strategies
Kentucky Fried Chicken “Mom’s Matter”
• Telephone depth
• combines ability to probe with confidentiality
Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI)
• Shopping-mall intercept
• interviewing a % of persons walking through malls
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Benefits of a Personal Interview
• Rapport
• More in-depth
– Probes
– Follow-up
– Tests
• Longer
• Yield more information
• Respondents can be carefully selected, reasons for
nonresponse explored
• Allow you greater flexibility
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Questionnaire Construction
Question Types
• Open-Ended Question
What is your general opinion about coffee shops?
________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
• Dichotomous Question
Have you ever purchased a coffee product?
Yes _____ No _____
• Multiple-Choice Question
What income group are you in?
$0-$19,000 _____
$20,000-$59,999 _____
$60,000-$99,000 _____
more than $100,000
_____
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Observation Methods
• Direct contact with subject is avoided to
reduce possible awareness of observation
process.
• Physical conditions, subject actions, and
demographics are noted.
• Observations may be combined with same
subject interviews.
• Data gathered may be influenced by
observer bias.
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Interpreting Research Findings
• Statistical interpretation
- focuses on what is typical or what deviates from the
average
Interpreting Research
Companies like Market
Strategies can help interpret
the data collected from
market research and offer
insight into the areas
investigated
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Reporting Research Findings
• Prepare a formal, written document
• Clear, objective look
• Point out deficiencies
• Formal, written document
• Determine level of detail
• Summary/recommendations first
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Key Concepts
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Marketing research
Research design
Hypothesis
Exploratory research
Conclusive research
Descriptive research
Experimental research
Reliability
Validity
Primary data
Secondary data
Population
Sample
Sampling
Probability sampling
Random sampling
Stratified sampling
Nonprobability sampling
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Quota sampling
Mail survey
Telephone survey
Online survey
Personal interview survey
In-home (door-to-door) interview
Focus-group interview
Customer advisory boards
Telephone depth interview
Shopping mall intercept interview
Statistical interpretation
Marketing information system (MIS)
Database
Single-source data
Marketing decision
support system (MDSS)