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LAP-IM-013-SP © 2011, MBA Research and Curriculum Center
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A llie has a sore throat and a runny nose.
She can’t stop coughing and sneezing.
She assumes she has a cold, so she goes to the store for some cold medicine. A week later, Allie feels no better. Frustrated, she makes an appointment with her doctor.
After running some tests, Allie’s doctor tells her she’s suffering from allergies and prescribes her some allergy medication.
Allie’s solution—taking cold medicine— didn’t solve her problem because she didn’t know what her problem actually was! If you think about it, no problem—whether it’s a health problem, a school problem, a relationship problem, etc.—can be addressed properly until you have a clear, correct understanding of its nature. The same goes for business problems! Managers constantly need to make decisions and create strategies. But, they can’t do so effectively without having a true understanding of what problems or opportunities the business is facing. Defining the problem—the all-important first step in the marketing-research process—helps managers to bring these issues into focus.
T
for the past 15 years. Over the past year or so, profits have been declining.
Steve, the president of the company, has decided to conduct some marketing research to get to the bottom of the problem and to help the business’s managers plan appropriate strategies to boost profits again.
Discuss the importance of identifying the marketing-research problem.
Describe the ways that marketers identify marketing-research problems/objectives.
Marketing research can help business managers solve existing problems as well as seek out new opportunities.
There are many businesses out there just like Patterson Dry Cleaning.
They encounter issues such as declining profits, or they want to learn more about their target markets to better meet their needs. Whether the business is trying to solve an existing problem or attempting to seek out new opportunities, marketing research can provide the information managers need to make the best decisions for the company.
How the marketing research will be conducted depends on the business’s size and resources. Most mid-sized and big companies will use professional researchers from outside consulting firms. A small business, however, may not have the budget for the services of an independent marketing-research group. The managers of these small businesses often undertake the marketing research on their own. However, no matter who is conducting the research, one thing is certain—defining the problem clearly and correctly is crucial to the success of the marketing-research study.
LAP-IM-013-SP © 2011, MBA Research and Curriculum Center ®

For example, the first videotape recorders that were introduced in the 1950s were so new and unusual that many customers didn’t know what to make of them at first. Benefits also may not outweigh costs when a business is introducing a new product that carries little financial risk, such as an inexpensive new lip gloss—the expense of conducting marketing-research studies may not be justified in such a case.
the managers’ perspective) must be translated into research problems (the problem from the researchers’ perspective).
Researchers should avoid projects for managers who have preset ideas about what the results should be. Managers should avoid projects that don’t make financial sense.
When launching an inventive new product or a product that carries little financial risk, the benefits of conducting marketing research may not outweigh the costs.
Marketing research provides the information businesses need to solve problems and take advantage of opportunities. Before beginning a marketing-research study, it is critical for managers and researchers to clearly and correctly define the problem.
This keeps businesses from wasting valuable resources studying the wrong problem. Decision problems (the problem from
1. What benefits do businesses get from marketing research?
2. How is marketing research conducted?
3. Why is it important to define the marketing-research problem?
4. What is a decision problem?
5. Describe the two different types of decision problems.
6. What is a research problem?
7. What type(s) of research should researchers avoid?
8. What type(s) of research should managers avoid?
M ark owns an independent marketing-research firm. He recently began a marketing-research study for a large manufacturing company, exploring the effectiveness of two new products. Managers at the company want to decide which product to release to the market first. The study is well underway, and one of the product managers has begun pressuring Mark to “choose” her product as the one for first release. Mark could easily craft his final report to please the product manager, but he knows that if he starts looking at the study through her perspective, the results could be untrustworthy. What would you do if you were in Mark’s shoes? Would you report the product manager to higher-ups in the company? Or, would you attempt to deal with her one-on-one?
It wouldn’t be illegal for Mark to draft his final report to favor her product, but would it be unethical?
LAP-IM-013-SP © 2011, MBA Research and Curriculum Center

T he variables studied by marketing researchers are sometimes referred to as constructs.
Even after all these decisions have been made, the marketing research project still isn’t quite ready for the green light. Managers and researchers need to finalize their decisions into formal research objectives . The research objectives state exactly what the research study will achieve, including:
• What kind of information will be gathered
• How much information will be gathered
• How the information will be used
In short, if the research objectives are fulfilled by the researchers, then managers will have all the information they need to make the best decisions regarding the problem or opportunity. After agreeing on the research objectives, managers and researchers should step back and take a look at the overall project they’ve mapped out. They must consider if the projected benefits of pursuing the research are worth the costs (time, money, effort, etc.) that the marketing-research study entails. If both parties agree, the research study can begin!
Every research project is unique, but there are a few main methods that managers and researchers use to clearly and correctly define their research problems. First, researchers help managers clarify the decision problem through questioning and/or performing a situation analysis. Then, researchers can translate the decision problem into research problems. Managers and researchers work together to determine what kinds of information are needed, what unit(s) of analysis to use, and what relevant variables to study. Finally, managers and researchers must agree on solid research objectives and verify that the benefits of conducting the study are worth the costs.
1. How do researchers help managers to clarify their decision problem?
2. Describe the decisions that managers and researchers must make about:
a. Secondary and primary data
b. Unit(s) of analysis
c. Relevant variables
3. Why are research objectives important?
Apply this activity to your current place of employment. If you are not working right now, choose a business in your town with which you’re familiar. What current problem or opportunity is the business facing? If you consider this a decision problem, what are some possible research problems that could be explored to provide further information on how to solve the problem or address the opportunity?
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LAP-IM-013-SP © 2011, MBA Research and Curriculum Center ®