Marketing Research:
Gathering, Analyzing, and
Using Information
Chapter Objectives
• Explain the role of the marketing information system and
the marketing decision support system in marketing
decision making
• List and explain the steps in the marketing research
process
• Appreciate the differences among exploratory,
descriptive, and casual research
• Describe the different types of data-collection methods
and types of consumer samples that research use
• Understand the impact of the growing use of online
research
2
Real People, Real Choices
• Meet Cindy Turgate at Plan-it Marketing, a
marketing research firm
• Priceline needed help in planning its business.
Would its name-your-own-price strategy fly?
• The decision: What marketing research strategy
would maximize results within a reasonable
budget?
 Option 1: conduct exploratory qualitative study
 Option 2: conduct quantitative survey of 700+ leisure and
business travelers
 Option 3: conduct viability study with both qualitative exploratory
study and confirmatory quantitative study
3
Knowledge is Power
• Accurate, up to date,
relevant information is
the fuel that runs the
marketing engine
4
The Marketing Information System
• Determines what information marketing
managers need, then gathers, sorts, analyzes,
stores, and distributes information to system
users
Figure 4.2
5
Internal Company Data
• Information from within the company to
produce reports on the results of sales and
marketing activities
• Intranet: internal corporate
communications network that links
company departments, employees, and
databases.
6
Marketing Intelligence
• Monitoring everyday
sources and using
“mystery shoppers”
• Futurists specialize in
predicting consumer
trends
HSX.COM
7
Marketing Research
• Collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data
about customers, competitors, and the
business environment to improve
marketing effectiveness
 Syndicated research
 Custom research
GfK ARBOR LLC
MEDIAMARK RESEARCH
8
Acquired Databases
• From other companies
• Government databases
• Misuse of databases can be problematic
and has led to do-not-call lists and
antispam laws
9
Marketing Decision Support Systems
• MDSS: data plus analysis and interactive
software allow marketing managers to access
MIS data and conduct analyses
Figure 4.3
10
Searching for Gold: Data Mining
• Analysts sift through data to identify unique
patterns of behavior among different customer
groups
11
What Marketers Can Do with
Data Mining
•
•
•
•
Customer acquisition
Customer retention and loyalty
Customer abandonment
Market basket analysis
12
Steps in the Marketing
Research Process
• Step 1: Define the research problem
 Specifying research objectives
 Identifying consumer population of interest
 Placing the problem in an environmental context
• Step 2: Determine the Research Design
 Specifying exactly what information marketers will
collect and what type of study they will do
13
Figure 4.5:
Marketing Research Design
14
Secondary Versus Primary Research
• Secondary data have been collected for
some purposes other than the problem at
hand
• Primary data is information collected
directly from respondents to specifically
address the question at hand
15
Secondary Research Web Sites
CENSUS.GOV
MARKETINGTOOLS.COM
DIALOG.COM
LEXIS-NEXIS
16
Exploratory (Qualitative) Research
• Research techniques that generate
insights for future, more rigorous studies
• Researchers conduct one-on-one
discussions with consumers
• Focus group: a product-oriented
discussion among a small group of
consumers
LOOK-LOOK.COM
17
Exploratory (Qualitative) Research
(cont’d)
• Projective techniques: participants
respond to some object
• Case study: comprehensive examination
of a particular firm
• Ethnography: Marketers visit homes or
participate in consumer activities to learn
how products are used
Wild Planet
Video
18
Group Activity
• Break into small groups and pick a product
category of interest
 Assume a company wants to create a new or
modified product to compete for market share in that
category
• Create a couple of questions for a focus
group moderator to guide discussion
 Each group sits with another group and takes turns
conducting an informal focus group
19
Descriptive (Quantitative) Research
• Probes systematically into the problem
• Bases conclusions on large numbers of
observations
• Results typically expressed in quantitative
terms (averages, percentages, other stats)
 Cross-sectional design
 Longitudinal design
20
Causal Research
• Cause-and-effect relationships: a change
in one thing causes a change in something
else
 Independent (cause) vs. dependent (change in
outcome) variables
 Experiments: test predicted relationships among
variables in a controlled environment
21
Steps in the Marketing Research
Process (cont’d)
Step 3: Choose the Method for
Collecting Primary Data
• Survey Methods: interview respondents
• Questionnaires: loosely, moderately, or
completely structured
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Questionnaires
•
•
•
•
Mail questionnaires
Telephone interviews
Face-to-face interviews
Online questionnaires
23
Discussion
• Are you willing to divulge
personal information to
marketing researchers?
• How much are you willing to
tell?
• Where would you draw the
line?
24
Group Activity
• In small groups, choose a topic below and
analyze the advantages and disadvantages of
mail questionnaires, telephone interviews, faceto-face interviews, and online questionnaires:




The amount of sports nutrition drinks consumed in a city
Why a local bank has been losing customers
What local doctors would like to see changed in hospitals
Consumers’ attitudes toward several sports celebrities
25
Observational Methods
• Observation: data collection where the
researcher records consumers’ behaviors,
often without their knowledge
 Personal observation
 Mechanical observation
 Unobtrusive measures
26
Discussion
• Do you think marketers should have to
right to go through a competitor’s
garbage? Is it ethical?
27
Data Quality:
Garbage In, Garbage Out
• How much faith should marketing
managers place in research?
 Validity
 Reliability
 Representativeness
28
Discussion
• Do you think marketers should be allowed
to conduct market research with young
children? Why or why not?
29
Reality TV: Group Activity
• Each group comes up with a new “Reality
TV” show…
 Design a short survey to get information to help you
develop the best show
 Hand it out to your classmates to complete
 Use the information to create your show
• Describe your thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors during this activity
30
Online Research
• Information gathered via consumer surfing and
Web site/email/chat room questionnaires/focus
groups
• Cookies allow a Web sponsor to track a surfer’s
moves
31
Online Research Applications
•
•
•
•
New product development
Estimating market response
Exploratory research (online focus groups)
IM (Instant Messaging)
THERE.COM
ITRACKS.COM
32
Advantages of Online Data Collection
• The same amount of
data in a fraction of the
time
• Convenience of survey
completion
• Elimination of interviewer
bias and data entry
errors
33
Disadvantages of Online Data
Collection
• Non-representativeness of respondents
• Limited computer access for poor and
elderly
• Self-selection bias (people who like to take
part in online studies)
• Hackers and competitors
influencing/intercepting results
34
Step 4: Design the Sample
• Probability sample
• Each member of the population has some
known chance of being included
• Sample is representative of population,
and inferences about population are
justified
 - Simple random sampling
 - Systematic sampling
 - Stratified sampling
35
Step 4: Design the Sample (cont’d)
• Nonprobability sample
• Personal judgment used in selecting respondents
• Some members of population have no chance of being
included
• No way to ensure that sample is representative of
population
• *Christine: next two should be lower-level (black)*
• Convenience sampling
• Quota sampling
36
Discussion
• Why wouldn’t you select all the individuals
or elements of a population to be in your
study?
37
Step 5: Collect the Data
• Challenges to gathering data in foreign
countries
 Differences in sophistication of research operations
 Infrastructure/transportation challenges
 Lack of phones
 Low literacy rates
 Local customs and cultural differences
 Language translation difficulties
38
Group Activity
• Break into small groups and choose one of the
following countries. Generate a list of difficulties
a firm would expect to encounter when
developing plans for marketing research:








South Africa
Spain
China
Saudi Arabia
Canada
Argentina
Australia
Germany
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Step 6: Analyze and
Interpret the Data
• Data need analysis for them to have
meaning
• Tabulation: arranging data in a table or
other summary form to get a broad picture
of overall responses
• Cross-tabulation: examining the data by
subgroups to see how results vary
between categories
40
Table 4.4: Data Tabulation and CrossTabulation Tables
41
Step 7: Prepare the Research Report
• Executive summary
• Description of research
methodology
• Discussion of results
including tabulations,
cross-tabulations
• Limitations of study
• Conclusions and
recommendations
42
Discussion
• What is your overall attitude toward
marketing research?
• Do you think it is a beneficial activity from
a consumer’s perspective?
• Or do you think it merely gives marketers
new insights on how to convince
consumers to buy something they really
don’t want or need?
43
Real People, Real Choices
• Plan-it Marketing (Cindy
Turgate)
• Cindy chose option 3:
conduct viability study with
both qualitative exploratory
study and confirmatory
quantitative study
 Priceline.com was launched
nationally in April 1998, and it
continues to flourish
44
Marketing Plan Exercise
• Select a company that makes a product you use.
For the firm you selected:
 Define one specific problem it could address through marketing
research
 What type of research design do you recommend for addressing
that problem, and why?
 What is the most appropriate way to collect the data? Justify
your choice
 How will you ensure high validity, reliability, and
representativeness of the data?
 Design an appropriate sampling plan
45
Marketing in Action Case:
You Make the Call
• What is the decision facing Acxiom?
• What factors are important in
understanding this decision situation?
• What are the alternatives?
• What decision(s) do you recommend?
• What are some ways to implement your
recommendation?
46
Keeping it Real: Fast Forward to Next
Class Decision Time at Wild Planet
• Meet Danny Grossman, CEO and founder
of Wild Planet Toys.
• Room Gear: a product line that lets kids
decorate their rooms met with sharply
different gender appeals
• The decision: the future direction of the
Room Gear line
47