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
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
7
Marketing Research
• Collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data
about customers, competitors, and the
business environment to improve
marketing effectiveness
 Syndicated research
 Custom 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
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
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
16
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
17
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
18
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
19
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
20
Questionnaires
•
•
•
•
Mail questionnaires
Telephone interviews
Face-to-face interviews
Online questionnaires
21
Observational Methods
• Observation: data collection where the
researcher records consumers’ behaviors,
often without their knowledge
 Personal observation
 Mechanical observation
 Unobtrusive measures
22
Data Quality:
Garbage In, Garbage Out
• How much faith should marketing
managers place in research?
 Validity
 Reliability
 Representativeness
23
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
24
Online Research Applications
•
•
•
•
New product development
Estimating market response
Exploratory research (online focus groups)
IM (Instant Messaging)
25
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
26
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
27
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 *Christine: these
three should be lower-level (black)*
• - Systematic sampling
• - Stratified sampling
28
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
 Convenience sampling
 Quota sampling
29
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
30
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
31
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
32
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
33
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
34