Part Three
Using Technology and
Information to Build
Customer Relationships
7
Marketing Research and
Information Systems
Objectives
1. To describe the basic steps in conducting
marketing research
2. To explore the fundamental methods of
gathering data for marketing research
3. To describe the nature and role of information
systems in marketing decision making
4. To understand how such tools as databases,
decision support systems, and the Internet
facilitate marketing research
5. To identify key ethical and international
considerations in marketing research
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Chapter Outline
• The Importance of Marketing Research
• The Marketing Research Process
• Using Technology to Improve Marketing
Information Gathering and Analysis
• Issues in Marketing Research
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The Importance of Marketing Research
• Marketing Research
– The systematic design, collection, interpretation,
and reporting of information to help marketers
solve specific marketing problems or take
advantage of marketing opportunities
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U.S. Hot Dog Consumption
Hot dogs consumed between Memorial Day and Labor Day
7 billion
Average number of hot dogs eaten per person from
Memorial Day to Labor Day
24
Rate of consumption during this time
818 hot
dogs/second
Top 5 Major League Ball Parks for Hot Dog Consumption
1. Dodger Stadium
1.6 million
2. Coors Field
1.5 million
3. Wrigley Field
1.5 million
4. Yankee Stadium
1.3 million
5. Minute Maid Park
1.2 million
Source: National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, as reported in American Demographics, July/August 2004 p. 48.
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The Importance of Marketing Research
(cont’d)
• Benefits of Marketing Research
– Helps firms stay in touch with customers’
changing attitudes and purchase patterns
– Assists in better understanding market
opportunities
– Determines the feasibility of a particular marketing
strategy
– Aids in the development of
marketing mixes to match
the needs of customers
– Improves marketer’s ability
to make decisions
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Net Sights
• Perhaps one of the best-known pollsters
and research firms, the Gallup
Organization, has been conducting
public opinion surveys and since 1935.
The company is often called on to
survey the public about political issues,
business and economic issues, social
issues, and lifestyle topics. To view the
company’s latest survey results, visit
www.gallup.com/.
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The Five Steps of the Marketing Research
Process
FIGURE 7.1
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The Marketing Research Process
• Locating and Defining Problems or
Research Issues
– 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
• Biases in marketing information that distort its
meaning
• Evidence of possible or potential market
opportunities
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Top 5 Greatest “Brain Gain” and “Brain Drain” Markets
Brain Gaining* Metro Regions
1. Atlanta, GA
76,443
2. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
63,084
3. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
54,814
4. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA
48,614
5. Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO
40,973
Brain Draining* Metro Regions
1. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ (122,000)
2. Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI
(29,647)
3. Pittsburgh, PA
(20,065)
4. Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI
(17,224)
5. Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
(17,171)
*Net domestic migration gains (losses) among college graduates aged 25 and older.
Source: William H. Frey, “Brain Gains, Brain Drains,” American Demographics, June 1, 2004, http://americandemographics.com.
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The Marketing Research Process (cont’d)
• 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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The Marketing Research Process (cont’d)
• Types of Research
– Exploratory research
• Research conducted to gather more
information about a problem or to make a
tentative hypothesis more specific
– Descriptive research
• Research conducted to clarify the
characteristics of certain phenomena to solve
a particular problem
– Causal research
• Research in which it is assumed that a
particular variable X influences a variable Y
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The Marketing Research Process (cont’d)
• Research Reliability and Validity
– Reliability
• A condition existing when a research
technique produces almost identical results in
repeated trials
– Validity
• A condition existing
when a research method
measures what it is
supposed to measure
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The Marketing Research Process (cont’d)
• Collecting Data
– Types of data
• Primary data: data observed and recorded or
collected directly from
respondents
• Secondary data: data
complied both inside and
outside the organization
for some purpose other
than the current
investigation
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SNL DataSource
provides a broad
array of secondary
data in the financial
services industry
Reprinted with permission of Greg Amonette, SNL Financial, snl.com
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Top 10 Metro Markets with Married and
Unmarried Gay and Lesbian Households
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA
Santa Fe, NM
Portland, ME
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL
Bloomington, IN
Austin-San Marcos, TX
Madison, WI
Burlington, VT
Springfield, MA
Seattle-Tacoma, WA
Source: Christopher Reynolds, “Still a Hidden Market,” American Demographics, April 1, 2004, http://demographics.com.
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The Marketing Research Process (cont’d)
• Methods of Collecting Primary Data
– Sampling
• Population—all the elements, units, or individuals of
interest to researchers for specific study
• Sample—a limited number of units chosen to represent
the characteristics of a total population
– Types of sampling
– Probability—each element has an known chance for
study
– Random—each element has an equal chance for study
– Stratified—study population divided into like groups
– Nonprobability: element’s likelihood of study is unknown
– Quota: population is grouped and elements are arbitrarily
chosen
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The Marketing Research Process (cont’d)
• Basic Survey Methods
–
–
–
–
Mail survey
Telephone survey
Online survey
Personal interview survey
•
•
•
•
•
In-home (door-to-door) interview
Focus-group interview
Telephone depth interview
Shopping mall intercept interviews
On-site computer interviews
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The Marketing Research Process (cont’d)
• Questionnaire Construction
– Open-ended question
• Question which invites the respondent to answer as
their own interests or personal subjectivity dictates
– Dichotomous question
• Question which to which the respondent can make only
an either/or or yes/no response
– Multiple-choice question
• Question asks the respondent to choose a response
from a fixed set of responses
• Observation Methods
• Experimentation
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Class Exercise
You are considering opening a new “fluff-andfold” laundry pick-up, cleaning, and delivery
service for students. You are uncertain whether
sufficient demand exists, and you have
questions about when students will need your
service most and what level of service they will
require. You realize that marketing research
can help solve your information needs. You
must now answer these questions.
1. Define the problem.
2. Design the research project.
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Class Exercise (cont’d)
3. After consulting secondary data, you decide to conduct an
exploratory study with students in your classes. Develop
open-ended questions to ask students that will provide
information regarding your hypotheses.
4. Having gained some insight into the problem, you are now
ready to conduct a descriptive study. You decide to conduct
a survey to further test your refined hypotheses. However,
you have several decisions to make regarding this study.
a. What type of sampling approach (random, stratified, area,
quota) will you use and why?
b. What survey method (mail, telephone, personal interview) will
you use and why?
c. How will you construct the questionnaire? Develop
open-ended, dichotomous, or multiple-choice questions that
will test your hypotheses. Remember to remain impartial and
inoffensive.
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The Marketing Research Process (cont’d)
• Observation (for Data Collection)
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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Class Exercise
What is the most appropriate data collection method for
each of these research questions?
1. How do consumers in South Dakota feel about Christmas
shopping?
2. How do JC Penney customers feel about Penney’s
customer service?
3. What is the opinion of U.S. consumers toward a Chrysler
advertisement that questions the quality of Japanese cars?
4. How many people nationwide currently live in apartments?
5. How do Sears’ charge customers view that company’s new
pricing policy?
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The Marketing Research Process (cont’d)
• Experimentation
– A research method that attempts to
maintain (control) certain variables while
measuring the effects of experimental
(uncontrolled) variables
• Independent variable: acts on the dependent
variable
• Dependent variable: is affected by variations in
the independent variable
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Interpreting Research Findings
• Statistical Interpretation
– Analysis of survey data to determine what
is typical or what deviates from the
average that indicates:
•
•
•
•
•
How widely the responses vary
How the responses are distributed
Which hypotheses are supported
Which hypotheses are rejected
Whether construction errors have invalidated
the survey’s results
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Interpreting Research Findings (cont’d)
• Reporting Research Findings
– Take an objective look at survey findings
• Report deficiencies and reasons for
deficiencies
– Prepare a formal, written document
• Summary and recommendations
– Short, clear, and simply expressed for executives
• Technical report
– Contains more detailed information about research
methods and procedures and important data
gathered
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Using Technology to Improve Marketing
Information Gathering and Analysis
• Marketing Information Systems
– Marketing Information System (MIS)
• A framework for the management and
structuring of information gathered regularly
from sources inside and outside
an organization
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Using Technology to Improve Marketing
Information Gathering and Analysis (cont’d)
• Databases
– Database
• A collection of information arranged for easy
access
and retrieval
– Single-source data
• Information provided by
a single marketing
research firm
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Using Technology to Improve Marketing
Information Gathering and Analysis (cont’d)
• Marketing Decision Support Systems
(MDSS)
– Customized computer software that aids
marketing managers in decision making
• Capability to create market models based on
changes in marketing variables
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) assists
in customer support
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Using Technology to Improve Marketing
Information Gathering and Analysis (cont’d)
• The Internet and Online Information
Services
– Ease of information dissemination
– Ease of information
accessibility (intranets)
– Access to customer data
(data mining websites)
– Subscription information
services on Web
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Issues in Marketing Research
• The Importance of Ethical Marketing
Research
– Ethical questions affect:
• The reliability of the research
• The researcher–marketing
manager relationship
• The nature of marketing
managers’ decisions
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Debate Issue
• Does marketing research (surveys,
telephone interviewing) invade a
respondent’s privacy?
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Issues in Marketing Research (cont’d)
• International Issues in Marketing
Research
– Modification of data-gathering methods to
account for regional differences
– Use of two-pronged approach to
international marketing research
• Detailed search for and analysis of secondary
data
• Field research to refine firm’s understanding of
how local environment will shape/restrict datagathering about customer needs and
preferences
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JRA provides global
marketing research
services
Reprinted with permission of JRA, J. Reckner Associates, Inc.
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After reviewing this chapter you should:
• Know the basic steps in conducting marketing
research.
• Be familiar with the fundamental methods of
gathering data for marketing research.
• Be able to describe the nature and role of information
systems in marketing decision making.
• Understand how such tools as databases, decision
support systems, and the internet facilitate marketing
research.
• Be able to identify key ethical and international
considerations in marketing research.
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Chapter Quiz
1.Marketing information systems and
marketing research have changed
rapidly because customers and
companies around the world have been
linked by
a. the computer.
b. the Internet.
c. the Interactive Network.
d. electronic online services.
e. telecommunications.
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Chapter Quiz (cont’d)
2. Dan was given the task of conducting a research
project for his firm and proceeds with the following
steps. He asks questions to determine the research
topic, conducts a telephone survey, writes a report
describing the survey results, and gives that report to
his boss. Which step of the marketing research
process has Dan omitted?
a. Collecting data
b. Defining and locating problems
c. Interpreting research
d. Designing the research project
e. Reporting research findings
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Chapter Quiz (cont’d)
3.A study that is valid and reliable
a. is called a marketing research study.
b. measures what it is supposed to measure
and produces almost identical results
every time.
c. is expensive to implement and complete.
d. measures subtle differences in the
population being studied.
e. is difficult to produce without expert
researchers.
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Chapter Quiz (cont’d)
4. Chelsea, Ltd., a retail clothing store chain,
wants to use observation methods to gather
information about shopping behavior. Which
of the following should Chelsea know about
observation methods of data collection?
a. Observation uses secondary sources of data.
b. Observation depends on mall interviews.
c. Observation can tell Chelsea what is being done,
but not why.
d. Observation focuses on open-ended questions.
e. Observation works best for telephone surveys.
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