Chapter 8
Improving Decisions with
Marketing Information
For use only with
Perreault/Cannon/
McCarthy texts, © 2009
McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc.
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
www.mhhe.com/fourps
Marketing Information Inputs to Marketing
Strategy Planning Decisions (Exhibit 8-1)
Marketing Information Inputs to Marketing
Strategy Planning Decisions (Exhibit 8-1)
Information
for marketing
decisions
Marketing information
systems
• Accessing multimedia data
• Data warehouse
• Decision support systems
• Marketing models
Marketing Research
• Role of research specialist
• Scientific method
• Steps in marketing research
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Define problem
Analyze situation
Gather problem specific data
Interpret the data
Solve the problem
Who Does the
Work?
Effective Research Requires Cooperation
That marketing research
geek doesn’t understand my
business – she doesn’t even
know my competitors!
That overpaid Gen Y is
clueless – she doesn’t even
know how a chi-square is
computed!
Collaboration Is Absolutely Necessary!
Changes Are Under Way in Marketing
Information Systems
MIS Makes
Information
Available and
Accessible
Get More
Information
Faster and
Easier
Marketing
Managers Must
Help Develop an
MIS
An Intranet Is
Easy to Update
Elements of a Complete Marketing Information
System (Exhibit 8-2)
The Impact of an MIS
Information for
implementation, planning
and control
Many Firms Are Not There
Yet
Scientific method
The process by which scientists, collectively and over time, endeavor
to construct an accurate (that is, reliable, consistent and nonarbitrary)representation of the world.
http://teacher.pas.rochester.edu/phy_labs/AppendixE/A
ppendixE.html
The scientific method has four steps
• Observation and description of a phenomenon or
group of phenomena.
• Formulation of an hypothesis to explain the
phenomena
• Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of
other phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the
results of the new observations.
• Performance of experimental tests of the predictions
by several independent experimenters and properly
performed experiments.
The Scientific Method and Marketing Research
(Exhibit 8-3)
Feedback to previous steps
Defining the problem
Analyzing the situation
Getting problemspecific data
Interpreting the data
Solving the problem
Early
identification
of solution
Changing View of the Marketing
Research Process
•
Explain the differences between
data and information
Five Situations When Marketing
Research Not Needed
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Information already available
Insufficient time frame
Inadequate resources
Costs outweigh the value of the research
Strategic importance of the problem
Defining the Problem – Step 1
Finding the Right Problem
Level
Problems vs. Symptoms
Setting Research
Objectives
Analyzing the Situation – Step 2
What Information Do We
Already Have?
Situation Analysis Helps
Educate a Researcher
Checking Your Knowledge
Edna Bates, a marketing researcher who is an expert in
customer satisfaction research, is asked by a client to
conduct a study dealing with a completely unfamiliar
research topic. Edna consults secondary data to gain more
insight about this unfamiliar area. Edna is engaged in the
_________ stage of the marketing research process.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
problem definition
situation analysis
gathering problem-specific data
data interpretation
solving the problem
Secondary and Primary Data (Exhibit 8-4)
Secondary
data
sources
Inside
company
Company files, intranet, reports,
marketing information system,
people, sales, cost data
Outside
company
Internet, libraries, governments,
trade associations, universities,
private research organizations
Observation
Equipment (video, scanner, etc.);
website analysis; personal
approaches
Questioning
In-depth and focus group
interviews; online, mail, phone,
personal surveys; panels
All data
sources
Primary
data
sources
Private
Sources Are
Useful Too
The Bottom Line on Secondary Data
Key
Issues
Situation
Analysis – A
Lot For a
Little
What Else Is
Needed?
Research
Proposal
Getting Problem-Specific Data – Step 3
Questioning
Observing
• Monitoring
behaviors
• Human or
machine
• Costs coming
down
• Asking people
Primary
Data
• Formal or
informal
• Qualitative
questioning is
open-ended
Focus Groups Stimulate Discussion
Focus Group Interviews
A popular type of qualitative research
Involves a small group (usually 6 to 10 people) in a
discussion—usually for about 1 hour
A group leader ("interviewer") unobtrusively guides the
discussion
Designed to get in-depth, open-ended responses, not
intended to be "representative" of larger market
Group interaction stimulates thinking and reactions
Analysis of results is subjective
May involve videotaping and or “on-line sessions” and
other technologies
Structured Questioning Gives More Objective
Results
Can be
summarized in
numbers
Seeks
structured
responses
Quantitative
Research
Faster response
& analysis
Surveys Come in Many Forms
Mail and Online
Primary
Methods
for
Collecting
Survey
Data
Personal
Interview
Telephone
Checking Your Knowledge
A researcher wants to study 1,000 consumers and
needs information about a lot of personal and
sensitive issues. Which of the following would be
the best way to gather this information?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Mail survey
Focus group
Telephone survey
Face-to-face interview
Experiment
Observing – What You See Is What You Get
Observation In Common
in Advertising Research
Website Analysis
Checkout Scanners “See”
A Lot
Consumer Panels
Experimental Method Controls Conditions
(Exhibit 8-5)
Difference in response
between two groups
Half of the
people see
Ad #1
Representative
group of
customers
Half of the
people see
Ad #2
Average for group
who saw Ad #1 = 3.2
Average for group
who saw Ad #2 = 4.6
1
2
3
4
What conclusion can you draw from this research?
5
Interactive Exercise: Types of Data
Interpreting the Data – Step 4 (Exhibit 8-6)
What is your household income?
Does your
home have
broadband
Internet
service?
Less
than
$30,000
Yes
No
Total
$30,000 to
50,000
$50,001
to
$75,000
More
than
$75,000
Total
Sample
23.7%
46.2%
52.3%
72.4%
47.1%
76.3
53.8
47.7
27.6
52.9
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
Key Concerns in Data Interpretation
Population
Sample
Key
Issues
Validity
Confidence
Intervals
Ethical Issues in Marketing Research
Withholding Information
Disguised Sales Pitches
Unauthorized Disclosure of
Personalized Information
Lying with Statistics
Checking Your Knowledge
A sales training firm wants feedback on the quality of its
classes and training services. The firm planned to send
mail surveys to CEOs of its client companies to get the
needed information. However, one executive objected to
the survey plan, saying, “CEOs don’t attend our classes.
How will they know if the classes are any good?” Another
executive added, “If the survey isn’t relevant to the CEOs, it
will be thrown away and we’ll get no data.” It appears that
the research design presents problems with:
A. response rate.
B. relevance of population.
C. validity.
D. improper statistical analysis.
E. both A and B.
Interactive Exercise: Confidence Interval
Solving the Problem – Step 5
Actionable Results
Lack of Impact?
Managers Need to Know
About Research
Quality of Suppliers
Is Variable
Needed: Time,
Forethought, Money
Checking Your Knowledge
A marketing research firm conducted a telephone survey
for a consumer products company. It provided new and
interesting information about brand image, the competition,
and other topics. At the end of the research company’s
results presentation, the sales manager commented, “This
is all interesting information, but it doesn’t tell me why our
market share is declining among 18 to 34 year old women,
nor does it offer me any suggestions about actions I can
take to deal with the situation.” The sales manager’s
complaint suggests that the research suffers from problems
with:
A. a lack of action implications for management.
B. poor planning by the researcher and managers at the outset
C.
D.
E.
of the project.
poor sampling.
a low response rate.
both A and B.
International Marketing Research
Research
Contributes to
Success
Accurate
Data—Hard To
Find?
Coordinate and
Standardize
Use Local
Researcher
You should now be able to:
1.
Know about marketing information systems.
2.
Understand the scientific approach to
marketing research.
3.
Know about methods for collecting secondary
and primary data.
4.
Understand the role of observing, questioning,
and using experimental methods in marketing
research.
Key Terms
• Marketing research
• Marketing information
system (MIS)
• Intranet
• Data warehouse
• Decision support
system (DSS)
• Search engine
• Marketing dashboard
• Marketing model
• Scientific method
• Hypotheses
• Marketing research
process
• Situation analysis
• Secondary data
• Primary data
• Research proposal
• Qualitative research
• Focus group interview
• Quantitative research
• Response rate
• Consumer panel
Key Terms
•
•
•
•
•
•
Experimental method
Statistical packages
Population
Sample
Confidence interval
Validity