Marketing Research
4.04
Marketing Information
Management
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How are decisions made to introduce
new products and delete old ones?
4.04 Vocabulary
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Attitude Research
Data Analysis
Database Marketing
Database
Experimental Method
Forced-choice Questions
Market Intelligence
Marketing Research
Marketing Information
System
Media Research
Observation Method
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Open-ended Questions
Point-of-sale Research
Primary Data
Problem Definition
Product Research
Quantitative Research
Qualitative Research
Reliability
Sample
Secondary Data
Survey Method
Validity
4.04 Essential
Question
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How does marketing information
and research affect business and
marketing decisions?
Essential Question 1
Marketing Research
 What
is the role of marketing
information management?
What is Marketing Research?
 Obtaining
information about the
preferences, opinions, habits, trends,
and plans of potential customers.
 Helps to determine what customers
want and need.
Marketing Research
‘the systematic gathering, recording and
analysing of data about problems relating
to the marketing of goods and services’
American Marketing Association
Why is Research Important?
 Businesses
that do not pay attention
to what consumers are buying, are
likely to make costly mistakes.
 Information obtained from research
helps businesses to plan for the
future.
Why is Research Important?
 Helps
to anticipate or solve problems
in the marketplace.
 Helps a company keep track of what
is happening in its markets.
Purpose
Essential Question 2
Marketing Research
 How
does each type of research
differ from each other?
Types of Marketing Research
Advertising Research
 Focuses
on the
effectiveness of the
advertising message
and the effectiveness
of media placement.
Types of Marketing Research
Product Research
 Used
to evaluate product
design and acceptance,
competitive products,
package design, and
product usage.
Types of Marketing Research
Market Research
 Studies
customer behavior (customer
analysis) to gather information about
customer attitudes.
Types of Marketing Research
Market Research
 Studies
the behavior of a consumer
market (market analysis) to
investigate the potential markets for a
product and to define the target
market.
Types of Marketing Research
Sales Research
 The
study of sales data to determine
the potential sales for a product and
to solve problems related to future
sales.
Essential Question 3
Marketing Research
 What
are the steps in the marketing
research process?
The Marketing Research
Process
Step 1 - Defining the Problem
 Identify
and clearly state what the
problem is and what can be done to
solve the problem.
 Determine which problems are the
most important to solve at a given
time.
The Marketing Research
Process
Step 2 - Obtaining Data
 Collect
and examine information in
terms of the problem being studied.
 Primary data can be used and/or
 Secondary data can be used.
The Marketing Research
Process
Step 3 - Analyzing the Data
 Compiling,
analyzing, and
interpreting the results of primary
and secondary data.
 The results of each question can be
clearly read and interpreted.
The Marketing Research
Process
Step 4 - Recommending Solutions
to the Problem.
 Solutions
are usually presented in a
well written report.
 Recommendations must be clear and
supported by the research data.
The Marketing Research
Process
Step 5 - Applying the Results
 The
required form of action is
decided upon and put into place.
The Marketing Research Process
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Set objectives
Define research Problem
Assess the value of the research
Construct a research proposal
Specify data collection method
Specify techniques of measurement
Select the sample
Data collection
Analysis of results
Present in a final report
Essential Question 4
Marketing Research
 What
are the differences in
primary and secondary data?
Types of Data
Primary data: Data obtained for the first
time and used specifically for the
particular problem or issue under study;
collected firsthand.
 Secondary data: Data already collected
for some purpose other than the current
study; already exists, desk research.
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Primary Research
Market Research
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Primary Research
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First hand information
Expensive to collect, analyse and evaluate
Can be highly focussed and relevant
Care needs to be taken with the approach and
methodology to ensure accuracy
Types of question – closed – limited information
gained; open – useful information but difficult to
analyse
Secondary Research
Internal Sources
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Company Accounts
Internal Reports and Analysis
Stock Analysis
Retail data - loyalty cards, till data, etc.
External Sources
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Federal Government Statistics (i.e. census, labor
dept, etc.)
Local: Chamber of Commerce, Economic
Development, City & County Government, etc.
Trade publications
Commercial Data - Gallup, Mintel, etc.
Household Expenditure Survey
Magazine surveys
Other firms’ research
Research documents – publications, journals, etc.
Essential Question 5
Marketing Research
 What
methods are used to collect
primary and secondary data?
Data Collection
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Primary data can be obtained by:
- the survey method
- the observation method
- the experimental method
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Secondary data can be obtained by a
number of agencies.
- Internet Sources
- US and Government Sources
- Specialized Research Companies
- Business Publications and Trade Organizations
Essential Question 6
Marketing Research
 How
are population, sample, bias,
and error used in marketing
research?
Data Sampling
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When designing a survey, marketers must
determine the number of people to
include in their survey.
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Population: The entire target group of people under study.
Sample: Part of the target population that represents it
accurately.
Sampling - studying part of a ‘population’ to learn about the whole
Bias: Inaccuracies introduced into the results due to errors
in measurement, coverage, and nonresponsive.
Error: Determined by the sample size with respect
to the population. The greater the sample size,
the lower the margin of error.
Sampling Methods
Market Research
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Sampling Methods:
Random Samples – equal chance of
anyone being picked
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May select those not in the target group –
indiscriminate
Sample sizes may need to be large
to be representative
Can be very expensive
Market Research
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Stratified or Segment Random
Sampling
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Samples on the basis of a representative
strata or segment
Still random but more focussed
May give more relevant information
May be more cost effective
Market Research
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Quota Sampling
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Again – by segment
Not randomly selected
Specific number on each segment are
interviewed, etc.
May not be fully representative
Cheaper method
Market Research
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Cluster Sampling
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Multi-Stage Sampling
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Primarily based on geographical areas or ‘clusters’
that can be seen as being representative of the whole
population
Sample selected from multi-stage
sub-groups
Snowball Sampling
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Samples developed from contacts
of existing customers – ‘word of mouth’ type
approach!
Terminology of Marketing Research
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Quantitative research - statistical basis
Qualitative research - subjective and
personal
Market Research
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Quantitative and Qualitative
Information:
Quantitative – based on numbers – 56%
of 18 year olds drink alcohol at least four
times a week - doesn’t tell you why, when,
how
Qualitative – more detail – tells you why,
when and how!
Essential Question 7
Marketing Research
 What
are techniques are used in
marketing research?
Marketing Research Techniques
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Interviews
face-to-face
 telephone
 postal questionnaire
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Attitude measurement
cognitive component (know/believe about an
act/object)
 affective component (feel about an
act/object)
 conative component (behave towards an
object or act)
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Likert scale
strongly agree
 agree
 neither agree nor disagree
 disagree
 strongly disagree
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Semantic differential scales - differences
between words e.g. practical v
impractical
Projective techniques
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sentence completion
psychodrama (yourself as a product)
friendly martian (what someone else might do)
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Group discussion and focus group
Postal research questionnaires
Diary panels - sources of continuous
data
In-home scanning - hand-held light pen
to scan barcodes
Telephone research
Observation
home audit
 direct observation
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In-store testing
What is MKIS?
‘MKIS (MIS) is a set of procedures and
methods for the regular, planned
collection, analysis and presentation of
information for use in marketing decisions’
American Marketing Association
The components of a
computerised MKIS
Data Bank
Statistical
Bank
MKIS
Model
Bank
Display
unit
Marketing
Manager
The components of a
computerised MKIS
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Data bank - raw data e.g historical sales
data, secondary data
Statistical bank - programmes to carryout sales forecasts, spending projections
A model bank - stores marketing models
e.g Ansoff’s matrix, Boston Matrix
Display unit - VDU and keyboard
Essential Question 8
Marketing Research
 What
are the advantages &
disadvantages of marketing
research?
Market Research
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Advantages of Market Research
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Helps focus attention on objectives
Aids forecasting, planning and strategic development
May help to reduce risk of new product development
Communicates image, vision, etc.
Globalisation makes market information valuable
(HSBC adverts!!)
Market Research
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Disadvantages of Market Research
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Information only as good
as the methodology used
Can be inaccurate or unreliable
Results may not be what the business wants to hear!
May stifle initiative and ‘gut feeling’
Always a problem that we may never know enough to
be sure!
Essential Question 9
Marketing Research
 What
are the trends and limitations
in marketing research?
Research Trends
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Trends in research:
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Global Marketplace
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Due to increased international competition, US
companies must improve or change products frequently
to hold on to customers.
Product quality and customer satisfaction are keys to
business success and research that measures these
qualities are the fast form of marketing research.
Business Management
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Many businesses are using internal and external
information to improve business operations.
Research Limitations
 Limitations
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in research:
Money
Time
Customers saying one thing and doing
another
Market Research