Chapter 4: Market Research
• Knowledge is Power
 Accurate, up-to-date, relevant information is the fuel that
runs the marketing engine
• Marketing Information System
 Determines what information marketing managers need
• then gathers, sorts, analyzes, stores, and distributes
information to system users
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The Marketing Information System
4 Types of Data
• Internal Company Data
 Customer data – knowing who your customer is
• Customer demographics
• Spending habits
• Exercise: NASCAR
 Sales data, inventory tracking, etc.
• Example: Cracker Barrel Restaurant Wed night special
• Marketing Intelligence
 Competitive intelligence
 Information about trends in external environment
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4 Types of Data (Continued)
• Acquired Databases
 Government databases
 Purchase other companies’ data
• Customer lists (Ex: find potential buyers for your product or service)
• Another company’s intelligence (Ex: Prizm database used at Aramark)
 Misuse of customer data is an issue
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4 Types of Data (Continued)
• Marketing Research
 Collect, analyze, and interpret data about customers, competitors,
and the business environment to improve marketing effectiveness
 Syndicated research – purchase research already conducted
• Example: Lottery -- North American Gaming Study conducted by Angus Reid
 Custom research – research designed for specific needs
• Example: Lottery – Segmentation Study contracted through Angus Reid
• Example: Lottery – Focus Group Research on scratch ticket design
• Lottery Case Study – Years 1 - 4
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Customer Relationship Management:
Data Mining
• Data mining:
 Includes sophisticated analysis techniques to take advantage of the
massive amount of transaction information now available
 Analysts sift through data to identify unique patterns of behavior among
different customer groups for use in behavioral targeting
 Create categories of customers based on purchase history and other data
• Uses of data mining
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Customer acquisition – how do we attract more of our “A List” customers?
Customer retention and loyalty – how do we retain our best customers?
Customer abandonment – why are we losing customers?
Market basket analysis – where do we have additional sales potential?
• Cross-sell/up-sell
• Internet data mining
 Example: Google Analytics
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Steps in the Research Process
Define the Problem
Determine Research Design
Choose Data Collection Method
Design the Sample
Collect the Data
Analyze and Interpret Data
Prepare the Research Report
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
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Step 2: Determine the Research Design
 Specifying exactly what information marketers will collect
and what type of study they will do
 Determine whether secondary data are available
• Secondary data: Already collected for some purposes other than the
problem at hand (example: syndicated research)
 Determine whether primary data are required and if so,
what type:
• Primary data: Information collected directly from respondents to
specifically address the question at hand
– Exploratory research
– Descriptive research
– Causal research
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Marketing Research Design
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Exploratory (Qualitative) Research
• Exploratory research techniques generate
insights for future, more rigorous studies
 Typically involve in-depth consumer probing
• Types of Exploratory Research
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One-on-one interviews with consumers
Focus group
Projective techniques
Case study
Ethnography
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Descriptive (Quantitative) Research
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Probes systematically into the problem
Hypothesis testing
Bases conclusions on large sample size
Results typically expressed in quantitative
terms (averages, percentages, other stats)
 Cross-sectional design: one point in time
 Longitudinal design: over time
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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
• Lab or field study
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Step 3: Choose the Method for
Collecting Primary Data
 Survey Methods
• Phone interviews, mail survey, mall intercept, etc.
• Make sure your methodology provides a representative sample
 Observational methods: data collection where the
researcher records consumers’ behaviors, often without
their knowledge
• Personal observation
• Mechanical observation
• Unobtrusive measures
 Online Research
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Online Research Applications
• Web metrics: track consumers while they are surfing
 Example: Google Analytics – track how site visitors enter and exit site,
which pages they visit, how long they stay on site, etc.
• Cookies allow site to track a surfer’s moves
• Surveys:
 New product development
 Estimating market response
 Exploratory research (online focus groups)
 IM (Instant Messaging)
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Steps 4, 5, 6, and 7
• Step 4: Design the Sample
 Don’t worry about sampling techniques (MKTG 366)
• Step 5: Collect the Data
 Challenges to gathering data in foreign countries
• Step 6: Analyze and Interpret the Data
• Step 7: Prepare the Research Report
 Focus on implications
 Actionable outcomes
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Ethics in Marketing Research
• Marketing research ethics:
 Take an ethical and above-board approach to conducting
marketing research that does no harm to the participant in
the process of conducting the research
 Do not lead respondents to provide the results you WANT!
Avoid leading questions and loaded words
• “Most people feel that $8.00 is way too much money to pay for a
simple burrito. Would you pay $8.00 for a burrito?”
 Researchers must provide full disclosure of confidentiality
and anonymity options
 SUGGING* is unethical and against AMA code of conduct