1 Marketing Research. MGT252F L0301Week6: Marketing Research2 Marketing research zMarketing research is a process of discovering useful information about

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Marketing Research

MGT252F L0301 Week6: Marketing Research 2

Marketing research

Marketing research is a process of discovering useful information about environment, customers, and competition

Marketing research plays a role in situational analysis, marketing program development and evaluation

Reduces risk and uncertainty when making decisions


Define the objectiveDefine the objective

Conduct situational analysisConduct situational analysis

Conduct informal investigationConduct informal investigation

Plan and conduct formal investigationPlan and conduct formal investigation

Analyze data and report resultsAnalyze data and report results

Conduct follow-upConduct follow-up

Further study

needed?

Further study

needed?

End project and report results

End project and report results

Yes

No

Marketing research process


Marketing research process: Defining the objective

Defining a problemSolving a problem


Marketing research process: Situational analysis

At this stage, we get background information that helps refining the research problem

Collecting secondary data about company and its environment


Marketing research process: Informal investigation

Gathering readily available data from people inside and outside the company-- intermediaries, competitors, advertising agencies, and consumers

Make decision if you need further study


Marketing research process: Formal Investigation

Primary data and secondary data Secondary data

information that already exists somewhere, having been collected for another purpose

Primary data information collected for the specific

purpose at hand


Marketing research process: Formal Investigation (cont.)

Sources of secondary data internal sources

balance sheets, sales figures, customer DB

government publicationsstatistics Canada

periodicals and booksCanadian trade index, Advertising age

commercial dataA.C. Nielsen, IRI,

internet



Advantages of secondary data low cost less effort expended

process less time consuming some information

can be obtained only from secondary data

Disadvantages of secondary data collected for some

other purpose may not be very

accurate maybe outdated


Marketing research process: Formal Investigation (cont.)Primary data collection process

Data collection methodssurveyqualitative researchobservation experiment

Design study materials (e.g., questionnaire design)

Sampling Data collection



Survey Data collection by asking people questions

personal interviewtelephone surveymail survey

Advantageslarge size data, flexibility

Disadvantageserrors in questionnaire, expensive, time to

conduct, response error



Survey (cont.) Personal interview

Advantages• flexible, more information

Disadvantages• expensive, time-consuming, interviewer bias

Shopping mall intercept: a convenient, low cost method but lacks the representativeness of the sample



Survey (cont.) Telephone survey

The respondents are approached by telephone

Advantages• quickness, cost efficiency

Disadvantages• limited amount of information, limited

accessibility of people



Survey (cont.) Mail survey

Advantages• low cost

Disadvantages• low response rate• less control



Qualitative research Types

individual depth interviewFocus group interview

Advantagesresulting data has more depth and richness of

context

Disadvantagesresults not necessarily representative of populationambiguity in results



Qualitative research (cont.) Focus group interview

Loosely structured group discussion led by interviewer

The discussion is observed or videotapedBest for preliminary researchIndividual depth interview: similar

interview with a single person



Observational method Types

personal observationmechanical observation

Advantageshigh degree of accuracy, short period of

time for data collection, no interviewer bias

Disadvantagesunaware of motives, attitudes, or opinions



Experiment A research method to test the effects of

some variables in a controlled situation Example: test of two different versions of

advertisements Advantages

control

Disadvantagesunrealistic settings, biased response


Marketing research process: Formal Investigation (cont.)Questionnaire design

Wordingsimple, direct, unbiasedwritten with respondents in mind

Orderfirst question should create interest if possibledifficult and personal questions should be asked last

Formatopen-ended questionsclosed-end questions



Examples: Questionnaire design

Q1. What is your income last year? Q2. Do you agree that all automobiles should be

equipped with airbags that can save valuable lives? Q3. What is the most salient and determinant

attributes in your evaluation of an automobile? Q4. How do you evaluate the fuel efficiency and

the price of our car?


Marketing research process: Formal Investigation (cont.)More examples: Questionnaire design

(asked Americans) “What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?”

1) the energy shortage 2) quality of public school 3) legalized abortion 4) pollution

---> 32% quality of public school

Same question in open-ended form ---> 1% quality of public school



Sampling A sample is a subset of the population selected

to represent the population as a whole Samples should be representative of the

population Sample size

larger sample gives more reliable resultssmall samples are OK when they represent the

population (US presidential election poll: sample size of 1,000)



Representative sample: An example In 1936, Literary Digest’s conducted postcard

US Presidential election poll Sample size: 10 million Americans (2 million

returned) Sampling based on telephone books and

automobile registrations Survey result: Alf Landon > Franklin Roosebelt Election result: Alf Landon < Franklin Roosebelt



Sampling (cont.): Sampling procedure random sampling

every member of the population has a known probability of being included

convenience samplingthe researcher selects easiest population

members from which to obtain informationlacks the represntativeness of the population(e.g.) shopping mall intercept


Marketing research process: Data analysis and Report

Analyze data and report results code data perform statistical analysis interpret results


Marketing Information System (MkIS)

A system that generates, analyzes, store, and retrieves information for marketing decision making

Benefits of MkIS a fast information for decision making a wide variety of data collected and used the performances of product and markets

can be monitored


Marketing Information System

MkIS

•collect•storage•analysis•retrieval

•disseminate

Data•primary

•secondary

MarketerInformation need

Decision oriented inf.


Marketing Decision Support System (DSS)

A combination of data and analytical technique that allows a marketer to interactively collect, analyze, and interpret information

Example credit card acceptance decision


Marketing Decision Support System (DSS)

MkIS

•collect•storage

•ANALYSIS•retrieval

•disseminate

Data•primary

•secondary

Marketing Manager

Information need


DSS


Marketing Databases

Where data are organized, stored, and updated in a computer


Marketing Databases

MkIS

•collect•STORAGE

•analysis•retrieval

•disseminate

Data•primary

•secondary

Marketing Manager

Information need


Database


Case 1: V8

Situational factors?Research objectives?What marketing research methods were used?


Case 1: V8

Situation Decreasing sales Need for developing a new marketing

campaignObjectives

Developing a commercial Is the new commercial effective?


Case 1: V8

In-depth interview product related experience feeling benefit sought

Develop Ad messagesCreate the original Ad


Case 1: V8

Advertising effect experiment Choice of products out of brands in the

booklet Watching a TV programs and a number

of commercials including V8 Choice of products out of brands in the

booklet The difference of two choices indicates

how effective the commercial is


Case 1: V8

Content analysis Too many messages Need theme

Revision of the commercial simpler, clearer message

A second experiment increased choice after watching revised

V8 commercial


Case 2: AT&T

Situation In 1983, customer could switch 800

service provider while keeping their numbers

Competitors’ aggressive marketing actions to attract AT&T’s customers are anticipated

AT&T, the market leader at that time, needed to develop a preemptive strategies


Case 2: AT&T

Focus group interview Role playing for the generation of

competitors’ possible strategiesPersonal interview

sample: 3,200 business executives question on how AT&T will prepare for

the future competition


Case 2: AT&T

Brainstorming for the generation of main message

Create 22 ads the reliability of AT&T

Record responses to commercials of AT&T and competitors showing commercials in executives’

office

Documents

1 Marketing Research. MGT252F L0301Week6: Marketing Research2 Marketing research zMarketing research is a process of discovering useful information about