Marketing Research

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Objectives

Describe the need for marketing information

Explain the nature of marketing research in a marketing information function

Explain the nature and scope of the marketing-information function

Describe sources of secondary data

Use data for information analysis

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Marketing researchers use a process similar to the scientific method.

Start with a question

Review background information

Develop a hypotheses to test

Collect data to test the hypotheses

Analyze the data

Draw conclusions based on the research

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Marketers need all the information they can get to make informed decisions about their:

Products Prices Promotions

Competitors Target market(s)

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All effective marketing-research projects have certain specific characteristics.

Systematic

Accurate

Objective

Thorough

Timely

Reliable

Valid

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Why learn about marketing-research

problems?

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Discussion #1

Have you ever encountered difficulty with a situation because

you didn’t have a clear understanding of the problem?

How could a better understanding of the problem have helped you?

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Why learn about marketing-information management?

Marketers are required to make many different types of decisions.

Choosing the best target markets for new productsSelecting advertising media for existing productsSpecifying products to be discontinued

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Discussion #2

Can you think of some common problems or

opportunities businesses might face that might

require marketing research?

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Most businesses today wouldn’t survive without marketing information.

Businesses need marketing

information to:

• Make educated decisions• Solve problems efficiently• Plan for the future

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Steps to finding and using data

Identify needed data

Create a plan for collecting, storing, and analyzing data

Compile a list of secondary sources providing needed data

Retrieve needed data

Analyze and use dataD A T A

What is the difference between data and information?

Data are facts and figures

•Numbers•Dates•Names

Information is facts and data presented in

a useful form

•Knowledge derived from study•Experience•Communication of intelligence

For data to become information, they

must be

•Processed•Organized•Presented in an understandable, meaningful manner

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Data and information are related to each other, but they are not the same.

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• Marketing information is – marketing data– available from inside and outside a

business– has been processed and organized in a

useful way

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• Marketing data is – good to have– does not become valuable until turned

into marketing information

Marketing data can be used to generate helpful marketing information, including details about:

Products Vendors and Suppliers Pricing

Promotional effectiveness Customers Competitors

Economic trends and conditions

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Discussion #3

What are examples of marketing information

and how might this information be used by

marketers?

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There are two different categories of marketing information and information sources.

Primary

Secondary

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Primary Information

Developed from data that are collected in a systematic manner for use in one particular situation.

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Why primary data are gathered

To solve a problem

To explore an opportunity

For any other specific purpose useful to a business

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Some ways in which primary data are gathered in the virtual and physical worlds

Questionnaires

Focus groups

Personal interviews

Test markets

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Discussion #4

Identify and explain an example of

primary data and information.

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Secondary Information

Comes from data that have already been collected for other purposes.

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Secondary Information is popular because

obtained quickly and less expensively than primary data

gives a better understanding of a problem

helps to pinpoint issues that customers are experiencing and ways to resolve these issues

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Places you can look for secondary data

Sales invoices

Customer records

Sales reports

Expense reports

Call reports

Warranty cards

Competitor data

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Discussion #5

Identify and explain an example of

secondary information.

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Marketing information may be developed from either quantitative or qualitative data.

Quantitative data are numerical.

Qualitative data focus on opinions and personal interpretations.

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