1- 1 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

PART FOUR

Chapter 12

Report Preparation

and Presentation

12-2 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Chapter Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

Describe the basic requirements of report preparation.

Discuss the nature and scope of the oral presentation.

Describe the approach to the marketing research report from the client’s perspective and the guidelines for reading the research report.

Explain the reason for follow-up with the client and describe the assistance that should be given to the client and the evaluation of the research project.

Understand the report preparation and presentation process in international marketing research.

Explain the use of the Internet and computers in report preparation and presentation.

12-3 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Importance of the

Report and Presentation

Serves as a historical record of the project

Management decisions are guided by the report

Quality of the project is judged by quality of the

report

Perceived usefulness of the report is a reflection of

the writer

12-4 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Figure 12.1 The Report Preparation and

Presentation Process

Problem definition, approach, research design and field work

Data analysis

Interpretation, conclusions, and recommendations

Report preparation

Oral presentation

Reading of the report by the client

Research follow-up

12-5 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Report Preparation

Title Page

Title of research

Who prepared it

Who is it for

Date

A Survey on Household Consumption of

Fast Food

Prepared for

WE ‘R’ FAST

Prepared by

ABC Market Research

September, 2004

12-6 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Report Preparation cont.

Letter of Transmittal

Letter to client about the research, without

mentioning the findings

Should identify the need for further action on the

part of the client

Letter of Authorisation

Letter by client authorising the researcher to

conduct the research

12-7 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Report Preparation cont.

Table of Contents

Topics covered and page numbers

Followed by list of tables, list of graphs, list of

appendices

List of Graphs

List of Tables

Table of Contents

Page

1.0 Problem Definition…………….1

2.0 Approach to the Problem…….3

3.0 Research Design………………6

3.1 Data Collection.……………6

3.2 Sampling……………………7

4.0 Results….

12-8 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Report Preparation cont.

Executive Summary

Concisely describe all steps in the research

process

Major results, conclusions, and recommendations

May be the only section of the report that the

“executives” read

12-9 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Report Preparation cont.

Problem Definition

Background to the problem

Exploratory research undertaken to define the

problem

Secondary data

Management decision problem

Marketing research problem

12-10 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Report Preparation cont.

Approach to the Problem

Approach that was adopted in addressing the

problem

Qualitative research

Secondary data

Theoretical foundations [ie. Literature review]

Analytical models

Research question

Hypotheses

12-11 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Report Preparation cont.

Research Design

Type of research design

Information needed

Data collection [primary and secondary]

Scaling techniques

Questionnaire development

Pre-testing

Sampling techniques

Fieldwork

12-12 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Report Preparation cont.

Data analysis

Plan of data analysis

Justification of the data analysis strategy and

techniques used.

12-13 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Report Preparation cont.

Results

Should address the research problem, research

questions and hypotheses

Longest part of the report

Results of data analysis

Aggregate level

Subgroups level [market segment]

12-14 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Example: Aggregate and sub-group levels

Where did you hear about this Open Day?

38 12.6 12.6 12.6

29 9.6 9.6 22.2

25 8.3 8.3 30.5

52 17.2 17.2 47.7

158 52.3 52.3 100.0

302 100.0 100.0

Radio

Newspaper

Internet site

Friend/Relation

School

Total

Valid

Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Where did you hear about this Open Day? * Age of respondent Crosstabulation

Count

21 10 7 38

11 12 6 29

8 12 5 25

27 13 12 52

130 22 6 158

197 69 36 302

Radio

Newspaper

Internet site

Friend/Relation

School

Where did

you hear

about this

Open Day?

Total

18 or under 19 - 29 Over 29

Age of respondent

Total

Aggregate

Sub-group

12-15 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Report Preparation cont.

Limitations and Caveats

Time, budget and other organisational constraints

should be stated

Research design errors

Should be written with great care and a balanced

perspective

12-16 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Report Preparation cont.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Interpret results

Recommendations should be feasible, practical,

actionable

12-17 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Report writing

Plan before you write

Keep the reader in mind

Write to a person

Easy to follow

Presentable and professional appearance

Objective

Reinforce text with tables and graphs

Terse and concise

12-18 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Guidelines for Tables

Each table should have a number and title

Emphasise the most significant aspects of the

data

States units of measurement

Include leaders, rulings (or no rulings?), spaces

to improve readability

Include footnotes to clarify points

Include sources of the data if secondary data has

been used.

12-19 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Table 1 Population Summary Indicators: 1901-2101

12-20 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Graphs

Graphic aids should be employed wherever

practical

Types of graphs

Geographic and other maps

Round or pie charts [percentages]

Line charts [trends and changes over time]

Histograms [absolute and relative magnitudes,

differences and change]

12-21 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Figure 1 Loyal customers by category

5%15%

20%60%

Platinium

Gold

Silver

Bronze

12-22 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Figure 2 Small Car Sales in 2003

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

Sale

s (

mil

lio

ns)

$

Mazda 3

Astina

Focus

Impreza

Corolla

12-23 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Figure 3 Favourite sites for purchasing Online

24%

17%

14%

10%9%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Am

azon

.com

Mye

r Direc

t

Dst

ore

wis

hlist.c

om.a

u

Dym

ocks

Books

elle

rs

Source: Ernest & Young (2001) Online retailing in Australia: State of play and outlook for the industry, Sydney.

12-24 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Oral Presentation

Know your audience

Think about why they should listen

Set an objective

Prepare, prepare prepare!

Use tell’em principle

Use visual aids

Design your visuals

12-25 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Oral Presentation cont.

Ask questions

Be prepared for questions

Practice out loud

Use gestures

Prepare notes that you intend to use

Set up presentation room as you want it

KISS’em

12-26 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Reading the Research Report

Addresses the problem

Research design

Execution of the research procedures

Number and statistics

Interpretation and conclusions

Generalisability

Disclosure

12-27 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia

Research Follow-up

Assisting the client

Understand technical matters

Discuss further research

Evaluation of the research project

Could this project have been conducted more

effectively or efficiently?