Lecture 3Farha Hassan

Definition Application of the scientific method in

searching for the truth about marketing phenomena.

Marketing IntelligenceMarketing Intelligence Marketing ResearchMarketing Research

Ongoing process Usually done in-house Not meant for immediate

action General purpose Focus on competition and

environment

Project based on information gap

Mostly outsourced to MR companies

Action oriented Very specific answers to

questions Focus on consumers,

influencers, etc

BASIC M.R APPLIED M.R

Conducted without a specific decision in mind.

Does not address the needs of a specific organization.

Does not aim at solving a particular problem.

Conducted with a specific decision in mind.

Address the need of a particular organization.

Aims at solving a particular problem.

What do we sell?• Tangible/Intangible benefits

How do consumers view our company?• Favourably/ Unfavourably/ Neutral

What does our company/product mean?• What does the packaging and promotion mean to

customers? What do consumers desire?

• How can company make life of consumers better?• How can it do it in a way that cannot be easily

duplicated?

Johnson & Johnson Band Aid Allen Solly- Women’s Western Wear Johnson’s Baby Lotion

Pricing research

Product research

Distribution research

Promotion research

Concept research

Pricing research

Product research

Distribution research

Promotion research

Concept research

During a product launch, there would be several stages, the first stage is the concept development and testing.

The idea may come from many sources. Whatever may be the source, it is generally

researched further through concept testing before it goes into other stages.

Eg Fabric softner.

Pricing research

Product research

Distribution research

Promotion research

Concept research

Includes studies designed to evaluate and develop new products and to learn how to adapt existing product lines.

Concept testing exposes potential customers to a new product idea to judge the acceptance.

Product testing reveals the product prototype’s strengths and weakness.

Brand name evaluation studies investigate whether a name is appropriate for a product.

Package testing assesses size, color, shape, ease of use and other attributes of a package.

Eg: Cheetos, first brand of American snack food to be made and marketed in China was tested in China with 600 flavours and finally only 2 flavours were launched.

Pricing research

Product research

Distribution research

Promotion research

Concept research

Pricing involves the amount of monetary sacrifice that best represents the value customers perceive in a product.

Most organizations conduct pricing research. Pricing research investigates the way people

respond to pricing tactics. How do customers respond to price reductions? How much are they willing to pay for some

critical product attribute? Do price gaps among National, Regional and

Private label brands exist?

Do you think the price of “Brand A” of TV is appropriate?

Wrong way to ask question. It may require experience of several price

related studies before one begins to appreciate the nuance of consumer behavior related to price.

Pricing research

Product research

Distribution research

Promotion research

Concept research

Distribution research is typified by studies aimed at selecting retail sites or warehouse locations.

A survey of retailers or wholesalers may be conducted as the actions of one channel member can greatly affect the performance of other channel members.

This study gives knowledge about retailers’ and wholesalers’ operations.

Research focused on developing and improving the efficiency of marketing channels is extremely important.

E.g. 1 TV technology has advanced greatly. As a

result more and more customers are having home theatres, satellite TV, etc. how will this affect the traditional channels of distribution of motion pictures ???

E.g. 2 Prescription drugs can be purchased via

internet. For the consumer, this marketing channel bypasses the traditional doctors and pharmacists’ visit. Now, for a pharmaceutical firm, • Is it wise to take advantage of this channel? By

removing the family doctor, • Does the drug seem to be less effective? • If so, is the brand reputation harmed?

Pricing research

Product research

Distribution research

Promotion research

Concept research

It investigates the effectiveness of advertising, premiums, coupons, sampling, discounts, public relations and other sales promotions.

However, most time is spent on “Advertising research”

Two major categories in advertising research are:• Copy testing• Media research

It includes research into all aspects of advertising- brand awareness, brand recall, copy recall, recall of slogan or jingle, celebrity endorsement, etc

A ‘Copy’ is a name given to text used in an advertisement.

The major activity under this category is research into viewership of specific television programmes on various TV channels

Specialised agencies like A C Nielsen offer viewership data worldwide.

In India, ORG-MARG and IMRB offer this service.

They offer peoplemeter data with brand names of TAM and INTAM.

Though very useful most of the time, it is not the only input for decision making.

Many small businesses run without doing marketing research and very successful too.

Many managers base their work on judgement, intuition and perceptions rather than numerical data.

Eg: Hot Shot Camera Time taken should be minimum in dynamic

world.

Any information collected from a respondent should not be misused for any other purpose.

Forcing respondents to answer the questions is not professionalism.

Confidentiality of replies should be protected. If questions are embarrassing, they can have an

option to avoid it.