GLOBAL VISION THROUGH MARKETING RESEARCH

Introduction: -

:- Marketing research is traditionally defined as the systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of data to provide information useful in marketing decision making.

  International marketing research involves two additional complications.

 

(i)    Information must be communicated across cultural boundaries. That is , executive in Chicago must be able to translate their research questions into terms that consumers in Guanszhou, China can understand.

 

The environment within which the research tools are applied are often different in foreign markets. Rather that acquire new and exotic method of research, the international marketing research must develop the ability for imaginative and deft application of tried and tested techniques in sometimes totally strange milieus.

BREADTH AND SCOPE OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING RESEARCH

The basic difference between domestic and foreign market research is the broader scope needed for foreign research, necessitates by higher levels of uncertainty. Research can be divided into three types based on information needs:

• (i)  General information about the country, area and/or market

• (ii) Information necessary to forecast future marketing requirement by anticipating social, economic consumer, and industry trend within specific market or countries 

• (iii) Specific market information used to make product, promotion, distribution, and price decisions and to develop marketing plans.

 

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

• A marketing research study is always a compromise dictated by limits of time, cost, and the present state of the art. The research must strive for the most accurate and reliable information within existing constraints. A key to successful research is a systematic and orderly approach to the collection and analysis of data. The research process should follow these steps.

THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Define the research problem and establish research objectives.

•        Determine the source of information to fulfill the research objectives.

• Consider the costs and benefits of the research effort.

• Gather the relevant data from secondary or primary sources, or both.

• Analyze, interpret, and summarize the results.

• Effectively communicate the results to decision makers.

PROBLEMS OF AVAILABILITY AND USE OF SECOUNDARY DATA

The problem of availability and use of secondary data are as follows: 

• (i) Availability Of Data;-Detailed data on the numbers of wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers, and facilitating services, are unavailable for many parts of the world, as are data on population and income.

• (ii)  Reliability Of Data;- Available data may not have the level of reliability necessary for confident decision making for many reasons.

• (iii) Comparability Of Data:- Comparability of available data is the third shortcoming faced by foreign marketers. In United States, current sources of reliable and valid estimates of socioeconomic factors and business indicators are readily available.

• (iv) Validating Secondary Data:- Many countries have similarly high standard for the collection and preparation of data as those generally found in the United States, but secondary data from any source, including the United States must be checked carefully and interpreted carefully..

 

GATHERING PRIMARY DATA: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH If, after seeking all reasonable secondary data sources,

research questions are still not adequately answered, the market research must collect primary data.- that is , data collected specially for the particular research project at hand.

In most primary data collection. The researchers questions respondents to determine what they think about some topic or how they might behave under certain conditions. Marketing research methods, can be grouped into two basic types: quantitative and qualitative research. In both methods, the marketer is interested in gaining knowledge about the market.

GATHERING PRIMARY DATA:

Most problem in collecting primary data in international marketing research stem from cultural differences among countries, and range from the inability of respondents to communicate their opinions to inadequacies in questionnaire translation.

 

• (i)  Ability to communicate opinions:- The ability to express attributes and opinions about a product or concept depends on the respondent’s ability to recognize the usefulness and value of such a product or concept.

 

• (ii)Willingness to respond;- Cultural differences offer the best explanation for the unwillingness or the inability of many to respond to research surveys. The role of the male, the suitability of personal gender-based inquiries, and other gender-related issues can affect willingness to respond.

 

PROBLEMS OF GATHERING PRIMARY DATA

• (iii) Sampling in Field Surveys:-

• The greater problem in sampling stems the lack of demographic data and available lists from which to draw meaningful samples. If current, reliable lists are not available, sampling becomes more complex and generally less reliable.

•  

• (iv) Language and comprehension:-

• The most universal survey research problem in foreign countries is the language barrier. Differences in idiom and the difficulty of exact respondents answer. Equivalent concept may not exist in all language

MULTICULTURAL RESEARCH

• A company need to determine to what extent adaptation of the marketing mix is appropriate. Thus market characteristics across diverse culture must be compared for similarities and difference before a company proceeds with standardization on any aspect of marketing strategy.

• Multicultural research involves dealing with countries that have different languages, economies, social structure, behavior, and attitude patterns. It is essential that these differences be taken into account.

RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET

For many countries the internet provides a new and increasingly important medium for conducting a variety of international marketing research. Indeed, a survey of marketing research professionals suggests that the most important influences on the industry are the internet and globalization.

• Today the real power of the internet for international marketing research is the ability to easily access volumes of secondary data.

• There are volumes of good secondary data that can be accessed from your computer that will make international marketing research much easier and more efficient that it has ever been.

ESTIMATING MARKET DEMAND

• In assessing current product demand and forecasting future demand reliable historical data are required.

In a rapidly developing economy, extrapolated figures may not reflect rapid growth and must be adjusted accordingly. Given the greater uncertainties and data limitations associated with foreign markets, two methods of forecasting demand are particularly suitable for international marketers

• Expert Opinion:- for many market estimation problems, particularly in foreign countries that are new to the marketer, expert opinion is advisable.

• Analogy:- This assumes that demand for a product develops in much the same way in all countries as comparable economic development occurs in each country

PROBLEM IN ANALYZING AND INTERPRETING RESEARCH INFORMATION

• After data are collected, the final steps in the research process are the analysis and interpreting of findings in light of the stated marketing problem. There are so many factors, the researchers must take consideration these factors and, despite their limitations, produce meaningful guides for management decisions.

        News paper circulation figures

        Readership and listener ship studies

        Retail outlet figures

• Sales volume can all be distorted through local business practice.

PROBLEM IN ANALYZING AND INTERPRETING RESEARCH INFORMATION

• First, the researcher must possess a high degree of cultural understanding of the market in which research is being conducted.

• Second, a creative talent for adapting research methods is necessary. A researcher in foreign markets often is called on to produce result under most difficult circumstances and short deadlines.

 • Third, a skeptical attitude in handling both primary and

secondary data is helpful. 

RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONDUCTING MARKETING RESEARCH

• Depending on the size and degree of involvement in foreign marketing, a company in need of foreign market research can rely on an outside foreign-based agency or on a domestic company with a branch within the country in question. It can conduct using its own facilities or employ a combination of its own research force with the assistance of an outside agency Many companies have executive specifically assigned to the research function in foreign operations;

• Other companies maintain separate research department for foreign operations or assign a full-time research analyst to this activity

 • A trend toward decentralization of the research function is apparent. In terms of

efficiency, it appears that local analysts are able to provide information more rapidly and accurately than a staff research department.

 • A comprehensive review of the different approaches to multi-country research

suggests that the ideal approach is to have local research in each country, with close coordination between the client company and the local research companies.

COMMUNICATING WITH DECISION MAKERS

• As concert with the decision maker, it should be clearly recognized, however that getting the information is only half problem/job. That information must also be given to decision makers in a timely manner. High-quality international information system design will be an increasingly important competitive tool as commerce continues to globalize, and resources must be invested accordingly.

• Marketing decisions makers have questions about how best to serve customers, and those questions are posed and answered often through the media of questionnaires and research agencies. Even when both managers and customers speak the same language and are from the same culture, communication can become garbled in either direction.

COMMUNICATING WITH DECISION MAKERS

• The four kind of company-agency-customer relationships possible are presented in overcoming the cultural barrier.