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The Marketing Research Process

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Marketing Research: Definition

• Many definitions of Marketing Research:

– “Marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company.”

– Marketing research is the process of designing, gathering, analyzing, and reporting information that may be used to solve a specific marketing problem.

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Need For Marketing Research

• Why do businesses need accurate and up-to-date information?

– To undertake marketing effectively

– Changes in technology

– Changes in consumer tastes

– Market demand

– Changes in the product ranges of competitors

– Changes in economic conditions

– Distribution channels

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Purpose Of Marketing Research

• Gain a more detailed understanding of consumers’ needs: – e.g., views on products’ prices, packaging, recent advertising

campaigns

• Reduce the risk of product/business failure:– there is no guarantee that any new idea will be

a commercial success

– Can help to achieve commercial success

• Forecast future trends:– it can also be used to anticipate future customer needs

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EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH IN MARKETING

Marketing Decision

Types of Research

Target Markets

sales, market size; demand for product, customer characteristics, purchase behavior, customer satisfaction, website traffic

Productproduct development; package protection, packaging awareness; brand name selection; brand recognition, brand preference, product positioning

Distribution distributor interest; assessing shipping options; online shopping, retail store site selection

Promotionadvertising recall; advertising copy testing, sales promotion response rates, sales force compensation, traffic studies (outdoor advertising), public relations media placement

Pricing price elasticity analysis, optimal price setting, discount options

External Factors

competitive analysis, legal environment; social and cultural trends

Other company image, test marketing

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USES

• Identify marketing opportunities and problems

• Generate, refine, and evaluate potential marketing actions

• Monitor marketing performance

• Improve marketing as a process

• Reduces uncertainty

• Reduces risk

• Helps focus decision making

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OVERVIEW OF THE MARKETINGRESEARCH PROCESS

• Why should we do research?

• What research should be done?

• Is it worth doing the research?

• How should the research be designed to achieve the research objectives?

• What will we do with the research?

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STAGES OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS

1) Define the decision problem or opportunity

2) Specify the research objectives

3) Develop a research design

4) Design the questionnaire

5) Manage and implement the data collection

6) Analyze Data

7) Write a Final research report

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PROBLEM DEFINITION

• Problem means management problem

• “A problem well-defined is half solved”

• Identifying and defining the problem or opportunity is a crucial first step in the marketing research process.

• When defining the problem, it is important to think broadly about the possible causes.

• Defining the Problem Results in Clear Cut Research Objectives.

• Marketing problems may be difficulty-related or opportunity-related. For both, the prerequisite of defining the problem is to identify and diagnose it.

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SPECIFY THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

• What specific information should the project provide?

• If more than one type of information will be developed from the study, which is the most important? and

• What are the priorities?

• When specifying research objectives, development of hypotheses, might be very helpful.

• When achieved, objectives provide the necessary information to solve the problem.

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DEVELOP A RESEARCH DESIGN

• A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project.

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DESIGN THE QUESTIONNAIRE

• Questionnaire design is one of the basic building blocks of marketing research.

• Its first and prime role is to draw accurate information from the respondent.

• There are 3 different types of Question Classifications:– Behavioral– Attitudinal– Classification

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• Have you ever ........?

• Do you ever ........?

• Who do you know ........?

• When did you last ........?

• Which do you do most often ........?

• Who does it ........?

• How many ........?

• Do you have ........?

• In what way do you do it ........?

• In the future will you ........?

Behavioral questions address the following:

They determine people's actions in terms of what they

have eaten (or drunk), bought, used, visited, seen, read or heard. Behavioral questions

record facts and not matters of opinion.

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• What do you think of ........?

• Why do you ........?

• Do you agree of disagree ........?

• How do you rate ........?

• Which is best (or worst) for ........?

Attitudinal questions address the following:

Attitudes are opinions or basic beliefs which people have

about the productsthey buy, the companies they

deal with and it is attitudes that motivates peoplein their actions.

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• Sex. – There can be no other classifications other than

• MALE and

• FEMALE.

• Household status. – Most researchers classify adults into three groups which are:

• Head of household ( )

• Housewife ( )

• Other adult ( )

Classification questions:

Classification questions are required to check that thecorrect quota of people or

companies have been interviewed.

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MANAGE AND IMPLEMENT THE DATA COLLECTION

• This process includes field work and desk work for collecting all relevant data and information

• Field work includes interviewing the personals by interacting them face to face by visiting them in home or offices or arranging

group meetings at any preferred place.

• Desk work includes contacting personals over telephone or via series of emails and web meetings.

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ANALYZE DATA

• This process is the most important process in the research as the results are generated on the basis of data preparation.

• After the data collecting stage the collected data is – edited, – Coded, – transcribed– corrected if required and – validated.

• Uni/multivariate techniques are used for analyzing data when there is a single/multiple measurement of each element or unit in the sample data.

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WRITE A FINAL RESEARCH REPORT

• The final report should addresses the

– specific research questions identified

– the research design

– data collection

– data analysis procedures adopted

– presents the results and the major findings

• The findings should be presented in a comprehensible format so

that they can be readily used in the decision making process.

• Oral presentation should be made to management using tables, figures, and graphs to enhance clarity and impact.

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Nielsen Collects Data from Retailers & Consumers...

…& sells / trades data to the manufacturer & retailer

Consumer

Manufacturer

Retailer

Data

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Data is collected from stores & consumers

Our associates analyze & interpret the data

We draw conclusions & make recos to clients

$$Leads to business success for our clients

What Does It All Mean?

Our Associates Interpret the Data

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