Marketing Research PDF

Marketing Research ○ Public Relations: communicating with the public to maintain or cultivate an image,...

Marketing Research ○ Public Relations: communicating with the public to maintain or cultivate an image, PR kits for influencers ○ Brand: the identity of the product (its CHAPTER 1: THE ROLE OF MARKETING RESEARCH name, logo, design, overall image that AND THE RESEARCH PROCESS consumers associate it with) MARKETING RESEARCH BASIC VS APPLIED MARKETING RESEARCH Marketing research is the function that links the BASIC (PURE) RESEARCH: APPLIED RESEARCH: consumer, customer, and public to the marketer To expand existing To understand & through information that identifies and defines knowledge and to answer questions marketing opportunities and threats; generates, learn more about a about specific refines, and evaluatese marketing actions; certain concept problems monitors marketing performance; and improves NOT necessarily It is more practical the understanding of marketing as a process aimed at solving a & results-oriented, Marketing research is the systematic and specific problem using quantitative objective process of gathering information to It focuses on theory methods like aid in decision-making through: development and surveys and ○ Specifying the information required to testing; using experiments to address managerial decision-making qualitative gather data and ○ Designing the method/s for collecting methods such as analyze it for information in-depth interviews actionable insights ○ Managing the data-collection process and case studies Conducted when a ○ Analyzing the results Conducted without decision must be ○ Communicating the findings and their a specific decision made about a implications in mind that specific problem Marketing research is the application of the usually does not Undertaken to scientific method in searching for the truth address the needs make decisions about marketing phenomena of an organization about particular courses of action Marketing research is the nerve center for the organization, always receiving, processing, and distributing information THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD The Dynamic Nature of Marketing Research: The scientific method is the way researchers go about using knowledge and evidence to reach objective conclusions about the real world A Summary of the Scientific Method: Marketing Strategies: ○ Advertising: informing the public about the product, “what can this product do?” ○ Promotion: part of advertising (sales promotion), B1T1, 50% off, year-end sale  THE IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING RESEARCH Tactical: day-to-day opertaions Beliefs versus costs: Does the value of the Effective marketing management requires research information exceed the cost of research conducting the research? Marketing management cannot be a hit or miss ○ MR is justified if its value exceeds the cost Marketing research helps fulfill the marketing manager’s need for knowledge of the market, leading to better outcomes MARKETING RESEARCH IN THE 21ST CENTURY Why do businesses fail from Year 0 to Year 1? ○ The main reason is that they DON’T GLOBAL RESEARCH prepare good operational plans, business MR has become increasingly global plans, marketing plans, and financial Companies that conduct business in foreign plans countries must understand the nature of those particular markets for successful international The Managerial Value of Marketing Research for business Strategic Decision-Making: Identifying and evaluating opportunities COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES ○ MR finds and assess market Advancement in technology has changed the way opportunities by analyzing data on people connect with one another, and acquire, consumer needs and market trends; it share, and distribute information, which is the then evaluates said opportunities to essence of marketing research determine their potential for success The way people connect (acquiring, sharing, and Analyzing segments and selecting target distributing information) with one another in real markets time provides a vast amount of data ○ MR divides the market into segments Marketing research (data accessibility) potential based on demographics and behavior, as well as data privacy and security concerns then helps in selecting the most promising target markets that align with the company goals THE RESEARCH PROCESS Planning and implementing a marketing mix The systematic inquiry of research requires ○ MR informs decisions on the 4Ps careful planning of an orderly investigation (product, place, price, promotion) The interrelated stages are: ensuring that the marketing mix is a. Defining the problem balanced and effective in reaching the b. Planning a research design target market c. Planning a sample Analyzing market performance d. Collecting the data ○ MR measures market performance e. Analyzing the data through KPIs (key performance indicators) f. Formulating the conclusions and like sales and ROI, allowing companies to preparing the report adjust their strategies for better results DEFINING THE PROBLEM When is Marketing Research Really Needed? The research problem begins with problem Time Constraints: Is sufficient time available discovery before a managerial decision must be made? ○ Often, only symptoms of the problem may ○ MR is needed if there’s enough time before be evident a decision is required ○ E.g. Sales may be declining, but Availability of data: Is the information already on management may not know the exact hand inadequate for making the decision? nature of the problem ○ MR is necessary because the data should Problem definition stage be sufficient for decision-making ○ The stage in which management seeks to Nature of the decision: Is the decision of identify a clear-cut statement of the considerable strategic or tactical importance? problem or opportunity ○ MR should be conducted if the decision is ○ This allows the researcher to set the strategically or tactically important proper research objectives Strategic: long-term direction  An orderly definition of the research problem There are no hard-and-fast rules for good leads a sense of direction to the investigation marketing research ○ Every marketing problem can be classified ○ This does not mean that the researcher faces chaos and confusion on a continuum ranging from complete Researchers can choose among many alternative certainty to uncertainty to absolute methods for solving a problem ambiguity Statement of research objectives [ EXPLORATORY RESEARCH ] ○ After identifying and clarifying the problem, the researcher should make a Initial research aimed to clarify and define a formal statement of the problem and the problem, gain insights, and discover new ideas research objectives It is NOT meant to provide conclusive evidence; ○ The best expression of a research objective generally qualitative, knowing that subsequent is a well-formed, testable research research is needed for definitive results hypothesis Narrowing the research scope by: ○ A hypothesis is a statement that can be ○ Investigating existing studies on the refuted or supported by numerical data topic ○ Talking with knowledgable individuals SELECTION OF THE BASIC RESEARCH METHOD and experts The level of uncertainty influences the type of ○ Informally investigating the situation research selected: EXPLORATORY RESEARCH TECHNIQUES Exploratory Descriptive Causal Secondary Data: data that is collected for a (ambiguous (partially (problem clearly different project; usually quicker and cheaper to problem) defined defined) obtain than primary data but may be outdated or problem) not perfectly match the research needs ○ Sources include: “Our sales are “What kind of “Will buyers declining and we people are purchase more Company records, libraries, don’t know why” buying are of our product in internet product? Who a new package?” Data firms (e.g., ABD, EIU) buy our Literature reviews, published competitors’ reports, industry whitepapers products?” Pilot Studies: preliminary data collection from a “Would people “What features “Which of the small sample to guide a larger study; methods are be interested in do buyers prefer two advertising informal and findings may lack precision our new product in our campaigns is ○ Often involves focus groups (6-10 people) idea?” products?” more effective?” to gather qualitative insights Case Studies: qualitative research examining one Note: The degree of uncertainty of the research or a few cases in-depth to gain insights into a problem determines the research methodology problem situation Experience Surveys: interviews with a small PLANNING THE RESEARCH DESIGN group who have experience related to the issue; A master plan specifies the methods and helps provide initial research direction procedures for collecting and analyzing the needed information (e.g. a frame work for the research plan of action) [ CAUSAL RESEARCH ] The researcher must determine the sources of information, the design technique, the sampling Aims to identify cause-and-effect relationships methodology, the schedule, and the cost of the among variables; typically, management changes research one variable (e.g., advertising) and observes the Different methods and techniques are chosen for impact on another variable (e.g., sales) exploratory, descriptive, or causal research design Often follows exploratory and descriptive research; marketing experiments are commonly used for THE ‘BEST’ RESEARCH DESIGN causal studies It is argued that there is no single best research design CAUSAL RESEARCH TECHNIQUES consistency in classification Experiments: establishes cause-and-effect ○ Coding — developing rules for interpreting, relationships by manipulating one or two variables categorizing, recording, and transferring the data to data storage media under controlled conditions; they allow Analysis researchers to test hypotheses and isolate causal ○ Application of reasoning to understand factors by eliminating outside influences the data ○ E.g., Testing different packaging to see ○ Analysis may involve sumarizing relevant consumer reactions finding, determining consistent patterns, and statistical analysis SAMPLING DRAWING CONCLUSIONS AND PREPARING A REPORT A sample is a subset of a larger population Sampling procedure uses a small number of items Researchers should look at the analysis of or a portion of the population to make a information collected and ask, “What does this conclusion regarding the whole population mean to management?” Results of a good sample should have the same Consists of interpreting information and making characteristics as the population as a whole conclusions for managerial decisions Researcher determines who is to be sampled, how Research reports should effectively communicate large a sample is needed, and how sampling units the findings of the research will be selected “What is the story? How can I convey it meaningfully to my audience?” SAMPLING ISSUES Three key sampling decisions: ○ Target population THE RESEARCH PROCESS (RECAP) Who is to be sample? ○ Sample size How big should the sample be? ○ Sampling method How should the sampling units be selected? Sampling techniques: ○ Probability sampling Every member of the population has a known, non-zero probability of selection ○ Non-probability sampling Members of the population are selected based on cecrtain judgement criteria of researchers GATHERING DATA THE RESEARCH PROGRAM STRATEGY Data may be collected by humans or recorded by The overall plan to conduct a series of marketing machines research projects Many research techniques involve various Marketing research is not a one-shot activity by a methods of data collection continuous process Two phases of data gathering: ○ An exploratory research (e.g., interview, ○ Pretesting — a small-scale study on a observation) study may be followed by a small subsample to determine the descriptive research (e.g., survey) and/or a appropriateness of the research design causal research (e.g., market test) activity; and minimize errors researchers may design specific research projects for each aspect of the marketing ○ Main study mix Management should view marketing research as playing important roles at both the strategic PROCESSING AND ANALYZING DATA planning and operational levels Editing and coding ○ Editing — checking the data-collection forms for omissions, legibility, and  DEFINITION OF TERMS market constraints Marketing Research: The application of the Marketing Channel: A network of interdependent scientific method in searching for the truth about institutions that perform the logistics necessary marketing phenomena. These activities include for consumption to occur defining marketing opportunities and problems, generating and evaluating marketing ideas, Supply Chain: Another term for a channel of monitoring performance, and understanding the distribution, meaning the link between suppliers marketing process and customers Basic (Pure) Marketing Research: Research Promotion: The communication function of the conducted without a specific decision in mind firm responsible for informing and persuading that usually does not address the needs of a buyers specific organization. It attempts to expand the limits of marketing knowledge in general and is Promotion Research: Investigates the not aimed at solving a particular pragmatic effectiveness of advertising, premiums, coupons, problem sampling, discounts, public relations, and other sales promotions Applied Marketing Research: Research conducted to address a specific marketing Integrated Marketing Communication: All decision for a specific firm or organization promotional efforts (advertising, public relations, personal selling, event marketing, and so forth) The Scientific Method: The way researchers go should be coordinated to communicate a about using knowledge and evidence to reach consistent image objective conclusions about the real world Integrated Marketing Mix: The effects of various Product-Oriented: Describes a firm that combinations of marketing-mix elements on prioritizes decision-making in a way that important outcomes emphasizes technical superiority in the product Total Value Management: The management and Production-Oriented: Describes a firm that monitoring the entire process by which consumers prioritizes efficiency and effectiveness of the receive benefits from a company production processes in making decisions Performance-Monitoring Research: Refers to Marketing Concept: A central idea in modern research that regularly, sometimes routinely, marketing that focuses on how the firm provides provides feedback for evaluation and control of value to customers more than on the physical marketing activity product or production process Marketing Metrics: Quantitative ways of Marketing Orientation: The corporate culture monitoring and measuring marketing existing for firms adopting the marketing concept. performance It emphasizes customer orientation, long-term profitability over short-term profits, and a Culturally Cross-Validate: To verify that the cross-functional perspective empirical finding from one culture also exist and behave similarly in another culture Customer-Oriented: Describes a firm in which all decisions are made with a conscious awareness of their effect on the customer Relationship Marketing: Communicates the idea that a major goal of marketing is to build long-term relationships with the customers contributing to the firm’s success Total Quality Management: Refers to a business philosophy that has much in common with the marketing concept Geo-Demographics: Refers to information describing the demographic profile of consumers in a particular geographic region Pricing: Involves finding the amount of monetary sacrifice that best represents the value customers perceive in a product after considering various