Marketing Research Vocabulary PDF

Vocabulary Vocabulary BCE 2 with definitions. 1. Marketing research the systematic and objective gathering, analyzing and interpreting of data that help marketers explore opportunities and make better marketing decisions. 2. Market research plan Descript...

Vocabulary Vocabulary BCE 2 with definitions. 1. Marketing research the systematic and objective gathering, analyzing and interpreting of data that help marketers explore opportunities and make better marketing decisions. 2. Market research plan Description of the methods and techniques that will be used to ensure that the research is carried out in an objective and unbiased manner. 3. Hypothesis Statement about the expected relationship between two or more variables or a future development that needs to be tested or verified through research before deciding how to solve a problem or deal with the circumstances. 4. Marketing research process Systematic approach to developing and executing marketing research, which includes defining the problem and research objectives, the research plan, secondary data and exploratory research, refining the research design, primary data collection and, finally, analyzing, interpreting and presenting the research results. 5. Secondary data Pre-existing data that have been collected for another purpose at an earlier time. 6. Descriptive research Research design that focuses on determining how often something occurs or to what extent some situations vary over time, without considering possible relationships between different factors. 7. Causal research Market research that examines a cause-and-effect relationship (Experimental research). 8. Desk research Effort to find out what information is readily available on the topic being researched. 9. Internal source Secondary data (e.g. sales analyses) on file within the researcher’s own company (e.g. the sales department). 10. External source A source of secondary data (e.g. industry sales figures) outside of the organization, such as reports sold by Nielsen or available through the Internet. 11. Primary data Data collected through ‘field research’ for the research study at hand. 12. Exploratory research Small-scale study to obtain a tentative explanation of a problem or to identify additional problems for investigation. 13. Pilot survey Preliminary study to test a questionnaire before proceeding with a full-scale market research investigation. 14. Qualitative research Flexible, small-scale study seeking in-depth, open- ended responses, of which the results are indications that cannot be generalized or quantified. 15. Expert research Exploratory research to tap the knowledge and opinions of people who are – often professionally – familiar with the problem under investigation (Expert opinion or experience survey). 16. Research Design Proposal specifying the marketing research questions, the data collection method (including the sample and research instrument), how the responses will be analyzed and the study’s constraints. 17. Population All individuals with the characteristics in which the researcher is interested (e.g. all iPhone 5 owners in the UK) and therefore are part of the group that is studied. 18. Sample Segment of the population selected for marketing research in such a way that it represents the overall population, allowing the research results to be generalized to the entire population. 19. Random sample Sample in which everyone in the population has an equal chance of being selected. 20. Stratified random sample After dividing the population into mutually exclusive subsets or ‘strata’ (e.g. male and female students), the respondents from each stratum are selected randomly in proportion to their percentage of the population, allowing the research results to be generalized to the whole population. 21. Personal interview Face-to-face interview between the market research company’s interviewer and the respondent. 22. Telephone interview Market research interview as part of a telephone survey, usually conducted through computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). 23. Open-ended question Survey question that a respondent can answer as he wishes, with his answer recorded word for word. 24. Closed-ended question Survey question asking the respondent to choose between a limited number of responses. 25. Structured interview Interview in which the closed-ended questions as well as their order are determined in advance and the applicable answers simply need to be ticked or circled by respondents. 26. Semi-structured interview Interview in which the majority of the questions are open-ended, with the interviewer writing down the answers as they are given. 27. Unstructured interview Interview in which the interviewer has a checklist of discussion points and continues his questioning until he has sufficient insight into the respondent’s motives or reasoning (In-depth interview). 28. Motivation research Qualitative research conducted to gain insight into consumers’ (subconscious) motives, mindset and behaviour, for example when purchasing products. 29. Projective technique Research technique in which the subject is shown a photograph, drawing, story or a list of words and asked to react, giving the researcher insight into his personality, values, needs and (buying) motives without his realizing it (indirect questioning technique). 30. Storytelling Questionnaire method of data collection in which the respondent is shown a drawing, picture or cartoon, about which he is asked to tell a story, or to elaborate on his own experiences as a consumer. 31. Sentence completion Projective technique, in which the respondent is asked to complete a list of sentences with the first words that come to mind (e.g. ‘People who drive a Jaguar are…’). 32. Observation Method of data collection through which someone’s behaviour is recorded, without questioning him and usually without his even being aware of the process. 33. Experimental research Form of causal research in which the researcher systematically manipulates and controls an independent variable (e.g. price) and measures its effect on the dependent variable (e.g. buying behaviour), under tightly controlled conditions. 34. Uncontrolled experiment Experiment (such as a test market) in which the researcher does not intervene, but simply measures the outcome of a certain factor, determining how independent variables (e.g. current prices) affect a dependent variable (e.g. sales) (quasi-experiment). 35. Independent variable Variable (a cause, such as compettitors’ prices) of which the value has an effect on the value of the dependent variable (the result, such as sales). 36. Controlled experiment Research method in which the researcher manipulates a test group (experimental group) in order to compare the results with those of a control group that was not exposed to the treatment. 37. Experimental group Randomly selected group of subjects in an experiment who receive an experimental treatment in order to measure and compare the effect with the control group. 38. Control group Group of subjects who did not receive the experimental treatment of which the researcher measures the effect on the experimental group, to allow a comparison of the two groups and assess the experimental variable’s effect. 39. Laboratory experiment Experiment in which respondents are asked to perform a particular activity in an artificial setting, with the researcher controlling all relevant variables and manipulating others that relate to the marketing decision to be made. 40. Experimental variable Independent variable (such as price discounts or commercials) that are systematically varied in order to measure any changes in the elements that the researcher wants to examine. 41. Field experiment Experiment conducted in a realistic environment in order to capture cause-and-effect relationships. 42. Quantitative research Marketing research with an emphasis on data that can be statistically analyzed to verify a hypothesis and develop scientifically meaningful, numerical conclusions. 43. Marketing information system Combination of people, equipment, and procedures to collect, sort, analyze, evaluate and communicate relevant and timely information to marketing decision makers (MIS). 44. Market From a marketing perspective: customers - groups of people or organizations with similar needs and wants that firms can satisfy with their products or services. 45. Market arena A market, broadly defined, in which companies compete – regardless of the industry in which they operate – that satisfy the same need or whose products fulfill the same function. 46. Potential market Estimate of a product’s maximum possible sales in the entire market if all suppliers would have an optimal marketing strategy; in other words, the effective demand plus the potential demand (Market potential). 47. Effective demand Total number of products currently sold or – in the case of durable goods – purchased by customers in the past. 48. Potential demand The number of products over and above current sales that suppliers could sell between them, assuming they have an optimal marketing mix. 49. Repeat purchase Subsequent purchase of a product after a buyer’s first purchase, indicating that he is becoming brand loyal. 50. Durable consumer goods Products (such as bikes) that consumers use for a relatively long period of time. 51. Initial demand Demand from first-time buyers who never purchased the product before. 52. Replacement demand Demand from those who already own the product, but purchase a new one to replace it. 53. Additional demand Demand from customers who already own the product and buy another one to use it in addition to the existing product. 54. Extended demand The sum total of the initial demand plus the additional demand for a particular product during a period of time. 55. Total demand The sum total of the extended demand plus the replacement demand. 56. Market segmentation Dividing the total heterogeneous market for a product – based on demographic, geographic, psychographic or behavioural criteria – into smaller, homogeneous market segments of buyers who have similar needs and wants or respond in a same way to a distinct marketing strategy (Segmentation) 57. Safety stock Extra inventory that a company keeps on hand as a safety cushion in case the demand for a product exceeds the sales forecast. 58. Segmentation conditions Requirements for effective market segmentation, such as the measurability, size and accessibility of the segments, and the feasibility of the strategy. 59. Segmentation criteria Consumer characteristics – such as demographic, geographic, psychographic or behavioural variables – that can be used to subdivide the aggregate market into more homogeneous subsets of buyers or market segments. 60. Demographic market segmentation Dividing the total market into subgroups based on demographic consumer data such as income, social class, age, stage in the family life cycle, gender, ethnic background, and education. 61. Heavy user A consumer who uses a considerably larger amount of a particular product than the average level of consumption of all buyers of this product. 62. Ethnic pattern Attitudinal and behavioural characteristics of members of an ethnic group – that is a minority in a larger society – having racial, religious, linguistic, cultural or other traits in common. 63. Geographic segmentation Segmenting business and consumer markets based on geographic criteria, such as nations, provinces, cities, neighbourhoods, market size, population density, or climate in order to better tailor the marketing strategy to the preferences in various regions. 64. Psychographic market segmentation Dividing markets into segments based on consumers’ lifestyle, attitudes, interests and personality characteristics. 65. Personality characteristics Someone’s tendency to respond in a consistent and characteristic (e.g. ambitious or aggressive) way to stimuli from his environment as a way of coping with perceived reality. 66. Lifestyle segmentation Market segmentation based on how groups of people – given their underlying values, attitudes, opinions and behaviour patterns – conduct their lives. 67. Benefit segmentation A form of psychographic segmentation in which markets are defined in terms of the benefits that people seek from the product, and then segmented based on consumer preferences for specific product characteristics (Benefits-sought segmentation). 68. Homogeneous products Products that buyers view as identical, such as milk, sugar, bananas and metals, making price their primary choice criterion. 69. Heterogeneous products Products such as clothing and cars that buyers perceive as being different from one another. 70. Undifferentiated marketing Targeting strategy used when a company goes after the whole market with the same product and a marketing strategy with mass appeal, hoping to achieve economies of scale and keep costs at a minimum. 71. Concentrated marketing Targeting strategy in which a firm – with the same marketing mix – focuses on only one or a few markets, hoping to gain a large share of these segments. 72. Niche strategy A company that – as a ‘nicher’ – concentrates on only one market segment that is of minor interest to major rivals, hoping to avoid a competitive fight. 73. Market leader A company holding the largest share of a certain market segment, thanks to economies of scale in production, promotion, and distribution. 74. Differentiated marketing Targeting strategy in which a company tries to reach the entire market (or the greatest possible part of it) by developing a unique, tailored marketing mix for each of the segments it operates in. 75. Target market selection Choosing the segment(s) of buyers that the company defines as its market, and for which it develops specific marketing activities. 76. Positioning Creating a clear, powerful and consistent image for the company’s products – relative to those of competitors – that should occupy a prominent position in the customer’s mind. 77. Perceptual map A graph showing how (potential) customers perceive competing brands in a product category along two or more dimensions (e.g. cheap/inexpensive and progressive/conservative), usually important product attributes (Product positioning map). 78. Instrumental product characteristics Product features (such as the design or technology used) that – since they satisfy the buyer’s functional needs – are sometimes used in the positioning strategy. 79. Expressive product characteristics Symbolic product features – such as the emotional meaning of a brand – that meet the buyer’s need to express his lifestyle (e.g. status) or personality (e.g. ambition), often used as a positioning theme. 80. Repositioning Attempt to create a new image in the customer’s mind for an existing brand through a combination of advertising and other marketing activities. 81. Product A combination of tangible and intangible characteristics that enable an object or service to satisfy a customer need. 82. Core product The basic function or (intangible) problem-solving benefits that the product provides, such as satisfying the customer’s need for convenience (Core benefit). 83. Actual product Combination of product and service features that deliver the core benefit to the customer, such as design, quality level, ease of use and brand name. 84. Augmented product Intangible, psychological benefits and service-based features, part of the company’s promotion, price or distribution strategy – that make a product more attractive, such as an extended warranty, free home delivery and installation. 85. Product attributes A mix of tangible and intangible product features, functions and benefits that affect customers’ brand choice. 86. Consumer goods Products sold to individuals or households for their personal use or consumption (Consumer products). 87. Business products Products or industrial goods (e.g. production equipment, materials, supplies, software) sold to organizations that resell them, or use them to make their own products or to provide a service. 88. Convenience products Items that the consumer buys frequently and immediately, with a minimum of shopping effort. 89. Impulse goods Convenience products bought without pre-planning or careful decision-making, such as a pack of chewing gum at the store’s checkout. 90. Emergency goods Products purchased when the consumer urgently needs the item, such as an umbrella during a downpour. 91. Shopping products Products for which the consumer typically compares the quality, price and style of a few alternatives before buying them, such as cameras or clothing. 92. Specialty products High-involvement products (such as parachutes) or services (such as child care) for which consumers are willing to make a special effort. 93. Non-durable consumer products Consumer packaged goods (for example, shampoo) or products with a life cycle of less than 3 years, such as clothes. 94. Product mix The collection of products that a manufacturer offers, including its product lines, product types and brands; also referred to as product assortment by resellers. 95. Product line Group of closely related items in the company’s product mix that meet the same needs, appeal to the same types of customers or use the same distribution channels. 96. Product type Individual product (e.g. Gillette’s Fusion razor) that – because of certain product attributes – differs from other types (Gillette Mach3) of the same product. 97. Product mix width The number of product lines that a company sells: the more product lines, the wider the product mix. 98. Product mix length The total number of items that a company sells. 99. Product line depth The number of items (brands, types, models, sizes) in a product line. 100. Product mix consistency The extent of similarity between the products a company offers.