Marketing Research PDF

MARKETING RESEARCH Research is often described as an active, diligent, and systematic process of inquiry aimed at discovering, interpreting and revising facts. The word research is derived from the French language; its literal meaning is 'to investigate thoroughly'. Basic research is also called f...

MARKETING RESEARCH Research is often described as an active, diligent, and systematic process of inquiry aimed at discovering, interpreting and revising facts. The word research is derived from the French language; its literal meaning is 'to investigate thoroughly'. Basic research is also called fundamental or pure research. Applied Research is carried out to seek alternate solutions for a problem at hand. its primary aim is not to gain knowledge. Marketing research (also called consumer research) is a form of business research. The field of marketing research as a statistical science was pioneered by Arthur Nielsen with the founding of the ACNielsen Company in 1923. Marketing research is a systematic and objective study of problems pertaining to the marketing of goods and services. Marketing Management aim to satisfy customer needs. Kotler (1999) defines marketing research as systematic problem analysis, model- building and fact-finding for the purpose of improved decision-making and control in the marketing of goods and services. The American Marketing Association (AMA, 1961) defines it as the systematic gathering, recording and analyzing of data relating to the marketing of goods and services. Green and Tull have defined marketing research as the systematic and objective search for and analysis of information relevant to the identification and solution of any problem in the field of marketing. TYPES OF RESEARCH Exploratory Research: Helps define problems and suggest hypotheses. to gather preliminary information to define problems more clearly. literature reviews, focus groups, interviews, and observations. Descriptive Research: Describes characteristics of a population or phenomenon. to describe the characteristics of a population or phenomenon. surveys, observational studies, and market share analysis. Causal Research: Tests cause-and-effect relationships. to determine cause-and-effect relationship between variables. experiments, test markets, and statistical analysis. Exploratory studies generally encompass three distinct methods: Literary Search, means you go to secondary sources of information: the internet, the public library, company or government records. Expert Interviews, these experts might include company executives or consumers. Case Studies, this allows you to examine another business’s managerial problems and solutions. Include histories of other projects and simulations of possible alternatives. DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES - help you find your market and understand your customer Sample descriptive studies: – Market potential: description of the number of potential customers of a product. – Market-share: identification of the share of the market received by your product, company and your competitors. – Sales analysis: description of sales by territory, type of account, size or model of product. – Product research: identification and comparison of functional features and specifications of competitive products. – Promotion research: description of the demographic characteristics of the audience being reached by the current advertising program. – Distribution research: determining the number and location of retailers handling the company’s products. These are supplied by wholesalers and distributed by the company. – Pricing research: identifying competitors’ prices by geographic area. There are three types of evidence that can be used to establish causal relationships: 1. Associative variation 2. Sequence of events 3. Absence of other possible causal factors METHODS 1.Primary Research Methods - involves collecting data directly from the source. A. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH - focuses on understanding opinions, motivations, and behaviors. Interviews: in-depth conversations with individuals tpurchasing op gain detailed insights. Focus Groups: guided discussions with a small group of people from your target market to explore attitudes and reactions. Observations: recording behaviors of individuals in a natural setting such as in-store or through user testing.  Ethnographic Studies: researchers immerse themselves in the environment of the participants to observe and understand behaviors and cultures. B. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH - focuses on numerical data and statistical analysis. Survey Questionnaires: structured tools with closed or multiple-choice questions administered online, via phone or in person. Experiments and Field Trials: controlled experiments to test the impact of variables such as price, packaging, or product features. Product Testing: allowing customers to use the product anabefore its launch and gathering feedback. 2.SECONDARY RESEARCH METHODS - involves analyzing data collected by others. Literture Reviews: reviewing existing reports, articles, white papers and academic research related to the industry or topic. Public Data Sources: government reports, industry publication and trade association data that provide insights into market trends. Commercial Reports: purchasing or accessing research reports from specialized research industries like Nielsen or Gartner. Internal Data Analysis: leveraging data already within the company (sales records, customer data bases, etc.) to draw conclusions. 3.MIXED METHOD RESEARCH - a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches to provide a comprehensive understanding. 4.DIGITAL AND EMERGING METHODS - these methods take advantage of technology and data analytics. Social Media Analysis: monitoring social media platforms for mentions, sentiment analysis, and trend tracking. Web Analytics: analyzing online behavior using tools like google analytics to understand customer journeys. Online Communities and Panels: engaging customers in digital forums or panels for ongoing feedback. Mobile Research: gathering data through apps, SMS, or mobile-enabled surveys. MARKET RESEARCH - Focuses on gathering data about a market, industry, or consumer behavior to understand consumer needs, preferences and market trends. MARKETING RESEARCH - Applies market research findings to inform marketing strategies, tactics, and decision-making. It’s more action oriented. SOURCES OF MARKETING INFORMATION 1. Secondary sources Data that can be sourced either from the internal company records or from external information providers. External sources of information include government publications, trade journals, periodical, newspapers, books, annual reports, store audits, consumer purchase panels and many more. 2. Respondents Refers to the subject of the study Customers’ verbal and behavioral responses Natural Experiments - here, the investigator only measures results, having no control over the elements of the experiment. Controlled experiments - measure specific variables and require the researcher to be more involved. Experimental results are then compared to a control group in order to measure the chosen variable. SIMULATION - often developed for marketing systems and include marketing-mix elements (new-product, price, advertising, and sales-force variables). COMMON ERROR TYPES RESPONDENT SELECTION ERRORS - refer to issues related to the process of selecting respondents of a survey. 1. Population Specification Error - occurs when the target population is not accurately defined or specified. 2. Sampling Errors - this error arises from the sampling process itself, such as when the sample is not a representative of the population. 3. Selection Errors - occur when there are biases in the selection of the respondents, leading to an unrepresentative of the population. 4. Frame Errors -occurs when the sampling lane (the list of individuals or units from which the sample is drawn) is incomplete or inaccurate. 5. Survey Non-Response Errors - these errors occur when individuals refuse to participate in the survey or cannot be contacted. ACCURACY OF RESPONSE ERRORS - refers to the issues related to the accuracy of the responses provided by the respondents. 1. Non-Response Errors - occurs when respondents fail to provide answers to certain questions, leading to missing data. 2. Surrogate Information Errors - occurs when respondents provide information that is not relevant or inaccurate to the question being asked. 3. Measurement Errors from Interviewers - occur when interviewers ask questions incorrectly, record response inaccurately, or influence respondents’ answers. 4. Measurement errors from questions - occur when questions itself is unclear. 5. Measurement errors from respondents - occur when respondents provide misleading or inaccurate information due to various reasons. THREE DATA SOURCES 1.Primary data Collected by the researcher Respondents are asked questions while the researcher collects the responses 2.Secondary data Collected from research This information is often found in outside sources. 3.Commercial data It is secondary data sold by syndicated services. TYPES OF SECONDARY INFORMATION Internal secondary data - These are information collected by companies in their everyday conduct of business. External secondary data - Data obtain from outside sources. Internal sources of data can be broadly classified into: a. Operational Database - This database typically collates from the accounting, marketing and operations departments, and houses data at the company and customer levels. b. Customer Feedback - This enables the company to listen to the customer and design product offerings that match their exact needs. This can be achieved by tracking information regarding product returns, service records, customer correspondence, customer suggestions and complaint letters. c. Customer Database - contains customer-level information that can be sorted and analyzed to produce useful information. SOURCES OF EXTERNAL SECONDARY DATA a. Government Data Sources - Based on censuses conducted by the federal, state, local and supranational governments. b. Private Data Sources - Private organizations that provides useful demographic information. c. Computerized Databases Five categories of commercial databases Bibliographic databases that index publications. Financial databases with detailed information about companies. Statistical databases of demographic, econometric, and other numeric data for forecasting and doing projections. Directories and encyclopedias offering factual information about people, companies, and organizations. Full-text databases from which an entire document can be printed out. USES OF SECONDARY DATA 1. Estimation of Demand 2. Scanning the Competitive Environment 3. Segmentation and Targeting 4. Developing a Business Intelligence (BI) System Elements of an Interview CONTEXT - The total situation in which an interview takes place, including location, physical arrangements, the people present, and those absent. This also includes status differences between parties, temperature, privacy, and time. CONTENT - What the parties talk about during the interview. It involves topic selection and treatment, arguments, supporting materials, language, and questions and answers. STRUCTURE - Includes the interviewer’s or interviewee’s basic organizational patterns, sequences of topics and questions, and the means used to open and close interviews. DISCLOSURE - The willingness on the part of both parties reveals their “true” selves to one another. FEEDBACK - The continuous stream of verbal and nonverbal signals (e.g., smiles, puzzled expressions, raised eyebrows, moans) sent between interview parties that reveal feelings: belief or disbelief, approval or disapproval, understanding or misunderstanding, interest or disinterest, and awareness. COOPERATION - The degree to which the interview parties are willing and able to reduce the competition inherent in most interview situations and work together for their mutual benefit. CONFLICT - The potential or actual struggle between parties because of incompatible or opposing needs, desires, demands, and perceptions. TRUST - Belief in the good, worth, ethics, believability, and reliability of the other party. STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS - asked in a specific order. 1.Customer Satisfaction Surveys: A formal questionnaire is used, where customers rate their satisfaction on a scale (e.g., 1-5) across several standardized questions. 2.Product Usage Surveys: Respondents are asked predefined questions about how they use a product (e.g., frequency of use, primary features, etc.). 3.Demographic Surveys: Questions about age, income, gender, education level, etc., are asked in a specific sequence. 4.Brand Awareness Surveys: Participants are asked if they recognize specific brands and to rank them in terms of familiarity or preference. 5.Post-Purchase Feedback Interviews: After a purchase, customers are asked structured questions about their purchasing experience, product quality, delivery time, etc. UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEWS - more flexible and open-ended, allowing for in-dept responses. 1.In-depth Consumer Interviews: Consumers are asked broad, open-ended questions about their preferences and motivations for choosing a product or service. 2.Focus Groups: A group of participants discusses a product or service freely, with a moderator guiding the conversation but without strict adherence to a questionnaire. 3.Ethnographic Research Interviews: The interviewer observes and asks questions about the participant’s behavior in real-time settings, often allowing the conversation to flow naturally. 4.Exploratory Interviews: Used in the early stages of product development, participants are asked broad questions about their needs, desires, and pain points, with no fixed agenda. 5.Executive or Expert Interviews: Senior managers or industry experts are interviewed to gather insights on market trends, strategy, or industry changes, often without strict questioning. STRUCTURED-DIRECT INTERVIEWS - complete with formal questionnaire and with Non disguised questions, are focused and to the point. Easy to use and make it easy to collect information. UNSTRUCTURE-DIRECT INTERVIEWS - allow the interviewer to be casual and informal, developing questions naturally over the course of the interview. INACCURACY - It refers to either intentional or unintentional errors in a respondent’s answers, in the future (predictive) or in the present (concurrent). CONCURENT INACCURACY - occurs when the respondent intentionally does not provide accurate information because of an inability or an unwillingness to respond. Inability to Respond due to three major conditions: Memory error Ignorance error Misunderstanding Unwillingness to Respond Investigator Expectations Investigator Unwillingness Costs of Time and Effort Perceived Losses of Prestige Invasion of Privacy AMBIGUITY - occurs when respondents misinterpret written or spoken questions. Non-Response Error in Interviews - major reasons includes lack of interest; lack of time; concerns about data privacy and personal protection. THEORIES OF SURVEY RESPONSE Exchange - social exchange theory asserts that the actions of individuals are motivated by the reward from these actions. Cognitive Dissoance - It suggests that reducing dissonance is important as potential survey respondents decide whether to respond or not. Self-Perception - Self-perception theory asserts that people find the causes of their behavior by interpreting their attitudes and knowledge. Commitment and Involvement - deals with the allegiance someone feels for any system they belong to. Reciprocity - requires that a person give an in-kind response to another: positive for positive, negative for negative. LEVERAGE-SALIENCE - This theory suggests that interest in a topic is a key factor in prospective respondents’ willingness to participate in surveys. COVERAGE ERROR - occurs when the sample frame (the group from which the sample is drawn) does not represent the population as a whole. SAMPLING ERROR - when a non-representative sample is drawn from the sampling frame. Interviewing Modes In Person By Telephone By Mail, Or by Email Online Surveys POPULATION - it consists of the total set of individuals, households, or businesses you want to include in your study. Census is a complete survey of an entire population. Sample gets information from just a small, but hopefully representative, fraction of the population. TYPES: PROBABILITY SAMPLING AND NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING. SAMPLING UNIT - a unit of the population chosen during the sampling process. May contain one or more elements describing the population. SAMPLING FRAME - It is a physical listing of elements within the population. It helps you to identify, assess, and select the elements to be considered in the population. Three traditional approaches can help decide the size for any given research project: 1. Arbitrarily or judgmentally determined 2. Minimum cell size needed for analysis 3. Budget-based COSTS OF SAMPLING overhead costs, which are relatively fixed for a sampling procedure, and variable costs, which depend on the number of respondents contacted and interviewed in the study. NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING PROCEDURES Quota Sample - Respondents are selected to reflect proportions in the various subclasses (or strata) of the population of interest. Judgment Sample - used to carefully and consciously choose the elements as you develop a suitable sample. Convenience Sample - It means that the population is accessible, convenient, easily measured, cooperative and articulate Snowball Sampling - Procedure where initial respondents are selected randomly, but you collect referrals from the initial group for additional respondents. PROBABILITY SAMPLING PROCEDURES Simple Random Sample - two conditions exist: each sample element has an equal probability of selection, and each possible sample of n elements that can be drawn randomly from the sample frame has an equal probability of being the sample actually selected. Systematic Sample - involves only a slight variation from simple random sampling. The mechanics of taking a systematic sample are rather simple Stratified Sample - PROCEDURE NA MAHABA NAKAKATAMAD GAWAN NG EXPLANATION. Cluster Sample - main advantage of a cluster sample relative to simple random sampling is in lower interviewing costs rather than in greater reliability. Area Sample: Single Stage and Multistage - occurs when only one level of sampling takes place (such as a sampling of blocks) before the basic elements are sampled (the households).