MKT 3340 - Marketing Research Ch. 1 - Ch. 4

What is marketing research?

The process of gathering and interpreting data for use in developing, implementing, and monitoring the firm’s marketing plans or business plans.

What does marketing research serve for organizations?

A formal communication link with the environment

Gather and use data (of all kinds) to help organizations WIN

Organizations need information that leads to ACTION

Data

Information (Insight)

Action

Data vs. Insights?

Data is raw inputs like number, words, images, and symbols

Information is giving context to the data

Knowledge is information connected through relationships, patterns, and understanding so it can be used for reasoning or action

Why care about marketing research?

Employers value problem-solving and cirtical-thinking in employees

Defense against the dark arts: BS dector for questions, data, and analysis

Observe behavior, understand motivations

Who Does Marketing Research?

1. Producers or products and services

2. Marketing research companies, vendors

3. Advertising Agencies

What is an example of producers of products and services?

The Home Depot

What is an example of marketing research companies and vendors

Nieslen

Iqvia

Gartner Research

Kantar

Information Resources Inc.

What is an example of advertising agencies?

Ogily & Mather: Allstate Commercials

What is the goal of any marketing research project?

To uncover the truth

What is Sugging?

Selling under the Guise of research

Contacting people under the guise of marketing research when the real goal is to sell product or services

What is frugging?

Fundraising under the guise of a survey

Fundraising under the Guise of Research

What is advocacy research?

Conducted to support a position rather than to find the truth

What are the framework for ethical reasoning?

Utility Approach

Justice Approach

Rights Approach

Utility Apporach

Do benefits outweigh costs (to society)?

Ex: Juul Vapes

Justice Approach

Are costs and benefits distributed fairly (to society)?

Ex: Realpage - involves a major antitrust lawsuit accusing the software company and large residential landlords of using an algorithmic pricing scheme to artificially inflate rent prices across the United States

Rights Approach

Are any rights being violated (for individuals)?

Ex: Flo - track menstrual cycle and pregnancy information

30 million women promised privacy; however, their data was shared with Meta and Google so they sent targeted ads

FTC said it is a violation of rights for a specific individual

What is ESOMAR Industry Standards?

Creates a code of ethics

What is the Problem Formulation Process

Step 1. Meet with the client 

Step 2. Clarify the problem/opportunity 

Step 3. State the manager’s decision problem 

Step 4. Develop possible research problems 

Step 5. Select a research problem to be addressed

Step 6. Prepare the research proposal (agreement)

Meet with the Client

Meet with client to obtain (make your own rubric)

Management statement of problem/opportunity

Background information

Objectives for research

Possible actions to result from research

Planned Change vs. Unplanned Change

What is planned change?

Increases reveunes, introduce new products

What is unplanned change?

React to customer suggestions, discover new uses for old products through customer feedback

Clarify the Problem/Opportunity

One of the most important things a researcher can do for a manager is to provide a different perspective on the problem

This is the chance for the researcher to fully analyze the “heart of the problem” with the client’s help

Ex: Loretta’s siblings fighting over the truck - conclusion is she sold the truck and got her brother a more affordable one

State the Manager’s Decision Problem

Decision Problem - Research is intended to solve this

From the manager’s perspective

As simple as possible

Stated in the form of a question

Discovery-Oriented Decision Problem - Focus on getting useful information

What is going on and why is it going on?

Strategy Decision Problem - Focus on selecting alternative courses of action

How can we make this happen? Will it have the impact we want?

Discovery-Oriented Decision Problem

Focus on getting useful information

What is going on and why is it going on?

Strategy Decision Problem

Focus on selecting alternative courses of action

How can we make this happen? Will it have the impact we want?

Which oriented research to start with first?

Start with discovery-oriented research then conduct strategy-oriented research

Develop Possible Research Problems

• Decision Problems describe the manager’s view of the situation 

• Research Problems restate Decision Problems in research terms

Select the Research Problem

Decision Problems describe the manager’s view of the situation

Research Problems restate Decision Problems in research terms