Marketing 300- Chapter 5: Marketing Research & Analytics

Roles of a Marketing Researcher

1. They must partner with the requestor of the research, those who will use the insights discovered 

2. They must help to focus and define the problem

   1. Problem vs. symptom

3. They must create a solution that is actionable, on time and on budget

Good marketing research requires cooperation between researchers and marketing managers

Marketing Research

Organizational activity that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information. The organization uses that information to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process.

Brand Manager

Owns and manages the business of the brand. Deals with:

1. Finances

2. P&L

3. Upper Management

4. Annual & long range planning

5. Supply Chain/Ops

6. Leading marketing strategy, NPD, R&D, & advertising

7. Consumer learning, insights, behavior, analysis, & research

Insight Manager

“Voice of the Consumer.” Deals with:

1. Project management: Studies with both a variety of vendors & clients

2. Consumer learning, insights, behavior, analysis, & research

Marketing Research Supplier

Expert in marketing research methodologies and techniques. Deals with:

1. Business development

2. Research quality & analysis

3. Project management: Only studies with clients

5 Step Approach to Marketing Research Process

1. Define the Problem

2. Develop Research Plan

3. Collect Data

4. Analyze the Data

5. Present Results & Take Action

Define the Problem

Clarify the nature of the problem and set research objectives

1. Specify research objectives

2. Define population of interests

3. Identify relevant factors

Develop Research Plan

Determine the hypothesis, type of data needed, and research design

1. Hypothesize

2. Specify what information is needed

3. Determine research techniques

Factors that Determine Research Method

1. The nature of the problem.

2. The sensitivity of the problem

3. The time available to conduct the research

4. The budget available for the research

5. The risk of wrong information

Types of Research

1. Exploratory: Seeks to discover new insights

2. Descriptive: Asks the questions who, what, when, where, and how

3. Casual: Attempts to understand the cause-and-effect relationships among variables

Secondary Data

Information collected for alternative purposes prior to the study. Ex:

1. Literature reviews

2. Online electronic searches

3. Company records

4. Marketing information systems

5. Private research companies

6. Boundary spanners (Salespersons)

Advantages vs. Disadvantages of Secondary Data

Advantages:

1. Less expensive (often free)

2. Information typically readily accessible

Disadvantages:

1. Data may not be relevant

2. Data may not be accurate

3. Data may have been altered

4. Data may contain bias

Purposes of Secondary Data

1. To gather macroeconomic data

2. To gather socioeconomic data

3. To obtain information about competitors

4. To gain insight into international cultures and markets

Primary Data

Data collected specifically for the research problem at hand. Collection methods may be either qualitative or quantitative. Ex:

1. Observations: Video of customers shopping, tracking website clicks

2. Focus groups

3. In-depth personal interviews

4. Surveys

5. Neuromarketing techniques (eye-tracking for one one) 

Advantages vs. Disadvantages of Primary Data

Advantages:

1. Pertain only to firm’s research

2. May provide insight to why and how consumers make decisions

Disadvantages:

1. More expensive

2. May be difficult to enlist customer participation

3. May take extensive amount of time to collect

Purposes of Primary Data

1. To understand what motivates consumers

2. To determine the effect of variables (ex. price) on product choice

3. To gain feedback on company’s existing and proposed product

Qualitative Data

Data hat answers the “why.” Ex:

1. Depth interviews

2. Journey map

3. Focus group interviews

4. Simulating situations

5. Ethnographic research

Ethnographic Research

A data-collection method that sends trained observers to watch and interact with a subject population in their natural environment.

Advantages vs. Disadvantages of Qualitative Research

Advantages:

1. Uncovers details concerning the motivations behind behaviors

2. Is not limited to a predetermined set of responses

3. Can be a good way to start research into a marketing problem

4. Can be very flexible in approach

5. Can be used to generate marketing ideas

Disadvantages:

1. Results may be difficult to measure objectively

2. Research can take longer than quantitative methods

3. Potential for researcher bias

4. Individual participants may not represent general target market  

5. Small sample size

Quantitative Data

Data that answers the “who, what, when, and where" Typically numerical and facts Ex:

1. Online and mail surveys

2. Telephone surveys

3. Personal interview surveys

4. Experiments

5. Clickstream tracking

Advantages vs. Disadvantages of Quantitative Research

Advantages:

1. Results may be generalizable to a larger population

2. Some methods can be conducted quickly and inexpensively \

3. Analysis of data can be faster than in qualitative research

4. Can conduct causal studies that indicate why behaviors occur

5. Can be cost-effective

6. Often Convenient for respondent

Disadvantages:

1. May be limited by researchers’ questions  

2. Response rates can be very low  

3. Difficult to determine nonresponse bias  

4. Possible respondent self-selection bias  

5. Participant resistance to giving sensitive information

6. Correlation is not causation

7. Never tell to you the “why”

A/B Testing

Involves directly comparing two versions of a product to see which one performs better with customers. Also known as split testing

Collect Data

Gather primary and secondary data

Sampling

The process of selecting a subset of the population that is representative of the population as a whole.

Analyze the Data

Accept or reject the hypothesis and validate research

Present Results & Take Action

Report to decision makers with recommendations for action and marketing strategies

Importance of of Ethics in Marketing Research

1. Insight Consultant is the Voice of Truth

   • Can’t hide or shy away from bad results

   • Research shouldn’t be used to influence consumer  - no leading questions

   • Use the findings for its intended purpose

   • Don’t be deceptive: Tactics misrepresenting the purpose of a study or how the data will be used in unethical

2. Respecting Consumer Data Privacy

   • Google, Apple, Amazon’s Alexa, Apps ‘listening’ to consumers without their knowledge or consent

   • Ability to know what companies know about you/the consumer

3. Standard for Ethical Research are essential

Big Data

A term that describes both the growth in information that inundates businesses each day and the complex tools used to analyze the data and derive meaningful insights

Blog Mining

A research technique that uses automated tools to find and extract information on the web about a brand and then uses specialized software to analyze these large amounts of text-based data

Competitive Intelligence

The systematic gathering of data about strategies that direct and indirect competitors are pursuing in terms of new-product development and the marketing mix

Data Visualization

The presentation of data and research results in pictorial or graphical format

Scanner Data

Data obtained from scanner readings of UPC codes at checkout counters.

Predictive Analytics

Is an umbrella term for a set of statistical tools, techniques and algorithms that enable organizations to recognize patterns in their data and make predictions about the future