MAR CH8: Marketing Research

Marketing Research

the process of defining a marketing problem and opportunity, systematically collecting and analyzing information, and recommending actions

Decision

choice made from among available alternatives

decision making

Choosing among two or more alternatives

Uses of Marketing Research

1) Segmentation

2) New Product Testing

3) Demand Forecasting

4) Market Tracking

5) A/B & Ad Pretesting

5 step marketing research approach

1. Define the problem

2. Develop the research plan

3. Collect relevant information

4. Develop findings

5. Take marketing actions

Concepts

ideas about products or services

new-product concept

a picture or verbal description of a product or service the firm might offer for sale

Methods

the approaches that can be used to collect data to solve all or part of a problem

Main methods

Observing people/asking them questions

special methods

sampling; statistical inference

Marketing Information System (MIS)

an integrated, ongoing decision support system

Data

Facts, figures, and other evidence gathered through observations related to the project

secondary data

facts and figures that have already been recorded prior to the project at hand

Data collected without your specific purpose in mind

Secondary Internal

Published data from inside the organization

Secondary External

Published data from outside the organization

Ex: US Census reports, trade association studies, business periodicals, internet based reports

Advantages of Secondary Data

time savings, inexpensive

Disadvantages of Secondary Data

may be out of date definitions or categories might not be what you're looking for

Might not be specific enough for your project

Primary Data

facts and figures that are newly collected for the project

collecting data specifically for your purpose/need

Primary Internal

collecting data yourself/inside the org for your specific purpose/need

Primary External

collecting data from outside sources for your specific purpose/need

Ways to collect primary data

Observing people

Asking them questions

3 types of marketing research

1. Exploratory

2. Descriptive

3. Causal

Exploratory Research (EXTERNAL PRIMARY)

provides ideas about a vague problem/question

Want to understand overall what's going on & identifying things that may be interesting to dig into

questionnaire data (asking ppl questions)

facts & figures obtained by asking people about their attitudes, awareness, intentions, & behaviors

Idea Generation Methods

coming up with ideas

Idea Generation Methods (Exploratory research)

observations

individual interviews

depth interviews

focus groups

observation

observing what's going on in different types of settings

individual interview

a single researcher asking questions of one respondent

depth interview

A one-on-one interview between a professional researcher and a research respondent conducted about some relevant business or social topic

-more deeper & it's about their own opinion

focus groups

informal sessions of 6 to 10 past, present, or prospective customers in which a discussion leader, or moderator, asks for opinions about the firm's products and those of its competitors, including how they use these products and special needs they have that these products don't address

descriptive research (EXTERNAL PRIMARY)

Finding the frequency with which something occurs or the extent of a relationship b/w two factors

Ex: Lego asking middle/high school students specific questions about preference

Idea Evaluation Methods

Testing an idea

Idea Evaluation Methods (Descriptive research)

Observation

Surveys

observational data (observing ppl)

facts and figures obtained by watching how people actually behave, using mechanical, personal, or neuromarketing data collection methods

3 Ways observational data is collected

1) Mechanical

2) Personal

3) Neuromarketing

mechanical/electronic method (observational data)

people meter-Nielsen TV

personal methods (observational data)

Watching consumers in person

-mystery shoppers & ethnographic research

mystery shoppers

Companies pay researchers to shop at their stores, outlets, or showrooms to obtain the point of view of actual customers. Mystery shoppers can check on the availability and pricing of products and services and on the quality of the customer service provided by employees

ethnographic research

sending trained observers to watch and interact with consumers in their "natural environments"

Neuromarketing

merges technologies used to study the brain with marketing's interest in understanding consumers

4 Types of Surveys

1) Personal

2) Mail

3) Phone

4) Online

Personal Interview Surveys

enables interviewer to be flexible in asking probing questions/getting reactions

Mall Intercept Interviews

personal interviews of consumers visiting shopping centers

Mail Surveys

usually biased because those most likely to respond have had especially positive or negative experiences with the product or brand

Online Surveys

survey data collected using the internet

email/internet

Phone Surveys

a survey in which interviewers question respondents over the phone and then record their answers

Causal Research (EXTERNAL PRIMARY)

Determines the extent to which the change in one factor changes another one

-test markets use causal research

Causal Research Methods

lab experiments

field experiments

panels

experiment

obtaining data by manipulating factors under tightly controlled conditions to test cause & effect

Lab experiment

conducted in a controlled, indoor environment

-internal validity

Field (Test Marketing) experiment

collecting usage data from customers before launch

-external validity

Panel

a sample of consumers or stores from which researchers take a series of measurements

Primary Data Adv

more flexible/specific to problem being studied

Primary Data Disadv

More costly/time consuming

Sales forecast

the total sales of a product that a firm expects to sell during a specified time period under specified environmental conditions and its own marketing efforts

3 Salesforecasting Techniques

1) Judgements of the decision maker

2) Surveys of knowledgeable groups

3) Statistical Methods

Judgements of the decision maker

1. direct forecast

2. lost-horse forecast

Direct Forecast

involves estimating the value to be forecast without any intervening steps

lost-horse forecast

starting with the last known value of the item being forecast, listing the factors that could affect the forecast, assessing whether they have a positive or negative impact, and making the final forecast

surveys of knowledgeable groups

-survey of buyers intentions forecast

-salesforce survey forecast

survey of buyers' intentions forecast

asking prospective customers if they are likely to buy the product during some future time period

salesforce survey forecast

asking the firm's salespeople to estimate sales during a forthcoming period

statistical methods

trend extrapolation

linear trend extrapolation

trend extrapolation

extending a pattern observed in past data into the future

Linear trend extrapolation

using a straight line to extend a pattern observed in past data into the future

Measures of Consumer Memory

free recall

cued recall

recognition

Free Recall

a testing condition in which a person is asked to remember information without explicit retrieval cues

Ex: What brands do you remember seeing during the Super Bowl?

Cued Recall

A test of long-term memory that involves remembering an item of information in response to a retrieval cue

Ex: Which brands of pickup trucks did you see advertised during the Super Bowl?

Recognition

the ability to match a piece of information or a stimulus to a stored image or fact

Ex: Did you see an ad for Chevy during the Super Bowl?