Ch. 04 - Market Research

Marketing Research (department)

The firm's formal information gathering link to the environment (most often consumers and competitors)

Internal Company Data

Information generated from within the company, most often customer "behavioral" data found in operational systems.

Marketing Intelligence

External data gathered from readily available sources about sales channels, vendors, competitors, etc.

Marketing Research (data type)

Collecting and analyzing data about the market. May be purchased.

Acquired Databases

Externally sourced databases can be used to collect a variety of information, often data about customers.

Data

Raw, often unorganized and unanalyzed facts. Facts without context.

Information

Data interpreted to add meaning.

Define the Research Problem (step 1)

-specify the research objectives (what questions are we trying to answer?)

-identify the consumer population of interest (who are we interested in and what defines them?)

-place the problem in an environmental context (what factors might influence the situation?)

Secondary Research

Research previously performed for another purpose (that may be reusable for your purpose). Advantage: faster and less expensive, but may not be exactly what you want.

Primary Research

Original research being gathered here for this first time. Advantage: can get exactly what you need but may be costly and time consuming. Two broad categories

- Survey

- Observation

Exploratory Research

Usually quick, inexpensive, small research studies designed to help you understand what questions to ask or how to form better hypotheses.

Data / Measurement Quality

Defined by three characteristics:

1) Representative. Does the data fairly represent the group being studied?

2) Reliable. Is the data consistent when gathered over time?

3) Valid. Is the data correct?

Population

The entire group of whom we would like to study. The population could be large (all women in the U.S.) or small (all students taking MAR 3023).

Census

When data are collected about every member of the population.

Sample

A subset of the population

Probability Sampling

Each member of the population has a known, non-zero chance (probability) of being selected. Does not need to be random chance and does not need to be an equal chance.

Simple Random Sample

Every member of the population has a known, non-zero, and equal chance of being selected. The "gold standard" of sample selection.

Non-probability Sampling

Each member of the population has an unknown chance (probability) of being selected. Since the chance is unknown, we can't calculate reliability of the responses.

MR Process (short version)

1) Problem Definition

2) Data Collection

3) Data Analysis

4) Results Communication

Research Design

A plan that says what data will be collected and what type of study will be done.

Data Collection (step)

A step in the market research process where we gather the needed data to address the research defined problem. The data can be secondary or primary.

Data Analysis (step)

A step in the market research process where we discover meaningful patterns to address the defined research problem.

Results Communication (step)

A step in the market research process where we communicate the results found to address the defined problem.