Exam 1 Marketing Research Design

Define Marketing

activity + processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging value for customers, clients, and society at large.

Define the marketing concept

the key to achieving organizational goals by a company being more effective than competitors in creating, delivering, and communicating customer value to its chosen target markets

Define Marketing Research

the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information - information used 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

Marketing research process

1. 1. Problem Definition

2. 2. Development of Objectives

3. 3. Research Design Formulation

4. 4. Fieldwork

5. 5. Data Preparation and Analysis

6. 6. Report Findings (preparation) and Presentation

Internal supplier (client side)

within the firm, client side,

example: Market Research Team within that conducts research for the company coke

What is an example of Internal Supplier (client side)

a marketing research team within the Coca-Cola Company for the firm.

External Supplier (Supplier Side)

primary business is doing market research for various organization

outside the firm hired to provide services, supplier side, they can be full or limited service.

What is an example of External Supplier (Supplier)

MARC, a market research agency

Difference between Full-Service and Limited External Supplier

Full Service - agency completes entire research process (start to finish)

Limited Service - agency provides specific specialized elements within research process (i.e. recruitment of panel + panel management or syndicated data access)

Selecting a research supplier - process

1. 1. Request for proposal (RFP) - specifies needs

2. 2. Proposal - covers all phases of the research process + provides cost and timing

   1. Proposal = contract

3. 3. Awarding of Project

4 Criteria for Defining the Problem + Developing the Objectives

• 1. Discussions with Decision Maker

• 2. Interviews with experts (in those fields)

• 3. Secondary Data Analysis

• 4. Qualitative Research (for initial insights)

**Give deliverables to client to ensure the problem and objectives are accurately specified and correct

Qualitative research

• Used to gain initial insights and understanding of the problem. (exploratory)

• usually unstructured + informal methods, small non-projectable samples

Types of Qualitative Research

• Focus groups

• marketing research online communities (online panel)

• In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) great for sensitive topics; one-on-one interviews

• Projective Techniques - great for sensitive topics that are more uncomfy

• Observation - con = can not ask why the behavior is being done

4 Criteria for the discussion with the decision maker

1. 1. history

2. 2. alternatives available

3. 3. criteria used to evaluate alternatives

4. 4. information needed, and how it will be used

Difference between Research Objective and Defining the Problem

R.O: the research and info we are looking to provide

Defining…: Action-oriented

• Providing the client with deliverables helps to make sure the R.O and Defining… are correctly identified and specified.

qualitative research

1. - exploratory

2. - unstructured

3. - small sample

4. - intended to provide information about the problem setting

qualitative research

used to gain initial insight and understanding. it is characterized by informal unstructured methods, small non-projectable samples

qualitative research techniques include:

- focus groups

- marketing research online communities (MROCs)

- In-depth interviews (IDIs)

-Project techniques

- Observation

Research Design

plan for conducting the project and specifies:

• method of data collection

• measurement and scaling procedures

• questionnaire design

• sampling plan

• analysis plan

Classifications of Research Design

• Exploratory (for initial understanding; gain background)

• Conclusive (for deeper, concrete understanding)

  • Descriptive (to describe + characterize; think surveys)

    • Cross-Sectional

    • Longitudinal

  • Causal (finding the cause + effect)

Difference between Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Research Design

• C.S: a snapshot; a study done in a single period of time

  • not susceptible to response bias + more likely to give a representative sample

• L: a study done over a long period of time

  • good for measuring behavioral changes + tracking more accurately + large amount of data collected

Panel Study: True vs Omnibus

True Panel: A fixed sample of respondents who are measured repeatedly over time on the same or similar variables

Omnibus: a panel used for multiple, often unrelated surveys from different sponsors

primary versus secondary data

primary data is obtained specifically for addressing the problem at hand and secondary data is already obtained for other purposes

primary data

the purpose of the data collection is the problem at hand, its an involved collection process, higher collection cost, and longer collection time

secondary data

this data is collected for other purposes, its a relatively easy collection process, lower collection cost and quicker collection time

criteria for evaluating secondary data

methodology quality, currency, purpose, nature, source

evaluating secondary data; methodology quality

data collection method, response rate, quality and analysis of data, sampling technique and size, questionnaire design, field work

evaluating secondary data; currency

what was the data collected?

evaluating secondary data; purpose

why was the data collected?

evaluating secondary data; nature

variable definitions, measurement units, category definitions, relationships examined

evaluating secondary data; source

reputation and trustworthiness

Types of internal secondary data

1. databases

2. social media

Types of external secondary data

1. social media

2. government (think census)

3. business (other business previously collected data)

4. syndicated services: firms who primary business is to collect data

quantitative research methods

survey and observation

survey

information obtained by questioning respondents

observation

information obtained by observing behavior or phenomena

survey methods

• telephone (Computer assisted telephone interview CATI)

• personal interview (computer assisted personal interview CAPI, in home, central location CLT/intercepts) - CLT is most typical method + security concerns of sharing personal info with a stranger (interviewer)

• Mail survey - inexpensive + complete on their time + high chance of no reponse

• electronic survey (web based, email) - quickest + inexpensive + can’t experience product + chance of bots

Mixed Mode - using multiple different types of methods in one study

Comparative evaluation of survey methods; sample control

eligibility and response rate

Comparative evaluation of survey methods; information control

• diversification of questions

• use of physical stimuli,

• data collection environment,

• quantity of data,

• social desirability/sensitive information,

• potential for interviewer bias

Comparative evaluation of survey methods; administrative control

• speed

• cost

Define the Symbols used in Experimentation and Causal Research

X = exposure to treatment

O = observation or measurement

R = randomization

pretest-posttest control group

• EG: R O1 X O2

• CG: R O3 O4

Group design where participants are randomly assigned to (at least 2) groups - experiment + control group. Measurements are taken before treatment — pretest and after — posttest

posttest-only control group design

• EG: R X O1 (experiment group: randomized, exposed to treatment and observed)

• CG: R O2 (control group: randomized and observed)

Group design where participants are NOT assigned to random groups, instead they do the observation twice.

3 Conditions for Causality

1. Concomitant Variation: extent to which a cause and an effect vary together

2. Time Order of Occurrence: cause must occur before the effect

3. Absence of Other Factors: factor variable being investigated should be the only possible causal explanation — no confounding variables are present!

laboratory experiment features/design

• artificial environment

• high control

• high internal validity

• low external validity

• short time

• small number of units

• high ease of implementation

• low cost

field experiment features/design

• realistic environment

• low control

• low internal validity

• high external validity long time

• large number of unit

• low ease of implementation

• high cost

briefly define marketing research and the marketing concept. Briefly state how marketing research related to the marketing concept.

Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information - information used 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. The marketing concept is the key to achieving organizational goals consists of the company being more effective than competitors in creating, delivering, and communicating customer value to its chosen target markets. Marketing research is related to the marketing concept because research enables the company to be more effective than its competitors in its marketing actions.

State the 6 major steps in the marketing research process, identify the most important step in the process and briefly state why it is the most important step.

Problem definition, development of objectives, research design formulation, field work, data preparation and analysis, and report preparation and presentation. The most important step in the process in problem definition because if you define the problem incorrectly then none of the rest will be correct.

State the four primary tasks in defining the problem and developing the research objectives, and briefly comment on what role, if any, a discussion of deliverables has in this process.

Discussion with the decision maker, interviews with experts, secondary data analysis, and qualitative research. A discussion of deliverables plays a role in this process in terms of making sure you have the problem correctly identified, talking to the client about what they are going to get helps to see if you have the problem correctly specified.

Briefly define and contrast exploratory and conclusive research

exploratory research has the objective to provide insights and understanding and its findings/results are tentative, while conclusive research is used to test specific hypotheses and examine relationships and the findings/results are conclusive. Exploratory research is generally followed by further exploratory or conclusive research while conclusive research has the findings used as an input into decision making.

define and contrast longitudinal versus cross sectional research designs. if research is to be conducted to investigate brand switching behavior over time, state which you would recommend and why.

Longitudinal - same group of people, repeated measures over time.

Cross sectional - one point in time (snapshot) single point. For doing research to investigate brand switching behavior over time, I would suggest a longitudinal study because it repeatedly measures the same group of people over a period of time, giving ample information about brand switching.

Define syndicated data. state whether it is primary or secondary data, and why. In addition, state the criteria to use in evaluating it.

Syndicated data is data collected from the market and not intended for a specific client - which also makes this secondary data. When evaluating secondary data we look at methodology quality, currency, purpose, nature and source.

Explain the focus group interviews technique, and discuss its advantages and disadvantages as compared to depth interviews.

focus groups are small groups of people brought together and guided by a moderator through an unstructured, spontaneous discussion for the purpose of gaining information relevant to the research problem. Advantages to focus groups are they are less expensive that IDIs and disadvantages are group pressure

state the three basic kinds of evidence used to support causal inference

causal inference requires concomitant variation (the extent to which a cause and an effect vary together), time order of occurrence (condition states that the cause must occur before the effect), and absence of other factors (means that the factor or variable being investigated should be the only possible causal explanation)