BA 370 - Final

Lance Hoffman

Marketing Research

Collecting, recording, analyzing, and interpreting data

1. Defining Objectives and Research Needs

Establish clear objectives for research

2. Designing the Research

Identify the type of data needed and the type of research needed to collect it

Secondary Data

Data that has already been collected for other purposes

Primary Data

Data collected specifically for the current research project

4. Analyzing the Data and Developing Insights

Converting data into information that is useful in making more effective marketing decisions

5. Developing and Implementing an Action Plan

Analyst prepares the results and presents them to the appropriate decision makers, who undertake appropriate marketing strategies

Inexpensive Data

Not adequate to meet researchers' needs, they may not be completely relevant or timely, (U.S. Census)

Syndicated Data

Data available for a fee from commercial research firms (scanner data, panel data)

Scanner Data

A type of syndicated external secondary data used in quantitative research that is obtained from scanner readings of UPC codes at checkout counters

Qualitative Research

Informal research methods, including observation, following social media sites, in-depth interviews, and focus groups.

Quantitative Research

Structured responses that can be statistically tested to confirm insights and hypotheses generated via qualitative research or secondary data.

In-depth Interviews

Trained researchers ask questions one-on-one with a customer. Expensive and time-consuming.

Focus group Interviews

Small group of 8 to 12 people with a trained moderator. Now often take place online. Unstructured conversation to gather qualitative data

Survey Research

Primary methods of quantitative data collection are surveys and questionnaires.

Structured Questions

Closed-ended questions for which a discrete set of response alternatives, or specific answers, is provided for respondents to evaluate.

Retailing

The set of business activities that add value to products and services sold to consumers for their personal or family use

Omni-channel / Multi-channel

Selling in more than one channel

Distribution Intensity

The number of supply chain members to use at each level of the supply chain

Types of Retailers

Food, General Merchandise, Service

Conventional Supermarket

Type of retailer that offers groceries, meat, and produce with limited sales of nonfood items, such as health and beauty aids and general merchandise, in a self-service format.

Limited-Assortment Supermarket

Retailer that offers only one or two brands or sizes of most products (usually including a store brand) and attempts to achieve great efficiency to lower costs and prices

Supercenter

Large store that combines a full-line discount store with a supermarket in one place (Walmart)

Convenience Store

Type of retailer that provides a limited number of items at a convenient location in a small store with speedy checkout (7-Eleven)

Department Services

A retailer that carries many different types of merchandise (broad variety) and lots of items within each type (deep assortment); offers some customer services; and is organized into separate departments to display its merchandise. (Macy’s, Nordstrom)

Full-Line Discount Store

Retailer that offers low prices, limited service, and a broad variety of merchandise (Walmart)

Speciality Stores

A type of retailer that concentrates on a limited number of complementary merchandise categories in a relatively small store.

Drugstores

A specialty store that concentrates on health and personal grooming merchandise, though pharmaceuticals may represent almost 70 percent of its sales.

Category Specialist

A retailer that offers a narrow variety but a deep assortment of merchandise.

Service Retailers

A firm that primarily sells services rather than merchandise.

Presentation

Atmospherics are controllable factors within a store intended to influence customers’ purchase probability

Personnel

Well-trained personnel can increase sales by:

• Educating customers about products.

• Encouraging multiple purchases.

• Helping customers make decisions

Processes

Actions taken to get a good or service to a customer

Integrated Marketing Communications

Encompasses a variety of communication disciplines in combination to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communicative impact.

Three Elements in IMC Strategy

• Consumer

• Communication Channels

• Evaluation of Results

Senders (firms)

The firm from which an IMC message originates; must be clearly identified to the intended audience.

Transmitter (marketers)

An agent or intermediary with which the sender works to develop the marketing communications - encodes message

Encoding

The process of converting the sender’s ideas into a message, which could be verbal, visual, or both.

Communications-Channel

The medium—print, broadcast, the Internet—that carries the message.

Receiver (consumer)

The person who reads, hears, or sees and processes the information contained in the message or advertisement - decodes message

Decoding

The process by which the receiver interprets the sender’s message.

Noise

Any interference that stems from competing messages, a lack of clarity in the message, or a flaw in the medium; a problem for all communication channels.

AIDA model

Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action

Brand Awareness

the potential customer’s ability to recognize that the brand name is a particular type of product or service

Interest

Consumers must want to further investigate the product/service.

Aided Recall

when consumers indicate they know the brand when the name is presented to them

Top-of-mind Awareness

A prominent place in people’s memories that triggers a response without them having to put any thought into it.

Desire

The goal is to move consumers from “I like it” to “I want it.”

Action

The ultimate goal of any form of communications is to drive the receiver to action

Lagged Effect

A delayed response to a marketing communication campaign

Advertising

Most visible element - Placement of announcements and persuasive messages in time or space purchased by business firms, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and individuals

Public Relations

Managing the firm’s communications to:

• Build and maintain a positive image.

• Handle or head off unfavorable stories or events.

• Maintain positive relationships with the media.

Generates “free” media attention

Sales Promotions

Special incentives or excitement-building programs, such as coupons, rebates, and contests typically used in conjunction with other IMC methods

Personal Selling

A two-way communication between the buyer and seller designed to influence buying decisions.

Direct Marketing

Communicating directly with target customers to generate a response or transaction. Includes email and mobile marketing.

Online Marketing

• Websites

• Blogs

• Social Media

Goals

Can be short-term or long-term. Should be explicitly defined and measured

Objective-and-task method

the firm sets objectives, determines media, and how much it will cost to run the number and types of communication

Rule-of-thumb method

The firm uses prior sales and communication activities to determine the present communication budget

Traditional Media

• Frequency

• Reach

• Gross Rating Points

Personal Selling

The two-way flow of communication between a buyer and a seller that is designed to influence the buyer’s purchase decision.

Personal Selling

• People love the lifestyle

• There is a lot of flexibility

• There is a lot of variety in the job

• Can be very lucrative

• Very visible to management and good for promotions

Relationship Selling

A sales philosophy and process that emphasizes a commitment to maintaining the relationship over the long term and investing in opportunities that are mutually beneficial to all parties.

Personal Selling Process

1. Generate and qualify leads

2. Pre-approach

3. Sales presentation and overcoming reservations

4. Closing the sale

5. Follow-up

Generate and Qualify leads

Firms must create a list of potential customers (leads) and assess their potential (qualify). Trade shows, cold calls, telemarketing

Preapproach

Occurs prior to meeting the customer.
• Establish goals for meeting

• Conduct customer research

• Role play the presentation

Sales presentation and overcoming reservations

• Identify where buyer is at in the buying process

• Understand buyers’ needs to help solve their problems

• Anticipate and address buyers’ reservations (objections)

Closing the Sale

• Obtain a commitment from the customer to make a purchase

• Often this is the most stressful part of the sales process

• A “no” one day may be the foundation for a “yes” another day

Follow-up

offers a prime opportunity to solidify the customer relationship through great service quality

Five service quality dimensions

• Reliability

• Responsiveness

• Assurance

• Empathy

• Tangibles

Sales Management

The planning, direction, and control of personal selling activities, including recruiting, selecting, training, motivating, compensating, and evaluating, as they apply to the sales force.

Financial Rewarsd

• Salary

• Commission

• Bonus

• Sales contest

Non-financial rewards

• Recognition from peers and management

• Plaques, pens, rings

• Free trips or days off

• Give award at sales meeting and publicize in company newsletter

Sales Force and Corporate Policy

Sometimes salespeople face a conflict between what they believe represents ethical selling and what their company asks them to do to make a sale

The Salesperson and Customer

Duty to be ethically and legally correct:

• Crucial to maintain long-term relationships with customers

• Ethics should be built into formal guidelines and training

• Sales managers must lead by example

Order Getter

A salesperson whose primary responsibilities are identifying potential customers and engaging those customers in discussions to attempt to make a sale.

Order Taker

A salesperson whose primary responsibility is to process routine orders or reorders or rebuys for products.