4/24 - Marketing Research

When to do it?

• When the value of information is worth more than the cost of conducting the research

• Value = risk of negative impact to image, dollars lost, competitive gains

• Cost = not just money but time and human resources

The Marketing Research Process

Step 1: Defining Objectives - Decision to be made

• What information is needed to answer specific research questions?

• What information is needed to help with a specific decision at hand?

• How will that information be used?

Step 2: Designing the Research Project - Info needed

• Primary Marketing Data

  • Done primarily for your project

• Secondary Marketing Data

  • Data that already exists, was not collected with your project in mind

  • Internal secondary data includes data warehouses and data mining

  • Syndicated Data - Market research information collected and sold by third-party firms to multiple clients. It provides insights into market trends, consumer behavior, and industry dynamics, offering a broad overview of specific categories or industries.

  • Panel Research - Studying a specific group of individuals (a panel) repeatedly over time to track changes in attitudes, behaviors, or other relevant factors. (ex. record a group of consumers purchases and take surveys)

    • While both panel and ethnographic research involve studying human behavior, panel research focuses on gathering quantitative data from a specific group of participants over time, while ethnography is a qualitative approach that emphasizes immersion and observation in natural settings.

  • Scanner Research - Utilizes data collected from retail scanners, providing detailed insights into consumer purchasing habits, product performance, and market trends.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Primary and Secondary Data

Step 3: Data Collection Process

Data Collection Research

• Qualitative Research

  • Focus Group

  • Ethnographic Research

    • Pros/Cons on Focus Group vs. Ethnographic Research

      • Cost more for ethnographic

      • Ethnographic better for “sensitive” topics

      • Focus groups better when you want respondents to build off each other

      • Ethnographic better when you want to observe in “natural” environment (say, a kitchen to view preparation).

  • Observation

  • In-Depth Interviews

  • Social Media

• Quantitative Research

  • Survey

  • Scanner Research

  • Syndicated Data

  • Panel Research

  • Experiments

    • Variables 1 and 2 (ex. price and sales units)

    • Systematic manipulation of these variables

    • Independent variable vs. Dependent variable

    • Lab vs. In-Market

    • ex. Taking a class with two different professors and seeing which one is better

  • Quantitative Research Methods can be either descriptive or experimental

Step 4: Analyzing Data

Step 5: Presenting Results - Recommendations and insights “DJ Metaphor”