Marketing Research

Good marketing requires much more than just creativity and technical tools. It requires research! Who needs it? Who wants it? Where should it be sold? What price should be set? Do people know about the product/service? Is there competition? Market research helps marketing managers make decisions.

MARKET RESEARCH “the systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data to make marketing decisions”

So….when do we need to do marketing research?

Marketing Research is done when a business needs to make a marketing decision…. For example: Introduce new product Change existing product Location for new store Where / When / How to advertise

“Marketing Research” process 1.Determine the problem / set objectives 2.Collect the information 3.Tabulate the Data 4.Analyze the Data

Step 1: Determine the Problem / Set Objectives What exactly are you researching / trying to find out? Example: Is there demand for my product? Where should it be sold? What price should I charge? Do people know about the product?

Step 1 (continued): Did we choose the correct target market? Are we reaching the target? Is there competition close by? What are their products and prices? Must clarify objectives before moving on……

Step 2: Collect Information How are you going to find and gather the required information? There are a variety of ways 2 main ways: “primary” or “secondary”

A. SECONDARY RESEARCH / DATA Information collected and published by others Involves searching information Later: analyze and interpret the data Goal: to improve their company’s marketing efforts Limited because the information is secondhand Usually much cheaper to conduct than primary research

Sources of Secondary Data: Variety of sources: Books Periodicals / Magazines Internet Marketing Professionals (ie – industry analysis) Libraries (databases, indexes, etc)

Secondary data can be used by any business Purpose: help develop its marketing strategy Let’s look at an example:

Syman’s Beverages Located in PEI Considering expanding into Ontario They might: Buy a marketing firm’s “beverage industry analysis” Read magazines focused on the beverage industry (ex: Beverage Digest) Internet - periodicals, articles or other relevant research Library – search databases and indexes

B. PRIMARY RESEARCH / DATA Primary data is raw, current information Collected by a researcher for a specific purpose There are two main types: A.Qualitative B.Quantitative

1. Qualitative Used to measure peoples’ reactions, responses or feelings (example: Cola Conquest) Researcher is the data gathering instrument Aims for a complete, detailed, rich description Researcher may not know what looking for The responses guide current/future research Goal: to understand behaviour in a natural setting

Qualitative method: Observation Collect information by recording the actions No interaction or communication with the person Try to keep the situation as “real” as possible Purpose – see how people behave and react

Qualitative Method: Focus Group Interviews A small group of people Discuss a particular product or problem Combines interview and information collector The focus group participants are carefully selected Must represent the larger target market Demographics, Psychographics, Geographics all considered

2. Quantitative Method Data collected: numbers and statistics Purpose: to classify, count, compile stats Survey a representative sample of a target market population Researchers use results to make predictions about the opinions and behaviours of the entire target market Example: Opinion polls

Quantitative Method: Test Marketing Select and deliver to small target market Based upon the results, make predictions on larger target market Quantitative Method: Surveys Carefully planned questions There are a variety of formats (verbal, written, phone, internet, mail, in-person, etc)

Step 3: Tabulate the Information Organize: need to understand and make sense of the data Depending on the research, we can classify and count our responses The actual tallying depends on type and scope of the research conducted

Step 4: Analyze the Information Ask ourselves “What does it mean ??” What “learning” have we gained as a result of our efforts? Look for patterns Begin to make sense of the data Use this information for our research and marketing objectives

THE END !