MARKETING RESEARCH Module 4

OUTLINE The marketing information system Marketing research –PLC –Process Research Issues

THE MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM “...is a coordinated collection of data which an organization gathers and interprets relevant information from its environment and turns it into a basis for marketing actions.”

MARKETING RESEARCH Marketing research is the function that links the consumer to the firm through information.

RESEARCH AND THE PLC Preintroduction phase: –product satisfaction –name/package –product positioning –advertising copy

RESEARCH AND THE PLC Introduction phase –Sales / market share –Consumer awareness –Degree of trial and repeat sales

RESEARCH AND THE PLC Growth phase –Sales forecasting –Product positioning

RESEARCH AND THE PLC Maturity phase –new users –new product uses –line extensions –competitor’s activities

RESEARCH AND THE PLC Decline phase –Territory by territory analysis –Cost reductions

THE MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS Define the problem Develop the research hypothesis Develop the research design Collect the data Interpret the findings Report the findings

PROBLEM / HYPOTHESIS FORMULATION Defining the problem is the most important step of this process! Hypotheses are often stated as research questions or research objectives

RESEARCH DESIGN Exploratory research Conclusive research

DATA COLLECTION Internal data Bureau of Census data – Other information suppliers –ARBITRON: –NIELSEN: Surveys Observation

INTERPRETATION AND REPORTING Importance of presentation and executive summary

RESEARCH ISSUES: CONSUMER & BUSINESS MARKETS Differences: –Knowledge –Budgetary constraints for research –Data collection –Data sources –Respondent accessibility –Size of population

RESEARCH ISSUES: CONSUMER & BUSINESS MARKETS Similarities: –research process –data processing procedures –tools of the trade (questionnaires, telephone surveys, etc..)

RESEARCH ISSUES: DETERMINING MOTIVATIONS Ask people what is important Ask what attributes are critical with actual purchase decisions Ask trade-off questions

MARKETING RESEARCH-- MARKET SEGMENTS Perceptual mapping –

PERCEPTUAL MAPS Visually summarize dimensions that customers use to perceive and judge products and identify how competitive products are placed on these dimensions. Must know the number of dimensions, names of the dimensions, where competition is positioned, and the gaps are in the market place. New product should provide a differential advantage.

Gentleness Effectiveness Tylenol Bufferin Advil Nuprin Bayer Anacin Private Label Excedrin PERCEPTUAL MAPS

RESEARCH ISSUES-- UNMET NEEDS Perceptual maps Focus groups – balegno.com/strategies/success.html Problem research Consumer satisfaction surveys

MARKETING RESEARCH-- UNMET NEEDS Problem research Consumer satisfaction surveys –

MARKETING RESEARCH-- COMPETITORS Talk to customers, suppliers, security analysts Monitor trade shows, advertising, trade magazines, annual reports Conduct marketing research

MARKETING RESEARCH-- THE INTERNET Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO) Study: –17% of marketers have used data from online surveys, –Most of these expect to use more of online surveys in the future, –42% of the marketers who have not conducted research online intend to try within 5 years.

MARKETING RESEARCH-- THE INTERNET Low cost: No printing or mailing costs No interviewing costs (hiring and training) No data entry costs Less errors: No data entry or interviewing errors Control Immediate Results Minimal Cost Fun: New and non-intrusive

MARKETING RESEARCH-- THE INTERNET Self-selection bias Sampling bias: towards people who are young, wealthy and male. Poor reliability of the data: difficult to verify whom you are talking to. Redundancy Competitors

MARKETING RESEARCH-- THE INTERNET elligence/index.shtml