5.02 Understand the steps in the marketing research process, and identify international data collection problems

Marketing Research Systematic process of gathering information to help make marketing decisions Used to lower risk associated with developing new products or entering new markets Identifying Market Opportunities - Screening Pursue no new products or markets Introduce new products into existing markets Introduce existing products into new markets Introduce new products into new markets

Steps in the marketing research process Define problem – identify the area to be researched – look at all factors Analyze secondary data Collect primary data Perform data analysis & decision-making

Analyze secondary data Data that has been previously collected for different purpose Not always applicable to specific problem being researched Difficult to compare between countries with different reporting methods Often easy to obtain from company records or government data Secondary data may not be as accurate as primary data

Analyze secondary data (cont.) Environmental scanning: process of collecting information from various sources Int’l business journals News programs Internet Industry trade magazines

Collect primary data Data specific to research problem that has not been previously collected Design data collection plan Collect primary data Survey—most common method of collecting quantitative data Sample—smaller number of people who have same profile as larger population Quantitative data—allows for statistical analysis Qualitative data—interviews or focus groups asking open-ended questions that provide non-numeric information Perform data analysis and decision making process

International data collection problems Some countries have no infrastructure for collecting information Individuals in some cultures may not respond because they do not trust researchers Cross-cultural equivalence—problem of dealing with how similar or different research results are across cultures In these instances, Environmental scanning will assist in gaining information

Cross-cultural equivalence Conceptual equivalence—questions in 1culture may have different meaning in another culture Translation equivalence—different languages require back-translation to ensure same meaning exists in each language Sample equivalence—respondents from different samples may not share same needs or have same authority to purchase Measurement equivalence—survey results differ because respondents respond differently to survey questions Data collection equivalence—researchers are unable to collect data in similar ways across cultures

Other data collection problems Some countries do not have reliable mail or telephone systems May be difficult to identify segments researcher wants to sample Privacy laws in some countries do not allow researchers to contact subjects without prior approval Subjects in one-party governments may fear anyone who asks for their opinions, or they may be afraid to answer honestly

Global research organizations Specialize in collecting data across many cultures Leading int’l research companies: ACNielsen GFK Group TNS Global IPSOS Group