Marketing research and information Chapter five

Why do marketers need to do research?

What Good Information does for Marketers Helps gain a competitive edge. Reduces the risks of marketing actions and strategy implementation. Provides key consumer insights. Verifies intuitions and certain types of evidence. Measures market performance. Improves overall organizational effectiveness.

Internal Data Intranet Internal databases store information (or in some cases paper files) Collected from different functions within the company The challenge is to integrate and make information usable (data-mining) Types of information that may be useful includes: customer’s names, addresses, phone #, past purchases, responses to previous offers Demographic characteristics Intranet A company’s private decision support system that uses Internet standards and technology.

Types of Data Secondary Primary Data or information that has been gathered and published by other parties. Publications, websites, directories. Primary Data or information that is gathered directly. from the subjects of the research. Interviews, focus groups, observation, surveys, experiments. Chapter 5, page 171

What is marketing research? The systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data relevant to a specific situation facing an organization

Discussion Question Question1 – page 134

Types of Marketing Research Exploratory research: marketing research to gather preliminary information that will help define problems and suggest hypotheses Focus group discussions, personal interviews Gathering of secondary data Descriptive research: marketing research to better describe marketing problems, situations, or markets Surveys, observational studies Causal research: marketing research to test hypotheses about cause-and-effect relationships between variables of interest. Experiments in controlled conditions

Observational Research Chapter 5, page 175 Fisher-Price set up an observation lab in which it could observe the reactions of little tots to new toys.

Burke Inc. Methodologies Video Burke Inc. Methodologies

The Research Process 1 2 3 4 Chapter 5, page 170

Research Process: Stage 1 defining the problem Problems are Often Opportunities Don’t Confuse Symptoms with the Real Problem Exploratory Research Descriptive research Causal research Focus group interview

Research Process: Stage 2 Planning the research design Research Using Primary Data Surveys Observation Experiments Research Designs Using Secondary Data (exhibit 5.4)

Research Process: Stage 3 Sampling, Collecting & Analyzing data Sampling Data Three questions: Who is to be sampled? How big should the sample be? How should the sample be selected? Sample Selection: Probability Sample vs. nonprobability sample Collecting Data Pre-testing Analyzing Data Editing & Data analysis

Research Process: Stage 4 drawing conclusions and follow-up Follow-up: get feedback!

Typical Problems in Wording Questions SAMPLE QUESTION EXPLANATION Leading question Ambiguous question Unanswerable question Two questions in one Why do you like Wendy’s fresh meat hamburgers better than those of competitors made with frozen meat? Do you eat at fast-food restaurants regularly? Yes No What was the occasion for your eating your first hamburger? Do you eat Wendy’s hamburgers and chili? Consumer is led to make statement favoring Wendy’s hamburgers What is meant by word regularly-once a day, once a month, or what? Who can remember the answer? Does it matter? How do you answer if you eat Wendy’s hamburgers but not chili? (continued)

Typical Problems in Wording Questions SAMPLE QUESTION EXPLANATION Non-exhaustive question Nonmutually exclusive answers Where do you live? At home In dormitory What is your age? Under 20 20-40 40 and over What do you check if you live in an apartment? What answer does a 40-year old check?