Marketing Research  Def. - Formal communication link with the environment to provide accurate and useful information for better decision making.  Systematic process of specifying, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting.  Useful for planning, problem-solving, and controlling (see Exhibits 1.2 & 1.3)

Science or Art?  Objectivity of Investigator  Unbiased  Procedural integrity  Accurate reporting  Accuracy of Measurement  Valid and Reliable  Meaningful and useful  Appropriate design (sample, execution)  Open-minded to Findings  Willing to refute expectations  Acknowledge limitations

Managing the Research Process  Good research management motivates decision makers to use research information  Determinants of whether research data were used conformity to prior expectations clarity of presentation research quality political acceptability within the firm lack of challenge to the status quo

Difficulties of Achieving “Scientific Studies” in Marketing  Investigator is deeply involved in the use of the results.  Imprecise measuring devices  Very complex and interrelated subject matter  Difficulty using experiments  Influence of the measurement process on results  Time pressure for results

(1) Identifying the Research Problem/Opportunit y (2) Determine the Research Design (3) Determine Data Collection Method (4) Design Data Collection Forms (5) Design Sample and Collect Data (6) Analyzing the Data (7) Preparing and Presenting the Report (8) Follow-up The Marketing Research Process

Step 1: Identifying and Formulating the Research Problem/Opportunity  Process begins with the recognition of a marketing problem or opportunity:  Marketing Problem: Set of circumstances in a market and/or in the company that requires modified or new marketing strategy to respond in a way that will maintain or improve performance.  Market Opportunity: Set of circumstances in a market that defines a situation in which a company can improve performance by creating modified or new marketing strategy.

Step 1: Identifying and Formulating the Research Problem/Opportunity...  Marketing Research Problem: a statement of the specific information needed by a decision maker to help solve a management decision problem (information).  Involves determining what information is needed  How will the information be obtained?  Marketing Research Objective: the specific information needed to solve a marketing research problem (insight).  Management decision problem: the managerial action required to solve a marketing research problem (action).

Step 2: Determine the Research Design  Research Design: the plan to be followed to answer the marketing research objectives; the structure or framework to solve a specific problem.  Exploratory, Descriptive, Causal  Trade-offs

Step 3: Determine Data Collection Method  Secondary vs. Primary  Survey research  Observation research  Experiments

Step 4: Design Data Collection Forms  What observation form or questionnaire will be best suit the needs of the project?  Anonymous? Confidential?  Structured vs. open-ended  What types of rating scales?  What is the layout going to look like?

Step 5: Design Sample and Collect Data  Sample: a subset from a larger population  Probability vs. nonprobability sample  Number of respondents  Method of contact  Management of non-response  Detailed field instructions  Handling of data

 Purpose of the analysis is to interpret and draw conclusions from the mass of collected data Step 6: Analyzing the Data

 What is the purpose of writing the report?  Communicate the results to the decision makers  Convince the manager that the results are credible and justified by the data collected  Evaluating research is likely to be of greater importance in a marketing job than other aspects of marketing research.  Evaluation of the research quality should be based upon the research proposal. Step 7: Preparing and Writing the Report

Step 8: Follow Up  Implementation and measurement of research findings  Interfunctional coordination facilitates the implementation of findings.

Research Request  A document that describes a potential research project, its benefits to the organization, and estimated costs.  A disciplined approach to identifying and communicating research problems to obtain the funding to solve them.  Explains:  why the research is needed  what questions it will ask to whom  at what cost in time and money  how the collected data will be used  what action will be taken on the results

What Decision Makers Want From Marketing Research 1Maintains client confidentiality 2Is honest 3Is punctual 4Is flexible 5Delivers according to project specifications 6Provides high quality output 7Is responsive to the client’s needs 8Has high quality-control standards 9Is customer oriented in interactions with client 10 Keeps the client informed throughout the project