Marketing Research By the end of this session you will be able to: Understand the need for marketing research in leisure & tourism Review the methods used for marketing research Construct a questionnaire

Definition The Objective gathering, recording & analysing of all the facts about problems relating to the transfer and sale of goods and services from producer and services to consumer or user. CIM Collection of data with the single intention of using it to make an organisation’s marketing activities more effective Swarbrook & Horner (1999) Thus marketing research should include the constant collection, analysis & dissemination of information for planning, control and decision making purposes

Specific Uses of Marketing Research Swarbrooke & Horner (1999) Identify opportunities for product development Set prices in relation to those of competitors and to what consumers are wiling to pay Ensure the distribution network is working effectively Select the best combination of promotional techniques and the most appropriate advertising media. Subdivide the total market into segments which can be targeted by the organisation Make adjustment to customer service in the light of customer comments Review & change brands and logos Make decisions about investment in new facilities Choose locations for eg new hotels/theme parks Suggest opportunities for diversification

Data Required Statistical profiles of tourists Statistical records of tourist behaviour Info on tourists purchasing decisions Consumer perceptions Tourist satisfaction Trends Segmentation criteria Product positioning Attitude of non users Cultural & national differences

Practicalities What information is needed Depends on the objectives of the receiving organisation Must be agreed between decision makers and specific information requirements identified

Market Research Programme Research Brief Plan of Work Collection of Data Analysis of Data Presentation of Data

Methods Basic Marketing Research Applied Marketing Research Proactive Reactive Quantitative Qualitative

Sources of Marketing Research Data Marketing Research Internal Information In-house research External/secondary information Outside research of existing resources Primary Information Commissioned research

External Sources of Tourism Information Domestic socio-economic data Industrial classification data Mintel reports Leisure Forecasts (Sheffield Leisure Industries Research Centre) Trade Journals Social Trends Henley Centre for Forecasting/Keynote Staruk.org.uk

Primary Data Collection Involves the collection of new data which is to be used for a specific purpose. Defining the Population - who is it? Census v Sample Census – everybody in the relevant population Sample – subset selected

Sampling Most common – why? Sample must Be large enough to ensure statistical reliability Representative of the population about which conclusions are to be drawn. Types of Sampling Methods Randomstratified random Conveniencecluster Quota

Survey Methods Access the sample – things to bear in mind More likely to cooperate if Purpose of survey is clear They have the time and place to complete Incentive They do not have to make a special effort Methods Face to face interview Postal survey Telephone survey Surveys provided at point of contact

Questionnaire Design Why use questionnaires? Veal (1999 ) Quantified information that questionnaires provide can inform decision making of organisations Provides a transparent set of research procedures Able to study change over time using longitudinal surveys Can provide information in a succinct easily understood form Where data is required from samples which are explicitly representative of a defined wider population

Issues Veal 1999 Depends on power of recall and honesty of respondents Chase & Godbey (1983) respondents exaggerate levels of participation Clarke & Critcher (1985) “there is always a gap between what people say and what they actually do” p27 FINN et al (2000) “Response rates of between 10 and 40% are quite common” p102

PRACTICAL STEPS TO QUESTIONNNAIRE DESIGN  What is the aim of the research?  From the aim identify the research questions  Turn the objectives into research questions  Construct the questionnaire questions from the research questions How will you identify the influence of different variables?

ASKING THE QUESTIONS WHAT TYPES OF QUESTIONS CAN BE ASKED? Closed v open questions Sequencing Length of questions Length of questionnaire TYPES OF QUESTIONS Dichotomous Ranking Interval level measurements Likert scale Bipolar

QUESTION CONSTRUCTION USE A LINGUISTIC FORM APPROPRIATE TO THE POPULATION UNDER INVESTIGATION BIAS, LEADING AND LOADED QUESTIONS RESPONSE LISTS

METHOD OF SURVEY POSTAL TELEPHONE ELECTRONIC frajaACFZqY2AodJ1SseQ frajaACFZqY2AodJ1SseQ questionnaire.aspx questionnaire.aspx INTERVIEW – FACE TO FACE

Reading Finn, M., Elliott-White, M. and Walton, M. (2000) Tourism and Leisure Research Methods, Harlow: Longman - Chapter 6 Veal (1999) Research Methods for Leisure and Tourism, Harlow: Longman - Chapter 9 Saunders.M, et al (2007), Research methods for business students