Problem Formulation Chapter 4

Sources of Marketing Research Problems PLANNED CHANGE UNPLANNED CHANGE Any change in the marketing environment or in an organization’s strategies creates a need for information SLIDE 4-1

Problems or Opportunities? OPPORTUNITY PROBLEM SLIDE 4-2

Key Steps in Problem Formulation Step One: Meet with Client Step Two: Clarify Problem / Opportunity Step Three: State Manager’s Decision Problem Step Four: Develop Full Range of Possible Research Problems Step Five: Select Research Problem(s) Step Six: Prepare Research Request Agreement SLIDE 4-3

The ALCA Model ASK LISTEN CLARIFY ANALYZE SLIDE 4-4

The Relationship Between Decision Problems and Research Problems Decision Problems Research Problems * Discovery-Oriented (What? Why?) Why are revenues so low? • Investigate current customer satisfaction. • Assess target market perceptions of store. • Determine target market awareness. * Strategy-Oriented (How?) How do we increase store traffic? • Investigate effectiveness of different sales promotions. • Determine consumer response to two proposed ad campaigns. • Measure consumer preferences for new store layouts. SLIDE 4-5

Research Request Agreement ORIGIN The events that led to the manager’s decision problem DECISION PROBLEM The underlying question confronting the manager RESEARCH PROBLEMS The range of research problems that would provide input to the decision problem USE The way each piece of information will be used TARGETS AND THEIR SUBGROUPS The groups from whom the information must be gathered LOGISTICS Estimates of time and money that are available to conduct the research SLIDE 4-6

Components of a Research Proposal Tentative project title Statement of the marketing problem Purpose and limits of the project Outline Data sources and research methodology Estimate of time and personnel requirements Cost estimates SLIDE 4-7