1. 9 Marketing Research
Dr. Close

2. Role of Research Defined as:
“the planning, collecting, and analyzing information to improve marketing decisions.”
A decision Support System (DSS)
Keep isolated marketing managers in touch with markets.
What’s hot? What’s not?
DSS: Interactive, flexible, discovery-oriented & accessible
Create customer profiles via database marketing

3. Marketing Research Scientific Method:
Is the objective and orderly process for testing ideas about relationships between variable(s).
Hypothesis is an educated guess about relationship between variables (if a, then b).
Is this the best way to understand consumers?

4. Marketing Research Ethics (politicians find “weak” spots)
Withhold info: ads, phone-in poll, what else?
Privacy: “war on debt faith gift”
“Fake” surveys: telemarketer
Any other examples?
Internet examples?

5. Marketing Research Steps
Identify the problems (or opportunity)
Is the most difficult and important (Cingular wireless: product failures: cast about reasons: lack of image; $300 million BBDO)
Book: often outside specialists must understand situation.
Budget constraints an issue.

6. Research Brings New Ideas

7. Marketing Research Steps
2. Plan Research Design & Collect Data
Quick and cost effective (eliminates need)
Secondary data (Vans: law; skatepark)
Information already collected and or published
Study information already available
End: decide if information is still needed
If so, conduct a new, original (primary) research study
Market research is what I do almost every day!

8. How the Internet has Changed Secondary and Primary Data Collection Methods

9. Marketing Research Steps
Plan to gather data: surveys
2b. If primary data, have to collect data yourself
Questioning: survey (Scales)
Set of questions to collect information directly from subjects (open or closed ended)
Self administer or in person (at events, malls)
Problem: low response rates 10% is good, 36% diss)
Problem (from low response): representative
Online surveys
(zoomerang.com.surveymonkey.com)

10. Marketing Research Marketing Research Process
Plan to gather data: novel methods
2b. Depth interviews
Observing “you can observe a lot, just be looking”
Advantage: natural inquiry (kids), and gather information without influencing customers.
What about disadvantages??
“Mystery shoppers” (what are examples??)
Scanner data: collect buying information (unlimited use)
Netnography/ethnography
Online/focus groups/

11. Marketing Research Plan to gather data: experiments 2b. Data
Experimenting
Two similar groups
Differ on one item of importance
Hold all else constant
Advantage: causation (Eckerd; 20 stores; POP; Atkins death)
Disadvantage: naturalism (is it so fake?) LeSportsac vs K-Mart
Look on the back of a prescription drug print ad….that is an experiment

12. K-Mart Impression of K-Mart? How would you research consumers

13. Marketing Research Steps
5. Analyse/Interpret data
Solve with statistics
Issues:
Reliability: consistency (same result in repeated trials; scale for weight)
Validity: measure what you intend to (accurate standardized tests
Statistical software assists you

14. SPSS vs. SAS

15. Marketing Research Steps
Analyze the data (not just interesting)
Run cross-tabs
Hypothesis testing
Association Measures
Regression Analysis
Structural Equation Models

16. Marketing Research Follow up 6. Prepare/Present Report or Manuscript
Solve objectives clearly
Search for the “better question” (ask about food quality in dining hall; everyone talks about price or location)
Tailor to audience (executive or expert scholars
Follow up
How could your improve?
Was a decision made based on your study?
Build a relationship

17. Summary Read: Uses of Internet in marketing information
Know the steps and methods (surveys, experiments, observations, etc.)
Others:
Define research
Purpose of research
Qualitative v/s Quantitative
Any questions??