Essentials of

Marketing Research

William G. Zikmund

Chapter 1:
The Nature of
Marketing Research
 The Nature of Marketing
Research
• Marketing research is one of the principal
tools for answering questions because it:
– Links the consumer, customer, and public to the
market through information used to identify
and define marketing
– Generates, refines, and evaluates marketing
actions
– Monitors marketing performance
– Underlines the understanding of marketing as a
process
 Marketing Research Defined
The systematic and objective process of
generating information for aid in making
marketing decisions
The Marketing Research Process
• This process includes:
• specifying what information is required;
• designing the method for collecting information;
• managing and implementing the collection of data;
• analyzing the results; and
• communicating the findings and their
implications.
 I don’t know
if we should
enter the
Information Australian
Reduces Market?

Uncertainty
“It ain’t the things we don’t know that gets
us in trouble. It’s the things we know that
ain’t so.”

Artemus Ward
Marketing Research Types

Basic research

Applied research
 Basic Research
• Attempts to expand the limits of knowledge
• Not directly involved in the solution to a
pragmatic problem
 Basic Research Example
• Do consumers experience cognitive
dissonance in low-involvement situations?
 Applied Research
• Conducted when a decision must be made
about a specific real-life problem
 Applied Research Example
• Should McDonalds add Italian pasta dinners
to its menu?
• Marketing research told McDonald’s it
should not?
• Should Procter & Gamble add a high-priced
home teeth bleaching kit to its product line?
• Research showed Crest Whitestrips would
sell well at a retail price of $44
 Scientific Method
• The analysis and interpretation of empirical
evidence (facts from observation or
experimentation) to confirm or disprove
prior conceptions
 Marketing Concept
• Central idea in marketing
• Evolved over time
• Not production-oriented
• Marketing-oriented
 Marketing Concept

Consumer Long Run

Oriented Profitability

Cross-Functional
Effort
 Keeping Customers
and Building Relationships
• RELATIONSHIP MARKETING - the idea
that a major goal of marketing is to build
long-term relationships with the parties who
contribute to the company’s success.
• Marketers want customers for life.
• Managing the relationships that will bring
about additional exchanges
 Total Quality Management
• Much in common with marketing concept
• Focus on integrating customer-driven
quality throughout the organization.
• Stresses continuous improvement
 Stages in Developing and
Implementing a Marketing Strategy
• Identifying and evaluating opportunities
• Analyzing market segments and selecting
target markets
• Planning and implementing a marketing
mix
• Analyzing market performance
 Identifying and Evaluating
Opportunities
Examples
• Mattel Toys investigates desires for play
experiences
• Home cooking is on the decline. Purchase of
precooked home replacement meals is on the rise.
• Number of investors trading stock on the Internet
is growing.
 Analyze Market Segments and
Select Target Markets
Examples
• Cadillac investigates buyers’ demographic
characteristics
• MTV, monitoring demographic trends, learns the
Hispanic audience is growing rapidly
• Sears learns women, age 25-54 with average
household income of $38,000, are core customers.
Targets this market with "The Good Life at a
Great Price. Guaranteed. Sears."
 Plan and Implement
a Marketing Mix
• Price: Safeway does a competitive pricing analysis
• Distribution: Caterpillar Tractor Co. investigates
dealer service program.
• Product: Oreo conducts taste test, Oreo cookie vs.
Chips Ahoy
• Promotion: How many consumers recall the “Life
Tastes Good. Coca Cola!” slogan?
Analyze Marketing Performance
• This year’s market share is compared to last
year’s.
• Did brand image change after new
advertising?
 Performance-monitoring
Research
• Research that regularly provides feedback
For evaluation And control
• Indicates things are Or are not going as
planned
• Research may be required To explain why
something “went wrong”
 Determining When to Conduct
Marketing Research
• Time constraints
• Availability of data
• Nature of the decision
• Benefits versus costs
 Determining When to Conduct
Marketing Research
Time Constraints Availability of Data Nature of the Decision Benefits vs. Costs
Is the Does the
Information
Is sufficient Yes Yes decision of Yes information Yes Conduct
already on
time
hand
strategic value Marketing
available? or tactical exceed the Research
inadequate?
importance? research cost?

No No No No

Do Not Conduct Marketing Research

Potential Value of a Marketing Research
Effort Should Exceed Its Estimated Costs
Costs
Value •Research
expenditures
•Decreased certainty •Delay of marketing
•Increased likelihood decision and
of a correct decision possible disclosure
•Improved marketing of information to
performance and rivals
resulting higher •Possible erroneous
profits research results
 Marketing Research in the 21st
Century
• Increased globalization
• Growth of the Internet and other
information technologies
 Global Research
• Business Research is increasingly global
• Market knowledge is essential
• A.C. Nielsen - more that 67% international
business
 Global Marketing Research
• General information about country -
economic conditions and political climate
• Cultural and consumer factors
• Market and competitive conditions -
demand estimation
 The Internet
is Transforming Society
• Time is collapsing.
• Distance is no longer an obstacle.
• Crossing oceans is only a mouse click
away.
• People are connected 24 hours a day, seven
days a week.
• "Instantaneous" has a new meaning.
 Internet Research
• Seeking facts and figures about an issue
• Surveys on Web sites