THE MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS

MKTG6030 Marketing Research

Presented By: Alicia Payne & Charita Jordan

What is Marketing Research?

European Association of Research Agencies, European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) defined it as: the key element within the total field of marketing information. It links the consumer, customer and public to the marketer through information which are used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; to generate, refine and evaluate marketing activities; and to improve understanding of marketing as a process and the ways through which specific marketing activities can be made more effective.

ESOMAR Definition: Illustrated

Consumer

identify & define marketing opportunities and problems to generate, refine and evaluate marketing activities
Customer

Marketer

Marketing Research

Public

to improve understanding of marketing and the ways through which specific marketing activities can be made more effective.

What is Marketing Research?

According to Kotler & Keller (2009, p. 90) marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company.

Answer:

The Marketing Research Process

The Traditional View & The Backward View

Marketing Research Process

Defined: Systematic, standardized and objective procedure of obtaining information for decision making in marketing (Murui, Vranevi, 2001, p.7)

Marketing Research Process

Burns & Bush (2003): 11 Step Research Process
Step 1: Establish the need for marketing research Step 2: Define the problem
Step 3: Establish research objectives Step 4: Determine research design

Step 5: Identify information types and sources

Step 6: Determine methods of accessing data

Step 7: Design data collection forms

Step 8: Determine sample plan and size

Sep 9: Collect data

Step 10: Analyse data

Step 11: Prepare and present the final research report

Traditional View: Simple

Step 1: Define the problem & research objectives Step 2: Develop the research plan Step 3: Collect the data Step 4: Analyze the data Step 5: Present the findings Step 6: Make the decision

Step 1: Define the Problem & Research Objectives

The most important step in the research process. Determine if the company is faced with a Marketing Problem or Market Opportunity. Marketing Problem when the company requires a change/shift in their current marketing strategy to respond to market trends. These changes can help the company maintain or improve overall performance.

Step 1: Define the Problem & Research Objectives

Market Opportunity when the company is faced with a chance to improve performance by either modifying the existing marketing strategy or by introducing a new strategy This may result in problems which are expressed in a very broad sense.

Step 1: Define the Problem & Research Objectives

E.g. Manager at a Hotel: Find out all you can about the needs of our business related clientele Manager & Marketing Researcher: Will offering complimentary WiFi and international calls create enough incremental preference and profit for XY Business Hotel to justify its cost against other possible investments in service enhancements?

Step 1: Define the Problem & Research Objectives

Establishing Research Objectives
Research objectives are related to and determined by the problem definition. The researcher must answer the following questions:
1. 2.

What specific information should the project provide? If more than one type of information will be developed from the study, which is the most important? What are the priorities?

3.

Research objectives provide the necessary information to solve the problem.

Step 1: Illustrated
Marketing Problem / Opportunity (Broad) Define the Problem (Narrow)

Establish Research Objectives

Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

This step includes selecting research design data sources, research instruments, sampling plan and contact methods Marketing research can be classified
Exploratory Research: collecting information

in an

unstructured and informal manner. Descriptive Research: refers to a set of methods and procedures describing marketing variables. Causal Research (experiments): allows isolation of causes and effects

Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

This step includes selecting research design data sources, research instruments, sampling plan and contact methods Marketing research can be classified into one of three categories:
Exploratory

Research Descriptive Research Causal Research (experiments)

Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

Exploratory Research : The chief purpose of exploratory research is to reach a better understanding of the research problem.
Formulates problems more precisely
Clarifies

concepts Gathering explanations and gaining insights Eliminates impractical ideas Forms hypotheses. Exploratory research is characterised by its flexibility.

Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

Descriptive Research is primarily concerned with describing market characteristics and/or marketing mix characteristics.
Who,

What, Where, How, When Specific research questions must have been formulated. The researcher must have adequate knowledge on the research problem and is in a position to clearly define what he/she wants to measure and how to do it.

Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

Casual Research seeks to find cause and effect relationships between variables. It accomplishes this goal through laboratory and field experiments.
Who,

What, Where, How, When Specific research questions must have been formulated. The researcher must have adequate knowledge on the research problem and is in a position to clearly define what he/she wants to measure and how to do it.

Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

Exploratory Research Descriptive Research Casual Research
Determining all the criteria hotels use in determining which resort amenities to include in their product offering.

Placing the criteria visitors use in deciding hotels based on amenities in the order of importance

Determining which hotel amenities are offered on a complimentary basis vs. optional add-ons and their effect on conversion rates.

Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

Data Types & Sources

Secondary Data data which was collected for another purpose. E.g industry reports, company documents, other published statistics and studies Primary Data data which is freshly gathered for a specific purpose or for specific research project
Observation Ethnographic Focus Group Survey Behavioural Data Experimental

Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

Research Instruments
Market researchers have a choice of 3 main research instruments in collecting primary data: Questionnaires Qualitative Measures Technological Devices

Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

Sampling Plan
Sampling unit

- Who should we survey? Sample size - How many people should we survey? 1% of a population and a credible sampling procedure can provide reliable findings Sampling procedure How should we choose the respondents probability sampling, purposive sampling etc.

Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

Contact Methods
Mail

Questionnaire Telephone Interview Personal Interview Online Interview

Step 3: Collect the Data

Based on the contact method chosen, the market researcher will now actively seek out gathering the data from the outlined sample.

N.B Well trained market researchers will try to reduce interviewer bias and other non-sampling errors during this phase.

Step 4: Analyze the Data

The main purpose is to interpret and draw conclusions from the data collected.
Appropriate analytic tools should be chosen to match research objectives and information needs.
Test

of Statistical Significance Factor Analysis Cluster Analysis

Step 5: Present the Findings

The marketing researcher must: Present both oral and written reports Convince the manager that the results are credible and justified by the data collected Speak in managerial terms rather than in the terminology understood only by research specialists Reports should outline technical details of the research project and methods in an appendix, if at all Researchers should spell out their conclusions in clear, concise, and actionable terms Be open-minded to findings, be willing to refute expectations, and acknowledge limitations.

Step 6: Make the Decision

Managers must weigh the evidence presented to them through the report of findings to decide on the action. In some instances, managers use a marketing decision support system (MDSS). This is basically a program which interprets relevant information from a business and the environment and turns it into a basis for marketing action.

Problems:
Traditional Marketing Research

Problems: Traditional MR

Market research has allowed prominent product failures, and wrong predictions Markets are increasingly becoming microsegmented so mass market research becomes correspondingly irrelevant It is helpful for improvements, but less so for radical innovations

Backward Market Research

Overview: Backward Market Research

This approach to the market research process was proposed by Mr. Alan R. Andreasen in 1989.
Encourages

an involved investigation into the nature of the research and in turn revealed the true research question.

Overview: Backward Market Research

Andreasen (1989), the best way to design usable research is to start where the process usually ends and then work backward.

Why use Backward Research?

It seeks to uncover the true research problem. Encourages the involvement of management from the inception, increasing the chances of implementation of results Reduces the chances of unwanted or unanticipated conclusions and research expenses. It is a useful data gathering tool. It adds value to market research Is specific to the needs of the organization.

Conclusion
As a good researcher, it is without a doubt that marketing research is essential. As a result which approach to marketing research do you think would bring forth the best results in these times?