MARKETING RESEARCH

The Research Process

Instructor:
Mohsin Zeb
Marketing Research: Definition and
Purpose
 Many definitions of Marketing Research:
 “Marketing research is the systematic design, collection,
analysis and reporting of data and findings relevant to a
specific marketing situation facing the company.”
[Philip Kotler]
 “the systematic gathering, recording and analyzing of
all data about problems relating to the marketing of
goods and services.” [The American Marketing
Association]
 Basic Purpose of Marketing Research
 Marketing research reduces uncertainty or error in
decision-making. The information collected by
conducting marketing research is used for problem
solving and decision making in various areas of
marketing.
Marketing Research ...
Can help the marketing manager to:

(1) Identify and define marketing problems and

opportunities accurately;
(2) Understand markets and customers and offer reliable
prediction about them;
(3) Develop marketing strategies and actions to provide a
competitive edge; and refine and evaluate them;
(4) Facilitate efficient expenditure of funds;
(5) Monitor marketing performance; and
(6)Improve the understanding of marketing as a process.
Is important because of

 Rapid changing marketing environment;

 Need for up-to-date information for strategically
important areas;
 Importance of research as an integral part of better
operation.
 THE MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM AND
MARKETING RESEARCH
 Marketing research is not the only source of information that
marketing managers need in making decisions.
 Information may also be generated by various components of the
Marketing Information System (MIS) consisting of a series of
interactive components.
 There are four subsystems of the MIS: internal reports, marketing
intelligence, marketing research, and marketing decision support.
THE MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Internal Marketing
Reporting Intelligence
System System
INFORMATION
Marketing Marketing
Managers 1. Assessment of Environ-
Needs ments
2. Distribution An Marketing
Analytical Research
Marketing
System System

Marketing Decisions and Communications

 When Marketing Research may not be
necessary
 Marketing research is almost always problem-oriented.
Whether to conduct marketing research depends on the
manager’s experience and wisdom; nature of decision
situation [repetitive or atypical]; degree of uncertainty;
and the value and importance of the research.
 Marketing research may not be necessary if:
 Information is available/outcomes known.
 Insufficient time for marketing research.
 Non-availability of resources.
 Cost Vs Value of the Research.
 Outcomes known.
 MAIN DIVISIONS OF
MARKETING RESEARCH

1. Market and Sales Research

2. Product Research
3. Price Research
4. Distribution (Place) Research
5. Promotion Research
 T y p e s o f M a r k e tin g R e s e a r c h

M a r k e t in g R e s e a r c h

R e s e a rc h B a s e d o n R e s e a rc h B a s e d o n R e s e a rc h B a s e d o n
P u rp o s e S o u rc e o f D a ta D a t a C o lle c t io n M e t h o d

B a s ic R e s e a r c h P r im a r y R e s e a r c h Q u a lit a t iv e R e s e a r c h

A p p lie d R e s e a r c h S e c o n d a ry R e s e a rc h Q u a n t it a t iv e R e s e a r c h

P r e lim in a r y C o n c lu s iv e P e r fo r m a n c e
Types of Research II
 Combinations of types such as applied qualitative
research, basic primary research are common
 A sample of questions commonly answered by
conducting primary applied research include:
 What price should we charge for our product?
 What distribution channels should be used?
 How well does the product match up with the competitor’s
product?
 How effective is the company’s advertising?
 How will the consumers receive this new product?
 What percentage of market penetration does Product X have?
 What is Product X’s image in the consumer’s mind?
Qualitative Vs Quantitative Research
 Qualitative research involves collecting, analyzing, and
interpreting data by observing what people say or do.
 Uses a smaller number of individuals and ‘observes’ them for a
time span of between 1 and 2 hours. -----“soft approach”
 Quantitative research is the traditional mainstream of marketing
research.
 It is also called “survey research”. Involves the use of questions
and large number of respondents within a brief span of time, say
15 to 45 minutes.
 Its purpose is very specific-- e.g. a nationwide survey on the Road
Pricing System for cars. The ‘hard approach’ to marketing
research.
THE MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS
 Every research project is different and unique.
 However, research procedures and activities are
common and constitute the marketing research
process .
 This process:
 is an well-organized sequence of ten steps
involved in the systematic collection and analysis
of marketing data.
 provides a description of how a marketing
investigation is designed and implemented, and
helps to guide the execution of a research project.
 is interactive, a researcher may not follow the ten
steps exactly in the order presented here.
Ten Steps in the Marketing Research
Process
1. Define the Problem
2. Establish Research Objective
3. Determine Research Design
4. Identify Information Needs and Sources
5. Determine Methods of Data Collection
6. Design Instrument for Data Collection
7. Determine Sample Plan and Sample Size
8. Collect Data
9. Analyze Data
10. Prepare and Present Final Report
Step 1:
Define the research problem I
 The very first, and the most important step in
research:
 “A problem well-defined is half solved”
 Nature of the problem determines the type of study to
conduct.
 Symptoms, for example, declining sales, profit, market
share, or customer loyalty are not problems.
 A research problem must be accurately and precisely
defined, otherwise the task of designing a good
research difficult.
 Marketing problems may be difficulty-related or
opportunity-related. For both, the prerequisite of
defining the problem is to identify and diagnose it.
 Conduct situation analysis. It provides the basic motivation and
momentum for further research.
Step 1: Define the research problem II
 Get the right answer to the question:
 “What exactly does the firm want (or need) to know?”
 The basic question to address is:
 “How to know that there is a problem?”
 Problems may become apparent from:
 deviation from the business plan, company records and reports,
customer complaints and grievances, conversations with company
employees, and observation of inappropriate behavior or
conditions in the firm;
 the success of the firm’s competitors, and published materials
reporting issues such as, changes in market or environmental
trends, new government regulations, anticipated changes in the
economy, etc.)
Step 1: Define the research problem III
 Once the symptoms of a problem are detected..
 Conduct some initial fact finding to determine the nature
of the true problem.
 Talk to others about the problem and conducting a
preliminary literature search on the topic.
 In the initial stage, a problem may be recognized in a very
broad and general form only. This may restrict the
research program from being comprehensively designed.
 Both the researcher and the marketing manager (or the
research client ) need to work together to formulate the
problem into a precise and definite statement.
 This fact-finding exercise helps the researcher to refine
his educated guess to a more accurate problem
statement.
Step 2: Establish Research Objectives
 “If you do not know what you are looking for, you won’t
find it”
 Research objectives are related to and determined by
the problem definition. In establishing research
objectives, the researcher must answer the following
questions:
i) What specific information should the project
provide?
ii) If more than one type of information will be
developed from
the study, which is the most important? and
finally,
iii) What are the priorities?
 When specifying research objectives, development of
hypotheses, might be very helpful.
 When achieved, objectives provide the necessary
information to solve the problem.
Step 3: Research Design
Research Design step involves the development of a
research plan for carrying out the study.
 There are a number of alternative research
designs. The choice will largely depend on the
research purpose.
M A R K E T IN G R E S E A R C H

Q U A L IT A T IV E R E S E A R C H Q U A N T IT A T IV E R E S E A R C H

EXPLO RATO RY D E S C R IP T IV E CAUSAL

F o c u s G ro u p ; S u rv e y re s e a rc h L a b o r a t o r y E x p e r im e n t
O b s e r v a t io n ; F ie ld E x p e r im e n t
O th e rs .
Step 4: Specify the information required.
Step 5: Design the method of collecting the needed information.

4. After defining the problem the researcher must

determine what kind of information will best
meet the research objectives.
 Secondary information
 Primary information

5. Marketing research information may be collected in many ways:

 via mail, telephone, fax, Internet, or personal interview.
 using consumer panels, consisting of individuals who
have agreed to provide purchasing and media viewing
behavior.
Step 6: Design the questionnaire

 A primary responsibilities of a marketing researcher

is to design the data collection instrument or
questionnaire in a manner so that it is easily
understood by the respondent and administered to
them.
Step 7: Decide on the sampling design.
Step 8: Manage and implement the data collection.

7. The researcher must determine the criteria that

would enable a respondent to take part in a
study.
 The sampling design must result in the proper
sample of respondents being selected. Different
sampling designs are available to researchers.
8. The researcher must properly manage and
oversee the data collection process.
 If interview method is used, the researcher
must train interviewers and develop procedures
for controlling the quality of the interviewing.
 [This is not necessary if survey methodology is
used, where the research instruments are
completed by the respondents. ]
Step 9:
Analyze and interpret the results.
Step 10:
Communicate the findings and implications.

9. The ‘raw’ research data needs to be edited, tabulated and

analyzed to find the results and to interpret them.
 the method used may be manual or computer based.
 The analysis plan follows from the research objective of the
study.
 Association and relationships of variables are identified and
discussed in the light of the specific marketing problem.
10. The researcher has to submit a written report and often
make an oral presentation to management or the client.
 In conducting all the marketing research activities; the
marketing researchers must adhere to ethical standards.