Market Research

UNIT 01: Market Research. Concept and fields of

application.
Marketing Process Overview
Mission  Situation Analysis  Mkt Strategy  Mkt Mix  Implement. and Control

Marketing Research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the
marketer through information, used to identify and define marketing opportunities and
problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing
performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process.
Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the
method for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process,
analyzes the results, and communicates the findings and their implications.

Using Market Research

It can help you identify:
o Growth trends in your business sector.
o Size of your target market.
o Best location for your business.
 o How the business stacks up against competition.
o Factors that influence buying decisions.
o Degree of demand for your product or service.

It can also reveal key information about customers and prospects:

o Demographic profile.
o Types of features or special services they want.
o What they like or dislike about your product or service.
o How they use your product or service.
o How often they buy and how much they will pay for your product or service.

Factors to be investigated
through Market Research

UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION
o Market Research is a term that is used to refer to a process of gathering or collecting
information about target audience or target market.
o The main role is to provide a company or business organization with an in-depth view
of the customers in order to be able to satisfy their needs better.
 o The process of market research is integral to be able to compete with other players in
the same industry and helps to analyze things like market size, competition and
market needs.
DEFINITION
 Market research, which includes social and opinion research, is the systematic
gathering and interpretation of information problems relating to the marketing of
goods and services.
 Market research will give you the data you need to identify and reach your target
market at a price customer are willing to pay.
L’OREAL:
MR & Innovation. Geocosmetics. Local observation.
LEGO: The Gender Marketing of Toys: “Friends Line” (2012)

LEGO: The Gender Marketing of Toys: “Friends Line” (2012)

“The ultimate marketing weapon”. Controversial marketing techniques. CAMBRIDGE

ANALYTICA & Psychographic marketing.

McDonald’s – marketing research done right (or wrong): Australia (Discovery Project,
2005) vs. Bolivia (2002).
Marketing research focuses and organizes marketing information. It permits entrepreneurs to:
o Spot current and upcoming problems in the current market.
o Reduce business risks.
o Identify sales opportunities.
o Develop plans of action.

Market Research is not a perfect science, it deals with people and their constantly changing
feelings and behaviors, influenced by countless subjective factors.
To conduct marketing research, you must gather facts and opinions in an orderly, objective
way to find out what people want to buy, not just what you want to sell them.

Market research will identify trends that affect sales and profitability.
o Population shifts.
o Legal developments.
o The local economic situation should be monitored to quickly identify problems and
opportunities.
Important to also keep up with competitor’s market strategies.
WHY DO MARKET RESEARCH?

o People will not buy products or services they do not want.

o Learning what customers want and how to present it drives the need for marketing
research.
o Small business has an edge over larger businesses in this regard.
 Small business owners have a sense of their customers' needs from years of
experience, but this informal information may not be timely or relevant to
the current market.

STEPS IN MARKET RESEARCH

1. Planning.
2. Developing Questionnaire.
3. Research – Data Collection.
4. Analysing – Data.
5. Using the data – Strategic Decision Making.
6. Preparation and Presentation of Results.

THE MARKET RESEARCH PROCESS: 6 STEPS

Step 1: Problem Definition.

• Identify the specific components of the marketing research problem.

• Tasks involved:
 a) Address decision-makers (research problem audits) Industry experts
b) Secondary data analysis
c) Quantitative research
d) Assess the environmental context of the problem (PESTLE, SWOT,
Porter 5 Forces).

Step 2: Development of an approach to the problem: theoretical framing, analytical

models, hypotheses.

• Establish the theoretical framework. “The scientific theory”

• “Nothing is so practical than a good theory”
• Analytical models: group of variables mathematically interconnected
• Identify the RQ
• Build hypotheses

Step 3: Research Design.

• Systematic plan to study a marketing problem.

• Procedure to obtain information to solve a problem.
• Framework created to seek answers to marketing questions.
• Includes qualitative research, quantitative research, measurement tools, sampling and
data analysis.

Step 4: Fieldwork or Data Collection.

 • Depending on the Research Design
• Exploratory RD (secondary data analysis + QUAL research)
• Conclusive RD (causal; descriptive)
• QUAL vs QUAN
• Triangulation
Critical thinking:
• A multinational fast-food corporation plans to locate a restaurant in La Paz,
Bolivia. Secondary data for this city are outdated.
• How would you determine the best location using observational data collection
methods?

Step 5: Data Preparation and Analysis.

Coding of the information you have gathered.
Types of statistical analysis:

• Distribution of frequencies.
• ANOVA and ANCOVA.
• Correlation and regression.
• Logit and Discriminant Analysis.
• Factor Analysis.
• Conglomerates Analysis.
• Multidimensional Scaling.

Step 6: Preparation and Presentation of Results.

Written report that compiles:

• Research questions.
• Research design.
• Data gathering.
• Data analysis.
• Results.
It facilitates the decision-making process.
ETHICAL ISSUES IN MKT RESEARCH
A food warehouse club advertises “saving up to 30%” after a survey showed a range of
savings from 2 to 30% below average prices for selected items.

A respondent tells an interviewer that she wished to cooperate with a survey, but her time
is valuable and, therefore, she expects to be paid for the interview.

Ethical Principles

Ethical Violations

o Violating disclosure agreements.

o Breaking confidentiality: sponsor, purpose, findings nondisclosure • Padded invoices.
o Misrepresenting results.
o Deceiving participants: hiding true research objectives.
o Avoiding legal liability.
o Privacy issues.

To sum up:
Marketing Research:
• Identifies and defines marketing opportunities.
• Generates, refines, and evaluates marketing actions.
• Monitors marketing performance.
• Improves understanding of marketing as a process.
UNIT 2: THE DESIGN RESEARCH. PHASES AND
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Data
• Facts or recorded measures of certain phenomena (things).
Information
• Data formatted (structured) to support decision making or define the
relationship between two facts.

Characteristics of Valuable Information

Not all data are valuable.
o Relevance.

The characteristics of data reflecting how pertinent these particular facts are to the situation
at hand.
Relevant data are facts about things that can be changed, and if they are changed, it will
materially alter the situation.
o Quality.

The degree to which data represent the true situation.

Researchers will try to obtain the same data from multiple data sources as one check on its
quality.
Data quality is a critical issue in business research.
o Timeliness.

Means that the data are current enough to still be relevant.

 o Completeness.

Having the right amount of information.

If info about unemployment or other characteristics cannot be obtained, the information is
incomplete. Often incomplete information leads decision makers to conduct their own
business research.
BUSINESS IS DEPENDENT ON KNOWLEDGE
Business researchers and decision makers use knowledge to help create solutions to strategic
and tactical problems. Thus, knowledge is a key resources and a potential competitive
advantage.
KNOWLEDGE
o A blend of previous experience, insight, and data that forms organizational memory.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
o The process of creating an inclusive, comprehensive, easily accessible organizational
memory, which is often called the organization’s intellectual capital.
Dimensions of knowledge.
 Knowledge: the experience of using information to make judgements, and the ability
to link them to decisions or actions.
 Distinguish knowledge from data, information, and wisdom.

PRIMARY vs SECONDARY DATA

PRIMARY MARKET RESEARCH
Information that comes directly from source.
 Direct Mail.
 Phone surveys.
 Face to face interviews.
 Observations.
 Focus groups.
Advantages and disadvantages of primary data collection.
One of the advantages of primary data is that it can be collected from any population, making
it ideal for studies with diverse populations. However, one disadvantage of primary data is
that it can be time consuming and expensive to collect.
SECONDARY MARKET RESEARCH METHODS
Involves gathering data and information that is already available.
Sources:
 Government publications and reports.
 Market research reports and databases.
 News articles.
  Company websites and annual reports.
 …
Advantages:
1. Cost-effective.
2. Wide range of data.
3. Time saving.
Disadvantages:
1. Data quality.
2. Lack of customization.
3. Outdated data.
4. Lack of control.
THE RESEARCH REPORT.
o Outside agency: an independent research firm contracted by the company.
o In-house agency: research performed by employees of the company.

UNIT 3: EXPLORATORY RESEARCH

RESEARCH DESIGN
Framework for conducting the marketing research project. It specifies the details of the
procedures necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure and/or solve
marketing research problems.
EXPLORATORY Research Design vs CONCLUSIVE Research Design
 Purposes: Purposes:
o Formulate/define a problem. o Test hypotheses.
o Identify alternative courses of o Determine cause-effect
action. relationships.
o Develop hypotheses. o Make predictions.
o Isolate key variables. o Provide solutions to practical
o Gain insights. problems.
o Establish priorities for further
research. Useful when the goal is to provide clear
Qual data collection: literature review, in- and definitive answers to specific research
depth interviews, focus groups… problems.
 Quantitative methods to minimize
potential bias.

Conducting qualitative research is about asking the right people the right questions in
the right format.
WHAT CAN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH TELL YOU?
• Aim to gain an in-depth insight into what individuals think, feel, or do.
• Exploring the ‘why’ and ‘how’ reasons behind customers behaviours and decisions.
• Designed to reveal the behaviours and perceptions.
• Provides information and data about the background of the research problem.
• Qualitative questions will tell you Why (“Why did you purchase that car”?).
• Quantitative questions will tell you Who and What.
• Qualitative research is subjective.
• Quantitative research is objective.
• Triangulation.
ETHNOGRAPHY
o Participant observation.
o Conducting interviews in situ (often home).
o First-hand exploration of behaviours and products used in situ.
o Observation of how respondents interact with others they live with.
Case Study: How did Starbucks conquer the coffee world?
 METHODS
DIRECT
1. FOCUS GROUPS
 Focused (on a particular topic).
 Outlined prepared for discussion.
 Characteristics of the moderator
 Unstructured
 Size: 8–12
 Group composition: homogeneous
 Recorded: videotapes
 Observation: one-way mirror
 Undisguised
 Physical setting: relaxed
 Several sessions needed: 1–3 hours each
May be conducted for:
1. Understanding the effect of an advertisement prior launch on the target market.
2. Launching new products or services in an existing or a new market.
3. Understanding changing customer preferences and choices.
4. Finding the effects of change in marketing mix variables (i.e., product, price, place, and
promotion).
5. Revealing hidden consumer preferences, motives, expectations, and their relation to overall
behaviour.
Advantages and Disadvantages:
Advantages of Focus Groups:
o Rich data.
o Interactive.
o Cost-effective.
o Efficient.
o Flexible.
Disadvantages of Focus Groups:
o Limited generalizability.
o Influence of the moderator.
 o Potential for groupthink.
o Limited depth of responses.
o Difficulty in analysis.

2. DEPTH/ IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS

 Depth of coverage.
 Each respondent individually interviewed.
 Probe the respondent.
 Talented interviewer required.
 Hidden motives may be uncovered
Advantages and Disadvantages:
Advantages:
 Provides in-depth information.
 Flexible in terms of topics, length, and order of questions.
 Allows for follow-up questions to gain a deeper understanding
Disadvantages:
 Time-consuming and costly.
 Potential for interviewer bias.
 Limited sample size and generalizability.

INDIRECT
1. PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
o Association Techniques (word association, test words, voice pitch analysers).
o Completion techniques.
o Expressive techniques.
Tap into consumers’ deep motivations, beliefs, attitudes, and values.
Used to obtain deep understanding of emotional needs, barriers, and motivators. The more
ambiguous the situation, the more respondents project their emotions, needs, motives,
attitudes, and values.