APPLIED MARKETING STRATEGIES Lecture 14 MGT 681

Marketing Ecology Part 2

Lecture Agenda What is Marketing Research

Marketing research Process Marketing research process follows six steps Defining the problem and research objectives Developing the research plan Collecting information Analyse the information Present the findings Make the decisions

Defining the problem, and the research objectives Problems must not be defined two broadly or too narrowly Too broadly defined problem leads to excessive wastage of resources To narrowly define the problem lead to Inadequate data or information to make decision What is to research (The content, the scope) Why Is it to be Researched (The decisions that are to be made)

Develop the research plan The second stage of marketing research requires to develop the most efficient plan for gathering required information This involves decision on – Data sources – Research approaches – Research instruments – Sampling plan – Contact method

Data sources There are two types of data Primary data Secondary data Primary data collection is an expensive process Collect primary data when second data is – Outdated – Inaccurate – Unreliable – Incomplete

Research Approaches Data can be collected in five ways 1. Observation 2. Focus groups 3. Surveys 4. Behavioural data 5. Experiments Observational research is gathering data by observing the relevant actors and settings unobtrusively Ethnographic research is a good example of observational research

Research Approaches Focus group is gathering of 6 to 10 people who are invited to spend a few hours with a skilled moderator in order to discuss a product, service, organization or any other marketing entity Normally some gifts or incentives are offered for attending Moderator of focus group must be – Objective – Knowledgeable – Skilled in group dynamics One way mirror and recording devices Transcripts

Research Approaches surveys are best suited for descriptive research – Peoples knowledge – Beliefs – Preferences – Satisfaction Usually uses Questionnaires

Research Approaches Behavioural data Is more reliable than memory-based statements in surveys Customer actual purchases reflect preferences Sometimes there is a difference between what customer states and what Customer does

Research Approaches Experiment research is to capture cause-and-effect relationship by eliminating competing explanations of the observed findings Design and execution of the experiment eliminate alternative hypotheses that might explain the results Experiments calls for Selecting matched groups of subjects Subjecting them to different treatments Controlling variables Checking that the observed response difference is statistically significant