ENT4310 Business Economics and Marketing A six-step model for marketing research Arild Aspelund

Outline Key variables of market research A six-step model for marketing research –Selection of methods –Development of tools What characterizes good marketing research?

What do you wanna know? Volume –What is a reasonable estimate of the total market for this product or service? Value –What value would consumers associate to the product or service? –Does it change with the population? Appropriability –What is a reasonable estimate of your part of the pie?

A Six-step Model for Market Research Define the problem Develop research plan Collect information Analyze information Present findings Make decision

Step 1: Defining the problem The problem must be adequately defined –Not too narrow, not too broad Remember that reality is complex –Clearly state the alternatives, objectives and limitations of the research project Different problems require different research approaches –Exploratory –Descriptive –Causal

Step 2: Develop the research plan The research plan helps you to coordinate the job, but also –Communicating and assessing objectives –Assessing costs –Document the process Contents and key decision points –Data sources –Research approaches –Research instruments –Sampling plan –Contact methods

Step 2: Develop the research plan - Data sources There two sources of data –Primary data – data collected for this specific project –Secondary data – originally gathered and structures for another purpose A marketing research project normally involves use of both types of data Researchers usually starts out the project by investigating and exploring secondary data Secondary data are advantageous because it is readily available at usually low costs

Step 2: Develop the research plan - Research approach Most projects will involve gathering of primary data. And you have several ways of doing so. –Just make sure your data fits your purpose! Observational research –Observing relevant actors in relevant settings – consumer behavior! Focus group research –6 – 10 carefully selected people –In-depth discussion of various topics –Professionally moderated –Consumer motivation, quality and functional feed-back

Step 2: Develop the research plan - Research approach Survey research –Large scale investigations of peoples knowledge, beliefs, preferences and satisfaction in the general population –Market potential and feasibility studies for new product launches Behavioral data –Analysis of actual consumer behavior from collected customer records –More reliable that questionnaire data Experimental research –The most scientific approach –Primarily used to detect cause-and-effect relationships

Step 2: Develop the research plan - Research instruments Questionnaires –A very flexible instrument for data collection, and by far the most frequently used Questionnaires need to be developed, tested and debugged before they are exposed to the respondent –Carefully choose questions, wording and sequence –The form of the question can influence the response –One can choose from a broad range of question types

Step 2: Develop the research plan - Research instruments Ensure questions are free of bias Make questions simple Make questions specific Avoid jargon Avoid sophisticated words Avoid ambiguous words Avoid negatives Avoid hypotheticals Avoid words that could be misheard Use response bands Use mutually exclusive categories Allow for other in fixed response questions Some questionnaire dos and donts

Step 2: Develop the research plan - Research instruments Qualitative measures Shadowing Behavior mapping Consumer journey Camera journals Extreme user interviews Storytelling Unfocused groups

Step 2: Develop the research plan - Research instruments Mechanical devices Galvanometers Tachistoscope Eye cameras Audiometers GPS

Step 2: Develop the research plan - Sampling Plan Probability sample –Simple random sample –Stratified random sample –Cluster sample Non-probability sample –Convenience sample –Judgement sample –Quota sample Sampling unit Sample size Sampling procedure

Step 2: Develop the research plan - Contact Methods Mail questionnaire Telephone interview Personal interview Online interview What are the pros and cons of these methods?

Step 3: Collect the information Collecting the data is the most time and resource consuming part of the process Make sure yourself reasonably sure that you have done your homework before entering this phase Numerous problems may arise along the process –Respondents not available, not cooperative, biased or dishonest Such problems are unavoidable, just make sure they dont leave a bias in your data

Step 4: Analyse the information … this is the point where you do not want to find out that your data is not analyzable… Structure out the data and explore it Analyze it according to –Interesting descriptives –Relevant causal relations Your level of sophistication in analytical methods will determine the value added from the research process

Step 5: Present the findings Structure the information that you find relevant for management Make sure the presentation is not overloaded –Rather split it up in nice packages… Presenting the scientific method is almost as important as presenting the results –You need to document your reliability…

Step 6: Make the decision Decisions are made in the intersection between the findings and their reliability Ingredients of good market research –Scentific method –Creativity –Multiple research methods –Accurate model building –Cost-benefit analysis –Healthy scepticism –Ethical focus

Summary and Continuation The key variables of market research are volume, value and appropriability The market research process can be defined into 6 distinctive steps –Define the problem –Develop a research plan –Collect information –Analyze information –Present findings –Make decisions Continuation –Market analysis – External Analysis