1. Marketing Research
Introduction
Overview

2. The Knowledge Age Huge volumes of information now available
Managers need to be selective and systematic
As data is drawn from multiple sources, it needs to be combined and analysed for it to be of value

3. Decision levels in organisations
Business direction
Market decisions
Investment decisions
New product development
Positioning
Strategic
Operational
Marketing mix decisions
Customer service levels
Competitive responses
Campaigns
Tactical 3

4. Information processing - Adding Value
Input
Output/input
Output
DATA
INFORMATION
INTELLIGENCE
Value
added
Value
added
Uninformed
Minimum cost
Total uncertainty
Informed
Maximum cost
Less uncertainty
Source: Hines 4

5. Typical applications for marketing research
Market analysis
New product/service development
Selection of brand names and packaging
Pricing decisions
Advertising and promotion decisions
Sales decisions
Service support and complaint handling decisions 5

6. Typical data requirements: Market analysis
Market size
Market profitability
Market growth trends
Main products in the market
Customer attitudes and buying behaviours
Major competitors and market shares
Distribution patterns
Marketing strategies used in the market 6

7. Typical data requirements: Pricing decisions
Competitor product prices
Consumer attitudes to price
what would they expect to pay?
what would they be prepared to pay
Cost/price/volume - what quantities are likely to sell at
different price levels? 7

8. Typical data requirements: Advertising and promotion
Size of potential market
Demographic characteristics of users
Demographic profiles of segments
Behaviours and attitudes of different segments
Language used by customers in talking about product
Share of mind compared with competitors 8

9. Typical data requirements: Sales decisions
Sales territories
Sales personnel efficiency
Sales statistics
Sales forecasts
Sales incentives
Distributor policy 9

10. Summary Primary objective of researcher is to provide: Timely Accurate
Relevant
Data and analysis to Marketing
Management
Key word is ‘Robust”

11. Generating Data + / - Data is generated in 2 basic ways:
Secondary data:
Data already existing – may have been collected for other purposes
Primary data:
Original data – collected for a specific purpose
+ / -

12. Secondary Data Secondary data is information
that has been previously gathered
for some purpose other than the
current research project

13. Uses of secondary data Helps to clarify research requirements
Answers some of the research needs
Enables more insightful interpretation of primary data
Provides comparative data
Provides information that cannot be obtained through primary research

14. Benefits of secondary data
Faster
Less expensive to collect
Internet can be used, increasing speed further

15. Limitations of secondary data
Availability
Applicability
Accuracy
Comparability

16. Internal Secondary Research Sources
Sales figures
Operational data – stock levels, etc.
Customer satisfaction results
Advertising spend
Customer complaints records
Effectiveness data from promotional
campaigns
Marketing research reports from
past studies

17. External Secondary Research Sources
Internet – single search engines, and multiple search engines
Directories
Country information
Published marketing research reports
News sources
Newsgroups and discussion lists

18. Types of Marketing Research
Exploratory Research
Descriptive Research
Causal Research
…relates to Uncertainty

19. Exploratory Research
Initial research to clarify a problem or opportunity
Basis for further research

20. Descriptive Research
Describes the nature and characteristics of a market or situation
e.g. much of Market Research is descriptive

21. Causal Research
Describes the nature off variables and cause and effect relationships
e.g. Market Modelling

22. The Research Process
A logical set of stages that research goes through o produce ROBUST and RELEVANT Marketing Intelligence

23. Logical Process