CHAPTER 4
MARKETING
RESEARCH
MSC. QUANG THIEN TR AN
CONTENT
▪ DEFINITION
▪ MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS
1. DEFINITION
Marketing research is the systematic design, collection,
analysis, and reporting of data relevant to a specific
marketing situation facing an organization.
Why marketing research?
Companies use marketing research in a wide variety of situations. For example,
marketing research gives marketers insights into customer motivations,
purchase behavior, and satisfaction. It can help them to assess market potential
and market share or measure the effectiveness of pricing, product, distribution,
and promotion activities.
Some common marketing research activities
• Consumer research.
• Consumer buying motives/ motivation research
• Retail market research.
• Analyze and control sales activities.
• Product research (R&D)
• Product distribution cost analysis.
• Advertising research.
• Research and forecast marketing and communication trends
Getting back to the Report from
DISCUSSION Decision Lab, what can you learn from
the report?
2. MARKETING
RESEARCH
2
PROCESS
2. Marketing research process
2.1 Define research problem & objectives
Defining the problem and research objectives is often the hardest step in the
research process. The manager may know that something is wrong, without
knowing the specific causes.
Eg: The manager may notice a decrease in sale but not sure about what causes
sale loss. He must look deeply into the root cause to find the solutions.
2.1 Define the research problem & objectives
A marketing research project might have one of three types of objectives:
• Exploratory research: Marketing research to gather preliminary information that will
help define problems and suggest hypotheses.
• Descriptive research: Marketing research to better describe marketing problems,
situations, or markets, such as the market potential for a product or the demographics
and attitudes of consumers.
• Causal research: Marketing research to test hypotheses about cause-and-effect
relationships.
2.2 Develop the research plan
The research plan outlines sources of existing data and spells out the specific
research approaches, contact methods, sampling plans, and instruments that
researchers will use to gather new data. Research objectives must be translated
into specific information needs
2.3 Gathering data
2.4 Research Approaches
Research approaches for gathering primary data include observation, surveys, and experiments:
• Observational research: Gathering primary data by observing relevant people, actions, and
situations. (in-store, shopping mall, supermarket)
• Ethnographic research: A form of observational research that involves sending trained
observers to watch and interact with consumers in their “natural environments.
• Survey research: Gathering primary data by asking people questions about their knowledge,
attitudes, preferences, and buying behavior.
• Experimental research: Gathering primary data by selecting matched groups of subjects, giving
them different treatments, controlling related factors, and checking for differences in group
responses
DISCUSSION
With the requirement of the mid-term exam, define the
research approach(es).
Contact method
Focus group interview consists of inviting a group of people to meet with a trained
moderator to talk about a product, service, or organization. The moderator
encourages free and easy discussion, hoping that group interactions will bring out
actual feelings and thoughts.
In-depth interview Trained interviewers can guide interviews, explain difficult
questions, and explore issues as the situation requires. They can show subjects
actual products, advertisements, or packages and observe reactions and behavior
Surveys/ Questionnaires addressing almost any marketing question or decision can
be conducted by phone or mail, in person, or on the Web.
Research design
Research design
DISCUSSION
1. Name some contact methods that you have
experienced/observed and explore its advantages
and disadvantages?
2. Distinguish between primary and secondary data?
What are the strengths and limitations of using each
of these data types?
3. Advances in Technology and Internet have aided in
market research, explore the benefits and
disadvantages? Examples?
T H A N K YO U
19 P R E S E N TAT I ON T I T L E