Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation
Seventh Edition
Chapter 1
Introduction to Marketing
Research
Copyright © 2019, 2010, 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Chapter Outline
1) Overview
2) Definition of Marketing Research
3) A Classification of Marketing Research
4) Marketing Research Process
5) The Nature of Marketing Research
6) Marketing Research and Competitive Intelligence
7) Marketing Research Suppliers and Services
8) Selecting a Research Supplier
9) Careers in Marketing Research
10) The Role of Marketing Research in MIS and DSS
11) International Marketing Research
12) Marketing Research & Social Media
13) Mobile Marketing Research
14) Ethics in Marketing Research
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Redefining Marketing Research
The American Marketing Association
(AMA) redefined Marketing Research as:
The function which links the consumer, the
customer, and public to the marketer
through INFORMATION
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Redefining Marketing Research
Used to identify and
define market
opportunities and
problems
Generate, refine, and
evaluate marketing
performance
Monitor marketing
performance
Improve understanding
of marketing as a
process
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Definition of Marketing Research
Clearly, Marketing research emphasizes the need for information for
decision making. That is, Marketing research is Decision-oriented.
Decision-oriented
Based on this perspective, and for our purpose, Marketing research
is defined as:
The systematic and objective
identification
collection
analysis
dissemination
and use of information
for the purpose of improving decision making related to the
identification and
solution of problems and opportunities in marketing.
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Market Research should:
Specify the information necessary to
address these issues
Manage and implement the data
collection process
Analyze the results
Communicate the findings and their
implications
Help managers use this information to
make decisions
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Classification of Marketing Research
Problem Identification Research
Research undertaken to help identify problems
which are not necessarily apparent on the
surface and yet exist or are likely to arise in the
future.
Examples: market potential, market share, image,
market characteristics, sales analysis, forecasting,
and trends research.
Problem Solving Research
Research undertaken to help solve specific
marketing problems.
Examples: segmentation, product, pricing, promotion,
and distribution research.
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A Classification of Marketing Research
Marketing Research
Problem Problem Solving
Identification Research Research
Market Potential Research
Segmentation Research
Market Share Research
Market Characteristics Research Product Research
Sales Analysis Research Promotion Research
Forecasting Research Distribution Research
Business Trends Research
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Problem Solving Research
Table 1.1
SEGMENTATION RESEARCH
Determine the basis of segmentation
Establish market potential and
PRODUCT RESEARCH
responsiveness for various
segments Test concept
Select target markets Determine optimal product design
Create lifestyle profiles: Package tests
demography, media, and
product image characteristics Product modification
Brand positioning and
repositioning
Test marketing
Control score tests
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Problem Solving Research
Table 1.1 cont. PROMOTIONAL RESEARCH
Optimal promotional budget
Sales promotion relationship
Optimal promotional mix
Copy decisions
Media decisions
Creative advertising testing
Evaluation of advertising effectiveness
PRICING RESEARCH Claim substantiation
Pricing policies
Importance of price in brand selection
Product line pricing
Price elasticity of demand $ALE
Initiating and responding to price changes
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Problem Solving Research
Table 1.1 cont.
DISTRIBUTION RESEARCH
Determine…
Types of distribution
Attitudes of channel members
Intensity of wholesale & resale coverage
Channel margins
Location of retail and wholesale outlets
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Marketing Research Process
Step 1: Problem Definition
Step 2: Development of an Approach to
the Problem
Step 3: Research Design Formulation
Step 4: Fieldwork or Data Collection
Step 5: Data Preparation and Analysis
Step 6: Report Preparation and
Presentation
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The Role of Marketing Research
Fig 1.2 Customer Groups
• Consumers
• Employees
• Shareholders
•
Suppliers Uncontrollable
Controllable Environmental
Marketing Factors
Variables
• Product
Marketing • Economy
Research • Technology
• Pricing • Laws &
• Promotion Regulations
• Distribution • Social & Cultural
Assessing Marketing Factors
Providing
Information Information Decision • Political Factors
Needs Making
Marketing Managers
• Market Segmentation
• Target Market Selection
• Marketing Programs
• Performance & Control
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Marketing Research and Competitive Intelligence
Competitive Intelligence (CI) is:
“the process of enhancing marketplace competitiveness
through a greater understanding of a firm’s competitors
and competitive environment”
CI involves legal and ethical collection and analysis of
market information (i.e. capabilities, vulnerabilities, and
intentions of business competitors) through
information databases and marketing research
inquiry.
inquiry
This intelligence is made available to decision makers.
CI is a continuous process.
CI provides early warning signals about the competitive
environment
Although CI depends on market research for
information, it has evolved into a discipline of its own.
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The decision to conduct market research
The decision to conduct market research should
be guided by:
The cost versus benefits of information
Resources available to conduct market research
Resources available to implement market the
research findings
Management’s attitudes towards market research
(i.e. their should be a genuine reason to do
research, such as reducing uncertainty surrounding
an important management decision)
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Marketing Research Industry (suppliers & Services)
Internal suppliers (located within the firm)
External suppliers (outside research firms)
Full-service suppliers (companies offering full range of services):
Syndicated services (companies that collect & sell common data to serve
information needs shared by several clients)
Standardized services (companies that use standard procedures to
provide market research to various clients)
Customized services (companies that tailor research procedures to meet
needs of individual clients)
Internet services (companies that use the internet to conduct market
research for their clients)
Limited-service suppliers (companies that specialize in one or a few phases
of market research):
Field services
Coding and data entry services
Analytical services (companies that provide guidance in research design)
Data analysis services
Branded marketing research products (companies specialized in
addressing specific types of research problems. They provide specific
research services that are patented, and given brand names)
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Criteria for Selecting a Research Supplier
What is the reputation of the supplier?
Do they complete projects on schedule?
Are they known for maintaining ethical standards?
Are they flexible?
Are their research projects of high quality?
What kind and how much experience does the
supplier have? Has the firm had experience with
projects similar to this one?
Do the supplier's personnel have both technical and
non-technical expertise?
Can they communicate well with the client?
Competitive bids should be obtained and compared on
the basis of quality as well as price.
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Example: Selected Marketing Research Job Descriptions
Research Director
Vice President of Marketing
Research • Also part of senior
• Part of company’s top management
management team • Heads the development
• Directs company’s entire market and execution of all
research operation research projects
• Sets the goals & objectives of the
marketing research department Assistant Director of Research
• Administrative assistant to director
• Supervises research staff members
Senior Project Manager
• Responsible for design, implementation, &
research projects
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Example: Selected Marketing Research Job Descriptions
Senior Analyst
• Participates in the development of projects
• Carries out execution of assigned projects
• Coordinates the efforts of analyst, junior analyst, & other personnel in the
development of research design and data collection
• Prepares final report
Analyst Statistician/Data Processing
• Handles details in execution of • Serves as expert on theory and
project application on statistical techniques
• Designs & pretests questionnaires • Oversees experimental design, data
• Conducts preliminary analysis of processing, and analysis
data
Junior Analyst Fieldwork Director
• Secondary data analysis • Handles selection, training,
• Edits and codes questionnaires supervision, and evaluation of
• Conducts preliminary analysis of data interviewers and field workers
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Preparation for a Career in Mktg. Research
Take all the marketing courses you can.
Take courses in statistics and quantitative methods.
Acquire Internet and computer skills. Knowledge of
programming languages is an added asset.
Take courses in psychology and consumer behavior.
Acquire effective written and verbal communication
skills.
Think creatively. Creativity and common sense
command a premium in marketing research.
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Management Information Systems vs.
Decision Support Systems
MIS characteristics DSS characteristics
deal with Structured Problems deal with Unstructured
Use of Reports Problems
Rigid Structure Use of Models
Information Displaying User Friendly Interaction
Restricted Adaptability
Can Improve Decision Making Can Improve Decision
by Clarifying Data Making by Using “What if”
Analysis
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Example: Marketing Research Associations Online
Domestic
AAPOR: American Association for Public Opinion Research
([Link])
AMA: American Marketing Association ([Link])
ARF: The Advertising Research Foundation ([Link]/arf)
CASRO: The Council of American Survey Research Organizations
([Link])
MRA: Marketing Research Association ([Link])
QRCA: Qualitative Research Consultants Association
([Link])
RIC: Research Industry Coalition ([Link] [Link])
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Example: Marketing Research Associations Online
International
ESOMAR: European Society for Opinion and Marketing
Research ([Link])
MRS: The Market Research Society (UK)
([Link])
MRSA: The Market Research Society of Australia
([Link])
PMRS: The Professional Marketing Research Society (Canada)
([Link])
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International Marketing Research
The United States accounts for about 40 percent
of worldwide marketing research expenditures.
International marketing research should be
sensitive to differences in customs,
communication, and culture.
The environment in the countries or international
markets that are being researched influences the
way the six steps of the marketing research
process should be performed.
These environmental factors include marketing,
government, legal, economic, structural,
informational, technological, and sociocultural
factors.
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Marketing Research & Social Media (1
of 3)
All social media share certain common characteristics
that make them very relevant as a domain for
conducting marketing research.
Social media are marked by user-generated content.
Users are able to rate, rank, comment on, review and
respond to the new world of media.
People form online communities by combining one-to-
one (e.g., email and instant messaging), one-to-many
(web pages and blogs) and many-to-many (wikis)
communication modes.
Social communities open up new avenues for
understanding, explaining, influencing, and predicting
the behaviors of consumers in the marketplace.
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Marketing Research & Social Media (2
of 3)
Limitations of Social Media
While the standard for objectivity is high for journalists,
expectations about objectivity among bloggers and other
social media users are lower.
Social media users may not be representative of the target
population in many marketing research applications.
Social media as a source of samples suffers from at least
two biases: from self-selection and from advocacy.
Yet, as long as these limitations are understood, insights
from social media analysis can uncover useful information
that can inform marketing decisions.
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Marketing Research & Social Media (3
of 3)
Social Media Summary
We advocate the use of social media as an additional
domain in which to conduct marketing research to
supplement and complement, but not to replace, the
traditional ways in which research is conducted.
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Mobile Marketing Research
Marketing research, such as a survey, that is
conducted or administered to potential
respondents on their mobile devices.
The mobile user base is huge and is only
expected to continue growing.
Mobile internet usage has eclipsed desktop.
MMR (mobile marketing research) can be
conducted via the international survey platforms
such as Confirmit ([Link]), through
the mobile services of access panels such as
Research Now ([Link]), or
through a specialist provider such as Locately (
[Link]
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Advantages of Mobile Marketing Research
MMR has the potential to reach a broader
audience, get results faster, lower costs, and
elicit higher quality responses.
Global Positioning System (GPS) and other
location technologies can deliver surveys to the
target audience based on their current or past
locations.
MMR is appealing in many developing
economies, where the mobile phone is often
the most frequently used information
gathering, computing, and communication
device for consumers and businesses.
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Disadvantages of Mobile Marketing Research
Surveys must be kept short, succinct, and
simple. The norm is to ask no more than 15
questions and the entire process to take less
than 15 minutes.
The questions that can be asked are definitely
more limited than those suitable on web sites
accessed by PC or other modes of survey
administration.
Another serious limitation is the use of video
due to bad streaming and other technical
difficulties.
Sample representativeness may be another
serious issue.
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Ethics in Marketing research
Marketing research has four stakeholders:
1) Marketing researcher
2) Client
3) Respondents (subjects)
4) Society
These stakeholders have responsibility to one
another, and
should observe ethical standards in research
Almost all research firms are profit seekers
Sometimes, the profit motive could cause some
researchers to compromise objectivity and
professionalism, thus deviate from ethical
standards