MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS

1. Defining the problem and research objectives

2. Developing the research plan for collecting information
3. Implementing the research plan – collecting and analyzing the data
4. Interpreting and reporting the findings

Defining the Problem and Research Objectives

A marketing research project can have one of three types of objectives:
1. Exploratory Research
- To gather preliminary information that will help define the problem and
suggest hypotheses
2. Descriptive Research
- To describe the size and composition of the market
3. Causal Research
- To test hypotheses about cause-and-effect relationships

Developing the Research Plan

1. Determining Specific Information Needs
2. Gather Secondary Information
Secondary data – consist of information already in existence somewhere,
having been collected for the specific purpose at hand.
Primary data – consist of information collected for the specific purpose at
hand.
3. Planning Primary Data Collection
a. Research Approaches
• Observational research – is gathering of primary data by observing relevant
people, actions, and situations; can yield information that people are normally
unwilling or unable to provide.
• Survey research – the approach best suited to gathering descriptive information.
-structured surveys – use formal lists of questions asked of all
respondents in the same way
-unstructured surveys – let the interviewer probe respondents and
guide the interview according to their answers
-direct approach – researchers asks direct questions about
behavior or thoughts
-indirect approach – it may suggest factors of which the consumer
is not consciously aware
• Experimental Research – best suited for gathering causal information.
b. Contact Methods
• Mail questionnaires
Advantages:
- Can be used to collect large amounts of information at a low cost per
respondent
- Respondents may give more honest answers to personal questions
than they would to an unknown interviewer in person or over the phone
 - No interviewer is involved to bias respondents’ answers
- Convenient for respondents, who can answer the survey when they
have time
- A good way to reach people who often travel, such as meeting
planners
Disadvantages:
- Are not very flexible, they require simple and clearly worded questions,
all respondents answer the same questions in a fixed order, and the
researcher cannot adapt the questionnaire based on earlier answers.
- Usually take longer to complete; response rate is low
- The researcher has little control over who answers the questionnaire in
the household or office
• Telephone
Advantages:
- Quick in gathering information
- Offers greater flexibility than mail questionnaires
- Interviewers can explain questions that are not understood
- Allows greater sample control
- Response rates ten d to be higher than with mail questionnaires
Disadvantages:
- Cost per respondent is higher than mail questionnaires
- Some people may not want to discuss personal questions with an
interviewer
- Introduces interviewer bias
• Personal interviewing
*Individual/Intercept methods – involves talking with people in their homes,
offices, on the street, or in shopping malls; generally involve the use of
judgmental sampling
Advantage:
- allows the research sponsor to reach known visitors in a short period
of time
Disadvantages:
- interviewer’s bias
- interviewers may be uncomfortable talking to certain ethnic or age
groups
- high cost, usually small sample size to keep time and costs down
*In-depth methods – qualitative methods; individual interviews using open-ended
questions.
• Internet surveying
Advantages:
- Available to a global sample
- Software packages are available that enable the survey responses to
be tabulated as the respondent is entering them
- Speed and low cost
Disadvantage:
- Not accessible to everyone
Focus group – interviews are usually conducted by inviting six to ten people to gather
for a few hours with a trained moderator to talk about a product, service, or
organization.
c. Sampling Plan
sample – a segment of the population selected to represent the population
as a whole
- Who will be surveyed?
- How many people should be surveyed?
- How should the sample be chosen?
- When will the survey be given?
Types of samples
Probability samples
- Simple random sample – equal chance of selection
- Stratified random sample – division into mutually exclusive groups, and
random samples are drawn from each group
- Cluster (area) sample – division into mutually exclusive groups, draws
a sample of the groups to interview
Nonprobability samples
- Convenience sample – easiest population members from which to
obtain information
- Judgment sample – uses judgment to select population members who
are good prospects for accurate information
- Quota sample – finds and interviews a prescribed number of people in
each several categories
d. Research Instruments
• Questionnaires – the most common survey instrument; what questions to ask,
what form the questions should take, and how to word and sequence the
questions
Open-ended questions – allow respondents to answer in their own words;
often reveal more because respondents are not limited in their answers;
are especially useful in exploratory research where the researcher is trying
to find out how people think rather than measuring how many people think
in a certain way
Close-ended questions – include all possible answers, and subjects are
asked to choose among them; provide answer that are easier to interpret
and tabulate
4. Presenting the Research Plan

Implementing the Research Plan

- Collecting-the most expensive and the most subject to error,
processing, and analyzing the information-to pull out important
information findings

Interpreting and Reporting the Findings

Research Problem Areas
1. Making assumptions
2. Lack of qualitative information
3. Failing to look at segments within a sample
4. Improper use of sophisticated statistical analysis
5. Failure to have the sample representative of the population