Marketing

Research
 MEANING
• Marketing
– spotting the needs of customers
– meeting them in the best possible manner through
appropriate production and distribution activities
– buying and selling activities
– Exchange/transfer of ownership
• Research
– detailed/systematic/comprehensive study of a
problem
– “studious enquiry"
– “thorough, honest and impartial study conducted
by trained men using scientific methods“
– modern marketing management
– accurate decision making TOOL in marketing of
goods and services
• SOUL of modern marketing management
used by manufacturers/exporters/distributors and service
organizations

• Decisions on each element of the marketing mix-product,

price, distribution and promotion-need marketing research
support.

• MR facilitates accurate marketing decisions

– for consumer satisfaction on the one hand
– sales promotion on the other hand
 DEFINITIONS

• AMA has defined marketing research as "the systematic

gathering, recording and analyzing of data about problems
relating to the marketing of goods and services”
• According to Richard D. Crisp: "Marketing research is the
systematic, objective and exhaustive search for and study of
the facts relevant to any problem in the field of marketing."
• According to Philip Kotler: "Marketing research is systematic
problem analysis, model building and fact-finding for the
purpose of improved decision-making and control in the
marketing of goods and services.“
• Luck, Wales and Taylor have defined marketing research as
"the application of scientific method to the solution of
marketing problems"
• Green and Tull have defined marketing research as "the
systematic and objective search for and analysis of
information relevant to the identification and solution of any
problem in the field of marketing."
• The British Institute of Management defined marketing
research as/ "The objective gathering, recording and analyzing
of all facts about problems relating to the transfer and sales of
goods and services from producer to consumer."
 FEATURES

• Marketing research is concerned with systematic gathering,

recording and analyzing of information:
• In MR, information is to be collected objectively and
accurately:
• Marketing research is a tool for solving marketing problems:
 CHARACTERISTICS
• Systematic and continuous process
• Wide/comprehensive in scope and application
– Introduction of new products
– identification of potential markets
– selection of appropriate selling techniques
– study of market competition and consumer preferences
– introduction of suitable advertising strategy and sales promotion
measures,
– It plays a role in all the three phases of the management process in
marketing
• planning, implementation and evaluation
• Emphasizes on accurate data collection and critical
analysis
• Offers benefits to sponsoring company and
consumers
• Commercial equivalent of military intelligence
• Tool for managerial decisions
 CHARACTERISTICS…

• Applied type of research

• Reduces the gap between the producers and consumers
• Not an exact science
• Use of different methods:
• Dynamic character
• Closely connected with marketing information system
• Phenomenal growth
 OBJECTIVES

• To study the needs, wants and expectations of consumers.

• To find out reactions of consumers to the products of the
company.
• To evaluate company's sales promotion measures for
suitable adjustment and improvement.
• To study current marketing problems and opportunities for
suitable follow-up actions.
• To suggest the introduction of new products, modifications of
existing products and to discover new uses of existing
products.
• To design and test appropriate packages of company's
products and make packaging as attractive as possible
• To study existing pricing, channels of distribution and
market competition for suitable changes, if necessary.
• To find out methods for making the products of the company
popular and raising its goodwill and market reputation.
• To assess competitive strength and policies.

• To estimate potential buying-power in various areas

• To know the company's expected share of the market.

• To determine the dimensions of the marketing problems,

facilitate evaluation of the alternative solutions of different
problems and help in the selection of a right course of action.
• To define the probable market for a specialized product and
to report on general market conditions and tendencies, buying
habits, etc
 MARKET RESEARCH
V/S
MARKETING RESEARCH:
DIMENSION MARKET RESEARCH
Meaning Market research directly relates to
market situation i.e. size, location,
market competition and features
of customers. It provides details
about the market for decision-
making and policy framing
MARKETING
RESEARCH
Marketing research is a
systematic and
comprehensive
search/study of different
aspects of marketing -
including the current
marketing problems and
challenges for decision-
making & policy framing
 MARKET RESEARCH
V/S
MARKETING RESEARCH:
DIMENSION MARKET RESEARCH
Nature branch of marketing research.
Scope scope is limited/restricted to the study
of market or market situation
Type of term Market research is a narrow term as it
relates to one aspect of marketing
Objective to deal with the problems and
challenges relating to different aspects
of market such as competition, market
demand and consumer needs
MARKETING RESEARCH
one of the branches of MIS
scope is comprehensive &
wide as it covers all aspects
of marketing.
Marketing research is a
wide/broad term as it covers
all aspects of marketing
to study varied types of
marketing problems such as
product line, marketing
mix, advertising, packaging,
branding and so on.
 GROWING IMPORTANCE
• due to large-scale production, producers could not have
direct contact with the consumers .
• the shifting from sellers’ market to buyers' market
• introduction of computers has contributed to the growth of
marketing research activity.
• rapid changes in the business environment, shift to
consumer-oriented philosophy in business
• the scope of marketing has widened due to population
growth and development of rural markets
• Relevance of MR under Globalization
 ADVANTAGES/IMPORTANCE

• Indicates current market trends:

• Pinpoints deficiencies in marketing policies:
• Explains customer resistance:
• Suggests sales promotion techniques:
• Offers guidance to marketing executives:
• Facilitates selection and training of sales force:
• Promotes business activities: Facilitates appraisal of
marketing policies:
• Suggests new marketing opportunities:
• Facilitates inventory study:.
• Provides marketing information:.
• Suggests appropriate distribution channels:

• Provides information on product acceptance:.

• Creates progressive outlook:

• Has wider social significance:

 SCOPE

• Product Research: .
• Packaging Research:
• Pricing Research:
• Market Research:
• Sales Research:
• Promotion and Distribution Research:
• Consumer Research:
• Policy Research:
• Advertising Research:
• Media Research:
• Motivational Research:
• International Marketing Research:
 APPLICATIONS
• TRADITIOMAL APPLICATIONS
• NEW-PRODUCT RESEARCH
• DISTRIBUTION RESEARCH
• PROMOTION RESEARCH
CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS OF MARKETING
RESEARCH
• Competitive Advantage.
• Brand Equity.
– Brand loyalty
– Name awareness
– Perceived quality
– Brand association
– Other proprietary brand assets: patents, trademarks, channel
relationships etc.
• Customer satisfaction.
• Total quality management
• EMERGING APPLICATIONS
– Database marketing
– Relationship marketing
 The Marketing Research Process: 11 Steps

• Step One: Establishing the Need for Marketing

Research
• Step Two: Defining the Problem
• Step Three: Establishing Research Objectives
• Step Four: Determining Research Design
• Step Five: Identifying Information Types and
Sources
• Step Six: Determining Methods of Accessing
Data
 The Marketing Research Process: 11 Steps
cont…

• Step Seven: Designing Data Collection Forms

• Step Eight: Determining Sample Plan and Size
• Step Nine: Collecting Data
• Step Ten: Analyzing Data
• Step Eleven: Preparing and Presenting the Final
Research Report
 The Marketing Research Process
Step One: Establish the Need for Marketing Research

• Marketing Research is not needed when the:

• required information is already available
• decisions need to be made now
• organization can’t afford the research
• costs outweigh the value of the research
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Two: Define the Problem

• The most important step in the marketing

research process is defining the problem. (Ch. 4)
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Three: Establish Research Objectives

• What information is needed in order to solve the

problem?
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Four: Determine Research Design

• Exploratory Research: collecting information in

an unstructured and informal manner
• Descriptive Research: refers to a set of methods
and procedures describing marketing variables
• Causal Research (experiments and other
approaches): allows isolation of causes and
effects
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Five: Identify Information Types and Sources

• Secondary Data: information that has been

collected for some purpose other than the
research at hand
• Primary Data: information that has been gathered
specifically for the research objectives at hand
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Six: Determine Methods of Accessing Data

• Secondary Data: accessing data through sources such as

the Internet and library
• Primary Data: collecting data from participants through
methods such as telephone, mail, online, and face-to-face
(quantitative), and observation studies and focus groups
(qualitative)
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Seven: Design Data Collection Forms

• The design of the data collection form that is

used to ask or observe and record information in
marketing research projects is critical to the
success of the project.
• It is easy to write a set of questions but very
difficult to construct a questionnaire.
• General types of “instruments” (forms)
• Questionnaires
• Observation Study forms (protocols)
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Eight: Determine Sample Plan and Size

• Sample plan: refers to the process used to select

units from the population to be included in the
sample
• Sample size: refers to determining how many
elements (units) of the population should be
included in the sample
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Nine: Collect Data

• Sound data collection is very important because,

regardless of the data analysis methods used,
data analysis cannot “fix” bad data. 12
Nonsampling errors may occur during data
collection. These are related to poor design
and/or execution of the data gathering.
• Sampling errors may occur based purely on
chance
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Ten: Analyze Data

• Data analysis: involves entering data into

computer files, inspecting data for errors (data
cleaning), running tabulations (frequencies), and
conducting various statistical tests
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Eleven: Prepare and Present the Final
Research Report

• Findings are presented, often by research

objective, in a clear and concise way.
• The need for a good report cannot be overstated.
It is the report, and/or its presentation, that
properly communicates the results to the client.