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Marketing Research Process
1. Defining problems
2. Determining the research budget
3. Choosing Research design
4. Determining sampling method and size
5. Selecting appropriate data analysis tools
6. Preparing the research proposal
7. Organizing field work
8. Analysing and reporting findings
Defining Problems
Research Problem- information needed by managers and
specifying the area of enquiry.
Various components of problem definition
Management objective : To increase the market share of televisions
from the current rate of 20% to 23%.
Management problem : Whether the new model that
it is proposing to introduce will be a success?
Research problem : What are the perceptions of consumers requiring a
new model?
Decision criteria : The company will introduce the model if 70% of the
consumer responses are favourable.
Hypothesis : Consumers favouring the new model are equal to or more
than 70%.
Determining the Research Budget
The principle guiding the budgeting decision is “Conduct
marketing research only when the expected value of
perfect information is greater than the cost of obtaining
it.”
As such, the budget decision involves two steps:
1. Specifying the approximate value of information.
2. Determining the maximum amount that can be spent.
Designing the Research
Research approach are designed based on the
purpose, nature, and source of data:
Purpose: Exploratory, Descriptive, and casual
Nature of data: Quantitative and Qualitative
Source of Data: Primary and Secondary
Purpose: Exploratory, Descriptive, and casual
Interviews
Group Discussion
Focus groups
Participatory Research methods
Industry, commerce and trade associations– FICCI, CII,
ASSOCHAM
Marketing research agencies and associations
– Rural Relations, MART, Anugrah Madison, Sampark, Rural
marketing Association of India
Companies – Colgate, HUL, ITC, Rallis India
NGO‟s – RASS: Rashtriya Seva Samiti (AP), Rural Innovations
Network (Chennai), CARE (New Delhi)
Government Agencies – NCAER, RBI, Ministry for Rural
Development, Mandal Revenue Offices, Panchayats.
Educational Institutions – Institutes like NIRD- National
Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj(AP), and IRMA
(Gujarat)
PRA involves local people and outsiders from different sectors and
disciplines.
Process map
Wealth map
Daily Activity Clock
Key Principles :
Participation and Empowerment – Relies heavily on
participation by the communities, as partners to the
research team and sources of information.
Flexibility – Makes use of different techniques for
collecting information.
Teamwork – It is best conducted by a local team with
a few outsiders present.
Optimal ignorance – It avoids unnecessary details,
and irrelevant data.
Systematic – Alternative methods have been
developed to ensure the validity and reliability of the
findings.
Inclusiveness – Method allows researcher to involve
different people.
Time deadlines – Insufficient time is allowed for
the team to relax and mingle with the local
people, to listen to them and to learn about the
more sensitive issues under consideration.
Credibility – Individuals unfamiliar with
participatory research methods may raise
questions about the credibility of the PRA
findings.
Hijacking – PRA agenda will be externally driven.
This results in legitimacy problems.
Disappointment – Unnecessary local
expectations may be raised. Local communities
may view it as a wasteful exercise.
The type of analysis and the choice of analysis
technique depend on the following factors :
Purpose of research
Type of data – quantitative or qualitative
Number of variables being examined – one or
more
Type of measurement scale used – interval,
nominal, ordinal
Number of samples to be compared – one or more
Nature of samples – dependent or independent
Size of the sample – small or large
The elements of a research proposal are :
Executive Summary / abstract
Background / introduction
Objectives and hypothesis
Methodology
Time schedule
Research staff and equipment
Cost estimates – recurring and non-recurring
Appendices
Preparation of data collection plan that specifies :
1. Number of supervisors
2. Number of field investigators
3. Period of data collection and schedule
4. Budget
Organization of research effort
1. Selecting investigators and supervisors
2. Training the staff
3. Allocating work
4. Briefing the investigators
5. Compensating the staff for the work turned out
Controlling :
1. Supervising the data collection with respect to time and
cost
2. Checking the data for validation
3. Carrying out corrections, if any, or repeating the data
collection wherever necessary
Familiar with local language.
Desirable to invest time in building a rapport.
Purpose and benefits of research must be explained.
Respondent should be made part of the research project.
Respondent should be made to feel important.
Respondent should be made to feel he is leading the interview.
The investigator must talk about general topics.
Occasional physical contact
Sensitive issues related to community should be handled carefully.
Male researcher should always approach women respondent through her
husband or any other family member.
Rural people can handle only limited information at a time.
Difficult to interact with rural people on one to one basis.
Avoid being overfriendly.
Always carry food/water to avoid health problems.
Title page
Table of contents
Executive summary
Introduction
Methodology
Findings
Limitations
Conclusions and recommendations
Appendices
Bibliography
Dice – Dice are wooden or plastic piece with 6 faces with
varying number of holes or dots ranging from 1 to 6. A face
value of 1 is the lowest and a face value of 6 is the
highest.
Carrom coins – Fifteen coins are given to the respondents
and they are asked to distribute them among the brands
under study in order of their preferences – more coins for
the most preferred brand.
Playing Cards – The face cards with K,Q,J,10 and 9
represent a descending order in terms of values. As such,
they are assigned ranks from 1 to 5 in that order.
3-Point Rating Scale – Researchers interested in
conventional scales may use three-point scales (agree,
neutral, disagree), especially when the respondents are
school educated.
Locations for conducting research
Tea stall
Playground
Chaupal
Haat
Questions should be simple and direct.
Secondary data Internal data, syndicate research, Very few sources and less data.
sources published media.
Primary data Large number of middle men, Fewer number of all categories.
sources experts, sales force and
consumers.