Market Research

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Market Research
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Outline

• Marketing Information via the Internet
• Secondary Data via the Internet
• Primary data through online research

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Marketing Information

• Why do we care?
• Data helps marketers to...
• Understand who their competitors are.
• How consumers react.
• How macro-environment factors are changing.
• Which sites to advertise on.
• How does web stack up to TV, radio etc..

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Secondary Data

• Pros
• Can be collected more quickly.
• Less expensive than primary data.
• 24-7-world
• Cons
• Mismatch between the data and what you need
• Quality of data (ie.US Census).
• Date of collection, how was it collected.

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Secondary Data-macro

• Scanning the macro-environment of their
  INDUSTRY-search engines
• Demographic Trends www.census.gov
• Competitors www.sec.gov, search engines, ebsco
• Technology - smellalizer? MM,
• Natural Resources staff, raw materials
• Social/Cultural, American Demographics
• World/Local economies, The CIA
• Legal/Political NY times

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Secondary Data-macro

• Scanning the macro-environment of their
  INDUSTRY-search engines
• Im in the Video Business.
• I sell dog training videos. Who are my
  competitors?
• In town? No one (Im a monopoly).
• Online? Hmmm or key words dog training videos

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Secondary Data-macro

• Publicly Generated Data
• Most US agencies have online resources.
• Global Environmental Scans
• World Trade Organization
• International Monetary Fund
• Other Researchers
• Industry Resources-ebsco

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Secondary Data-macro

• Privately Generated Data
• Most firms place timely information on the site.
• Toyota plans a new model for next year.
  Competitors such as Honda and Nissan want to know
  what.
• Large research firms provide tastesof their
  product for free.Cyberdialogue is one.
• Online Magazines
• American Demographics, Commerce Business Daily,
  Pointcast, cyberatlas

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Secondary Data-macro

• Online Databases
• Thousands on industries, yellow pages, white
  pages, email addresses.
• Dunn and Bradstreets business information

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Secondary Data

• Microenvironment
• Company itself
• Stockholders, employees
• Distribution Partners
• Customers

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Secondary Data

• Information Quality
• Anyone can publish on the web
• Good Design does not mean good info
• Poor Design does not mean bad information

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Secondary Data-Quality

• Check
• Who is the author?
• Is the author an authority?
• How comprehensive is the site-one topic vs many?
• Can it be validated, is it accurate?
• Use more than one site!

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Primary Data

• Research Process
• Research Approach-how are you going to do it
• Sample Design-number and source of subjects
• Contact Method
• Instrument Design
• Data collection and Analysis
• How will information be spread

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Primary Data

• Online Experiments
• How effective are different designs, prices etc.
• Online Focus Groups
• Contact participants via email for screening
• Follow up with incentive for participants
• Have all (4-8) go to an online chat room.
• Online Observations
• Monitor chat rooms, usenets etc.

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Primary Data

• Survey Research
• email surveys (firm w/customers)
• web surveys
• Advantages
• Fast, inexpensive. Diverse worldwide. Less error.
  Honest. Novelty. Electronic Data easy to
  tabulate. Contingency questions.
• Disadvantages
• Small sample selection, generalizability, self
  selection, dont know who filled it out.
  Frivolous answers. Duplicate responses.

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Primary Data

• Ethics
• Surveys
• may view as junk mail
• some use email respondents for other purposes
• Use survey as a guise for sales
• ESOMAR