Marketing Research

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• Marketing Research

Dr. Rahul Govind Assistant Professor of Marketing
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Raison detre

• Marketing Research
• Collects Data
• Turns into information
• Helps in decision

The type of technique used differs
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Three types of methods used by MR to convert
Data ? Information

• 1) Survey Research
• 2) Mathematical Modeling
• 3) Experiments

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Marketing Research Types Classified by Need

• Academic Research
• There is no problem at hand.
• Is done to increase the horizon of knowledge.
• Nobody is making money RIGHT NOW!!

Does the increase in price drive down demand?

• Applied Research
• Solving a specific real life problem.
• Usually an at-hand problem
• We want to make MORE money!!

Should Heinz introduce a Green Ketchup for kids?
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Scientific Method

• Using firmly established Scientific Methods to
  confirm or disprove ideas.
• Every statement in world is FALSE unless proven
  true by logic!!
• Every statement made without proof is called a
  PROPOSITION!!
• Every statement made without proof, but that is
  shortly going to be (dis)proved through logic is
  called HYPOTHESIS!!

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The Most Important MR Performance-monitoring
Research

• Something went wrong?
• Re-evaluate?
• Check why things didnt go right!
• Research may be required to explain why something
  went wrong

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Value Should Exceed Estimated Costs
Costs
Value

• Research expenditures
• Delay of marketing decision and possible
  disclosure of information to rivals
• Possible erroneous research results

• Decreased uncertainty
• Increased likelihood of a correct decision
• Improved marketing performance and resulting
  higher profits

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The Market Research Process

• What does the market research process entail?
• 1. Establish need for information
• 2. Establish information needs
• 3. Determine research design/data sources
• 4. Develop data collection procedures
• 5. Sample design
• 6. Survey design
• 7. Collect data
• 8. Process data
• 9. Analyze data
• 10. Write report/present findings
• 11. Action

Decision
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Step 1 Establish Need for information

• Do we need to conduct Marketing research?
• 1) Check out what the market is like! (SWOT
  analysis)
• Explore a new opportunity
• Check for any threats in the market
• Identify our strengths
• Identify or weaknesses
• 2) Check out if a strategy makes sense! (Dry run)
• Introducing a new product will it make money?
• 3) I see changes? Why do I see changes?
  (Reactionary Research)
• My product used to sell very well but its sales
  are now declining!
• 4) Have things changed from the past? (Tracking
  Study)
• I had a 30 Market Share last year. What is it
  now?
• 5) The law wants me to! (Mandatory Studies)
• Insurance and Medicine need to check for consumer
  satisfaction

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Step 2 Establish Information Needs

• What are the questions that we need to ask?
• Will they give us answers to what we want to know
  in step 1?
• Show me the numbers!!!

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• EVIAN wants a NEW IMPOVED bottle
• (Square and Colored??)
• Questions
• What of customers will like the square base?
• What of consumers want clear bottles?
• Will the design change have any impact on
  likelihood to buy bottled water?

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Step 3 Determine Design and Data Sources

• Can I get by using less money and time?
• Use Secondary Data!
• trade source may have published research on what
  attributes of a bottle do customers like.
• what happened when Aquafina and Dasani introduced
  the square bottle in Japan
• Can we just get by observing what is going on
  around us?
• Observational Research
• storing water in the refrigerator (square base?)
• taking the bottle to the gym (sipper cap?)
• serve the bottle at parties (color? stylish
  bottle?)
• Ok, we do need to spend Time AND Money!
• Survey Research
• Ask Subjects questions that will help us in
  answering our questions
• Do you prefer the square base over the round base
• Do you prefer a red colored bottle over the clear
  one

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Secondary and Primary Data
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Step 4 Develop data collection procedure

• What types of data do we need?
• Attitudes how do people think/feel about our
  products?
• Behaviors how do people behave in the market?
• Demographics company, people, industry
• How should we collect the data? Get the right
  guys to do it
• Phone/Personal/Mail/E-mail (Surveys)
• Secondary research
• Observation
• The tie-breakers (why not go for the most data
  always)?
• Cost
• Time pressure
• Quality/quantity of data

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Step 5 Sample Design

• Who should be interviewed? (Population and
  Sample)
• Want to sell to the entire US. How do I survey
  EVERYBODY?
• Decision maker
• mother who buys water (purchaser) or
• teenager who goes to the gym (user)
• How should these respondents be contacted?
• Telephone interviews (Can respondent visualize
  color, design etc.?)
• Personal interviews (very expensive can we get
  national coverage?)
• Mail interviews (too slow? Can we wait that
  long?)
• How many people should we interview?
• At what level of confidence can we project the
  results to the population?
• What possible amount of error can we live with?

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Step 6 Survey Design

• Ask as few questions as possible and in a logical
  fashion!! Humans are lazy.
• Keep it simple and stupid
• Use language that is convenient and comfortable
  for the respondent
• Speak in the respondents language
• Would you consider yourself a turophile? Actual
  Survey Qn by Kraft
• Ask the hard questions first and easy ones last.
  Humans are not only lazy, but they easily get
  tired (Survey Fatigue)

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Step 7/8 Collect Process Data

• Interview quality control procedures
• Interviewer quality
• Make sure that you haven't hired a lazy guy
• Confirm that he is doing his job
• Data processing quality
• Data cleaning procedures
• Qn 6 asked - Do you like a square base?
• Respondent did not answer
• What will you do with that survey? ? TRASH
• Logic checks
• Qn 5 asked - Do you you own a car? Respondent
  said No.
• Qn 6 asked Is it an American Car? Respondent
  said Yes.
• What will you do with that survey ? TRASH

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Step 9 Analyze Data

• Does the data tell you anything without using
  Math
• Go back and review information needs Women like
  the clear bottle
• Visualize results A picture says a 1000 words
• Think, use your brains!
• Now use Math Techniques
• Cross-tabulations
• Multivariate analysis (regression, semantic
  scales, conjoint)
• More complex designs and analyses
• Dont just make the analysis very simple but
  dont just go crazy with math either

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Step 10/11 Write a report/Take Action

• Writing reports
• User friendly reports
• Bullets and dashes format
• Picture is worth a 1000 words
• BLOT strategy (bottom line on top)
• Presenting findings
• Be sensitive to the audiences level of knowledge
• Be a manager, not a statistician
• Sometimes numbers dont mean a thing! But most of
  the times nothing means anything without numbers
• Action
• Design changes in the marketing mix
• Go back and see if you need to get more data to
  make better decisions