An Introduction to

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An Introduction to Research Methods
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Marketing research provides information to help
implement

• The Study of Marketing
• The Use of the Marketing Concept
• Marketing Strategy
• Lets look at each of these in turn

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Marketing research provides information to help
implement

• Marketing process of all activities necessary
  for the conception, pricing, promotion, and
  distribution of ideas, goods, and services to
  create exchanges that satisfy individual and
  organizational objectives

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Marketing research provides information to help
implement

• Marketing Concept the business philosophy that
  holds the key to achieving organizational goals
  consists of determining the benefits sought by
  target market members and delivering these
  benefits more effectively efficiently than
  competitors. This is to be done at a profit.

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Marketing research provides information to help
implement

• Marketing Strategy consists of selecting one or
  more segments of the market as the companys
  target market(s) and designing the proper mix
  of the 4Ps

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Key Point To practice marketing to implement
the marketing concept to carry out a marketing
strategy, managers must make informed decisions.
Many decisions require additional information
and marketing research may be needed in order to
supply that information.
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What is online research?

• Online research the use of computer networks,
  including the Internet, to assist in any phase of
  the marketing research process including
  development of the problem, research design, data
  gathering, analysis, and report writing and
  distribution

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What is online research?

• Web-based research research that is conducted to
  evaluate various facets of Web applications may
  use traditional methods as well as on-line
  research methods in conducting research on
  Web-based applications
• Online survey research collection of data using
  computer networks

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Marketing Information System

• Marketing Information System (MIS) a structure
  consisting of people, equipment, and procedures
  to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and
  distribute needed, timely, and accurate
  information to marketing decision makers

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Components of an MIS

• Internal Reports System existing
  organization/company reports and records
  (sometimes called accounting information
  system)
• Marketing Intelligence System everyday info
  about pertinent developments in the environment

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Components of an MIS

• Decision Support System (DSS) collected data
  that may be accessed and analyzed using tools and
  techniques that assist managers in decision
  making (playing what if?).
• Marketing Research Systemprovides information
  not available from other systems. When specific
  problem must be solved, marketing research may be
  needed. This is project-based not continuous
  as with other systems.

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The Marketing Research Industry
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Marketing Research A Brief History

• Pre-Marketing Research Era colonization to the
  Industrial Revolution
• Early Development Era Industrial Revolution to
  1920
• Questionnaire Era 1920-1940
• Quantitative Era 1940 to 1960
• Organizational Acceptance Era 1960 to 1980
• PC Technology Era 1980 to 1990
• Globalization-Online Era since 1990

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Some Figures for Marketing Research Sector

• 15.890 million USD (2002/WORLD)
•  
• ABD -------- 39 ----- 6159 million USD
• AB----------- 37
• 39 is shared by 10 marketing research
  companies
• 51 is spent by the first 25 biggest companies
• 31 syndicated research
• 19 qualitative research
• The rest is quantitative research

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Top 10 U.S. Marketing Research Firms
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Marketing Research Sector in Turkey

• Pazarlama ve Kamuoyu Arastirmacilari Dernegi
  (1988)
• Setting ethical and professional standards and
  measures
• Organising seminars and making publications to
  up-date members about progresses in marketing
  research area
• GAB Guvenilir Arastirma Belgesi
• -Bureau Veritas Audit
• Individual members approx. 400
• Member companies - 52

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Marketing Research Sector in Turkey

• Syndicated Research
• AGB Daily, weekly and monthly reports
• Percentages and other statistics about TV
  programme consumption habits of target segments  
• Bilisim International Research Org. Monthly
  advertising
• 
  expenditure research
•  
• HTP Research and Consulting Services Household
  panels on consumption
• Weekly visits, monthly reports, 12 major cities,
  4500 households
• Information Resources Inc/Panel Retailer audits
• Electronic data collection Retailer
  information

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Industry Structure Internal Suppliers

• Internal suppliers an entity within the firm
  supplies marketing research
• Methods of Organization
• Own formal departments Organized around
• Marketing function ad research, product
  research, pricing research, channel
• Research process data analysis, data collection
• Area of application brands, customers, etc.
• Single individual or committee
• In some cases no one is specifically assigned
  such tasks on a full time basis

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Industry Structure External Suppliers

• External suppliers outside firms hired to
  fulfill a firms marketing research needs
• Methods of Organization
• Function data analysis, data collection, etc.
• Type of research application ad research, etc.
• Geography domestic, international, etc.
• Type of customer finance, health
• Combination of the above
• Classification
• Full-service
• Limited servicesee next slide

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Selected Marketing Research Career Descriptions
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Improving Industry Performance

• Industry is performing well but could stand some
  improvements
• Focus on diagnosing problems in the market
  instead of rushing to test a product/service (The
  Walkman, developed without MR, was created to
  solve need for portability. Sony diagnosed a
  need in the market).
• Need to use IT to speed up MR process
• Research efforts should be integrated..too
  splintered
• MR needs to be involved in strategic decisions
  (Should we be in this business v. Is this the
  best product feature?) Too often, MR is used to
  test tactics.

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Other Suggestions For Industry Improvements

• CertificationBeing promoted by AMA
• AuditingBeing used in other areas, i.e.
  Advertising..audits websites via Audit Bureau of
  Circulations.
• EducationMR industry has made much progress
  here. Examples include AMAs Notre Dame School
  of Marketing Research, Burke Institute,
  Advertising Research Foundation seminars, etc.

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Criteria for Selecting a Research Supplier

• What is the reputation of the supplier?
• Do they complete projects on schedule?
• Are they known for maintaining ethical standards?
  
• Are they flexible?
• Are their research projects of high quality?
• What kind and how much experience does the
  supplier have? Has the firm had experience with
  projects similar to this one?
• Do the supplier's personnel have both technical
  and non-technical expertise?
• Can they communicate well with the client?
• Competitive bids should be compared on the basis
  of quality as well as price.

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Ethics and Marketing Research

• AMA Code of Ethics
• Prohibits selling (sugging) or fund raising
  (frugging) under the guise of conducting research
• Maintaining research integrity by avoiding
  misrepresentation and omission of pertinent
  research data
• Treating others (buyers and suppliers) fairly
• Buyers Being sold unnecessary research, supplier
  firms sharing buyers confidential information.
• Suppliers Being asked for quick answers, not
  being paid by buyers

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Ethics and Marketing Research

• The Public Should researchers be asked to
  conduct research on consumption of potentially
  dangerous products?
• For example, doing research to find ways to
  increase consumption of high-sugar and/or
  high-fat content products by kids or ways to
  increase tobacco use by teens?

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Ethics and Marketing Research

• Respondents example, study finds that refusal
  rates are climbing often because public is wary
  of losing privacy.
• Deception should be eliminated.
• Respondents should not be identified if they are
  promised anonymity/confidentiality
• Invasions of privacy (permission issue)
  marketing research should not invade a persons
  privacy
• Respondents should have right to choose to
  participate

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Ethics and Marketing Research

• Invasion of Privacy
• SPAM sending unwanted email
• Industry currently debating opt-out vs. opt-in
  (active consent) standards (opt-in much
  stricter)
• Online Survey Research Abused respondents via
  SPAM initially.
• Today, industry is a leader in anti-spam
  legislation. Researchers must have a preexisting
  relationship with potential online respondents
  and the respondents must have a reasonable
  expectation that they will be contacted via
  email.

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Ethics and Marketing Research

• Your ethical views are shaped by your philosophy
• Deontology concerned with the rights of the
  individual
• Simply following the correct moral rules is often
  not sufficient instead, we have to have the
  correct motivations.
• Teleology analyzes a given behavior in terms of
  its benefits and costs to society

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Ethics and Marketing Research

• Your ethical views are shaped by your philosophy
  are these actions ethical or not why?
• Observation study choosing product in
  supermarket
• Observation study buying shoes in store
• Focus group with client representatives watching
  participants not informed

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Marketing Research Associations Online
US AAPOR American Association for Public
Opinion Research (www.aapor.org) AMA American
Marketing Association (www.ama.org) ARF The
Advertising Research Foundation
(www.amic.com/arf) CASRO The Council of
American Survey Research Organizations
(www.casro.org) MRA Marketing Research
Association (www.mra-net.org) QRCA Qualitative
Research Consultants Association
(www.qrca.org) RIC Research Industry Coalition
(www.researchindustry.org)
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Marketing Research Associations Online
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The Marketing Research Process
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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

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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

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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 cant afford the research
• costs outweigh the value of the research

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The Marketing Research Process Step Two Define
the Problem

• The most important step in the marketing research
  process is defining the problem.

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Chain Restaurant Study
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Chain Restaurant Study
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Chain Restaurant Study
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Chain Restaurant Study
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The Problem Definition Process
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The Marketing Research Process Step Three
Establish Research Objectives

• What information is needed in order to solve the
  problem?

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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

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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

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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)

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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)

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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

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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.
• 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

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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

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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.
  

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The Marketing Research Report

• Executive summary
• Background
• Problem definition
• Research objectives
• Research design
• Fieldwork/data collection

• Data analyses
• Recommendations
• Cost and timetable
• Research organisation and researchers
• Appendices
• Agreement

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Example Study

• Department Store Project

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Department Store Project

• RQ Do the customers of Sears exhibit store
  loyalty?
• H1 Customers who are store-loyal are less
  knowledgeable about the shopping environment.
• H2 Store-loyal customers are more risk-averse
  than are non-loyal customers.

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Department Store Project

• Specification of Information Needed
• Component 1
• The researcher identified the following factors
  as part of the choice criteria quality of
  merchandise, variety and assortment of
  merchandise, returns and adjustment policy,
  service of store personnel, prices, convenience
  of location, layout of store, credit and billing
  policies. The respondents should be asked to
  rate the importance of each factor as it
  influences their store selection.
• Component 2
• The researcher identified nine department stores
  as competitors to Sears based on discussions with
  management. The respondents should be asked to
  evaluate Sears and its nine competitors on the
  eight choice criteria factors. 

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Department Store Project

• Component 3
• Sixteen different product categories were
  selected, including women's dresses, women's
  sportswear, lingerie and body fashion, junior
  merchandise, men's apparel, cosmetics, jewelry,
  shoes, sheets and towels, furniture and bedding,
  and draperies. The respondents should be asked
  whether they shop at each of the ten stores for
  each of the 16 product categories.
• Component 4
• No additional information needs to be obtained
  from the respondents.

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Department Store Project

• Component 5
• Information should be obtained on the standard
  demographic characteristics and the psychographic
  characteristics of store loyalty, credit use,
  appearance consciousness, and combining shopping
  with eating.
•  
• Component 6
• No additional information needs to be obtained
  from the respondents.

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At United, Food Is Uniting the Airline with
Travelers
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At United, Food Is Uniting the Airline with
Travelers
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At United, Food Is Uniting the Airline with
Travelers
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At United, Food Is Uniting the Airline with
Travelers
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At United, Food Is Uniting the Airline with
Travelers
The airline's Marketrak survey told United
Airlines that "customers wanted more varied and
up-to-date food. The following research
questions and hypotheses may be posed. RQ1 How
important is food for airline customers? H1 Food
is an important factor for airline travelers.
H2 Travelers value branded food. H3 Travelers
prefer larger food portions, but with
consistent quality. H4 Travelers prefer exotic
food.
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At United, Food Is Uniting the Airline with
Travelers
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At United, Food Is Uniting the Airline with
Travelers
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International Marketing ResearchExamining the
impact of the Self-Reference Criterion (SRC)

1. Define the marketing research problem in terms
   of domestic environmental and cultural factors.
2. Define the marketing research problem in terms of
   foreign environmental and cultural factors. Make
   no judgments.  
3. Isolate the self-reference criterion (SRC)
   influence on the problem and examine it carefully
   to see how it complicates the problem.
4. Redefine the problem without the SRC influence
   and address it for the foreign market situation.