Research for Marketing Decisions

1. Research for Marketing Decisions Introduction to Marketing Research

2. Redefining Marketing Research The American Marketing Association (AMA) redefined Marketing Research as: The function which links the consumer, the customer, and public to the marketer through INFORMATION

3. Used to identify and define market opportunities and problems Generate, refine, and evaluate marketing performance Monitor marketing performance Improve understanding of marketing as a process Redefining Marketing Research Information

4. Definition of Marketing Research Marketing research is the systematic and objective • identification • collection • analysis • dissemination • and use of information for the purpose of improving decision making related to the • identification and • solution of problems and opportunities in marketing.

5. Market Research • Specifies the information necessary to address these issues • Manages and implements the data collection process • Analyzes the results • Communicates the findings and their implications

6. Classification of Marketing Research Problem Identification Research • Research undertaken to help identify problems which are not necessarily apparent on the surface and yet exist or are likely to arise in the future. Examples: market potential, market share, image, market characteristics, sales analysis, forecasting, and trends research. Problem Solving Research • Research undertaken to help solve specific marketing problems. Examples: segmentation, product, pricing, promotion, and distribution research.

7. Problem Identification Research Problem Solving Research Market Potential Research Market Share Research Market Characteristics Research Sales Analysis Research Forecasting Research Business Trends Research Segmentation Research Product Research Promotion Research Distribution Research A Classification of Marketing Research Marketing Research

8. Marketing Research Process Step 1: Problem Definition Step 2: Development of an Approach to the Problem Step 3: Research Design Formulation Step 4: Fieldwork or Data Collection Step 5: Data Preparation and Analysis Step 6: Report Preparation and Presentation

9. Customer Groups Consumers Employees Shareholders Suppliers Uncontrollable Controllable Environmental Marketing Factors Variables Marketing • Economy • Technology • Laws & Regulations • Social & Cultural Factors • Political Factors • Product • Pricing • Promotion • Distribution Research Marketing Assessing Providing Decision Information Information Making Needs Marketing Managers • Market Segmentation • Target Market Selection • Marketing Programs • Performance & Control The Role of Marketing Research

10. Marketing Information System • A formalised set of procedures for generating, analysing, storing and distributing pertinent information to marketing decision makers on an ongoing basis

11. Marketing Information Marketing Information Marketing Information System Internal Report System Marketing Research System Marketing Environment Target Markets Marketing Channels Competitors Publics Macro Environment Forces Marketing Managers Analysis Planning Implementation Control Marketing Intelligence System Analytical Marketing System Marketing Decisions and Communications Marketing Information System

12. Decision Support System • An information system which enables decision makers to interact directly with both databases and analysis models. The important components of a DSS include hardware and a communication network, database, model base, software base and DSS user.

13. MIS Structured Problems Use of Reports Rigid Structure Information displaying restricted Can improve decision making by clarifying raw data. DSS Unstructured Problems Use of Models User-friendly interactions Adaptability Can improve Decision making by using “What if” analysis. Difference between MIS & DSS

14. RESEARCH DESIGN A Research Design is a framework or blue print for the research study which guides the collection & analysis of data. To be effective, a research design should furnish at least the following details. • A statement of objectives of the study or the research output. • A statement of the data inputs required on the basis of which the research problem is to be solved. • The methods of analysis which shall be used to treat and analyse the data inputs.

15. Exploratory Research Design Exploratory Research Design provides insight into and an understanding of the problem confronting the researcher. Exploratory Research fine tunes the broad problem into specific problem statement and generates possible hypotheses.

16. Exploratory Research Design The exploratory studies are mainly used for: • Providing information to enable a more precise problem definition or hypothesis formulation. • Establishing research priorities. • Giving the researcher a feel of the problem situation and familiarising him with the problem. • Collecting information about possible problems in carrying out research, using specific collection tools and specific techniques for analysis.

17. Exploratory Research Design • The generally used methods in exploratory research are: • Survey of existing literature • Survey of experienced individuals • Analysis of selected case situations.

18. Conclusive (Descriptive) Research Design Primarily in use for preliminary studies, this type of design is employed to facilitate description and inference building about population parameters and the relationship among two or more variables.

19. Conclusive (Descriptive) Research Design Descriptive designs are a very frequently used, perhaps the most commonly used category of research design. In short descriptive research can be used for the following purposes. • To describe the characteristics of certain groups of interest to the marketer e.g. users of the product, potential users, non users, possible receivers of promotional communication by the company and so on. • To estimate the proportion of people in a given population who behave in a certain way for example the proportion of consumers who are prone to deals. • To make specific predictions for specified future periods. • To develop inferences whether certain variables are associated, for example income and shopping place preference.

20. Conclusive (Descriptive) Research Design The generally used methods in Conclusive Research are: • Panel Research Design (Longitudinal) • Cross Sectional Design • Focus Groups

21. Causal Research Design Causal Research is used to obtain evidence of cause and effect (causal) relationships. • Causal Research is appropriate in the following purposes: • To understand which variables are the cause (independent variables) and which variables are the effect (dependent variables) of a phenomenon. • To determine the nature of relationship between the causal variables and the effect to be predicted.

22. Experimental Research Design • Experimental design provides a stronger and more reliable basis for the existence of casual relationship between variables. Here, the researcher is able to eliminate all extraneous variables from the experimental and the control group through the use of a random selection procedure.

23. Experimental Research Design The generally used methods in Experimental Research are: • After-only with One Control Group • Before-After with One Control Group • The Solomon Four Group Design • Completely Randomised Design