Download - Unit 10 Marketing Research and Planning P1

7/25/2019 Unit 10 Marketing Research and Planning P1

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Marketing Research and Planning

Market research:

Market research is important for every business .It represents the information that is it

used to identify and to hold marketing. So they can see which products are available on

the stock market.

Market research is market studies which help decision making of marketing. This studyincludes the research of the current market, product research and consumer research.

Market research used by an organisation are: primary research and secondary research.

Primary research:

Primary research represents the methods of research used by the company to evaluate the

market. This means that the primary data is obtained directly by the company through theuse of surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc. Primary research is more costly than

secondary research, because it reuires the company itself to do the evaluations. Primary

research can be ualitative and uantitative and they are sometimes obtained throughconsumer!s reviews. .

Primary research can be internal or e"ternal. The internal research can be obtained by a

company through interviewing their own employees and ask for their opinion about theproducts and services that organisation offers.

Observation:

#bservationgenerally involves watching how people or consumers behave in their

natural setting. These observations can be done in person or mechanically and can be

very effective for gathering primary data. There are two ma$or observation techniues or

research methods used in primary market research, and they are observation through

interaction and communication with the sub$ect and observation through no interaction

and communication with the sub$ect. This form of research method comes under the

uantitative primary research since through it. %esearchers evaluate or measure the

behaviour of the respondents or the users in general. #bservation is done by monitoring

some specific behaviour of the customers. &n advantage for observation will be that the

research may not be able to ask the uestions they want to ask, as they may risk

uncovering who they actually are. & disadvantage will be that the participants behave as

they normally do, so suggestion is valid.


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Experimentation:

This involves using a new approach, new strategy or new product at a small selection of

sites for a set period of time. The results are closely monitored and used to design futurestrategy and products. This method of primary research involves scientific tests where

hypotheses and variables, etc. are used. This is a uantitative type of market researchwhich may either be controlled out in the field or within controlled environments. In

order to understand this form of research, here is an e"ample that you can refer to: & food

product company created ' different food packaging styles and then sold the products todifferent consumers. &fter a limited period of time, it analysed the sales and came to a

conclusion about the preferred packaging style or design. &n advantage for

e"perimentation is a high level of control .This because the people have very high levelof control over their variables. & disadvantage for e"perimentation will be the fake

situations. (hen peoples have control over their variables, it can be possible that the data

to be false and to not correspond with results of researchers.

Surveys/Questionnaire:

&nother superb and highly effective way to conduct primary market research is through

surveys and uestionnaires. #ne of the most common e"amples of this research method isthe feedback form given to customers at the time of billing at a restaurant. It is a

straightforward method of knowing whether or not the customer is satisfied with the

business)s e"isting services and products or what kind of changes would the consumerlike to see. Surveys are also conducted in the form of web uestionnaires these days that

enable businesses to collect a lot of feedback and then analy*e it for further

administration. &n advantage will be that it is relatively easy to manage .& disadvantage

will be that the respondents may not feel encouraged to provide accurate answers.

ace to !ace:

This is one of the most efficient methods through the peoples can interacting direct and

that the researcher will be able to gather information in detail and will be able to assess

the response in detail. Through this method they can be able to observe the reaction and

body language of customers.

Postal:

This method can be the cheapest method of collecting data. & covering letter and a

stamped addressed envelope should accompany the uestionnaire to encourage

completion. It is usual to send a follow up letter and a duplicate uestionnaire after a

period of time has lapsed without a response. The main problem with postal

uestionnaires is the non+response rate that is typically much higher than with other

methods of inuiry. There may also be problems if respondents misunderstand uestions

that cannot then be e"plained as in a personal interview.


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Email:

Mail surveys are a uantitative marketing research data collection method in which

respondents complete uestionnaires and return them via the mail. The costs for mail

surveys tend to be lower than those for telephone surveys, and mail surveys are a good

strategy for obtaining feedback from people who are dissatisfied with a service or havestrong concerns. The main disadvantages of mail surveys are the possibility of bias due to

response rates, which are typically very low for mail surveys and the lower uality of

information collected, since people tend to avoid open+ended uestions or open e+mails

from unknown sources.

"elephone:

This method does allow a large number of interviews to be conducted in a short period of

time, without the interviewer having to travel. The cost per interview is low and the

sample can be spread out nationwide. owever, it is likely that only a short uestionnairecan be used in comparison with the personal interview method. %esponse rates also tend

to be lower.

E#marketing research:

These are becoming increasingly common as more and more organisations are using the

Internet as a means of communicating with their consumers. The main advantage to the

firm is that they are cheap to set up and run. The disadvantages of Internet surveys are

similar to those of postal surveys, with the additional problem that respondents need to be

able to access the Internet in the first.

ocus groups:

& group of people are invited to $oin a discussion about a particular sub$ect. The groupwill be usually be allocated a set time to discuss each topic. The aim of the focus group is

to produce opinions and attitude on the topic being discussed. #ne of the main ways used

to conduct primary market research is through focus groups. This method involvesgetting a group of people in a room or a place and asking them insightful uestions

regarding the product, its development, their preferences, and feedback, etc. These types

of focus groups can be run or conducted at any location feasible for the company or

business. These days, with advancements in technology and the internet, it is possible to

conduct them virtually as well, through the method of video conferencing. -ut the mainthing here is that the groups of people brought together have something in common, for

e"ample, either they should belong to the same age group, the same gender and so on.This division of the group or the selection process must depend on the audience targeted

or the product of service of the company. Participants in such focus groups are then

compensated by either free coupons, vouchers, gifts or money, etc. ocus groups fallunder the ualitative research method and help businesses know a lot about customer or

market trends. & focus group is a useful method that can be used to measure the reaction


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of customers to a company)s new product or to the company)s strategies. ocus groups

usually provide immediate ideas for the improvement of particular products or concepts.

They also help identify the product reuirements of end+user as well as the other needsnot addressed by the company and its competitors. In addition, focus groups provide

insights on the current position of the company)s competitors in the mind of the customer,

as well as measuring the reaction of customers to a product)s design, packaging, price andmessage. #n the other hand, compared to individual interviews, focus groups are not as

efficient in covering ma"imum depth on a particular issue. & particular disadvantage of a

focus group is the possibility that the members may not e"press their honest and personalopinions about the topic at hand. /ompared with surveys and uestionnaires, focus

groups are much more e"pensive to e"ecute. 0sually, each participant will have to be

compensated in cash or in kind.

Panels:

& market research panel is a group of recruited survey respondents who have agreed to

take part in surveys and1or other market research. This method is ualitative as themembers of the panel offer professional advice and opinions. Panel is an e"ternal source

of information as the professional come from outside the company. Panels use random

consumers, recruited to participate in a variety of pro$ects. /onsumers are screened based

on their usage behavior2and you can ask them anything with uick turnaround. &

company can use them uickly and efficiently. owever, they sometimes may not give

the company much uality higher than a focus group.

ield trials:

This involves using a new approach, new strategy or new product at a small selection of

sites for a set period of time. The results are closely monitored and used to design future

strategy and products. This method of primary research involves scientific tests wherehypotheses and variables, etc. are used. This is a uantitative type of market research

which may either be controlled out in the field or within controlled environments. In

order to understand this form of research, here is an e"ample that you can refer to: & foodproduct company created ' different food packaging styles and then sold the products to

different consumers. &fter a limited period of time, it analysed the sales and came to a

conclusion about the preferred packaging style or design. The first benefit of field trials isthat many businesses are investing more and more in market research to test whether the

products and services they are developing are in demand. This research also allowscompanies to further develop the products and services to meet the needs of customers on

areas where improvement is needed and getting suggestions on where they need toimprove. The field trials also allow businesses to focus in on their target market without

getting data from members outside of the target group. owever, market researchers must

be aware of the market that they are analy*ing, and whether others outside of the targetmarket are participating in the analysis.


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$nternal Secondary research:

%ata Records:

/ompanies can choose to use an internal marketing research department to conduct

surveys, polls, focus groups and other market research activities. Therefore, they keep an

impressive amount of data about customers and their purchasing habits./ompanies using an internal data records system have the ability to modify research

during the course of the investigation. Internal marketing records staff can also move at

the pace set by business needs. /osts, e"penses and resources can be tightly monitoredand controlled when such a data record system is kept by a company. owever, limited

resources and employee knowledge gaps may hamper the effectiveness and thoroughness

of in+house research efforts.

&ebsite monitoring:

Many companies nowadays sell their products online. &s a result they must gather much

information about their possible customer as a uantitative method of research. They

have to keep their eyes open on various websites, search engines and online competitors.

The first and perhaps most obvious advantage of a businesses using website for selling

their products is the potential for reaching a wider audience. The internet is used by

literally millions of people, all of them are looking for something and some of them are

potential customers. owever, the information on a company)s website might be

unreliable if not updated on a regular basis.

E#transactions :

3lectronic commerce or in short e+commerce, refers to business activities like selling and

purchasing of products and services carried out over electronic systems like the Internetand computer networks. &s a both ualitative and uantitative method of market research,

e+commerce enables a business to reach the global market. (ith the help of electronic

commerce, even small enterprises can access the global market for selling and purchasingproducts and services. owever, one important disadvantage of e+commerce is that the

Internet has still not touched the lives of a great number of people, either due to the lack

of knowledge or trust. & large number of people do not use the Internet for any kind offinancial transaction.

'ccounting records:

This uantitative internal method deals with the financial records of a company. They

show how the money value of their sales and what e"penses they have. rom this

information, a company can track the best selling products or the most cost+e"pensive

and as a conseuence least selling. It very useful for a company as they can make further

future decision according to this information on the condition that the records are

accurate and updated.


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External secondary research :

$nternet :

Today the Internet is the most accessed source of information on planet so business can

take great advantage of this fact. Market research on the internet can be both ualitativeand uantitative as long as market researches take care what sources of information from

the virtual space they gather, as anyone is aware this is not a perfectly accurate source of

data collection.

(overnment statistics:

4overnment statistics represents statistics which are published by government agencies

or by international organisations. They offer uantitative information and ualitative

information about economic and social development, living condition, health, educationand they also offer information about environment. 4overnment statistics make

information on economic and social development accessible to the public, allowing theimpact of government policies to be assessed, thus improving accountability. #fficial

statistics are intended for a wide range of users including government)s researchinstitutions, professional statisticians, $ournalists and the media, businesses, educational

institutions and the general public. There are three types ofusers: those with a general

interest, business interest or research interest. The information from this source is reliableand cost free.

"rade )ournals :

5ewspapers and maga*ines that deal with economics and business provide a great deal of

useful information for market researchers. This source is not e"pensive and benefits of

the help of many business e"perts. Many companies find great help in trade $ournals

when it comes to make decisions on trends, products or services to market.

*ompany reports:

&ll companies create a business report on regular basis, semester or annual. Such a report

contains e"penses, profits, and the general situation of the company. It is cheap and very

useful for a company in making decisions, especially when they take into consideration

the competitors reports. owever, similar to accounting reports, these reports must be

accurate and updated.

Secondary research:

Secondary research is an analysis made by someone else meaning that the business is notthe one who is carrying out the research .These research can be either internal , either

e"ternal .Internal research represents the use of the information that already e"ist in the

company such as the number of sales or the number of returned products. Some e"amples


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for internal can be balance sheets, profit and loss account, sales figures. 3"ternal

research represents the use of the information that does not belong to the company and

which is gathered from an e"ternal source like the government newspaper, trade $ournalsor even competitors. Some e"amples for e"ternal source can be government sources, the

internet and competitor data.

Qualitative research:

6ualitative research or ualitative market research is a kind of a research method which

mainly takes into account the opinions and feelings of a customer as far as a business)sproducts and services are concerned. This type of research tries to get behind the

customer)s mind to fathom what they see lacking or whether they truly like the product or

not. Some common e"amples of ualitative research work include doing face to faceinterviews, being part of focus groups, etc.

Quantitative research:

6uantitative market research is a kind of market research work that is based on hard facts

and statistical data rather than the feelings and opinions of the customers or consumers.

This type of research can prove useful both in terms of primary market research and

secondary market research. Some of the common e"amples of uantitative researchinclude e"it surveys, uestionnaires, on+site fieldwork and the shopping bag survey. In

fact, another e"ample of uantitative research includes researching of the previously

e"isting financial reports, research papers. This type of research comes out with a wide

range of statistics and helps to find out the si*e of the market as well.

Download - Unit 10 Marketing Research and Planning P1

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