MARKETING RESEARCH

What is marketing research?

A systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of findings and analysis to a specific marketing situation.

Concerned with seeking solutions to problems or answers to meaningful questions

Meaningful questions are expressed in a way that indicates what you will accept as an answer

Non-meaningful (in research terms) questions are not answerable as a result of enquiry alone (eg judgemental)

What Research Is Not

Research isn’t information gathering:

Gathering information from resources such books or magazines isn’t research.

No contribution to new knowledge.

Research isn’t the transportation of facts:

•Merely transporting facts from one resource to another doesn’t constitute research.

•No contribution to new knowledge although this might make existing knowledge more accessible.

High-Quality ResearchGood research requires:

The scope and limitations of the work to be clearly defined.

The process to be clearly explained so that it can be reproduced and verified by other researchers.

A thoroughly planned design that is as objective as possible.

•Highly ethical standards be applied.

•All limitations be documented.

•Data be adequately analyzed and explained.

•All findings be presented unambiguously and all conclusions be justified by sufficient evidence.

The Field of Management Research

Sub Fields

Discipline base

Psychology

Sociology

Anthropology

Economics

Organisational

BehaviourHuman

Resource Management

Industrial Relations

Marketing

Strategy

Accounting &

Finance

Operational

Research

SCOPE OF MARKETING RESEARCH

1. SALES ANALYSIS measurement of market potential

determination of market characteristics

market share estimation

studies of business trends

2. SALES METHODS AND POLICIES

•to evaluate the effectiveness of distribution system

•establishing sales territories

•establishment of sales quotas

•design of territory boundary

•compensation to sales force

•physical distribution

•to assess the effectiveness of different promotional activities such as premiums, coupons

3. Product Management

to manage existing and new products

feedback about competitive product offerings

pricing, packaging, design

4. Advertising Research

Media Research-National Readership Survey

Copy Research by Advertising Agencies

Studies of Advertisement Effectiveness

5.Corporate Research- change in image among customers

Social Value Research- anti-dowry, smoking, drinking, family related problems

Political studies- election results

Customer service studies- banks, hotels

6. Syndicated Research

Television Rating Points Thompson Indices- market potential

assessment of a city with population 1 lakh and more

IMRB- lifestyle research ORG Retail Audit- movement of

consumer goods Through retail outlets MARG Prescription Audit- diseases

and use of branded drugs

NEED AND NATURE OF MARKETING RESEARCH

It helps in obtaining sufficient background information where absolutely nothing is known about the problem area or product field in question.

It helps in concept identification and in its exploration.

It is used to identify relevant and salient behavioral patterns, beliefs, opinions, attitudes and motivation.

Marketing research is useful in establishing priorities amongst categories of behavior and psychological variables like beliefs, opinions and attitudes.

•Quantitative marketing research is generally helpful in defining problem areas fully and formulating hypothesis for further investigation and quantification.

•Marketing research is useful during a preliminary screening process in order to reduce a large number of possible contenders to a smaller number to probable numbers.

•It also helps in obtaining large amount of data.

•It is also used in conducting post research investigations to amplify and explain certain points emerging from some major study without having to repeat these on a large scale.

It is used in piloting questionnaires to test comprehension, word forms.

Qualitative marketing research is used where we can not discover in a simple straight forward manner like direct questioning. In such circumstances, some alternative is called for in which projective technique is used.

CUSTOMER GROUPS1.Consumers2.Employees

3.Shareholders4. Suppliers

CONTROLLABLEMARKETING VARIABLES1. Product

2. Price3. Promotion4. Distribution

MARKETING RESEARCHUNCONTROLLABLEENVIRONMENTAL

FACTORS1. Economy

2. Technology3. Competition

4. Laws & Regulation5. Social & cultural factors

6. Political factors

AssessingInformation

needs

ProvidingInformation

Marketing Decision

marketing

MARKETING MANAGERS1. Market Segmentation

2. Target market selection.3. Marketing program

4. Performance & control

PROBLEMS IN CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN INDIA

A big and diverse country for national survey has to be divided into several hundred districts and interviewing several thousand people

Time

Money

Cultural diversity and linguistic nuisances

more than 14 languages with dialects exceeding 14,000 in number

translation of questionnaire in 6-7 languages

We require a large number of workers

accessibility to people

few people own telephone

low literacy rate

•mail, telephone (personal interview is possible)

•strict translation of certain technical words or phrases is not possible