Online Marketing Research

Online Marketing Research
John Georgakopoulos

Introduction
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Marketing Research (MR) is defined as the planned and methodical design, compilation, analysis, and reporting of data and findings with regard to a specific situation
Marketing decisions are naturally ended up on the basis of research
The coming out of the internet turned out to be a critical marketing research tool
Innovative online information technologies unlock doors to fresh opportunities in MR
MR is not an exclusiveness of large enterprises

Traditional Marketing Research
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First Step:

Definition of the problem, decision alternatives, and research objectives
Not to name the problem too generally or too closely
Objectives can be exploratory, descriptive, or casual

Second Step:

Definition and development of the research plan for gathering the required information
A budget and a timetable have to be set
The kind of research being carried is customer research, promotion, product, distribution, sales and marketing environment research

Traditional Marketing Research (Cont.)
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Second Step (Cont.):
Information can be gathered through primary/field or secondary/desk research
Primary data can be gathered through observational research, focus group research, survey research, behavioural data, and experimental research
A sampling plan ought to be created
Contact methods include mail questionnaires, telephone interviews, and personal interviews

Traditional Marketing Research (Cont.)
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Third Step:
Collection of the information
Fourth Step:
Once the data has been collected it needs to be analysed
The extracted findings require the researcher to have some advanced statistical techniques
Fifth Step:
Presentation of the findings
Sixth Step:
Decision making

Electronic Marketing Research
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The Online Marketing Research (OMR) has as well 6 steps
First Step:
Definition of the problem, decision alternatives, and research objectives
Objectives can be descriptive, diagnostic, or predictive
Second Step:
Definition and development of the research plan for gathering the required information
A budget and a timetable have to be set

Electronic Marketing Research (Cont.)
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Second Step (Cont.):
Information can be drawn together through primary/field or secondary/desk research
Observational, experimental, and survey are the three main categories
Primary data through online observational research, online focus group research, email survey research, online panels, and online experimental research
A sampling plan ought to be created

Electronic Marketing Research (Cont.)
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Third Step:
Collection of the information
Through the internet collection of the data is easy, cheap and independent
Fourth Step:
Data analysis includes translating, editing and charting the results
Fifth Step:
Presentation of the extracted findings
Sixth Step:
Decision making

Critical Discussion & Evaluation
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Advantages:
A considerable amount of financial resources can be saved
Essential time can be saved
It can be conducted through all over the world, at once
Respondents are likely to be a little bit more frank on their answers
It is more flexible particularly when it comes to multimedia applications
The digital nature of the composed information are easier to be carried out
Databases that function as sources of draining secondary data

Critical Discussion & Evaluation (Cont.)
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Limitations:

Intrusion of privacy, lack of anonymity, and security
Companies occasionally use respondents’ data, without even asking them
Not each and every has access to the internet
Demographics are quite skewed; certain population segments are less probable to be online
The cost of making up for bad addresses, unsolicited emails
Tendency to technical problems and discrepancies
Lack of control mechanisms to patrol the uploading data

Conclusion
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The marketing environment is constantly changing and marketers should pay rather more attention
MR is utilised to weaken the risk of making an incorrect decision
Companies can gain knowledge of a great deal about patrons
A considerable and representative sample of the patrons can be attained easily online
MR is definitely moving online