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Market Research
Introduction
“Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through
information--information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate,
refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of
marketing as a process. Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues,
designs the method for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process,
analyzes the results, and communicates the findings and their implications.”1
It includes the collection and analysis of information regarding consumers (potential customers),
competitors (same business type), and the effectiveness of marketing programs (i.e. direct mail marketing,
newsletters, signage, etcetera). Market research is an important action before leaping into a business, and
an educated move that determines the feasibility of a new business. In this knowledge-driven business
world, Marketing Research (MR) is considered a major tool to solve day-to-day business problems and is
widely used for understanding consumer needs.
A research agency helps connect the marketer with the consumer in terms of information. Marketing
research provides decision makers with an image of the actual and potential market, consumer behavior,
market trend and competition. Culture influences the scope and nature of research information.
The relationship between client/company and the research agency has evolved over time. This evolution
is depicted in the figure below:
Different markets in the world are at different stages of this evolution process. Pakistan for example is at
the third stage and uses a research agency as a contributor to selected business issues. India or more
generally the Asian Pacific market is at the fourth stage where a research agency is seen as a solution
provider.
A representative from AC Nielsen explained that the research objectives can be of various types as
defined below:
New Product Development: Research aimed at assessing new products through understanding
various stages sch as concept testing, product testing and copy testing.
Brand Health Tracking: This helps in understanding the performance of the brand.
Profiling: Focused on understanding the target audience through psychographic and demographic
profiling.
Impact Evaluation: Pre and post-test evaluation where the organization now needs to gauge the
effect of the intervention. For example: a TVC campaign aimed at increasing brand recall. The
1 American Marketing Association Website
DATA
PROVIDER
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PROVIDER
TRUSTED
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brand is likely to conduct a research with this objective to assess whether brand recall has now
increased or not.
Market Sizing: Carried out specifically when organizations need to understand market potential
and forecast their sales.
Performance Management: A kind of small-scale research where performance needs to be
evaluated such as in banking or restaurant industry where the objective is to check that the
employees are following the SOPs or not. Mystery shopping falls in this category as well.
Usage & Attitudes: Specific to product categories to help understand consumer usage patterns
and attitude towards the category.
Customer Satisfaction: To gauge customer satisfaction with respect to brand shares/sales.
Knowledge, Attitudes & Perception: Mainly carried out by public agencies such as UNICEF to
understand the perceptions regarding social phenomenon such as education and health.
Through market research, small businesses and corporations:
Test interest in new services and products
Improve marketing mix as well as the customer service
Develop competitive strategies
Keep up to speed with the global and local business developments
Both startup businesses and established businesses need to define, evaluate, and plan a course to pursue
their market. The end result of market research is a business that is more responsive to customers` needs
and increase profits. As the business grows, market research needs to be an ongoing part of business
activity. Market can be extremely unpredictable, and this is one main reason why market research needs
to be integrated. MR is a time-consuming activity but nevertheless essential for the survival of the
business. No matter what size the business is, some sort of research is required at every stage. Activities
like talking to a customer about what he or she wants or chatting with a supplier is conducting market
research.
Qualitative researches are carried out through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) or In-depth Interviews
(IDIs). Owing to the variation in cost, most managers commissioning research find better business sense
in opting for FGDs as the cost per respondent is lower. On average, an FGD of eight respondents costs
approximately Rs. 40,000.
Quantitative researches are also carried out in Pakistan; however, different research agencies have
different reach. Furthermore, most fieldworkers are hired on an ad-hoc basis which significantly affects
the quality of research.
Mostly clients of smaller scale get into contact with research agencies by posting about their research
projects on their websites which includes the RFP. Mid-tier organizations are likely to choose and select
research agencies with whom they had worked previously or as per the recommendations of their senior
managers or sister concern companies. Research agencies also have individuals who have specific
business development targets and these individuals carry out cold calls to get into contact with
prospective client. The market research process initiates with a Request for Proposal (RFP) which is the
process of documentation and solicitation that communicates the organization's need or availability for a
certain service and invites various vendors to submit proposals in consideration for the opportunity. A
request for proposal essentially consists of the following main sections2
:
2 How to Write a Great RFP – Kelton Global
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Name of Project
Brief Contextual Information
Project Objectives
Business Objectives
Anticipated Geographic Scope
Populations of Interest
Methodologies of Interest
Budget
Desired Project Timeline
Research agencies for selection purposes follow a similar procedure as in large agencies and corporations
(setting a tender, receiving proposals and selecting a vendor) where they are evaluated based on their
costs and methodology once the client has received RFPs from various agencies.
Most marketing research work in Pakistan involves:
Brand Health Tracking involves engaging consumers in quantitative researches to understand
their perceptions. Some research agencies in Pakistan have greater reach and are therefore able to
provide a high-resolution brand tracking service with 18,000-20,000 customer respondents. There
are others that are smaller in size and provide a low-resolution brand tracking service with 4,000
customer respondents.
Brand Health Tracking at Kantar Millward Brown – The MDS Framework ( Meaning fully
different framework:
Kantar Millward Brown believes the most successful brands are Meaningful (meets consumer
needs), Different (unique and sets trends) and Salient (top of mind). These three qualities, in
varying combinations, are what make a brand sell the most, command the highest price, and
generate the greatest value share growth. Kantar Millward Brown uses the following three metrics
to score brand equity:
1. Power (grows sales through extra volume): This is a prediction of the brand’s volume share based
purely on perception, absent of activation factors.
2. Premium (commands a higher price): This is the ability of a brand to command a price
premium/justify its price relative to the category average, based purely on perceptions.
3. Potential (sustainable future success)
This is summarized through their MDS (Meaningful, Different & Salient) Framework which explores
how the brand performs at each stage of this ‘path’ through highlighting key opportunities and issues
to address to maximise brand returns.
https://www.keltonglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/How-to-Write-A-Great-RFP.pdf
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Figure 1 The MDS Framework
There are 3 fundamental building blocks – Meaningful, Different, and Salient – that drive predisposition.
These 3 building blocks are measured by 5 simple questions. Strong brands perform well on these
particular brand association metrics and create a strong predisposition to purchase. Regression analysis is
used to understand the relative contribution of Meaningful, Different and Salient to the survey-based
measures of volume share (CL) and of likely price index (price-worth). This analysis produces two
measures of brand equity built purely out of people’s perceptions, related directly to key business
outcomes.
Figure 2 Measuring MDS
Mystery shopping - commonly used by banks and restaurants, to check the quality of customer
service provided by their staff. These researches may be carried out immediately after or before
staff training.
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Shopnographies: A shopper is accompanied by a moderator during a shopping trip. The
moderator observes the shopping behavior and may ask probing questions before, during, or after
the trip. (Similar to ethnography only in a shopping occasion.)
Ethnographies: The central aim of ethnography is to provide rich, holistic insights into people’s
views and actions, as well as the nature (that is, sights, sounds) of the location they inhabit,
through the collection of detailed observations and interviews.
Nielsen’s Product Testing Suite: A product test is carried out when changing the existing
formulation of a product to evaluate the acceptability of the new formulation with consumers.
Product tests are also used when a new product is to be launched and there is a need to select a
‘winning’ product/formulation among multiple product/formulation options. To decide if the new
product should be taken forward for launch it is usually expected to score either significantly
higher than, or on par with, the benchmark product on key indicators which are: Purchase
Intention, Overall Liking, Overall Preference.
This suite includes tools such as:
1. Hierarchy Assessor: Helps in prioritization of product attributes to understand which
product attributes are important for consumers while evaluating a product? Which
attributes differentiate the products in the market?
2. Balance Detector: Provides clear direction for product modification. It helps in telling
which of product attributes needs improvement. Specifically, what should be the
direction of improvement? E.g. whether the level of salt should be increased or
decreased?
Retail Audits: Retail audit service providers gather information on a brand's sales volume, sales
trends, stock levels, effectiveness of in-store display and promotion efforts, and
other associated aspects. It includes checking the market performance of brands and analyzing the
off take from retail shelves. This helps in validating sales figures and calculating market share.
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As markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly more competitive and integrated,
market/marketing research is on the agenda of many organizations regardless of their size and locations.
The key developments in the MR industry across the globe have been due to the following:
Rapid changes in client markets
Holistic research approaches
Faster Responses
Different levels of maturity
The "European Society for Opinion and Market Research" (European Society for Opinion and
Marketing Research) (ESOMAR) is the global organization that regulates and allows better research of
markets, consumers as well as, of societies. ESOMAR promotes the values of market research and
opinion, noting the real problems and thus achieving effective decision-making at the global level. The
global revenue of the market research industry exceeded 45.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, rising year-on-
year since it experienced a slight dip in 2009 during the Great Recession. In 2017, North America
generated the largest share of market research revenue at 45 percent, or 20.6 billion U.S. dollars, closely
followed by Europe with 35 percent. However, these regions were not the leaders in terms of growth that
year, which fell to the Middle East with 2.9 percent and the Asia Pacific region with 2.6 percent.
Asia Pacific region
Japan has the highest research volume (in US$ terms) followed by Australia. Next in line are countries
such as India, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia and China, followed by
Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
There are certain behavioral phenomenons in the Asian-Pacific nations that set them apart from their
Western counterparts and also affect the market research practices and issues. The former are
predominantly collectivistic whereas Western nations are more individualistic. Consumers in
collectivistic societies are more community oriented and tend to be more loyal to their culture. For
example, in China, group decision-making, which is epitomized by the government and the state, will
always be held superior to individuals. Before Beijing Olympics, a large Adidas campaign was launched
on ground and on TV in China. People were portrayed as crowd in grey, while only the athletes
representing China wore red. China allows you to be different only if it contributes to the overall
wellbeing of the country; typical of a collectivist society. While the Westerners did not like this
campaign, the Chinese thought it was great.
Some other differences between Asian pacific consumers and Westerners include:
Greater reliance on reference groups and group consensus in Asian countries.
Asians see managers as experts; Westerners see them as problem solvers.
Temporal orientation: Asians are typically past oriented.
In different Asian cultures, things, numbers, color, etc. mean different things. For example, black
is not the color of mourning in many Asian countries. Four (4) is a bad number for the Chinese,
not for other Asians. Red suggests good fortune in China, not in India.
Differences in verbal and non-verbal communication styles. Many languages; very different from
English [in terms of structure, meaning, interpretation etc.] which is the most used language in
marketing research. Gestures and body language also have different meanings across the different
Asian regions.
The Japanese look for information from the actual buyers rather than the potential buyers. In countries
such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, national income estimates do not reflect under-reported or
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unreported income. Traditional values often prompt people in many countries to give socially desirable
responses rather than true responses. Because of this, the style and procedure of market research and the
type of data sought may be different from the traditional marketing research approach described in text
books.
Marketing Research in Pakistan
In Pakistan there are 15-20 MR agencies (4-5 major ones). Total MR spending in 2008 was equal to $14m
in Pakistan versus $198m in India and $25m in Vietnam. The share of Pakistan’s MR industry in the
global MR industry is 0.04 per cent whereas of India it is 0.55 per cent. MR spends as a percentage of
advertising spends in Pakistan stood at a mere 3.1%. As per the ESOMAR Market Research Industry
Report, Pakistan’s market research industry grew by almost 17% in 2017.
The focus of research is more towards the quantitative side (quantifying understanding) which constitutes
about 80% of the total research conducted whereas the qualitative research work (exploring areas that are
unknown) constitutes 20%3
.
The estimated number of clients in the MR industry is 150+. Traditionally outsourcing the research was
thought to be a privilege of multinational firms in Pakistan, however now local companies have also
started hiring research agencies to conduct formal researches. Some of the key players in MR in Pakistan
are:
ACNielsen, leaders in the research industry and most recognized for their retail audit service.
Consumer insights is another domain that Nielsen specializes in. Globally, Nielsen has Watch
Business which pertains to media measurement.
TNS Aftab, recognized in the industry as one of the oldest, possessing skilled human resource,
strong in conducting qualitative and customized researches.
Gallup, a social research firm, mostly conducting opinion polls and researches for the
government.
Foresight Research (Pvt.) Ltd., owned and managed by ex-Unilever research employees, the
company handles the consumer panels for Unilever Pakistan, providing time and cost-effective
solutions. They are famous for their qualitative outlook.
Oasis, second largest amongst the research agencies in Pakistan with immense reach all over
Pakistan servicing a large number of clients, well known for their quantitative researches.
SB&B, a research firm more tilted towards qualitative research.
SMAR, pioneer of MR in Pakistan and known for its strong fieldwork execution.
Iris Communications, an emerging research organization mostly servicing the pharmaceutical
industry in Pakistan.
IPSOS also operates in Pakistan through a franchise-based model but its environment differs
significantly from its global operations.
Pakistan has many local research agencies which have been doing exceptional work in this field along
with being cost-effective thereby, competing in this environment against major player such as Nielsen and
Kantar. However, companies which have a global presence are likely to resort to these major players as
they are the ones who can provide data support to them in other markets as well.
3 As quoted by Mr. Shakeel Ahmed Butt, Director AC Nielsen Pakistan,in a guest speakingsession at IBAon March
03, 2010.
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In addition, there is a Marketing Research Society of Pakistan (MRSP) which has adopted the ESOMAR
code of conduct. Its vision is to encourage, advance and elevate market research in Pakistan – in line with
international standards4
. There are 20 registered members from Pakistan with ESOMAR. Registering with
ESOMAR ensures that the code of conduct is followed in a research organization. It further helps in
winning business from clients. Furthermore, latest ESOMAR researches are shared and members are
offered trainings at discounted rates.
In addition to the above-mentioned research companies, there are some other smaller research firms in
Pakistan. These include MARS, Four Corners, Startex, BSH, MCP, MEMRB, International Field and
Tab, MCP research network, World Research Information Systems and Technologies (Pvt.) Ltd,
Intelligent Marketing Research, etc.
Pakistan’s position in global MR industry is very unstable. According to the European Society for
Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) report 2008, the Indian MR industry has a stagnant annual
growth rate of about 20 per cent while Pakistan has an unstable seven per cent. Last year, Bangladesh was
ranked number one with MR growth rate of 25 per cent. The total number of professionals working for
MR industry other than interviewers is 495 across the country. The registered number of firms in India is
28 with 7465 professionals other than interviewers (Source: ESOMAR 2008). Indian economy in terms of
GDP is seven times bigger than the economy of Pakistan but the gap of research oriented skilled labor is
15 times greater.
According to a research conducted in Pakistan, there is a positive correlation of MR growth rate with
GDP growth rate. Market research is highly economic growth driven. According to some business
managers the need for MR increases in times of recession. This is probably due to the fact that consumers
are very conscious in spending and have an eccentric buying behavior that needs to be intensively
researched. Normally, what is observed is that in recessionary times, MR budgets are the first to be
compromised; usually considered as counter-productive by many research managers.
Oglivy & Mather’s – Velocity 12 report provides great insights regarding the expanding middle-class
group5
:
This class will be increasingly defined by women and youth as the change agents with the
purchasing power crossing cultural, religious and demographic divides.
It constitutes of the largest block of consumers connected to the Internet is likely to double in the
next five years.
This class is also likely to increase its social engagement and brand discussion as marketers
compete in the digital space for greater share.
They will also urbanize faster than other parts of the world, dominating the future list of
megacities.
They are also likely to propel cities to become the unit of invention, entrepreneurship and
investment.
4 Marketing Research Society of Pakistan –official website.
5 Velocity 12 Markets: Reshapingthe world view of middle-classgrowth - WARC
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Seeking Consumer Insights – The Role of Research
Given the fiercely competitive environment, marketers need to dig deep into the minds of the consumers
to identify voids or issues that will help them leverage their brands. The challenge faced with finding new
consumer insights is that the consumers are also not usually aware of such voids or needs hence,
extensive research is needed in this area. A consumer insight is thus defined as a deeply held belief or
behavioral pattern that relates to the most important problems or needs in a category – the ‘hidden’ or real
hopes of people who use a particular product or service. Most consumer insights are expressed in three
different ways6:
As a weakness or shortcoming of competition.
As an obstacle that consumers identify for not using your brand.
A compelling belief or opinion about a category that is not yet recognized.
The process for identifying consumer insights usually involves four steps: (a) exploring the available
research by collecting information from syndicated services and referring to already published in-house
research (b) taking a new perspective by understanding the demographics and psychographics of the core
users in order to explore and find their unfulfilled needs (c) exploring more in research through qualitative
methods such as FGDs, IDIs etc. since they are likely to yield new insights by probing consumer attitudes
(d) lastly continuously researching to provide a solid ground to the preliminary findings. Understand how
consumers relate to such insights and find out meaningful expressions for these new findings.
Some of the key examples (brand-specific) of how research played a vital role in unveiling consumer
insights are discussed below:
The success of Nestle Fruita Vitals within the Pakistani market was a result of understanding
consumer insights and then leveraging on them to position the brand. Initially, the brand targeted
upper middle-class urban males and females within the age bracket of 21 and 35 but they soon
realized that this segment didn’t fuel the growth that they were aiming for. Hence, Nestle then
started targeting its growth consumers who liked to consume carbonated soft drinks (CSD) as a
lifestyle choice. They referred to them as the ‘Purposeful Go-getters’ since encouraging them to
buy their brand would help the company in achieving their objective of growth given that it was
the largest segment. The company carried out in-depth qualitative research to gain insights and
realized that the country’s environment at that time was unstable and less secure given the
economic situation. The individuals in such surroundings wanted to create a happy and fulfilled
life no matter what it took. The insight from these Purposeful Go-getters revealed that they
viewed world as a mess but didn’t give up on their current conditions. In fact, they just wanted
their daily dose of fixing up to continue to tackle with life in an optimistic manner. This is exactly
where Nestle Fruita Vitals later positioned itself with the message: “No matter what life throws at
you, Rise and Shine to Life”7
.
6 The PositioningStatement, Emotions, and Brand Equity – From Basics of Branding:A Practical Guidefor Managers
by Jay Gronlund
7 Nestlé Fruita Vitals:FruitFuel - WARC
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Surf Excel’s Ramadan Campaign leveraged on the insight that the spirit of the Ramadan is not
about fasting but its about the good intentions associated with the concept of fasting and children
are largely unaware. The campaign delivered the message that helping others might get one’s
clothes dirty bit it is well-aligned with the spirit of Ramadan8
.
Olper’s capitalized on the research which yielded that housewives (the core target audience of the
brand) were aware of the unhygienic conditions in which loose milk is procured. Hence, they
believed that boiling milk is likely to make it germ free and fit for consumption for their child. On
the contrary, the fact is that open pan boiling process makes the milk lose its essential nutrients.
Hence, Olper’s then communicated the message that its milk was UHT treated which preserved
the nutrients yet removed the harmful elements and thereby differentiated itself from others by
talking about nutrition rather than health alone. With the initiative, ‘You Boil It, You Spoil It’ –
Olper’s focused on first educating the mothers the hazards involved with boiling milk and then
pitched Olper’s as a solution for all the problems thereby promising child’s health and growth9
.
Tang’s research revealed that in 2012, Pakistani consumers spent more than half of their
household budget on food consumed at home. Furthermore, Facebook insights revealed that food
and beverages fall in the top eight categories for the Pakistani consumers as well as the top 10
pages liked, 50% of them were of food and beverage bands. Hence, Tang decided to leverage
Pakistani’s love for food. Their primary research yielded the fact that key decision in the home
makers life is what to cook on daily basis and are eager to innovate everyday food items.
Furthermore, they found out that Pakistanis loved creating new and exciting dishes and were
always on the look out for easy, yet creative recipes. Tang then leveraged this and brought its
series of recipe videos which featured the product itself. The brand used various touchpoints to
execute this strategy such as Facebook videos, YouTube, Facebook culinary groups, local portals
etc.10
Tapal decided on the number of SKUs and variants according to the market needs. It has come up
with products to suit the taste of specific regions. For example, its “Mezban” tea caters to rural
Sindh. Similarly, “Tezdum” is for the Punjab market. “Tezdum” is stronger in taste as compared
to “Mezban,” which is milder. Understanding the consumers’ preferences and then developing a
product that best caters to their needs is very important for tea manufacturers, as it is a daily
consumed household product. Consumers are also becoming health conscious and are now aware
of health benefits of tea drinking, in particularly healthy heart properties. Thus, Lipton has
introduced the ingredient Thiamine in their product that has fewer side effects and claims to
improve blood flow.
Consumer insight, over the years, has served as the best guide for companies especially biscuit
manufacturers in the impulse purchase category. Oreo was launched by LU to satisfy the
8 Surf Excel: When embracingdirtbecame an actof faith - WARC
9 Olper's:Nutrition in Every Sip - WARC
10 Tang: Touch of Magic - WARC
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consumer demand of the brand in local market since the premium segment was consuming
imported Oreos in a significant amount in terms of spending on biscuits.
When EBM planned to change the weight (in terms of grams) for one of its most selling brands
for the purpose of cutting costs, it outsourced this research to a marketing research firm. The firm
conducted some blind tests with the consumers of the same product and came up with the
conclusion that change of gram-mage has no effect on the product taste, freshness and
crunchiness. This was a very valuable and significant research for EBM.
Gathering consumer insights on Web 2.0
Since digital has now become the dominant consumer touch point, it is important for market
researchers to carry out research in this environment. Several techniques of gathering consumer
insights from online platforms have emerged. Some of these include social listening, screencast
videography and netnography. These web based research techniques offer unique advantages.
For example, Netnography is considered to be more economically viable than methods that
require face-to-face contact, as it does not require physical commute (Valck et al., 2009; Xun &
Reynolds, 2010). The primary advantage of this method to marketers, however, is the naturally
occurring characteristic—netnography is unobtrusive and it does not interfere with the
interactions between members (Kozinets, 2012). In effect, it offers the market researchers a
natural environment to observe consumers, particularly a "real social context" (Puri, 2007),
which creates numerous opportunities for analysis.
Using netnography, marketers are potentially able to collect information about the underlying
reasons behind consumers' purchase of products/brands, which could be then used to encourage
consumer loyalty (Healy & McDonagh, 2013). For instance, Gamboa and Gongalves (2014)
found that Facebook assists in enhancing brand loyalty among Zara fans. In addition,
Netnography offers marketers access to authentic consumer responses (Costello et al., 2017),
thus enabling them to observe a considerable amount of data in various contents, which improves
the breadth and depth of research (Prior & Miller, 2012).
This approach is perceived as being effective for developing new products and strategies. It
assists marketers in identifying the latest market trends, as well as it helps in developing new
innovative concepts (Costello et al., 2017). For example, netnography provided Nokia with
insights on the appearance of their phones, emphasizing that they were not compatible with their
superior technology as Nokia's competitors; thus, it made Nokia update with real-time trends
(Puri, 2007). Furthermore, netnography has a "voyeuristic quality" (Kozinets, 2012). It is
considered to be a suitable method when the researcher deals with sensitive topics (Langer &
Beckman (2005) used it to study cosmetic surgery, whereas Gurrieri & Cherrier (2013) used it
for fat activism).
On the other hand, netnography is still only partially developed as a method and has a number of
shortcomings (Clemente-Ricolfe, 2017). Netnography faces three main issues: "community
scope, data validity and data reliability" (Prior & Miller, 2012, p. 508). Prior & Miller (2012)
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point out the fact that such methodology focuses solely on the online interaction within
communities. They believe that this offers a "discrete research context"; however, it limits
research's potential because it ignores the actual scope of the community being investigated, as
its members might communicate offline as well. Members, occasionally, might have shared
commitment for consumption activities, such as participating at a fashion designer's event. This,
nevertheless, differs significantly among communities (Canniford, 2011).
Netnographers observe that it is difficult to determine the quality of data because of the ability to
establish a false identity.
Issues/Challenges of Marketing Research in Pakistan
1. Sampling Frames
Surveys are useful and powerful in finding answers to research questions, but they can do more harm to
business than good if targeted incorrectly. Research in Pakistan sometimes render meaningless because
the available sampling frame is:
Incomplete
Inadequate
Scarce
Outdated
The census conducted in Pakistan is outdated. This limits the ability of research agencies to choose the
right respondents with the right profile. The SEC classifications that are currently in use were developed
in 1998 by ACNielsen. The only way some accurate sampling frame can be developed is through the co-
operation of industry associations such as Chamber of Commerce, APTMA etc.
2. Heterogeneity of Universe
Heterogeneity of Universe (the entire population) is one big issue of MR in Pakistan. There is a major
difference in individual characteristics among the people of four provinces of the country. We have an
urban rural division of 30:70, where 30% population lives in urban areas and 70 % in rural areas. This
difference in geographical location is translated into the psychographics of individuals and therefore the
entire population cannot be pooled as one. Hence, selecting a nationally representative sample is a
difficult task.
Furthermore, Pakistani retail market is segmented into the modern trade and the traditional trade. Since
modern trade still has not expanded its reach to most parts of the country, most retails are inconsistent
and not follow a specified standard format. Thus, retail audit through sampling is not reflective of the
heterogeneous retail landscape of Pakistan.
3. Low Literacy Rate
The country has a very low literacy rate. Collecting data through surveys and interviews is a major
challenge for researchers in Pakistan. Respondents are hesitant to share any information because they are
unable to understand the research purpose. Due to the low literacy rate self completed questionnaires
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have a very slim chance of getting completed and thus personally administered questionnaires become a
natural choice for the researchers. This of course is expensive and time consuming. Consumers in some
cases are not articulate enough to have their responses recorded; refusals and non-responses thus
becomes a major issue for researches.
4. Scarcity of Skilled Human Resources
Scarcity of key research personnel is a problem that research agencies in Pakistan face. To date no single
Pakistani business school offers specialization in marketing research. Employees joining at the entry
level take up research jobs only as a transitional option until such time that they are able to find a more
glamorous, mainstream marketing job.
Furthermore, the MR personnel who have become experts in the field through their number of years in
service are in high demand. There is a serious issue of high employee turnover. Finally, the field-force
required to conduct surveys is hired on an ad-hoc basis. This further complicates matters and
compromises the quality of research as the possibility of hiring trained field workers is very rare.
5. Quality of Research
The major beneficiaries of the MR products complain about delays in completion of the projects,
analytical base and dichotomy of the results. Only 35 per cent corporate firms are satisfied with the
services they get from local MR Service providers. Even the retail audit conducted is through a sample
and not a census. However, the quality of research with firms such as Nielsen has drastically improved.
They have embarked upon a digital journey where they have shifted from traditional methods (pen and
paper) to automated methods of data collection using hand-held terminals (HHT). The shift to HHT is a
big leap forward for Pakistan, which has a very spread-out trade market with 674,980 shops carrying
consumer products in 470 cities and 16,000 villages (as per Nielsen’s latest retail census). Another
significant change has been the revamping of their operations and systems teams. The team leads now
are data scientists with expertise in data collection and interpretation, which allows them to recommend
changes in a client’s business model thereby improving the overall quality of research.
Nielsen has also introduced advanced research solution being used globally in Pakistan as well. A
recently introduced tool is the Advanced Analytics, which assists clients in identifying and short-listing
retail stores where product availability is crucial. If this is ensured, clients stand to benefit not only from
increased sales volumes, but from improvements in distribution efficiencies. Innovations is another tool
which has been introduced which helps clients in deciding which new product launches will have the
most feasibility. The tool also provides information on the expected ROI, which marketing tools are
likely to have the most impact, and what the optimal price range should be for a new product11
.
6. Training
Researchers conducting both qualitative and quantitative researches need to be regularly trained.
Qualitative researchers need to have skills to manage and extract key insights from FGDs, IDIs,
Ethnographies, etc. Quantitative researchers on the other hand need training in the latest software used to
analyze data.
11 DigitisingMarketResearch – DAWN Aurora
Link: https://aurora.dawn.com/news/1142897
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Most research agencies in Pakistan do not invest in developing their employees working at the middle or
the lower level. Hence, most researchers in Pakistan are working through their common sense.
7. Ethics / Credibility
Business ethics are relevant to business researchers because ethical issues occur throughout many phases
of the research process. Some of the ethical issues identified are:
Confidentiality
Fake responses
Low cost and low quality
No professional regulatory body.
Credibility of research in Pakistan is not only poor but is also going down. Substandard quality of field
work is hindering growth of the MR industry in Pakistan.
8. Scarcity of Published Data
One important MR issue in Pakistan is the scarcity of published data. ‘FBS’ Federal Bureau of Statistics
is hardly approached, neither is the Economic Survey of Pakistan. Because of this it becomes very
cumbersome to obtain authentic secondary source of information. These two government bodies need to
be properly administered and managed. At times the data has to be purchased from foreign companies
which is very expensive and becomes unaffordable for small businesses.
9. Lack of Government Support
The MR industry has no support from the government. In fact, the country lacks research culture at all
levels. Apart from this, the biggest challenge that the industry faces are the law and order situation which
affects the fieldwork.
10. The Mismatch b/w International Research Models & Pakistani Market
There is a gap between the global research agencies models that are being implemented in Pakistan as
they are mainly inspired from the Western countries. Hence, it often becomes difficult to reach a wider
target audience through online surveys therefore, the trend of door to door surveys prevails. This itself has
its own flaws which includes low response rate as well as interviewer’s mistake may impact your entire
result. Furthermore, the global solutions require quick adaption with respect to technology whereas our
market still lags with respect to it.
11. Lack of Research Culture
A number of times researches are commissioned to verify personal hunches or gut feelings. This kills the
purpose of the research – a research must be conducted to identify the best route to take. Researches do
not make decisions; in fact, they help in making the right or an informed decision. A number of local
firms in Pakistan do not see research as an investment; instead it is seen as an expense. They find better
sense in investing the same research budget in other business activities. Multinationals have a standard
operating procedure and are therefore bound to periodically carry out researches.
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Future Challenges for Marketing Research in Pakistan
The concept of research will quicken its pace and usage in future across the world. More companies will
be involved and there will be more competition among the Brands and MR firms. MR companies have to
be more skilled in both collection and interpretation of data, facts and figures and are expected to play a
consultative role. The speed with which data is made available will become very important. Market
research companies need a paradigm shift. They need to transform themselves as consultants who are able
to understand the business, use the right design to test the hypothesis and present the findings as per the
client’s needs. It is necessary that they should be comfortable with numbers as well, but they also need to
have the ability to create ideas that can break the clutter given how the future is shaping up. Also, MR
companies are expected to reduce their cost and find less expensive means. Joint ventures among MR
firms will be the new trend.
It is expected that the market researcher’s job will be replaced by technologies and androids due to AI and
machine learning. These machines will master what humans are good at by using their ‘left’ or their
‘rational’ brain. However, this does not mean that technology will replace humans. Humans will still be
superior because of their ‘right brain’ or ‘emotions’ and will continue to interpret data and offer
recommendations to grow brands based on insights and stories. Market researchers will have to become
strategists and planners. Technology will become more sophisticated with the availability of latest
software. Media will play an important role and can be used as a strategic partner by MR firms.
Impact of Covid 19 on MR industry
The insights industry must transition to adopt virtual research approaches and technologies
There is stated belief that research budgets will decrease. Thus,there is expressed interest in ways
to effectively pivot research practices and adopt new technologies to meet objectives. Online
solutions that enable a quicker shift so as not to delay projects further but also engage respondents
effectively to ensure quality data are key in the continued rollout of research.
The ability to interact in real time with their respondents is top of mind. Due to rapidly changing
conditions, they are also turning to methodologies that enable faster data collection and reporting.
When comparing the quality of insights gathered through traditional approaches (focus groups)
against virtual research (online focus groups/conversations), approximately two-thirds report
having similar levels of concern, indicating that they have confidence in the ability of new
methodologies to provide valid output.
The ability to talk to more and diverse participants, and the potential to scale and expand your
audience means more reliable data.
Divided on whether participation rates will be positively or negatively impacted. They are,
however, largely aligned that the pandemic will influence both participant behavior and consumer
“needs and wants.” There will likely be a shift in their purchasing habits - less discretionary
spending.
The near-term shift of consumer focus will likely introduce different respondent bias; in response
market researchers will likely adjust questionnaires, level set and probe on respondent answers in
order to understand biases.
Many research agencies have started to shut down their underperforming business units. An
example is the closing down of the RMS division of Nielsen Pakistan with more than 600
employees losing their jobs as detailed by Mr Asif Wazir Ali (Associate Director | Retail
Intelligence, North Lead | Sales & Client Delivery)
