This document provides an overview of marketing research and the marketing research process. It discusses that marketing research involves the systematic gathering and analysis of information to help solve marketing problems and identify opportunities. The marketing research process involves 5 steps: 1) defining the problem, 2) designing the research, 3) collecting data, 4) analyzing findings, and 5) reporting results. It also discusses different types of marketing research, data collection methods, and how technology can help with information gathering and analysis.

1. Marketing Research
and Information
Systems
M . Al d a n a
F a c u l t y, S H T M
J a n u a r y 2 0 1 9
CMARKETING

2. Marketing Research

3. Marketing Research
• Marketing Research is the systematic
design, collections, interpretation, and
reporting of information to help
marketers solve specific marketing
problems or take advantage marketing
opportunities.
• As the word research implies, it is a
process for gathering information that is
not currently available to decision
makers.

4. Purpose of Marketing Research
• The purpose of marketing research is to
inform an organization’s about
customers’ needs and desires, marketing
opportunities for products, and changing
attitudes and purchase patterns of
customers.
• Market information increases the
marketer’s ability to respond to customer
needs, which leads to improved
organizational performance.

5. Purpose of Marketing Research
• The real value of marketing is measured
by improvements in a marketer’s ability
to make decisions.
• Marketers should treat information the
same was as other resources, and they
must weigh the costs and benefits of
obtaining information.

6. Types of Research
• Marketing Research can involve two forms
of data:
• Qualitative data yields descriptive non-numerical
information
• Quantitative data yields empirical information
that can be communicated through numbers

7. Types of Research
• Exploratory Research – a research conducted to
gather more information about a problem or to
make a tentative hypothesis more specific.
• Customer advisory boards – are small groups
of actual customers who serve as sounding
boards for new product ideas and offer insights
into marketing strategy.
• Focus Group – an interview that is often
conducted informally without a structured
questionnaire, in small groups

8. Types of Research
• Conclusive Research is designed to verify insights through an objective procedure to help
marketers make decisions.
• It is used when the marketer has one or more alternatives in mind and needs assistance in
the final stages of decision making.
• A Descriptive Research may be used if marketers need to understand the characteristics of a certain
phenomena to solve a particular problem. Descriptive studies may range from general surveys of customer’s
educations, occupations, or ages to specifics on how often teenagers consume sports drinks or how often
customers buy new pairs of athletic shoes.
• An Experimental Research allows marketers to make causal deductions about relationships. Such
experimentation requires than an independent variable be measured.

9. The Marketing
Research Process

10. Marketing Research Process
• To maintain the control needed to obtain accurate information, marketers approach
marketing research as a process with logical steps:
1. Locating and defining problems or issues
2. Designing the research project
3. Collecting data
4. Interpreting research findings
5. Reporting research findings

11. STEP 1 - Locating and Defining Problems
• Step 1 focuses on uncovering the nature and boundaries of a situation or question related to
marketing strategy or implementation.
• The first sign of a problem is typically a departure from some normal function, such as the
failure to attain objectives.
• Not all problems are negative in nature, example a dramatic rise in sales, marketing research
may be conducted to discover the reasons and to maximize the opportunities stemming from
them.

12. STEP 2 – Designing the Research Project
Once the problem has been designed, the next step is to create a research design, an
overall plan for obtaining the information needed to address a research problem or issue.
This requires formulating a hypothesis – an informed guess or assumption about a certain
problem or set of circumstances. It is based on all the insight and knowledge available
about the problem or circumstances from previous research studies and other sources.
In designing research, researchers must ensure that research techniques are both reliable
and valid.
Reliability is a condition that exists when a research technique produces almost
identical results in repeated trials.
Validity is a condition that exists when a research method measures what it is
supposed to measure

13. Step 3 – Collecting Data
• Research design must specify what types of data to collect and how they will be collected.
• Types of Data:
• Primary Data – data observed directly from respondents
• Secondary Data – data compiled both inside and outside the organization for some purpose other
than the current investigation

14. Step 3 – Collecting Data
• Sources of Secondary Data:
• Internal sources: organization’s own database, sales reports, etc.
• External sources: trade associations, periodicals, government publications, unpublished
sources, and online databases.

15. Step 3 – Collecting Data
• Methods of Collecting Primary Data
• Collecting primary data is a lengthier, more expensive, and more complex process than
collecting secondary data.
• To gather primary data, researchers use sampling procedures, survey methods, and
observation.

16. Step 3 – Collecting Data
• Sampling – the process of selecting representative
units from a total population
• Probability sampling – type of sampling in which
every element in the population being studied has
a known chance of being selected for study
• Random sampling – a form of probability
sampling in which all units in a population have an
equal chance of appearing in the sample
• Stratified sampling – in which the population is
divided into groups with a common attribute and a
random sample is chosen in each group

17. Step 3 – Collecting Data
• Non-probability sampling – a sampling technique in which there is no way to calculate the
likelihood that a specific element of the population being studied will be chosen
• Quota sampling – the population is divided into groups and then arbitrarily choose
participants from each group

18. Step 3 – Collecting Data
• Survey Methods
• Mail survey – questionnaire sent through mail
• Telephone survey – respondent’s answers to a questionnaire are recorded by an interviewer on
the phone
• Telephone depth interview – combines the traditional focus group’s ability to probe with the
confidentiality provided by telephone surveys
• Personal interview survey – participants respond to survey questions face-to-face
• In-home (door-to-door) interview – takes place in the respondent’s home
• Shopping mall intercept interviews – interviewing individuals passing by “intercept” points
• On-site computer interview - respondents complete a self-administered questionnaire displayed
on a computer

19. Step 3 – Collecting Data
• Online and Social Media Surveys
• Online survey – method in which respondents answer a questionnaire via email or on a website
• Crowdsourcing – combination of crowd and outsourcing, calls for tasks usually performed by a
marketer or researcher and outsourcing them to a crowd, or potential market, through an open call
(eg. Logo making contest for a company, WAZE an app where users can submit road information)

20. Step 3 – Collecting Data
• Observation Methods
• Researchers record individual’s overt behavior, taking note of physical conditions and events.
• Direct contact with them is avoided.
• Ex. Using of observation method to answer the question: “How long does a McDonald’s
customer have to wait in line before being served?”

21. Step 4 – Interpreting Research Findings
• After collecting data to test their hypothesis, marketers need to interpret the research
findings.
• The first step in drawing conclusions from most research is to display the data in table
format.
• After the data is tabulated, they must be analyzed.

22. Step 5 – Reporting Research Findings
• The final step in the marketing research process is to report the research findings.
• Before preparing the report, the marketer must take a clear, objective look at the findings to
see how well the gathered facts answer the research question or support or negate the initial
hypotheses.
• The report of research results is usually a formal, written document.
• Researchers must allow time for the writing task when they plan and schedule the project.
Because the report is a means of communicating with the decision makers who will use the
research findings.

23. Using Technology to Improve Marketing Information
Gathering and Analysis
• Technology makes information for marketing decisions increasingly accessible.
• Consumer feedback is an important aspect of marketing research, and new technology such
as digital media is enhancing this process.
• Marketing Information Systems (MIS) – is a framework for the day-to-day management
and structuring of information gathered from sources both inside and outside the
organization.
• Databases – a collection of information arranged for easy information access and retrieval
• Big Data – massive data files that can be obtained from both structured and unstructured
databases.
• Marketing Decision Support Systems (MDSS) – is a customized computer software that
aids marketing managers in decision making by helping them anticipate the effects of certain
decisions.

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