2. 0. LESSON
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Differentiate between Market Research and
Marketing Research.
Explain the nature and purpose of marketing
research.
Outline the benefits of doing market research.
Discuss the 2 different sources of (market)
research.
Discuss the 2 different types of (market) research
analyses.
Outline the steps taken when conducting market
research.
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3. 1. INTRO AND DEFINITIONS
Market research differs from marketing research.
However, some people use the terms interchangeably.
Marketing research is the thing that assists the
management function called ‘marketing’.
It helps to fine-tune the marketing mix, and it embraces
all activities that lead to meeting customer requirements.
It helps to match supply with demand; it matches
suppliers with customers in the broadest sense.
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4. Intro and Definitions
Market research looks at specific marketplaces;
It describes users in those markets and how much product
they may use.
It is an examination of what we know as marketing
metrics - in other words, measurements taken in the
marketplace.
It is one part of the broad definition of ‘marketing
research’ (Bradley, 2013: 4).
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5. Intro and Definitions
Market research is the process of determining the viability
of a new service or product through research conducted
directly with potential customers.
Market research allows a company to discover the target
market and get opinions and other feedback from
consumers about their interest in the product or service.
The purpose of market research is to look at the market
associated with a particular good or service to ascertain
how the audience will receive it.
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6. Intro and Definitions
This can include information gathering for the purpose of
market segmentation and product differentiation, which can be
used to tailor advertising efforts or determine which features
are seen as a priority to the consumer.
A business must engage in a variety of tasks to complete the
market research process. It needs to gather information based
on the market sector being examined.
The business needs to analyze and interpret the resulting data
to determine the presence of any patterns or relevant data
points that it can use in the decision-making process.
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7. 2. Benefits of Market Research
Provides valuable information:
It provides information and opportunities about the value of existing and new
products, thus, helping businesses plan and strategize accordingly.
Customer-centric:
It helps to determine what the customers need and want; and understanding the
customers and their needs will help businesses design products or services that
best suit them.
Forecasts:
By understanding the needs of customers, businesses can also forecast their
production and sales. Market research also helps in determining optimum
inventory stock.
Competitive advantage:
To stay ahead of competitors market research is a vital tool to carry out
comparative studies. Businesses can devise business strategies that can help them
stay ahead of their competitors.
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8. Benefits of Market Research
It is because of research that some lawnmowers are orange, and it is
the reason that most food we eat is not blue.
For a member of the general public, research is the reason why
adverts are memorable.
Research is the reason why the battery manufacturer Duracell uses a
dancing rabbit toy in promotions.
It is why Ford named their motor car the Focus.
It is the reason why milk is placed well inside supermarkets.
Research helps to develop products, promotions, prices, and even the
places used to distribute product (Bradley, 2013: 7).
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9. 3. TYPES OF MARKET RESEARCH (BY
SOURCE)
There are two main types of market resource
(classified by sources):
Primary
Secondary
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10. 3.1 Primary
The research you conduct yourself (or hire someone to do for you.)
It involves going directly to a source – usually customers and prospective
customers in your target market – to ask questions and gather information.
Primary research usually costs more and often takes longer to conduct than
secondary research, but it gives conclusive results.
Can take 2 forms:
Exploratory.
This research is general and open-ended, and typically involves lengthy interviews
with an individual or small group.
Specific.
This research is more precise, and is used to solve a problem identified in
exploratory research. It involves more structured, formal interviews.
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11. Primary
Examples of primary research are:
Interviews (telephone or face-to-face)
Surveys (online/mail or in-person)
Questionnaires (online/mail or in-person)
Focus groups
Visits to competitors' locations
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12. 3.2 Secondary
Research that has already been compiled, gathered, organized and
published by others.
It includes reports and studies by government agencies, trade
associations or other businesses in your industry.
For small businesses with limited budgets, most research is typically
secondary, because it can be obtained faster and more affordably
than primary research.
A lot of secondary research is available right on the Web, simply by
entering key words and phrases for the type of information you’re
looking for. [“Googling”]
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13. Secondary
You can also obtain secondary research by reading articles in
magazines, trade journals and industry publications, by visiting a
reference library, and by contacting industry associations or trade
organizations.
One excellent source of secondary research data is government
agencies; this data is usually available free of charge.
Data published by private companies may require permission, and
sometimes a fee, for you to access it.
It is important to verify reliability of the source, as well as the age of
the information found.
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14. 4. TYPES OF MARKET RESEARCH ANALYSIS
There are two main types of market resource
analyses:
Qualitative
Quantitative
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15. 4.1 Qualitative
This type of research isn’t so much about numbers as it is about people –
and their opinions about your business.
Typically conducted by asking questions either one-on-one or to groups of
people, qualitative research can help you define problems and learn
about customers' opinions, values and beliefs.
Because qualitative research generally involves smaller sample sizes than
quantitative research, it’s not meant to be used to predict future
performance; rather, it gives you an anecdotal look into your business.
It’s particularly useful if you’re developing a new product, service,
website or ad campaign and want to get some feedback before you
commit a large budget to it.
Asks long-answer questions that begin with “how” and “why.”
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16. Qualitative
Some typical questions that “qual” research may ask
include:
Why do you think this product is better than competitive products?
Why do you think it’s not?
What would you do to improve this new service to make it more
appealing to you?
What do you think of this new company logo?
How would you characterize this website design? How friendly and
easily navigable is it?
What does this print ad say to you?
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17. 4.2 Quantitative
Quantitative research is all about numbers.
It uses mathematical analysis and data to shed light on important
statistics about your business and market.
This type of data, found via tactics such as multiple-choice
questionnaires, can help you gauge interest in your company and its
offerings.
Most importantly, because quantitative research is mathematically based,
it’s statistically valid.
This means you can use its findings to make predictions about where your
business is headed.
Asks short-answer questions that begin with “to what extent,” “how
much” and “how many”
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18. Quantitative
Some typical questions that “quant” research may ask include:
Is there a market for your products and services?
How much market awareness is there of your product or service?
How many people are interested in buying your product or service?
What type of people are your best customers?
What are their buying habits?
How are the needs of your target market changing?
How long are visitors staying on your website, and from which page are
they exiting?
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19. 5. STEPS IN CONDUCTING MARKET
RESEARCH
The Marketing Research Process is comprised of the following steps:
Step 1: Problem Definition
Step 2: Development of an Approach to the Problem
Step 3: Research Design Formulation
Step 4: Field Work or Data Collection
Step 5: Data Preparation and Analysis
Step 6: Report Preparation and Presentation
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20. REVISION QUESTIONS
1. Differentiate between Market Research and Marketing
Research.
2. Explain the nature and purpose of marketing research.
3. Outline the benefits of doing market research.
4. Discuss the 2 different sources of (market) research.
5. Discuss the 2 different types of (market) research analyses.
6. Outline the steps taken when conducting market research.
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