The document outlines the steps of the marketing research process. It discusses 8 key steps: 1) determining the need for research, 2) defining the problem/opportunity, 3) establishing research objectives, 4) determining the research design, 5) identifying information sources and types, 6) determining data collection methods, 7) designing data collection forms, and 8) determining sample size and developing a sampling plan. The goal of marketing research is to gather and analyze data relevant to a specific marketing situation to help organizations make better business decisions.

1. “STEPS OF MARKETING
RESEARCH PROCESS”
Principles of Marketing
Chapter 3

2. “ Marketing research is the systematic design, collection,
analysis and reporting of data and findings relevant to a
specific marketing situation facing the company.”
Marketing research is the process of designing,
gathering, analyzing, and reporting information that may
be used to solve a specific marketing problem.
Responsible for acquiring and evaluating market and
consumer- based information for decision making and
the determination of marketing strategic direction.
MARKETING RESEARCH: DEFINITION

3. NEED FOR MARKETING RESEARCH
To undertake marketing
effectively
Changes in technology
Changes in consumer tastes
Market demand
Changes in the product ranges of competitors
Changes in economic conditions
Distribution channels

4. PURPOSE
AND
IMPORTANCE
OF
MARKETING
RESEARCH
Gain a more detailed understanding of
consumers’ needs: Example: views on
products prices, packaging, recent
advertising campaigns
Reduce the risk of product/business
failure: There is no guarantee that any
new idea will be a commercial success
- Can help to
achieve
commercial
success
Forecast future
trends: It can also
be used to
anticipate future
customer needs

5. USES
IDENTIFY
MARKETING
OPPORTUNITIES
AND PROBLEMS
GENERATE, REFINE, AND
EVALUATE POTENTIAL
MARKETING ACTIONS
MONITOR
MARKETING
PERFORMANCE
IMPROVE
MARKETING AS A
PROCESS
REDUCE AS
UNCERTAINTY
REDUCES RISK
HELPS FOCUS
DECISION
MAKING

6. ISSUES THAT
CAN BE
ADDRESSED
BY
MARKETING
RESEARCH
• Enable risk reduction
• Identify market opportunities
and threats
• Determine the level of
customer satisfaction
• Pinpoint and anticipate
market trends or changes
• Decide on the best
advertising medium
• Pre- test and post- test
advertising and promotional
campaigns
• Evaluates the results of
packaging, brand name, and
label testing
• Determine consumer price
awareness and sensitivity

7. OVERVIEWOF THE MARKETINGRESEARCH
PROCESS
• Why should we do
research?
• What research should be
done?
• Is it worth doing the
research?
• How should the research be
designed to achieve the
research objectives?

8. STEPS IN THE MARKETING RESEARCHPROCESS
Research need
determination
Problem/
opportunity
definition
Establishment
of research
objectives
Research design
determination
Information
source/type
identification
Determination
of data access
methods
Data
collection
forms design
Sample size
and sampling
plan
determination
Data
Collection
Data
analysis
Report
preparation and
presentation

9. STEP
1:
Research
Need
Determination
problem that can be attacked by
marketing research.
• Regardless of the monitoring
system used a good monitoring
system constantly searches for
hints that the companies
marketing mix may be out of
“sync” in the market place.
• Marketing research may not be
needed if
Information is already available
There is insufficient time for
marketing research
Resources are not available
Costs outweigh the value of the

10. STEP 2: Problem/ Opportunity
Definition

11. Step 3: Establishment Of Research
Objectives
• What specific information should the project
provide?
• If more than one type of information will be
developed from the study, which is the most
important?
• What are the priorities?
• When specifying research objectives, development
of hypotheses, might be very helpful.
• When achieved, objectives provide the necessary
information to solve the problem.

12. Step 4: Research Design
Determination
A research design is a framework or blueprint
for conducting the marketing research project.
• Observational
• Experimental
• Qualitative
• Quantitative
Research Design

13. Observational- social
phenomena is observed in its
natural setting, and
observations can be made at
any one time or regularly
within a period of time.
Experimental- includes
laboratory experiments
and test marketing.
Results from two sets of
samples are compared.
Includes focus groups, in- depth
interviews, and projective
techniques. This type of research
use only a small number of
respondents. Thus, results are
not reflective of the general
population.
Quantitative- one example of this type of
research is the use of surveys. It is used to
test observations. The number of
respondents is relatively large and
randomly selected, and the results are
generally reflective of the populations.

14. Step 5: Identify Information
Types And Sources
• There are two types of market research that can be
performed:
 Primary Research: It involves collecting information
from sources directly by conducting interviews and
surveys, and by talking to customers and established
businesses
• It refers to information that has been gathered
specifically to serve the research objectives at hand
 Secondary Research: It involves collecting information
from sources where the primary research has already
been conducted. Such information includes industry
statistics, market research reports, news paper

15. Can also be sourced from
internal data or focus groups
• Internal data- have the capability of acquiring information that can be
useful
– These information collected by company records.
– One example is information derived from universal price code (UPC),
popularly known as “barcode”
– Information from barcodes can reveal in real time sales generated by
a single product on a monthly, weekly, daily, hourly, and even on a
minute-by-minute basis.
– It can evaluate sales from department, average transaction size, and
inventory levels.
– Retailers organize “loyalty shopping clubs” to effectively track
customer purchase.
– The information is used to determine consumer needs, behavior, and

16. Can also be sourced from
internal data or focus groups
• Focus groups/ focused group discussions
(FGD)- is a marketing research tool that
involves a small group of people
(usually 8- 10).
– For the purpose acquiring preliminary information,
spontaneous and unstructured decisions.
– Often moderated by a trained psychologist or
researcher, the results of the discussions are
eventually used in the development of survey

17. Step 6:
Determinatio
n Of Data
Access
Methods
• Once the researcher has determined which type
or types of information are needed, he or she
must determine methods of accessing data.
• There are several different methods of collecting
primary data including:
 Person- administered surveys- face-to-face or
telephone interviews.
 Computer- administered surveys- benefits from
the elimination of the need for time- consuming
data tabulation, as computers can generate the
information in real time.
 Self- administered surveys- the respondents
complete the surveys on their own.
 Relatively inexpensive method but may suffer
from lack of respondent control, among
others.
 Hybrid surveys- a combination of quantitative
and qualitative research that deliver
comprehensive insights.
 Complex to develop and administer

18. Step 7: Data Collection Forms
Design
Introduction- contains a greetings, researcher
introduction and affiliation, purpose, and a statement
assuring the respondent of confidentiality/anonymity of
their responses.
Screening- the series of questions designed to eliminate
respondents who are not qualified to take part in the
survey.
Core- the body of the survey questionnaire.
Classification- questions used to classify respondents
into different groups for stratification and analysis
purposes.

19. Step 7: Data Collection Forms
Design
Qualitative measures:
• Sometimes, consumer response does not match
their answers. Thus, unstructured
techniques are used. For example, consumer
journey is a technique of keeping track of
all the interactions of a consumer with a
product service or space.
Mechanical devices:
• Electronic devices have replaced
questionnaires and diary filling methods.
For example, galvanometer can measure the

20. Step 7: Data Collection Forms
Design
Questionnaire:
–It is a set of questions presented to a
respondent
–Records the information communicated by
respondents or the respondent’s behavior
as observed by the researcher
• Structured Questionnaires: List
questions that have pre-specified
answer choices.
• Unstructured questionnaires: Have

21. Step 7: Data Collection Forms
Design
Questionnaire:
Categorical response questions- questions
where answer options are provided.
Dual choice, where there are only two
choices of answers, “yes or no”, and
multiple choice, where there are three or
more choices of answers.
Open- end questions- a respondent can answer
these questions in his/ her own words.
Metric questions- require respondents to
answer using a number on a scale developed
by the researcher.
e.g. age, numerical response on a scale to
measure a specific property, usually from 1

22. Step 8: Determine Sample Size And
Sampling Plan Determination
• In order to achieve 100%
accuracy in the conduct of
consumer surveys, it is deal
to give questionnaires to
every member of the target
population. (Census)
–Involve a total population:
making it costly, time-
consuming, and impractical.

23. Use Slovin’s formula to find out what
sample a population of 1,000 people you
need to take a survey on their network
preferences.
• Step 1: Set the confidence level.
For example, a confidence level of
95% (which will give a margin of
error of 0.05).
• Step 2: Plug the data into the
formula. In this example, 95%
confidence level with a population
size of 1,000 is used.
• Step 3: Round the answer to a whole

25. Step 8: Determine Sample Size And
Sampling Plan Determination
• Variability is usually pegged
at 50%.
• Common confidence levels used
in surveys are 90%, 95% and
99%
• Margin of error- range from 2%
to 10%.
–The higher the confidence level and

26. Step 8: Determine Sample Size And
Sampling Plan Determination
• In practice, common sample
sizes are 100 (at a 95%
confidence level, 50% of
variability, and 10 % of
margin of error, 1,068
(rounded up to 1,200, at a
95% confidence level, and
2,401 (95% confidence level,
50% variability, and 2%

27. Step 8: Determine Sample Size And
Sampling Plan Determination
• When the target population
is rather small e.g. 600 a
census is used. The Slovin’s
Formula can be used when
calculating an appropriate
sample size from
apopulation.

28. STEP 9: COLLECT DATA
• The collection of data relates to the gathering of facts to be
used in solving the problem.
• Data can be primary, i.e., collected from the original base
through empirical research by means of various tools.
• Data can be secondary, i.e., collected from concerned reports,
magazines and other periodicals, especially written articles,
government publications, company publications, books, etc.
• There can be broadly two types of sources
a) Internal sources: existing within the firm itself, such as
accounting data, salesmen’s reports, etc.
b) External sources: existing outside the firm.

29. STEP 10: DATA PROCESSING AND
ANALYSIS
• Data processing begins with the editing of data and its coding.
• Editing involves inspecting the data-collection forms for
omission, legibility, and consistency in classification.
• Before tabulation, responses need to be classified into meaningful
categories.
• The rules for categorizing, recording and transferring the data to
‘data storage media’ are called codes. This coding process
facilitates the manual or computer tabulation.
• If computer analysis is being used, the data can be key punched
and verified.
• Analysis of data represents the application of logic to the
understanding of data collected about the subject.

30. STEP 11: FORMULATING CONCLUSION,
PREPARING AND PRESENTING THE REPORT
• The final report should addresses
 The specific research questions identified
 The research design
 Data collection
 Data analysis procedures adopted
 Present the results and the major findings
• The final report reflects the skills and quality of the researches.
• It can be a written or an oral presentation, or both. Visual aids
such as line chart, pie chart, bar chart, pictographs, etc. can be
used.
• A well-presented report indicates the confidence levels of the
researchers in presenting strategies that help in managerial
decision-making.

31. SUMMARY
• Virtually all market research projects are different.
• Some are limited to review of secondary data; others require
complex designs involving large scale collection of primary
data.
• Understand the eleven steps of the research process.
• Steps can give researchers an overview of the entire research
process.
• Gives researchers a procedure to follow and a framework.
• Many steps outlined are interactive and the researcher may
decide which ones to use.

32. THANK YOU 