Chapter 10: Gathering and Using Information: Marketing Research and Market Intelligence

by Jeff Tanner and Mary Anne Raymondby Jeff Tanner and Mary Anne Raymond
Principles of Marketing

Chapter 10Chapter 10
Gathering and Using Information:Gathering and Using Information:
Marketing Research and MarketMarketing Research and Market
IntelligenceIntelligence
©2010 Flat World Knowledge, Inc.

Marketing ResearchMarketing Research
• Develop product ideas and designs.
• Determine if there is demand for your product so you
know whether or not to produce it.
• Identify market segments for your product.
• Make pricing decisions.
• Evaluate packaging types.
• Evaluate in-store promotions.
• Measure the satisfaction of your customers.
• Measure the satisfaction of your channel partners.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of your Web site.
• Test the effectiveness of ads and their placement.

Market IntelligenceMarket Intelligence
• Market intelligence is closely related to
marketing research.
• Involves gathering information on a
regular, ongoing basis.
• Needed to stay in touch with what’s
happening in the marketplace.
• Students gather market intelligence when
asking other students about the best
professors for taking classes.

Learning Objectives
1. Describe the components of a marketing
information system and each component’s purpose.
2. Explain the situations in which marketing research
should be used versus market intelligence.
3. Describe the limitations of market intelligence and
its ethical boundaries.
4. Explain when marketing research should and
should not be used.
Marketing Information SystemsMarketing Information Systems

Marketing InformationMarketing Information

Marketing Information Systems (MIS)Marketing Information Systems (MIS)
Include the following components:
• A system for recording internally generated data
and reports.
• A system for collecting market intelligence on an
ongoing basis.
• Marketing analytics software to help managers
with their decision making.
• A system for recording marketing research
information.

Internally Generated Data and ReportsInternally Generated Data and Reports
• Clickstream data is data generated about the
number of people who visit a Web site.
• An intranet looks like the Web, but limits internal
sensitive information access to employees.
• Data mining using analytics software allows
filtering data to retrieve relevant pieces to answer
specific questions.
• Large corporations often use multiple software
systems that can frustrate sharing important
information between organization entities.

Market IntelligenceMarket Intelligence

Good Sources for Market InformationGood Sources for Market Information
• Publications. The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes,
Fortune, Business Week, The McKinsey Report, Sales and
Marketing Management, and The Financial Times.
• Trade Shows and Associations. Trade shows are another
way companies learn about what their competitors are
doing.
• Salespeople. A vital source of market intelligence are a
company’s salespeople.
• Suppliers and Industry Experts. Suppliers can provide a
wealth of information.
• Customers. How customers are behaving can provide
clues.

Gathering IntelligenceGathering Intelligence

Code of EthicsCode of Ethics
for Market Intelligence Professionalsfor Market Intelligence Professionals
• To continually strive to increase the recognition and respect of the
profession.
• To comply with all applicable laws: domestic and international.
• To accurately disclose all relevant information, including one's
identity and organization, prior to all interviews.
• To avoid conflicts of interest in fulfilling one's duties.
• To provide honest and realistic recommendations and conclusions
in the execution of one's duties.
• To promote this code of ethics within one's company, with third-
party contractors and within the entire profession.
• To faithfully adhere to and abide by one's company policies,
objectives and guidelines.

Is Marketing Research Always Correct?Is Marketing Research Always Correct?
• The process isn’t foolproof.
• Research studies have rejected a lot of
good ideas.
• Many things can go wrong along the way
that can affect the results of research and
the conclusions drawn from it.
• Following a seven-step process can
minimize the chances of error.

Steps in the Marketing Research ProcessSteps in the Marketing Research Process

Define the ProblemDefine the Problem
• The most important step is to define the right
problem for researching. A problem half-defined
is a problem half-solved.
• Narrow down the parameters of the study to the
information you actually need to make a good
decision.
• Put the research objective into writing.
• A poorly defined problem to be researched will
result in lost time and wasted dollars.

Design the ResearchDesign the Research
• Research design—outlines what data is to be gathered;
from whom, how, and when to collect the data; and how
to analyze it once it’s been obtained.
• Data sources:
1. Primary data is information to be collected, using hands-on
tools such as interviews or surveys, specifically for a certain
research project. It is expensive to collect and takes
considerable time.
2. Secondary data is information that has already been collected
for another purpose. Since it already exists, it is less expensive
and readily available.
3. Syndicated research is primary data collected by marketing
research firms on a regular basis and sold to other companies.

Secondary Data SourcesSecondary Data Sources
• Libraries
• U.S. Census Bureau
• University of Michigan Survey Research
Center
• Marketing research aggregators such as
MarketResearch.com

Quality of Secondary DataQuality of Secondary Data
• Who gathered this information?
• For what purpose?
• What does the person or organization that gathered
the information have to gain by doing so?
• Was the information gathered and reported in a
systematic manner?
• Is the source of the information accepted as an
authority by other experts in the field?
• Does the article provide objective evidence to
support the position presented?

Types of Research DesignTypes of Research Design
Categories
of Design

Design the Data Collection FormsDesign the Data Collection Forms
Questionnaire Design
• How the questions are worded is extremely important.
• Questions must be written in an unbiased neutral way.
• The questions need to be clear and unambiguous.
• Sensitive questions have to be asked carefully.
• Income questions are unwelcome but often asked.
• Double-barreled questions ask two questions in one:
“Do you think parents should spend more time with
their children and/or their teachers?”
• Open-ended questions ask respondents to elaborate
but are harder to tabulate than closed-ended questions.

Questionnaire DesignQuestionnaire Design
• If the questions are bad, information gathered will be bad.
• Getting people to complete questionnaires can be difficult;
incentives can help.
• Testing the questionnaires face-to-face on a limited
number of respondents before sending improves
responses.
• Long surveys are less likely to be completed. Eliminate
questions of little value.
• Surveys can be delivered via phone, in person, by mail,
and computer.

Sample SelectionSample Selection
• A sample is a subset of potential buyers that are
representative of the entire target population—
whether it consists of a million people, a couple
hundred thousand, a few hundred, or a dozen.
• A sampling error is any type of marketing
research mistake that results because a sample
was utilized.
• A sampling frame is the list from which the
sample is drawn.

Sample TypesSample Types

Collect the DataCollect the Data
Surveys data can be collected in many
different ways:
• Face-to-face (can be computer aided).
• Telephone (can be computer aided or
completely automated).
• Mail and hand-delivery.
• E-mail and the Web.

Data Collection IssuesData Collection Issues
• When conducted face-to-face or administered by a
person over the phone, labor is intensive and costly.
• Mailing out questionnaires is costly, and the response
rates can be low.
• Data collected by a computer either over the telephone
or on the Internet can be very cost effective and, in some
cases, free.
• Web surveys are fast—a major plus. Face-to-face and
mailed surveys often take weeks to collect.
• Surveyors and observers need to be trained to avoid a
wide disparity between how different observers and
interviewers record the data.

Collecting Global Marketing Research DataCollecting Global Marketing Research Data
• Gathering marketing research data in foreign countries
poses special challenges.
• Face-to-face surveys are commonly used in third-world
countries to collect information from people who cannot
read or lack phones and computers.
• Translating surveys is an issue.
• Back translation is used to determine if anything is lost
in translations.
• Indigenous research companies are frequently used to
avoid cultural and language issues.

Analyze the DataAnalyze the Data
• Step 6 involves analyzing the data to ensure it’s as
accurate as possible.
• Once all of the data is collected, the researchers begin the
data cleaning—removing duplicated data.
• Software (PASW, which was formerly known as SPSS) is
then used to tabulate, or calculate, the basic results of the
research.
• Results frequently use statistics, such as the standard
deviation, the mean, and median for each question.
• The two most common criteria used to test the
soundness of a study are (1) validity and (2) reliability.

Write the Research ReportWrite the Research Report
and Present Its Findingsand Present Its Findings
The six basic elements of a research report are as follows.
1. Title Page. The title page explains what the report is about, when it was
conducted, by whom, and who requested it.
2. Table of Contents. The table of contents outlines the major parts of the report.
3. Executive Summary. The executive summary summarizes all of the details in
the report in a very quick way.
4. Methodology and Limitations. The methodology section of the report explains
the technical details of how the research was designed and conducted.
5. Findings. The findings section is a longer, fleshed-out version of the executive
summary that goes into more detail about the statistics uncovered by the
research that bolster the study’s findings.
6. Recommendations. The recommendations section should outline the course of
action that should be taken based on the findings of the research and reflect the
purpose of the project.

Key TakeawaysKey Takeaways
• Proper definition of the problem to be researched is
critical to a successful program.
• Testing questionnaires prior to distribution will expose
problems in design.
• Probability samples can be projected to entire
populations with a known error.
• Nonprobability samples cannot be projected, but can still
generate important research information.
• Marketing research programs need validity and
reliability checks.
• Reporting results of a research should follow an
accepted format.

Chapter 10: Gathering and Using Information: Marketing Research and Market Intelligence

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