Marketing Research - Introduction What is Marketing and marketing research?

? What kind of marketing research are carried out generally by companies? What are different methods of research? How to design marketing research project? Basic concept review of statistics and data analysis Marketing information system

What is research?
Research is an organized, systematic, data based, critical, scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem, undertaken with the objective of finding answer or solutions to it. In essence, research provides the information that enables managers to make decisions to rectify problems (Research Methods for
Businesses-Uma Sekaran)

What is Marketing Research?

Marketing Research is the systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company
(Philip Kotlers text book- Marketing management)

Common Research Topics in Marketing

Organizational outcome such as Sales, mkt share, profits, growth Distribution channels, advertising effectiveness and effectiveness of marketing strategies Demand estimation Brand loyalty, product life cycle and product innovation Customer Satisfaction Company image Market feasibility studies, market testing Product positioning, product modification, new product development etc.

Types of Research
1. Exploratory Research
Use of secondary data Case study Survey from knowledgeable persons
Depth interview Focused Group Discussions

2. Conclusive Research
Descriptive Research
Statistical Research Case Study

Experimentation

Types of Research
Vague Problem

Exploratory Research
Development of hypothesis Conclusive research

New idea

Decision

Steps in Designing a Research

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Specify Research Objective Prepare list of needed information Design data collection process Select sample type Select sample size Analyze data Prepare report and present to client

Sampling
1. Population (universe)
Refers to entire group of people, events or things of interest that the researcher wishes to investigate

2. Element (unit)
It is a single member of the population which is studied

3. Population frame
It is a listing of all the elements in the population from which the sample is to be drawn

4. Sample size
How many samples to draw from population frame

5. Sample type
Which method of sampling to follow?

Type of sampling Probability Sampling

All possible units of population frame has equal probability of getting selected

Non Probability Sampling

All possible units of Population frame do not have equal probability of getting selected

Sampling Types

A. Probability Sampling types

1. 2. 3. 4. Simple Random Sampling Systematic Sampling Stratified Random Sampling Cluster Sampling

B. Non Probability Sampling types

1. Convenience Sampling 2. Judgment sampling 3. Quota sampling

Statistics - Data Analysis

Central Tendency Dispersion Hypothesis Testing (concept) Parametric and Non parametric tests Test of significance (t,F tests) Cross tabulation Co-relation analysis Linear Discriminant analysis Cluster analysis Factor analysis Conjoint analysis

Central tendency
Mode Median Mean

Dispersion
Range Percentile, quartile Mean deviation (difference) Standard deviation

Hypothesis test (concept)

What is a hypothesis? Expression of hypothesis Test procedure

Marketing Information System

Individual marketing research projects vs. several regularly scheduled research projects co-related with each other Marketers need certain kinds of information at regular intervals of time in order to deal with recurring decisions. Several regularly scheduled research projects are undertaken that support or complement one another in providing managers with the appropriate information needed for those recurring decisions.

Components of Marketing IS
Internal Records and Marketing Intelligence The order to Payment Cycle Sales Information System Database, Datawarehousing and Datamining The Marketing Intelligence System

Example of MIS- Gillette Company

Nation wide sample survey of large group of people to find attitude and image towards Gillettes products vs. competitors products- annual basis Longitudinal survey through a mail questionnaire to a large panel of shavers on annual basis to know brand loyalty and brand switching habits Annual telephone survey with consumers to assess brand awareness and advertisement effectiveness Gillette vs. competitors Monthly consumer use tests involving both Gillette and competitors products Inventory audit on periodical basis at both retail and wholesale levels- to find product display, pricing, out-of stock, channel promotions etc.

Some problems of Marketing Research

Misuse of Marketing Research- to delay decisions, to win the power struggles To seek answer of every question from marketing research Excessive focus on cost minimization and compromise on quality

Truth about Marketing Research

Not every problem requires research (cost benefit of conducting research) Research does not provide 100 % accurate answer, there is element of error hidden in every research Even if your research result were 100 % correct, it does not guarantee success in implementation, because there is a time gap between the research and action (implementation).