MKTG 3650 15th Edition Lecture 15 Outline of Last Lecture I. The Consumer Decision ProcessOutline of Current Lecture II. Marketing Research: From (Customer) Insights to (Marketing Firm) ActionsCurrent Lecture- Knowledge is an operant resource. It is the foundation of competitive advantage and economic growth. It consists of propositional knowledge (abstract and generalized) and perspective knowledge or techniques.- People never see the same river twice. (Things are constantly changing.)Marketing Research Defined:- A process that involves collecting and analyzing information relevant to a specific marketing problem or opportunity facing the firm.o First describe the problem or opportunity facing the firm.o Second, develop effective prescriptive inferences regarding how the firm should strategically address the problem or opportunity.- Generally, the firm that possesses superior information is going to enjoy a significant and sustainable competitive (SCAs) over other firms that are lacking in anyone of those areas.- Marketing research is grounded in statistics and probability assessments.- Statistics allow the compression of massive amounts of information to a few meaningful numbers.Regarding SCAs, three and only three ways exist through which SCAs (or differentiation) can be achieved. These involve:- Achieving greater Customer Intimacy advantageso To do this a firm must know more about it customers than its competitors knows o Examples of firms like this: Nordstrom, Chic-fil-a, insurance- Achieving Technological advantageThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.o Require knowing more about what customers want or need in the technological realm, and having the capability within the firm or through a partnering firm relationship with another to deliver it.- Achieving Cost based advantageso Firms must possess resource, technological advantages or enjoy supply chain orpartnership or economy scales of advantages.o As a result of cost-based advantaged firms can actually lower their prices, or opt to keep prices at roughly the same level as competitors while reaping muchlarger profits than those competitors.o Examples of firms that do this: Wal-Mart.Example of a firm that possesses all three would be Amazon.- Having up to date and accurate marketing information is criticalAt its core, Marketing Research entails 3 specific information-search-related activities.1. Asking Specific Questionsa. The role of why?b. Valid Information – means the information has been secured from a question or group of questions that measure exactly what it purported to measure.c. Reliable Information – Free from systematic error.2. Analyzing that information, for the purpose of developing strategic knowledge based inferences…a. Strategic Inferences or prescriptions regarding:i. Which market segment exists?ii. Which segments should our firm target?iii. How should our firm promote its products?iv. Where and how our firm should distribute its products?v. What if any new products should be developed?vi. What unmet or less than completely satisfied wants or needs exist out there in the marketplace that our firm might find itself better able to satisfy than our competitors?vii. What communication channels and what messages should our firm use tocommunicate its key message to customers and prospects?viii. At what prices should our products be offered?ix. What aspects of our existing products need to be changed in some way?x. Are we or are we know whether we’re satisfying existing customers or not?xi. Who are our competitors now? Who are likely to be our competitors in the future? What are their strengths and weaknesses?xii. What features/attributes/benefits associated with our products should bechanged, emphasized, or de-emphasized?xiii. Is our branding campaign working?xiv. Are we positioning