Marketing Research the process of planning collecting and analyzing data relevant to a marketing MARK 3000 TEST 2 Marketing Research decision o importance o improves quality of decision making o understand why o trace problems o understand changes in marketplace o common types of research studies o what changes should be made to a product o what color packaging is most attention grabbing o which of the 3 different ad campaigns is most likely to increase sales o what is the traffic pattern inside a mall or a specific store o how does a customer specifically use a product o how aware are customers of the features of a product o at what price would a company sell the largest volume of product Marketing Research Process 1 define problem o management decision problem a broad based problem that requires marketing research in order for managers to take proper actions o marketing research problem determining what information is needed and how that information can be obtained efficiently and effectively 2 plan design gather data o type of data to be collected o data collection method o surveys observation o sampling techniques statistical analyses o types of data hand secondary data data previously collected for any purpose other than the one at MARK 3000 TEST 2 sources include internal corporate information government agencies trade and industry associations business periodicals news media advantages saves time and money if on target aids in determining direction for primary data collection serves as a basis of comparison for internet sources other data disadvantages of secondary data may not give adequately detailed information may not be on target with the research problem quality and accuracy of data may pose a problem primary data information collected for the first time unique to a particular problem at hand advantages answers a specific research question data are current source of data is known disadvantages expensive time consuming consumer reluctance to participate so perhaps some bias usually offset by the advantages of primary data survey research the most popular technique for gathering primary data researcher asks people questions to obtain facts opinions and attitudes forms in home interviews focus groups mall intercept interviews telephone interviews executive interviews mail surveys internet surveys Advantages rapid development real time reporting reduced costs personalized questions and data improved respondent participation contact with the hard to reach MARK 3000 TEST 2 Disadvantages responses interviewer basis presence of interviewer may change consumer unwillingness to participate to increase provide an incentive make it easy to respond be honest in your time estimate relate survey to something important questionnaire issues types of questions rating rankings on a scale of 1 to 10 rate the tastiness liker scale Wendy s food was excellent SA A of Wendy s food Uncertain D SD semantic differential the food at Wendys restaurant was excellent awful or old fresh protective technique If a Wendys hamburger could talk to a McDonald s or a Burger King hamburger what would it say questions to avoid leading loaded double barreled jargon or inappropriate terminology Observation Research watching and recording can be done by people or by machines content purchases Experiments Ethnographic Research the observation of human behavior in its natural Scanner Based Research using ID cards and checkout scanners to track often linked to other research or promotions seen MARK 3000 TEST 2 changing a variable and analyzing results usually change one of 4P s and look at either sales or awareness field or lab Know the advantages disadvantages of each method from the text 3 specify sampling procedure o universe the population of interest o sample a subset of the population what will be used for the sampling frame what type of sample will be used probability sampling sample in which every element in the population has known chance of being selected can be shown to be representative of the universe can be generalize results random sample every member has equal chance of being selected stratified random population is first divided into exclusive groups is randomly sampled selected systematic random based upon random starting point every nth person non profitability sample profitability selection is not known convenience sample respondents selected based upon ease unrestricted internet sample survey which anyone with a computer and modem can fill out the questionnaire screened internet sample an internet sample with quotas based on desired recruited internet sample sample in which respondents are prerecruited and sample characteristics must qualify to participate 4 collect data o often outsource collection 5 analyze data o select appropriate statistical methods frequency counts and cross tabulations MARK 3000 TEST 2 o same as step 4 6 prepare present report o report concise statement of the research objectives explanation of research design summary of major findings conclusion with recommendations o follow up ask questions like were recommendations implemented did they work 7 follow up o same as step 6 Competitive Intelligence legally finding out what your competitor is doing part of a sound marketing straegy helps companies respond to competitive threats sources o internet o company salespeople o UCC filings o suppliers o experts o periodicals o CI consultants o yellow pages o government agencies o trade shows Product Strategies What is a product o tangible good o service o idea starting point of marketing mix everything both favorable and unfavorable that a person receives in an exchange MARK 3000 TEST 2 o the 4 P s Product Issues types of products number of products branding of products how is the product packaged how are new products developed and managed Types of Product classified by type of buyer o business o consumer classified by consumer search process o convenience a relatively inexpensive item that merits little shopping effort o shopping a product that requires comparison shopping because it is usually more expensive and found in fewer stores o specialty a particular item for which consumers search extensively and are reluctant to o unsought a product unknown to the potential buyer or a known product that the buyer accept substitutes does not actively seek Number of Products firms usually sell a large number of different items o appeal to different markets o to meet different price