What is Marketing Research Marketing Research process of designing gathering analyzing and reporting information that may be used to solve a marketing problem or take advantage of marketing opportunities Examples product development pricing studies customer satisfaction assessments distribution analysis promotion effectiveness studies Why Marketing Research It is the foundation of marketing strategy Cluster Analysis statistical analysis technique that identifies customer segments The researcher measures things like price sensitivity and importance of quality and on time delivery Cluster analysis identifies groups segments of customers that have similar characteristics Why is it important Firms can then plot the segments against their core competencies and target the groups with the highest probability of purchasing their products Save by ignoring particular segments that are not interested in products MDS Map multi dimensional scaling Big data drives current strategies To understand primary competitor How to increase market shares sales Skill set to analyze data find most useful data come up with strategies to drive market share Where did it come from 1980s TQM Movement Deming Juran Close connections to customers Customer Orientation Research to find customer reaction to product Research to compare product to competitors Research to find problems with product Types of Research 1 Applied Research research designed to solve a specific problem usually for a specific company eg consulting 2 Basic Research research designed to extend knowledge of marketing phenomenon JM JMR JCR MS JR JAMS Q Have you ever had a bad service experience and not complained about it Interplay between a firm s outward affiliation with a religious group and customers reactions to a service failure doesn t hurt them How obese frontline personnel influence customer reactions to service encounters Negative stereotype connected to obese frontline personnel No difference if they are jovial friendly etc Qualitative data yields non descriptive non numerical information Quantitative data yields empirical information that can be communicated through numbers Marketing Research Process know process for exam 1 Problem Definition 2 Research Design 3 Sampling 4 Data Gathering 5 Data Analysis 6 Report Preparation The Problem Definition A problem well defined is half solved Exploratory Qualitative Research helps in problem solving as it allows the researcher to better define the problem by getting a look at it first hand Research conducted to gather more information about a problem to make a tentative hypothesis more specific The Research Design Two types of data 1 Secondary Data information that has been collected for a purpose other than the research at hand Best brands ACSI data compiled both inside and outside the organization for some purpose other than the current investigation 2 Primary Data information that has been gathered specifically for the research objectives at hand data observed and recorded collected directly from respondents Exploratory describes less structured data collection methods Used in the design to clarify the problem Secondary info Qualitative research Focus groups a flexible group discussion of a product ad or concept To observe interaction when members are exposed to an idea concept Descriptive Research describes the characteristics of a population Conducted to clarify the characteristics of certain phenomena to solve a particular problem Generally associated with surveys who buys what they buy when where how much Survey Research mail telephone online personal interview surveys Causal Experimental Research identifies cause and effect between variables Research that allows marketers to make casual inferences about relationships Experiments Sampling the Population Population elements units or individuals of interest to researchers for a specific study Sample a limited number of units chosen to represent the total population Sampling selecting representative units from a total population Types of Sampling Probability random sampling stratified sampling Better will generalize to population Everyone has a chance of being included in the sample Nonprobability quota Faster to gather cheaper Data Gathering 3 Options 1 Human interviews focus groups 2 Machine scanner data ex CVS card observation 3 Self Report customer surveys Keys bias depth accuracy resources Data Analysis 1 Regression a technique that is used to predict a dependent variable with one or more independent variables Sales with advertising price service What s driving our business model Segmentation and Positioning Market Segmentation How is a firm supposed to make sense of a huge market Develop products that are aimed at different segments groups of customers Consider 9 3 billion cases of soft drinks sold in the US last year 208 47 million barrels of beer sold in the US last year 31 gallons in a barrel Over 230 million people visited theme parks in the US Market Segmentation the process of dividing up a market into smaller groups called segments The groups are designed to have similar wants and needs The idea is that firms can use their marketing mix 4 Ps product place pricing promotion to tailor products for the different groups Understand how segmentation has the power to both increase market share through the introduction of new products and decrease cost through avoiding wasteful spending on unattractive market segments Cluster Analysis Firms can then plot the segments against their core competencies and target the groups with the most sales potential Targeting Firms then develop new products or reposition old ones to target lucrative groups of consumers Find a way to attract a new market segment Targeting Strategies Undifferentiated entire market is target market one marketing mix theoretical Homogeneous market similar needs for a product Differentiated two or more segments more than one marketing mix ex The Gap Concentrated single market segment one marketing mix ex singles sites Three Examples Segmentation and targeting are all around you every day Here are three examples of firms that have extended product lines that target distinct groups of customers Anheuser Busch aimed at lots of different customers fully segmented line of beverages ex bud light Budweiser natural light michelob ultra rolling rock shock top monster etc Walt Disney World fully segmented line Walt Disney World Disneyland Epcot Animal Kingdom Hollywood Studios
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