Transcript Chapter 1

Chapter 4
Marketing Research and
Information Systems
1
The Importance of
Information
Companies need
information about
their:



Marketing environment
Competition
Customer needs
Managers don’t need
more information, they
need better
information.
2
What is a Marketing
Information System (MIS)?
A MIS consists of people, equipment, and
procedures to gather, sort, analyze,
evaluate and distribute needed, timely, and
accurate information to marketing decision
makers.
The MIS helps managers to:
1.
2.
3.
Assess Information Needs,
Develop Needed Information,
Distribute Information.
3
The Marketing Information
System (Fig. 4.1)
4
Functions of a MIS:
Developing Information
Information Needed by Managers Can be Obtained
From:
Internal Data
Computerized Collection of Information from
Data Sources (i.e. Accounting) Within the
Company.
Marketing
Intelligence
Collection and Analysis of Publicly Available
Information about Competitors and the
Marketing Environment (i.e. Technological).
Marketing
Research
Design, Collection, Analysis, and Reporting
of Data about a Specific Marketing Situation
Facing the Organization.
5
Customer Information
Comment cards
Registration-membership
Disguised/mystery shoppers
Employees
Company records
Exit interviews
Follow up phone calls
6
Functions of a MIS:
Distributing Information
Distributes Routine
Information for
Decision Making
Information Must be Distributed
to the Right Managers at the Right Time.
Distributes Nonroutine
Information for Special
Situations
7
The Marketing Research
Process (Fig. 4.2)
Defining the
problem and
research
objectives
Developing the
research plan
for collecting
information
Implementing
the research
plan -- collecting
and analyzing
the data
Interpreting
and reporting
the findings
8
Marketing Research Process
Step 1. Defining the Problem &
Research Objectives
Exploratory
Research
•Gathers preliminary information
that will help define the problem
and suggest hypotheses.
Descriptive
Research
•Describes things as market
potential for a product or the
demographics and consumers’
attitudes.
Causal
Research
•Test hypotheses about causeand-effect relationships.
9
Marketing Research Process
Step 2. Develop the Research Plan
Research plan development follows these
steps:

Determining Specific Information Needs

Gathering Secondary information

Planning Primary Data Collection
10
Examples
Exploratory Research
(Unaware of Problem)
“Our sales are declining and
we don’t know why.”
“Would people be interested
in our new product idea?”
Descriptive Research
(Aware of Problem)
Causal Research
(Problem Clearly Defined)
“What kind of people are buying “Will buyers purchase more of
our product? Who buys our
our products in a new package?”
competitor’s product?”
“Which of two advertising
“What features do buyers prefer campaigns is more effective?”
in our product?”
11
Develop the Research Plan
Gathering Secondary Information
Both Must
Be:
Information That
Already Exists
Somewhere.
Relevant
Accurate
+ Obtained More
Quickly, Lower Cost.
- Might Not be
Usable Data.
Current
Information
Collected for the
Specific Purpose
at Hand.
Impartial
Online Databases
Offer a wealth of information
to marketing decision makers.
Examples:
exis Nexis
For ad, click object:
ompuserve
ialog
12
Develop the Research Plan
Planning Primary Data Collection
Observational
Research
Gathering data
by observing
people,
actions and
situations
(Exploratory)
Research Approaches
Survey
Research
Asking
individuals
about attitudes,
preferences or
buying
behaviors
(Descriptive)
Experimental
Research
Using groups of
people to
determine
cause-and-effect
relationships
(Causal)
13
Develop the Research Plan
Planning Primary Data Collection
Contact Methods (Table 4.3)
Mail
Telephone
Personal
Online
Flexibility
Poor
Good
Excellent
Good
Quantity of
Data Collected
Control of
Interviewer
Control of
Sample
Speed of Data
Collection
Response Rate
Good
Fair
Excellent
Good
Poor
Fair
Cost
Excellent Fair
Fair
Excellent
Fair
Poor
Poor
Excellent
Good
Excellent
Fair
Good
Good
Good
Good
Fair
Poor
Excellent
14
Develop the Research Plan
Planning Primary Data Collection
Probability or
Non-probability
sampling?
How should the
sample be
chosen?
Sampling
Plans
Sample representative
segment of the
population
Who is to be
surveyed?
(What Sampling
Unit?)
How many
should be
surveyed?
15
Develop the Research Plan
Planning Primary Data Collection
Research Instruments
Questionnaire
• What questions to ask?
• Form of each question?
•Closed-end
•Open-end
• Wording?
• Ordering?
Mechanical Devices
•
•
•
•
•
People Meters
Supermarket Scanners
Galvanometer
Tachistoscope
Eye Cameras
16
Research Problem Areas
1. Making assumptions
2. Lack of Qualitative information
3. Failing to look at segments within a
sample
4. Improper use of sophisticated statistical
analysis
5. Sample is not representative of the
population
6. Using biased questions in surveys
17
Development of questions
1. Every question should focus on a topic
and measure what you want it to
measure.
Wrong: Which restaurant do you like the
best?
Right: Which of these restaurants you be
most likely to choose for a casual dinner?
Wrong: When do you usually go to work?
Right: What time do you ordinarily leave
home for work?
18
2. Questions should be brief
Wrong: Can you tell
me how many
children you have,
whether they are
girls or boys, and
how old they are?
Right: What is the
age and gender of
your children?
19
3. Use vocabulary the respondent
will understand
Wrong: Are you an
exurbanite?
Right: What is your
zip code?
20
4. Question must be applicable to
the respondent
Wrong: How long does it take you to find a
parking place after you arrive at the restaurant?
Right: If you drive to the restaurant, how long
does it take you to find a parking place after you
arrive at the restaurant?
Might use a screening question first - Do you
usually drive to the restaurant. Yes___ No____, If
Yes …….
21
5. Avoid using examples that can
introduce bias

Wrong: Do you eat lamb
chop ribs, even thought
they contain a lot of fat?
Right: How likely are you to
order lamb chop when you dine
out? Perhaps use this with a 7
point scale.
22
6. Make sure the respondent can
answer the question
Wrong: How many times did you
dine out last year?

Right: How many times did you
dine out at a fast food
restaurant during the last 2
weeks?
23
7. Avoid ambiguous words
Wrong: About what time do you
ordinarily eat dinner?
Right: About what time do you dine in
the evening?
Avoid; sometimes, frequently, usually
24
8. Avoid double barreled
questions
Wrong: Do you dine out regularly
because it is as cheap as eating at
home?
Right: Do you dine out regularly? Why
or why not?
25
9. Scales- Mutually exclusive –
Collectively exhaustive
0-10___, 10-15___ not mutually
exclusive
5-10____, 11-15___, 15+____, not
collectively exhaustive
26
Marketing Research Process
Step 3. Implementing the Research
Plan
Collecting the
Data
Processing the
Data
Research Plan
Analyzing the
Data
27
Marketing Research Process
Step 4. Interpreting and Reporting
Findings
Researcher Should Present Important Findings
that are Useful in the Major Decisions Faced by
Management.
Step 1. Interpret the Findings
Step 2. Draw Conclusions
Step 3. Report to Management
28
Review of Concept
Connections
Explain the importance of information to the company.
Define the marketing information system and discuss its
parts.
Outline the steps in the marketing research process.
Distinguish among exploratory, descriptive, and causal
research.
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of various
methods of collecting information.
Discuss the issues for developing survey and collecting data
29