Transcript Marketing Information and Research

Knowledge is Power
• Marketing Information System (MIS) determines
what information managers need and then gathers,
sorts, analyzes, stores, and distributes relevant and
timely marketing information to system users
• 3 components to MIS
– data
– computer hardware and software
– MIS experts
The Marketing Information System
Internal
Data
Marketing
Intelligence
Marketing
Research
Computer Hardware
and Software
Information for
Marketing Decisions
Acquired
Databases
Marketing Information System
• Internal Data System - internal system for
communication (e.g., intranet)
• Marketing Intelligence - method to get
information about the environment
• Marketing Research - process of collecting,
analyzing, and interpreting data about customers,
competitors, and the business environment to
improve marketing effectiveness
Marketing Research Data
• Syndicated research reports
– collected and compiled by secondary data firms
on a regular basis and sold
• Custom research reports
– primary data collected to provide answers to
specific questions
Marketing Decision Support Systems
Marketing Manager/
Decision Maker
Interactive Software
MIS
Data
Statistical and
Modeling Software
Information
Needed
for
Decision
Making
Step 1: Define the Problem
What is the management decision?
• Specify the research objectives – “translate”
the management decision into research
objectives
• Identify the consumer population of interest
• Place the problem in an environmental
context – what are the underlying
assumptions?
Step 2: Determine the
Design
• Can the information be acquired from
existing data?
– If so, secondary data sources will be utilized
– If not, primary research will be necessary
Research Designs
Secondary Research
Internal
Sources
External
Sources
Company reports
Previous company research
Salesperson feedback
Customer feedback
Published research
Trade organizations
Syndicated research
Government sources
Research Designs
Primary Research
Exploratory
Descriptive
Causal
Interviews
Focus Groups
Case Studies
Ethnographies
Cross-section
Longitudinal
Laboratory
Field
Exploratory Research
Generally provides qualitative data:
Does it exist, what is it?
• May take several forms
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interviews
focus groups
case studies
Ethnography
Descriptive Research
• Generally provides quantitative data:
How big is the market?
• Utilizes large sample of participants as base
• Designs
– Cross-sectional design involves the systematic
collection of quantitative information from one or more
samples of respondents at one point in time
– Longitudinal design tracks the responses of the same
sample of respondents over time
Causal Research
• Attempts to understand cause-and-effect
relationships
• Factors that might cause a change are
independent variables while the variables
that are affected are dependent variables
• Experimental design allows researchers to
control possible explanations for the effect
Step 3: Choose the Method for
Collecting Primary Data
• Communication
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–
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Mail questionnaires
Telephone interviews
Face-to-face interviews
Online questionnaires
• Observation
– Personal
– Mechanical
Mail Questionnaires
• Advantages
– Respondents feel
anonymous
– Low cost
– Good for ongoing
research
• Disadvantages
– Slow return speed
– Low response rates
typical
– Inflexible
questionnaire
– Length of survey is
limited
Telephone Interviews
• Advantages
– Fast
– High flexibility in
questioning
– Low cost
– Limited interviewer
bias
• Disadvantages
– Decreasing levels of
cooperation
– Limited questionnaire
length
– Consumers screen calls
Face-to-Face Interviews
• Advantages
– Flexibility of
questioning
– Long questionnaires
possible
– Can help explain
questions
– Can use visuals
• Disadvantages
– High cost
– Interviewer bias
possible
– Time requirements are
high
Online Questionnaires
• Advantages
– Instant data collection
– Flexible question
patterns
– Low cost
– No interviewer bias
– Access regardless of
geographic location
• Disadvantages
– Unclear who is
responding
– No assurance of
honesty
– Limited questionnaire
length
– Limitations inherent
with self-selected
samples
Observation
• Personal observation
– traffic analysis
– recording how products are used
• Unobtrusive measures
– pantry checks
– garbage search
• Mechanical observation
– people meters
Data Quality
• Validity - extent to which the research
measures what it was intended to measure
• Reliability - extent to which research
measurement techniques are free of errors
• Representativeness - extent to which
consumers in the study are similar to the
target of interest
Step 4: Design the Sample
• Probability samples
– each member of the population has an equal and known
chance of being included in the sample
– allows for inferences to be made about the population
• Non-probability samples
– unequal chance of being included in the sample
– limits inferences to the population
Probability Samples
• Simple random sample
• Systematic random sample
• Stratified sample
Non-Probability Samples
• Convenience sample
• Quota sample
Step 5: Collect the Data
• Implementation phase
• Special issues in data collection
– Gathering Data in Foreign Countries
• Challenges due to access, coverage, and language
– Single Source Data
• Data on purchasing behavior and advertising
exposure are measured for members of a consumer
panel using television meters, retail scanners, and
split-cable technology
Step 6: Analyze and Interpret Data
• Enter, clean, and code data
• Choose appropriate techniques for analysis
• Interpret analysis
Step 7: Prepare Research Report
Who will be receiving the Report?
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Executive summary
A description of research methods
Discussion of results
Limitations of study
Conclusions and recommendations
Online Research
• Online Tracking
• Cookies
• Testing, Questionnaires, and Focus Groups
Online Tracking
• The Internet offers the ability to track and
monitor consumers while they surf
• Several behaviors can be monitored
– What sites are visited?
– How long did the visitor stay?
– What types of information did they collect at
the site?
– Where did they go after they left?
Cookies
• text files inserted on a user’s hard drive by
an Internet site
• allow for details of a web visit to be stored
and tracked with future visits
• provide a way of observing behavior and
customizing web sites and offerings to
specific users
• For consumers, cookies represent a trade-off
between privacy and customization