Transcript 4.1 What is Marketing Research? 4.3 Gathering Primary

4.1 WHAT IS MARKETING
RESEARCH?
4.3 GATHERING PRIMARY
DATA
March 10, 2010
What is Marketing Research?
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Systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of
information
Used to develop marketing strategy or solve a
marketing problem
Is This Marketing Research?
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Mr. Fortuna is makes his own baseball bats on the
side
After creating a bat, he asks a couple of his
teammates to try the bat to see if they like it before
proceeding with nationwide marketing
Both his teammates say they like the bat and that
he should go ahead and sell it
Does this count as research?
Is This Marketing Research?
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NO!
Information not collected systematically,
methodically, or in an organized manner. Asking a
few teammates at random is not systematic!
I didn’t do much analysis of their responses
 Why
did they like the bat? Would their answer be the
same in different conditions? Facing a different pitcher?

How many teammates did I ask?
 TWO!
Very small sample size. Not enough to come to
any conclusions.
Gathering Primary Data
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Primary data is unanalyzed, current information
collected by a researcher for a specific purpose
Two types of primary research:
 Quantitative
 Qualitative
Quantitative
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Collecting data by surveying representative sample
of a target-market population
Marketers use results of sample take predictions
about opinions of entire target market
Companies that determine TV ratings use
quantitative research
Quantitative
Examples of quantitative analysis include:
 Test
Marketing
 Internal Information Sources
 Surveys
 Observation
 Focus Group Interviews
Test Marketing

Some companies will produce a limited quantity of
a product and introduce it to a test market to see
how well it will sell
 Find
areas that have demographic profiles that mirror
the country as a whole
 Eg.
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Peterborough
Movie sneak previews?
Grocery items?
Kept a secret
 Avoid
skewing information, avoid competition
Internal Information Sources
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Sales records
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What products are you selling? When? Helps with inventory
Advertising and promotional records

Are coupons being used? Are people seeing your
advertisements?

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Eg. “How did you hear about this product?”
Companies develop databases that provide personal
and purchasing records for every customer they serve

Eg. Air Miles, Optimum Card, Costco
Surveys
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Set of carefully planned questions used to gather
data
Written or Oral (phone?)
Close ended questions!
 Eg.
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Yes/No, Agree/Disagree, Rate between 1-10, etc.
People don’t want to spend a lot of time filling
these out
The more difficult the questions, people will give up
or make up answers
Observations

Recording actions of people without interacting or
communicating
 Hidden
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camera? One way mirrors?
See how people behave
More accurate than surveys, but more expensive
 Less
effective in large groups
 People are influenced by others, and tough to see one
person out of a group
Focus Group
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Small group of people brought together to discuss a
particular product or problem
Combines observation and interview
Moderator guides discussion, help participants
generate ideas
Questions must be phrased and presented in a way
such that each respondent undersetand what is
asked
Observers may watch from special rooms with
hidden microphones