MR

Chapter 1
Marketing research is the function that links an organization to its market through the
gathering of information.
This information facilitates the identification and definition of market-driven opportunities and
problems, as well as the development and evaluation of marketing actions. Finally, it enables
the monitoring of marketing performance and improved understanding of marketing as a
business process.

1. Product decisions are varied and include new product development and
introduction, branding, and positioning products.

Concept and product testing or test marketing provide information for decisions on product
improvements and new product introductions. Concept testing identifies any weaknesses in a
product concept prior to launching a product. Product testing attempts to answer two
fundamental questions: “How does a product perform for the customer?” and “How can a
product be improved to exceed customer expectations?”

Positioning is a process in which a company seeks to understand how to present or possible

products are perceived by consumers on relevant product attributes.

Perceptual mapping is a technique that is often used to picture the relative position of
products on two or more dimensions important to consumers in making their choice to
purchase. To create the map, consumers are asked to indicate how similar or dissimilar a group
of relevant brands or products is to each other.

2. Place/Distribution Distribution decisions in marketing include choosing and

evaluating locations, channels, and distribution partners.

Market research studies peculiar to retailers include trade area analysis, store image studies, in-
store traffic patterns, nd location analysis. Because retailing is a high customer-contact activity,
much retailing research focuses on database development through optical scanning at the
point of purchase. Retailers match data collected at the point of purchase with information on
the media customers consume, type of neighborhoods they live in, and the stores they prefer
to patronize. This information helps retailers select the kind of merchandise to stock and to
understand the factors that influence their customers’ purchase decisions.

Retailing research Research investigations that focus on topics such as trade area anal- ysis,
store image/perception, in-store traffic patterns, and location analysis.

Behavioral targeting
Displaying ads at one website based on the user’s previous surfing behavior.
Shopper marketing
Marketing to consumers based on research of the entire process consumers go through when
making a purchase.

3. Promotion

The three most common research tasks in integrated marketing communications are
advertising effectiveness studies, attitudinal research, and sales tracking.

4. Price

Pricing decisions involve pricing new products, establishing price levels in test marketing, and
modifying prices for existing products.

Consumers and Markets

A major component of market segmentation research is benefit and lifestyle studies that
examine similarities and differences in consumers’ needs. Researchers use these studies to
identify segments within the market for a particular company’s products.

Example of useful theory comes from services marketing research, where marketing
researchers have learned that five charac- teristics—reliability, empathy, responsiveness,
assurance, and tangibles—are important to consumers across a wide variety of services
contexts.

Types of Marketing Research Firms

Marketing research providers can be classified as either internal or external, custom or

standardized, or brokers/facilitators.

Customized research firms provide specialized, highly tailored services to the client. Many
customized research firms concentrate their activities in one specific area such as brand-name
testing, test marketing, or new-product development

Standardized research firms - Research firms that provide general results fol- lowing a standard
format so that results of a study con- ducted for one client can be compared to norms.

Many standardized research firms also provide syndicated business services, which include the
purchase of diary panels, audits, and advertising recall data made or developed from a common
data pool or database.
Ethics in Marketing Research Practice

The major sources of ethical issues in marketing research are the interactions among the three
key groups: (1) the research information providers; (2) the research information users; and (3)
the respondents.

Pricing issues, client confidentiality issues, and the use of “black-box” methodologies are all
potential ethical pitfalls for research providers.

Branded “black-box” methodologies are methodologies offered by research firms that are
branded and do not provide information about how the methodology works.

Curbstoning is when data collection personnel is filling out surveys for fake respondents.

Subject debriefing is fully expanding to respondents any deception that was used during
research.

Sugging/frugging is claiming that a survey is for research purposes and then asking for a sale or
donation.

Deanonymizing data
Combining different publicly available information, usually unethically, to determine
consumers’ identities, especially on the Internet.

Unethical activities of the Client/Research User is when they ask many different research
companies for samples and then use them themselves, or for negotiating the lowest price.

Unethical Activities by the Respondent

The primary unethical practice of respondents or subjects in any research endeavor is providing
dishonest answers or faking behavior.

Emerging Trends
The general consensus in the marketing research industry is that five major trends are
becoming evident:
(1) increased emphasis on secondary data collection methods;
(2) movement toward technology-related data management (optical scanning data, database
technology, customer relationship management);
(3) expanded use of digital technology for information acquisition and retrieval;
(4) a broader international client base; and
(5) movement beyond data analysis toward a data interpretation/information management
environment.
Chapter 2

Secondary data are information previously collected for some other problem or issue.
In contrast, primary data are information collected specifically for a current research problem
or opportunity.

Gatekeeper technologies
Technologies such as caller ID are used to prevent intrusive marketing practices such as by
telemarketers and illegal scam artists.

Information research is a process systematic approach to collecting, analyzing, interpreting,

and transforming data into decision-making information.

Situations when marketing research might not be needed:

- Insufficient time frames
- Inadequate resources
- Costs outweigh the value

The Four Phases of the Information Research Process

(1) determine the research problem;

(2) select the appropriate research design;
(3) execute the research design; and
(4) communicate the research results

The four phases are guided by the scientific method. This means the research procedures should
be logical, objective, systematic, reliable, and valid.

Data become knowledge when someone, either the researcher or the decision-maker, interprets
the data and attaches meaning.

Phase I: Determine the Research Problem

Step 1: Identify and clarify information needs

Step 2: Define the research questions
Step 3: Specify research objectives and confirm the information value

Phase II: Select the Research Design

Step 4: Determine the research design and data sources Step 5: Develop the sampling design and sample size
Step 6: Examine measurement issues and scales
Step 7: Design and pretest the questionnaire
Phase III: Execute the Research Design

Step 8: Collect and prepare data

Step 9: Analyze data
Step 10: Interpret data to create knowledge

Phase IV: Communicate the Research Results

Step 11: Prepare and present the final report

The iceberg principle holds that decision-makers are aware of only 10 percent of the true
problem. Frequently the perceived problem is actually a symptom that is some type of
measurable market performance factor, while 90 percent of the problem is not visible to
decision-makers.

A situation analysis gathers and synthesizes background information to familiarize the researcher
with the overall complexity of the problem.

Examples of Variables/Constructs Investigated in Marketing

Brand Awareness - Percentage of respondents having heard of a designated brand; awareness

could be either unaided or aided.

Brand Attitudes - The number of respondents and their intensity of feeling positive or negative
toward a specific brand.

Satisfaction - How people evaluate their postpurchase consumption experience with a particular
product, service, or company.

Purchase Intention - The number of people planning to buy a specified object (e.g., product or
service) within a designated time period.

Importance of Factors - To what extent do specific factors influence a person’s purchase choice.

Demographics - The age, gender, occupation, income level, and other characteristics of
individuals providing the information.

Unit of analysis - Specifies whether data should be collected about individuals, households,
organizations, departments, geographical areas, or some combination.

Types of research design

Exploratory research has one of two objectives: (1) generating insights that will help define the
problem situation confronting the researcher or (2) deepening the understanding of consumer
motivations, attitudes, and behavior that are not easy to access using other research methods.
Descriptive research involves collecting quantitative data to answer research questions.
Descriptive information provides answers to who, what, when, where, and how questions.

Causal research collects data that enables decision-makers to determine cause-and-effect

relationships between two or more variables. Causal research is most appropriate when the
research objectives include the need to understand which variables (e.g., advertising, number of
salespersons, price) cause a dependent variable (e.g., sales, customer satisfaction) to move.

Target population The population from which the researcher wants to collect data.

Census The researcher attempts to question or observe all the members of a defined target
population.

Sample A small number of members of the target population from which the researcher
collects data.

Research proposal - A specific document that provides an overview of the proposed research
and methodology, and serves as a written contract be- tween the decision-maker and the
researcher.

Chapter 3

The term secondary data refers to data gathered for some other purpose than the immediate
study. Sometimes it is called “desk research” while primary research is called “field research.”
There are two types of secondary data: internal and external. Internal secondary data are
collected by a company for accounting purposes, marketing programs, inventory management, and
so forth.

External secondary data are collected by outside organizations such as federal and state
governments, trade associations, nonprofit organizations, marketing research services, or academic
researchers. Secondary data also are widely available from the Internet and other digital data
sources.

A literature review is a comprehensive examination of available secondary information related to

your research topic.

The criteria used to evaluate secondary data are:

1. Purpose.
2. Accuracy
3. Consistency
4. Credibility
5. Methodology
6. Bias
Primary sources of external secondary data include:

(1) popular sources;

(2) scholarly sources;
(3) government sources;
(4) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS); and
(5) commercial sources.

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) A system that codes numerical industrial listings designed to
promote uniformity in data reporting procedures for the U.S. government.

Syndicated data, or commercial data, are market research data that are collected, packaged, and
sold to many different firms.

Consumer panels consist of large samples of households that have agreed to provide detailed data
for an extended period of time.

Media panels and consumer panels are similar in procedure, composition, and design. They differ
only in that media panels primarily measure media consumption habits as opposed to product or
brand consumption. As with consumer panels, numerous media panels exist.

Store audits consist of formal examination and verification of how much of a particular product or
brand has been sold at the retail level.

Three major causes of discrepancies in online retail estimates are (1) the inclusion (or not) of travel
spending, which is a major category of online spending; (2) methodological differences, for
instance, some reports make estimates based on surveying retailers while others survey customers;
and (3) there is always some degree of sampling error.

Variable An observable item that is used as a measure on a questionnaire.

Construct An unobservable concept that is measured by a group of related variables.

Relationships Associations between two or more variables.

Independent variable The variable or construct that predicts or explains the outcome variable of
interest.

Dependent variable The variable or construct researchers are seeking to explain.

Descriptive hypotheses - Possible answers to a specific applied research problem.

Causal hypotheses are theoretical statements about relationships between variables. The
theoretical statements are based on previous research findings, management experi- ence, or
exploratory research.

A positive relationship between two variables is when the two variables increase or decrease
together. But negative relationships can be hypothesized as well.
Negative relationships suggest that as one vari- able increases, the other one decreases.

To more effectively communicate relationships and variables, researchers follow a process called
conceptualization. Conceptualization involves (1) identifying the vari- ables for your research; (2)
specifying hypotheses and relationships; and (3) preparing a diagram (conceptual model) that
visually represents the relationships you will study.

Hypothesis An empirically testable though yet unproven statement developed in order to explain
phenomena.

Null hypothesis A statistical hypothesis that is tested for possible rejection under the assumption
that it is true.

Alternative hypothesis

The hypothesis contrary to the null hypothesis, it usually suggests that two variables are related.

Parameter The true value of a variable.

Sample statistic The value of a variable that is estimated from a sample.

Quantitative research

Research that places heavy emphasis on using formal standard questions and predetermined
response options in questionnaires or surveys administered to large numbers of respondents.

Qualitative research The collection of data in the form of text or images using open-ended
questions, observation, or “found” data.

In-depth interview A data- collection method in which a well-trained interviewer asks a

participant a set of semistructured questions in a face-to-face setting.

Focus group research A qualitative data collection method in which responses to open-ended
questions are collected from a small group of participants who interactively and spontaneously
discuss topics of interest to the researcher.

Bulletin board An online research format in which participants agree to post regularly over a
period of four to five days.

Purposive sampling - Selecting sample members to study because they possess attributes
important to understanding the research topic.

Stratified purposive sampling Selecting sample members so that groups can be compared.

Theoretical sampling - Selecting sample members based on earlier interviews that suggest that
particular types of participants will help researchers better understand the research topic.
Focus group moderator - A person who is well trained in the interpersonal communication
skills and professional manners required for a focus group.

Moderator’s guide - A detailed outline of the topics, questions, and subquestions used by the
moderator to lead the focus group session.

Debriefing analysis An interactive procedure in which the researcher and moderator discuss the
sub- jects’ responses to the top- ics that outlined the focus group session.

Content analysis The systematic procedure of taking individual responses and grouping them
into larger theme categories or patterns.

Groupthink A phenomenon in which one or two members of a group state an opinion and other
members of the group are unduly influenced.

Purposed communities - Online brand communities that can be used for research.

Private communities - Purposed communities whose primary purpose is research

Ethnography Aformof qualitative data collection that records behavior in natural settings to
understand how social and cultural influences affect individuals’ behaviors and experiences.

Participant observation An ethnographic research technique that involves extended observation

of behavior in natural settings in order to fully experience cultural or subcultural contexts.

Case study An exploratory research technique that intensively investigates one or several
existing situations that are similar to the current problem/ opportunity situation.

Projective techniques An indirect method of questioning that enables a subject to project beliefs
and feelings onto a third party, into a task situa- tion, or onto an inanimate object.

Word association test A projective technique in which the subject is presented with a list of
words or short phrases, one at a time, and asked to respond with the first thought [word] that
comes to mind.

Sentence completion test A projective technique where subjects are given a set of incomplete
sentences and asked to complete them in their own words.

Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) A visual research technique used in in-
depth interviewing that encour- ages research participants to share emotional and subconscious
reactions to a particular topic.

Observation research

Systematic observation and recording of behavioral patterns of objects, people, events, and other
phenomena.
Observation can be described in terms of four characteristics:

(1) directness;
(2) awareness;
(3) structure; and
(4) type of observing mechanism.

Technology-mediated observation Datacollection using some type of mechanical device to

capture human behavior, events, or marketing phenomena.

Scanner-based panel A group of participating households that have a unique bar-coded

card as an identification characteristic for inclusion in the research study.

Social media monitoring Research based on conversations in social media.

Listening platform/post - An integrated system that monitors and analyzes social media
sources to provide insights that will support marketing decision making.

Sentiment analysis/opinion mining The application of technological tools to identify, extract,

and quantify subject information in textual data.

Netnography A research technique that requires deep engagement with online communities.

Member checking Asking key informants to read the researcher’s report to verify that the
analysis is accurate.

Data reduction The categorization and coding of data that is part of

the theory development process in qualitative data analysis.

Categorization Placing portions of transcripts into similar groups based on their content.

Code sheet A document that lists the different themes or categories for a particular study.

Codes Labels or numbers that are used to track cate- gories in a qualitative study.

Comparison The process of developing and refining theory and constructs by analyzing the
differences and similarities in passages, themes, or types of participants.

Integration The process of moving from the identification of themes and categories to the
development of theory.

Recursive A relationship in which a variable can both cause and be caused by the same variable.

Selective coding Building a storyline around one core category or theme; the other categories
will be related to or subsumed to this central overarching category.
Iteration Working through the data several times in order to modify early ideas.

Memoing Writing down thoughts as soon as possible after each interview, focus group, or site
visit.

Negative case analysis - Deliberately looking for cases and instances that contradict the ideas
and theories that researchers have been developing.

Credibility The degree of rigor, believability, and trust- worthiness established by qualitative
research.

Triangulation Addressing the analysis from multiple perspectives, including using multiple
methods of data collection and analysis, multiple data sets, multiple researchers, multiple time
periods, and different kinds of relevant research informants.

Verbatims Quotes from research participants that are used in research reports.