Chapter 1

An Introduction to
Marketing Research
 What is marketing research?

• Marketing research: is the process of designing,

gathering, analyzing, and reporting information
that may be used to solve a specific marketing
problem. (Burns & Bush)
…is the function that links the consumer, customer, and
public to the marketer through information—information
used to identify and define marketing opportunities and
problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions;
monitor marketing performance; and improve the
understanding of marketing as a process. (AMA)
 What is online research?

• Online research: the use of computer networks,

including the Internet, to assist in any phase of
the marketing research process including
development of the problem, research design,
data gathering, analysis, and report writing and
distribution
 The Marketing Research Process: 11 Steps

• Step One: Establishing the Need for Marketing

Research
• Step Two: Defining the Problem
• Step Three: Establishing Research Objectives
• Step Four: Determining Research Design
• Step Five: Identifying Information Types and
Sources
• Step Six: Determining Methods of Accessing
Data
 The Marketing Research Process: 11 Steps
cont…

• Step Seven: Designing Data Collection Forms

• Step Eight: Determining Sample Plan and Size
• Step Nine: Collecting Data
• Step Ten: Analyzing Data
• Step Eleven: Preparing and Presenting the Final
Research Report
 The Marketing Research Process
Step One: Establish the Need for Marketing Research

• Marketing Research is not needed when the:

• required information is already available
• decisions need to be made now
• organization can’t afford the research
• costs outweigh the value of the research
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Two: Define the Problem

• The most important step in the marketing

research process is defining the problem.
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Three: Establish Research Objectives

• What information is needed in order to solve the

problem?
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Four: Determine Research Design

• Exploratory Research: collecting information in

an unstructured and informal manner
• Descriptive Research: refers to a set of methods
and procedures describing marketing variables
• Causal Research (experiments and other
approaches): allows isolation of causes and
effects
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Five: Identify Information Types and Sources

• Secondary Data: information that has been

collected for some purpose other than the
research at hand
• Primary Data: information that has been gathered
specifically for the research objectives at hand
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Six: Determine Methods of Accessing Data

• Secondary Data: accessing data through sources such as

the Internet and library
• Primary Data: collecting data from participants through
methods such as telephone, mail, online, and face-to-face
(quantitative), and observation studies and focus groups
(qualitative)
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Seven: Design Data Collection Forms

• The design of the data collection form that is

used to ask or observe and record information in
marketing research projects is critical to the
success of the project.
• It is easy to write a set of questions but very
difficult to construct a questionnaire.
• General types of “instruments” (forms)
• Questionnaires
• Observation Study forms (protocols)
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Eight: Determine Sample Plan and Size

• Sample plan: refers to the process used to select

units from the population to be included in the
sample
• Sample size: refers to determining how many
elements (units) of the population should be
included in the sample
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Nine: Collect Data

• Sound data collection is very important because,

regardless of the data analysis methods used,
data analysis cannot “fix” bad data. 12
• Nonsampling errors may occur during data
collection. These are related to poor design
and/or execution of the data gathering.
• Sampling errors may occur based purely on
chance
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Ten: Analyze Data

• Data analysis: involves entering data into

computer files, inspecting data for errors (data
cleaning), running tabulations (frequencies), and
conducting various statistical tests
 The Marketing Research Process
Step Eleven: Prepare and Present the Final
Research Report

• Findings are presented, often by research

objective, in a clear and concise way.
• The need for a good report cannot be overstated.
It is the report, and/or its presentation, that
properly communicates the results to the client.
 Scope of Marketing Research

• Sales Analysis
• Product Management
• Advertising Research
• Corporate Research
• Syndicated Research
 Growing Importance of Research in India

• Monopolistic Business
• Demand was more than Supply
• Business was local; hence close to customers
 Challenges faced in India

• Country’s vast size

• Diversity in the population
• Infrastructure problem
• Literacy Issues
• Attitudinal problems
 Marketing Research: A Brief History

• Pre-Marketing Research Era: colonization to the

Industrial Revolution
• Early Development Era: Industrial Revolution to 1920
• Questionnaire Era: 1920-1940
• Quantitative Era: 1940 to 1960
• Organizational Acceptance Era: 1960 to 1980
• PC Technology Era: 1980 to 1990
• Globalization-Online Era: since 1990
Research Suppliers
 Research Design

• A Statement of Objectives
• Data inputs required on the basis of which the
research problem has to be solved
• Method of Analysis
• Simply a BluePrint!
 Types of Research Designs
• Refer to Book 1, page 24
– We must have one strong evidence to say that
there exist a strong association between an action
(causal variable) and ultimate outcome (effect
variable)
– Action (causal variable) must precede outcome
(effect variable)
– There must be no other possible factor (causal
factor) which could have resulted in the observed
outcome
 Exploratory Research Design
• Provides info to enable a more precise problem
definition or hypothesis formulation
• Establishing research priorities
• Gives researched a feel of the problem
• Good start

• Methods Used
– Survey of literature
– Survey of experienced individuals
– Analysis of selected case situations
 Descriptive Research Designs

• Most commonly used

• Combination of qualitative and quantitative
• More formal as compared to Exploratory

• Types
– Panel Discussion
– Focus Groups
– Cross Sectional Designs
 Quasi Experimental Designs

• R = Random
• X = Experimental Treatment
• O = Observation
After-Only Without Control Group
• XO
• Also called one-shot case study
• Test unit not selected at random
• Single group is exposed to treatment and then
measurement is taken
• Eg: Effect of training on sales force
• No meaningful
– No prior observation available for comparison
– The level of ‘O’ could be result of other factors in addition
of the effect of ‘X’
 Before-After without Control Group

• O1 X O2
• Eg: Before training how did the sales perform in comparison
to after training
• Limitation as does not consider:
– Selection Bias: not randomly selected
– History: Economic conditions may have improved
– Maturation: Salesforce may have gained more experience
– Testing: The pre-test measurement might have affected the
performance
– Instrumentation: Prices may have changed during that period
– Mortality: Some test units may have left during the period of training
 The Static Group Comparison Design

• Use of two groups

• Group 1 exposed to treatment and Group 2 is not
• Group 1 (experimental Group): X1 O1
• Group 2 (Control Group): X2 O2
– Note X2 is regular routine or program
• Experiment result is obtained by O1 – O2
• Limitation: Groups not sleeted on random and some
test units may have left during the period of trainin
 Time Series Design

• Refer to fig in Book 1 page 34

• Extension of one group pre-test and post-test
design
• Periodic measurement are taken for the same
unit
• Ex: Advertising campaign’s effect on Market
Share
• Refer the Dig.
 Multiple Time Series Design

• Experimental Group: O1 O2 O3 X O4 O5 O6
• Control Group: O1’ O2’ O3’ O4’ O5’ O6’
 Experimental Designs

• After-only with One Control Group

• Before-After with One Control Group
• Four Group Design
Data Collection
 Primary Versus Secondary Data

• Primary data: information that is developed or

gathered by the researcher specifically for the
research project at hand
• Secondary data: information that has previously
been gathered by someone other than the
researcher and/or for some other purpose than
the research project at hand
 Classification of Secondary Data

• Internal secondary data: data that have been

collected within the firm
• Internal databases: databases (collection of data
and information describing items of interest)
consisting of information gathered by a company
typically during the normal course of business
transactions
 Classification of Secondary Data…cont.

• External secondary data: data obtained from

outside the firm
• Types:
• Published
• Syndicated Services Data
• External Databases
 Advantages of Secondary Data

• Obtained quickly (compared to primary data

gathering)
• Inexpensive (compared to primary data
gathering)
• Usually available
• Enhances existing primary data
 Disadvantages of Secondary Data

• Mismatch of the units of measurement

Need daily data yet only monthly available, need incomes
of $75,000 and over only available $50,000 and over
• Differing class definitions used – Need users “in
between” heavy, medium or light users
• Timeliness (how current is the secondary data)
• Lack of information needed to assess the
credibility of the reported data (next slide)
 Evaluating Secondary Data

• What was the purpose of the study?

• Who collected the information and when was this
done?
• What information was collected (questions,
scales, etc.)?
• How was the information obtained (sampling
frame, method of sample draw, communication
method, resulting sample, etc.)?
• How consistent is the information with other
published information?
 Basic Method of Data Collection
• Structured & Direct
– Questionnaire / Interviews
• Unstructured & Direct
– Sentence Completion/ Picture Interpretation/ Word
Association/ Focus groups
• Structured & Indirect
– Observations & Media
• Unstructured & Indirect
– Observations & Media
Sources of Error in Data Collection

• Investigator
– Personal Bias
– Misinterpretation

• Respondent
– Ambiguity
– Not true feedback provided
 Sampling

• Population: Entire Universe

• Sampling Unit: List of those elements that can
be considered as ‘Available’ for selection at
some stage
• Sampling Frame: List of sampling units
• Sample: Actual selection for research
• Element: An individual item in the sample
 Sampling Process

• Define Population
• Specify sampling frame
• Choose appropriate sampling design
– Non-probability Method
– Probability Method
• Determine sample size
• Select actual members of sample
 Probability Sampling

• Simple Random sampling

• Systematic sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster Sampling
Non-probability Sampling Method
• Convenience:
– 100 stores in one location
– 50 students in a class
– One state in a country
• Judgment: Researcher draws a sample that he thinks
is the representation of the population
• Quota Sampling: Like Stratified sampling but the
difference is that the selection of sample in the quota
is not random (but judgment of researcher) the way it
is with Stratified sampling
 Questionnaire Design
• Questionnaire Format
– Structure: Open ended/ Close Ended
• Disguise
– Mostly non-disguised questionnaires are used. At times
disguised questionnaires are designed in ‘motivation
research’ to handle sensitive issues like attitude, aids
patience, abortion cases etc.
Method of Administration:
– Personal Interview
– Telephone
– Email
 Steps involved in Design
• Preliminary Decisions
– What info can be obtained from secondary data
– Who is the Target Respondent
• Type of Questionnaire &Method of Administration
• Question Content
– Is the question really essential?
– Can respondent understand the question?
– Can respondent answer the question?
– Will respondent answer the question?
• Question Phrasing
– Are there any ambiguities in question framing?
– Is there an implied answer/ alternative to the question
– Are there any assumptions to be made to answer the question?
– Will the respondent approach the question with the same frame of reference as
that of the designer?
 Steps involved in Design

• Form of response to each question

– Open ended/ Close ended?
• Sequence of questions
– Simple and open ended
– Logical sequence
– Design Branching question with care
• Lay-out of questionnaire
• Pre-test Questionnaire
 Constructing a Questionnaire

• Refer Book 2, page 44

 Avoid

• Too long questionnaire

• Too long questions
• Using vocab unfamiliar to respondent
• Ambiguous words
• Combined questions
 Qualitative Research
• Exploratory or diagnostic in nature
• Small number of people; usually non-
probabilistic method of sampling
• Impressionistic rather than Definitive
• Used to generate hypothesis for further
research
• Better insights into consumers
• Trained professionals required to carry research
 Methods of Qualitative Research
• In-depth Interviews
• Focus Group Discussions
• Projective Techniques
– Word Association Test
– Sentence Completion Test
– Fantasy Situation
– Cartoon Completion
– Picture Interpretation
• Observations
 Data Procession
• Editing of data
– Field Editing
• To be done as soon as the data is collected by field officer
• Standardization is the objective
• Care should be taken that data is not manipulated
– Central Editing
• To be done when all forms are collected and before they are sent to
the HQ
• Standardization is the objective
• Editor may correct obvious mistakes (like entry in wrong field etc.)
• All incorrect and incomplete entries to be deleted
• Respondent/ field office may be contacted for clarification
 Coding of Data
• Generally close ended questionnaires are coded at the
beginning; at the time of questionnaire design
• What is your monthly income?
– Less than 5,000
– 5,001 – 10,000
– 10,001 – 20,000
– 20,001 – 40,000
– More than 40,001
• What is your monthly income?
 Coding of Data

• Book no. 3, page 19

 Classification of Data

• FINO Report
 Report Writing

• FINO Report
Thank You