MKTG 55 – MARKET RESEARCH

Market Research
- is the process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about a market, about
a product or service to be offered for sale in that market, and about the past, present and potential
customer for the product or service.
- Also, research into the characteristics, spending habits, location and needs of your
business target market, the industry as a whole, and the particular competitors you face.
- Is an effective tool to assist your business planning. It is about collecting information that
provides an insight into your customers thinking, buying patterns, and location.
- Can also assist you to monitor market trends and keep an eye on what your competition is
doing.
Two Types of Data
Primary Information
This type of information is gathered and collected through the effort of the researcher by
themselves.
 Surveys
 Face-to-face interviews
 Focus groups
 Customer feedback
 Questionnaires
Secondary Information
 Industry and trade publications
 Marketing and consumer lists
 Newspaper and media
 Books
This type of information is already compiled and organized for you. Examples of secondary
information include reports and studies by government agencies, trade associations or other
businesses within your industry. Most of the research you gather will most likely be secondary.
The Uses of Market Research
From the information gathered:
* used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems
* generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions
* monitor marketing performance
* improve understanding of marketing as a process; and
* used to answer fundamental questions that affect the future of an organization
Research in Small Businesses
Small businesses as well as large corporations can benefit from the knowledge that research
provides.
Small businesses need to research what products and services customers want and need. It is
essential that they conduct research on a continual basis as to what products and services are
being offered by competing businesses.
Research in Large Corporations
Marketing research is especially necessary when corporations develop new products or
reposition current products. Research is needed to thoroughly analyze consumer needs, as a
failed introduction or repositioning of a product can be a very costly mistake.
BUSINESSES UNDERTAKE MARKET RESEARCH TO:
- Identify potential new customers
- Learn more about existing customers
- Inform their decisions regarding existing and new product or services
- Better understand their competitors
- Test new markets
- Identify performance, pricing or promotion opportunities
The Role of Market Research
 What can we find out?
Systematic and objective data collection
 What does it mean?
Inferences on and interpretation of the data
 What should we do?
Recommendation or options on the courses of action
Customer, Company & Competition
- Market research focuses on understanding the customer, the company, and the
competition. These relationships are at the core of market research. Companies must understand
and respond to what customers want from their products, in which sometimes are influenced by
competitors.
Research Issues
Issues Purpose Research Question
Target Market Composition of customer Who is in our customer
market segment market segment?
Competitor Consumers’ perception of What else do they buy and
competition why?
Consumer Motivation for purchase What is a motivation for
buying our product?
 Social media Determine what sites are used Are we posting content where
it will be seen?
Product Improvement of product Does our product provide the
desired benefits?
Promotion Effectiveness of different What and where do our
message and media customers hear about us?
distribution Ease of purchase Is our product available at the
right locations?
Pricing Choosing pricing levels What do our customers thank
of our price?

Two Types of Market Research

 Fundamental Research
 Applied Research
Fundamental Research
- seeks to extend the boundaries of knowledge in a given area and doesn’t solve your
immediate problem. It reveals information and relationships that could be useful at a later date.
- you want to be a “trendsetter”
Applied Research
- gathers information to solve a specific problem or set of problems. You will use this
information to tune your business plan, focus your advertising campaign, or improve your
product.
- you want to be a “Problem-solver.
Factors to consider before you begin
 Your customer and competition
 Awareness and image of your product
 Product usage
 Undiagnosed problems with your product
 Customer desires and needs for new product development
BASIC RESEARCH PROCESS

Formulating the Problem

-research starts with a problem that management is facing. This problem needs to be
understood, the cause diagnosed, and solutions developed. However, most management
problems are not always easy to research. A management problem must first be translated to a
research problem.
Management and Research Problems
Management Problems
 Focus on symptomatic areas on business
“Sales are not growing”
Research Problems
 Focus on providing the information you need in order to solve the management problem.
“poor expectation and experiences”
Methods of Inquiry
- - the scientific method is the standard pattern for investigation. It provides an opportunity
for you to use existing knowledge as a starting point and proceed impartially. The scientific
method includes the following steps:
1. Observation
2. Formulation of Hypothesis
3. Prediction of the Future
4. Testing the Hypothesis
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD, CONTINUED:
- - a simple example will show how the scientific method works. Assume a researcher is
performing a marketing research project for a manufacturer of men’s shirts:
1. OBSERVATION:
The researcher notices some competitors’ product are of similar quality and that the
plastic wrapping is the sole cause of increased competitors’ sale.
 2. FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESIS:
The researcher assumes his client’s products are similar quality and that the plastic
wrapping is the sole cause of increased competitors’ sales.
3. PREDICTION OF THE FUTURE:
The hypothesis predicts that sales will increase if the manufacturer shifts to the new
wrapping.
4. TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS:
The client produces some shirts in the new packaging and market-tests them.
Research Method
- Marketing research methods can be divided into two different types – quantitative
(objective based research) and qualitative (subjective based research).
Quantitative Research
- is based on statistics and may be used to predict market penetration, future earnings, etc.
“Which of these three packaging designs is most attractive to consumers?”
Qualitative Research
- measures the values, attitudes and views of a particular sample. It is useful if you want
to understand why people buy your products.
“Why did you like the second packaging design?”
Research Design
- is a plan or framework for conducting the study and collecting data. It is defined as the
specific methods and procedures you use to acquire the information you need. Three types of
research design.
3 Types of Research Design
 Exploratory Research Design
 Descriptive Research Design
 Casual Research Design
The major difference between the three is the purpose of using it and the result and data you
want to gather.
Exploratory Research Design
 Explore: let previously unknown perspective, into factors, etc.
 Its focus is on the discovery of ideas and insights as composed to collecting stabilitically
accurate data.
 Mostly qualitative
 In the form of open-ended questions
Descriptive Research Design
 Aims at describing a certain subject matter with higher degrees of accuracy or precision
  Primarily concerned at describing something
 Mostly quantitative
 Pre-planned and structured so the information collected can be statistically inferred on a
population
Casual Research Design
 It attempts to decipher whether a relationship is causal through experimentation
 Two objectives:
 To understand which variables are the cause and which variables are the effect
 To determine the nature of the relationship between the casual variables and the effect to
be predicted
Data Collection Techniques
in this process, you’ll plan and determine how you would collect the information needed
in your research. There are many ways to collect data. Some examples are:
 Surveys
 Interviews
 Observations
 Experiments
Sample Design
it’s more practical to use a sample-a smaller but accurate representation of the greater
population. In order to design your sample, you must find answers to these questions:
1. From which base population is the sample to be selected?
2. What is the method (process) for sample selection?
3. What is the size of the sample?
Data Collection
once you’ve established the first six storages, you can move on to data collection.
Depending on the mode of data collection, this part of the process can require large amounts of
personnel and a significant portion of your budget.
Analysis and Interpretation
in order for data to be useful, you must analyze it. Analysis techniques vary and their
effectiveness depends on the types of information you are collecting, and the type of
measurements you are using. Because they are dependent on the data collection, analysis
techniques should be decided before this step.
Research Report
the research process culminates with the research report. This report will include all of
your information, including an accurate description of your research process, the results,
conclusions, and recommended courses of action. The report should provide all the information
the decision maker needs to understand the project.
DETERMINING THE RESEARCH QUESTION
Starting Point
the starting point for the research is a problem (or potential problem/opportunity) rather
than a clear-cut decision to be made. An effective approach is to think of and list as many
objectives as possible for the research.
Problems Means Gap
- a problem occurs when there is a difference between the current conditions and a more
preferable set of conditions or there are changes in our customer base that is out of our control.
In other words, a gap exists between the way things are now and a way that things could be
better.
Research Objectives
- a research objective describe concisely what the research is trying to achieve. A
research objective must be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable/Attainable,
Relevant/Results – Oriented and Time-bound.
- in CVSU Form and Style in Thesis Writing, research objective (Objectives of the
Study) is a declarative statement of the research question (Statement of the Problem).
Research Question
- a research question gives your research direction. Writing a research question that
clearly states the problem to be researched takes considerable thought. Since this question is the
rationale for the all research that will be conducted, it is well worth the effort to make sure that
this question is focused on the correct problem.
Defining Research Questions
 Who?
- Describe the participants who will take part in the research by demographic,
psychographic and usage characteristics
 Where?
- The geographic location of current or potential consumers or the area of
products sales.
 When?
The time frame of the behavior under study
 What?
- A specific description of the product/service/company
 Why?
- The attitude or motivation of concern to researchers
 How?
- The proposed actions that could be undertaken by the company
 THE MARKET RESEARCH REPORT
Market Research Report
- are detailed and accurate accounts of the conduct of discipline studies accomplished to
solve problems or to reveal new knowledge
- accurate and thorough information is the foundation of all successful business ventures
Research Format
a. Preliminary Pages
* Cover Page
- there will be an uploaded format that is formal and business-like; it contains the
title of the research, name of the researchers, and the month and year the students
conducted the research.
* Table of Contents
- same as with the cover page, there will be an uploaded format for the table of
contents. It includes all the parts of your market research report
* Executive Summary
- this section contains a brief description of the background of the study and the
objectives of the study. The researchers should highlight the need to conduct the research.
They should also include the key findings they have gathered and the methods they used
to answer the research problem. Conclusions and recommendation are also emphasized.

b. Background of the Study

This section should outline the background to the market research problem that
the students are seeking to solve. Include background information on the market to
provide context, as well as circumstances that have led to the need for such research.
Background should be limited to 200 words at most, with most of the word count
dedicated to the market circumstances and challenges surrounding the research.

c. Research Questions
The researcher will list down all the research questions in order to gather
information from their market research topic or problem.
Use the previous discussion as a guide.

d. Research Objectives
The researchers will identify the research objectives of their market research
topic.
Use the previous discussion as a guide.

e. Related Literatures
The researcher will gather relevant and related literatures that will add
explanation and understanding on the environment of the research topic. This will
strengthen the position of the researcher to conduct the research.
 f. Research Method
The methodology is the most important part of the proposal. This section should
present a brief discussion of the research methodology which will be utilized for the
study. A detailed methodology is required for all proposed studies and should be written
in the future tense.
* Sample Design
The sample plan should be used to indicate the number of participants they
wish to research as well as the breakdown of each group. This will be affected by the
choice to use qualitative, quantitative or multi-method approaches, as well as the
estimated size of the target population.
* Data Collection Techniques
this section should contain listing of different parameters or information
that will be gathered including techniques, instrument or mathematical formula/equation
needed to get the correct data to be used in the research.

g. Key Findings
Interpretation of the results is outlined in this section. They may use graphs, table
and figures for interpretation of the key findings. The researchers should also emphasize
the implications of the results.

h. Conclusion and Recommendations

This section contains the interpretation provided by the researchers of the
significance of the findings along with recommendations for action. The researchers will
discuss their conclusions in the conduct of research and the things they want to
recommend to the organizations, people or other entities that may be interested in the
research results.

i. References
The reference section should be written using the APA (6th ed.) format. Entries
should be arranged in alphabetical order based on the surnames of authors or titles. all
literature sources cited and other materials used as references in preparing the manuscript
should be reflected in this section.

j. Appendices
This portion will include all attachments and files that helped or have been used in
the research. This include, but are not limited to, …
 Questionnaire
 Transcript of Survey/Interview
 Result of Questionnaire (Tally)
Research Report Technical Details
a. Paper and Printing
b. Font Style and Size
 c. Margin and Spacing
d. Page numbers
e. Tables
f. Figures
g. Number, Figures and Symbols
h. Abbreviation
i. Spelling
j. Tenses
k. References
Conducting Secondary Research
- involves searching for existing data that was originally obtained by someone else. You
may want to search in papers, archives, or go to websites. You will apply what you find to your
current assessment in your research problem, but the data you find was not initially gathered by
you, nor was it obtained for the purpose you are using it for.
Source of Secondary Data
 Journal Articles
 Textbooks
 Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
 Dissertation
 Newspaper Editorial/Opinion Pieces
 Criticism of Literature, Art Works or Music
 Magazine Articles
Techniques to Conduct Secondary Research
 Identify research topic and where to get the information form
 Gather existing data
 Compare data from different sources, and normalize it
 Analyze the data

QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE MARKETING RESEARCH (P1)

Choosing Participants
- Consumers are at the heart of the marketing concept and the marketing mix of product,
price, place and promotion that is designed to attract a specific market segment. Therefore, it is
not surprising that participants for research studies are often chosen to match the characteristics
of a company’s current or potential target market or segment of consumers.
- of course the company will want to know more about this segment of current or potential
customers feels about issues such as their marketing mix for current products or about
new product ideas.
Research Participants Based on Segmentation
Segmentation Possible Characteristics Example of Participants
Profile
Demographic Age, income, education level, Age 65-75, middle income
gender. Ethnicity
Psychographic Attitudes, opinions, values, Active, adventurous
lifestyle
Geographic Availability of product, Live in the UK
convenience
Behavioral Non-user, user of competing Currently nonuser
product, occasional user,
frequent user

Demographic Characteristics
- Products that are specifically designed for one gender may require a group that consist
of men only. For example, a company might wish to expand their skin lotion product line with a
product designed specially for men. However, even if the product is for men, if potential
purchaser will include women they may also need to be included in the participant profile.
- If a research study does not specify that a certain gender, age, education, income or
ethnicity is relevant, participants should be chosen to represent as many of these
characteristics as possible. Researchers might learn (when analyzing the data) what
demographic characteristics are actually relevant to the research question.
Psychographic Characteristics
- focus on a consumer’s lifestyle, including their opinions, interest and attitudes. These
are more often the characteristics that influence consumer purchases than demographic factors. A
consumer lifestyle, such as an interest in extreme sports, may still predominately attract a
specific demographic group such as young males.
- Marketers know that it is lifestyle that often influences the choice of a product. Therefore,
a participant profile for qualitative research is often chosen based on lifestyle choice. In
fact, the trend now is to segment even more finely.
Geographic Characteristics
- researchers may consider geographic location when developing a participant profile
based on product availability. If the product to be researched is only available in specific
geographic locations, then the research subjects must also come from these areas.
- To motivate potential research subjects to participate in the research, they will need to
perceive the location as being convenient. Therefore, the distance a potential participant
might be willing to travel would need to be considered when developing the profile.
Behavioral Characteristics
- another aspect of usage to consider as part of a participant profile is product loyalty.
Sometimes researchers may describe the participant profile as consumers who are new, lapsed or
frequent product users.
- These characteristics cannot be determined without occasional screening question about
the type of product usage. Therefore, the screening questionnaire must ask if a potential
participant is familiar with the product, their level of usage and if they have used
competing products.
Probability sampling
- uses techniques that result in an ability to calculate exactly the probability of a single
person in a sampling frame being chosen toto participate this probability is based on the
number of total people in that sample divided by the number of total people in the
population.
The methods of probability sampling from which researchers can choose include simple,
stratified. Systemic and cluster.
Simple Random Sampling
- in this method each sampling unit has an equal chance of being chosen to participate in
the research study. The probability can be calculated by dividing the number of people in that
sample by the total number of people in the population.

Systematic Sampling
-in systematic sampling, after the population has been determine, all units in the
population are listed and counted. A skip interval is then calculated by dividing the total
population by the sample size and this interval is used to choose who will be included in the
sample.
Stratified Sampling
- The main reason for using stratified sampling is to ensure that any differences are
diminished by the sampling procedure. Another reason is when the research study is designed to
learn more about difference between groups. Most population can be divided into smaller groups
based on shared characteristics.
- Using a stratified sampling allows marketing researchers to examine each of the strata
separately, initially, researchers must decide how many participants will be chosen from
the population as a whole. After that researchers must decide on how to distribute the
number of total participants among the different strata.
Cluster Sampling
- also divides populations into groups. However, cluster sampling differs by reason of
why a population is divide and the number of resulting groups. In cluster sampling a population
is divided into many groups. Rather than being different, the aim of the resulting groups is that
each will include individuals who represent the total population.
Non-probability Sampling
- uses a technique where each potential subject does not have the same probability of
being included. The sample size and the specific participants are determined regardless of the
total population.
The methods of conducting non-probability sampling include convenience, judgment, snowball
and quota.
Convenience Sampling
- is used when researchers choose any willing and available individuals as participants.
This method can be implemented when it is known that a specific location tends to attract the
type of individual needed for that research study.
Snowballing
- with this method researchers choose the first participant profile. This participant then
refers others with similar characteristics. The theory for using this system is that the first
participant is more likely to know someone like themselves than the researchers.
Quota Sampling
- a simple and cheaper means of obtaining a representative sample is to set a quota for the
interviewers to achieve one that mirror that of the population that is being researched. Filling the
quota will provide a mix of respondents that is reflective of the population that is being targeted.
Judgement of Purposive Sampling
- the process of using purposive sampling first includes establishing the participant
profile. Then a list of potential research subject is identified that have the needed characteristics
and knowledge. Finally, specific individuals from this list are asked to participate.
Types of Interview
 In-depth: one-on-one in a single topic for an extended period
 Expert: with a person other than the research subject to obtain facts
 Intercept or person-on-the-street: short interviews with many participants
Computing Scale Values
Summated Scale – A scale created by simply summing (adding together) the response to
each item making up the composite measure.

Computing Scale Values

-Reverse coding means that the value assigned for a response is treated oppositely from
the other items. Thus, on a 5-point scale, the values are reversed as follows:
 5 becomes 1
 4 becomes 2
 3 stays 3
 2 becomes 4
 1 becomes 5
Reverse Coding
Old Value New Value
1 5
 2 4
3 3
4 2
5 1

Techniques for Measuring Attitude

Rating
- A measurement task that requires respondents to estimate the magnitude of a
characteristics or quality that a brand, store, or object possesses.
 Simple Attitude Scale
 Category Scales
 Likert Scale
 Numerical Scale
 Constant-Sum Scale
Ranking
- a measurement task that requires respondents to rank under a small number of
stores, brands, or objects on the basis of overall preference or some characteristics of the
stimulus.
 Paired Comparison
Sorting
- a measurement task that presents a respondent with several objects or product
concepts and requires the respondent to arrange the objects into piles or classify the product
concepts.
- sorting tasks ask respondents to indicate their attitudes or beliefs by arranging
items on the basis of perceived similarity or some other attribute.
Choice
- a measurement task that identifies preferences by requiring respondents to
choose between two or more alternatives.
Questionnaire Design
Questionnaire quality and design
1. What should be asked?
2. How should questions be phrased?
3. In what sequence should the questions be arranged?
4. What questionnaire layout will best serve the research objectives?
5. How should the questionnaire be pretested?
Does the questionnaire need to be revised?
Questionnaire Relevance
A questionnaire is relevant to the extent that all information collected addresses a
research question that will help the decision maker address the current business problem. Asking
a wrong question or an irrelevant question is a common pitfall.
Questionnaire Accuracy
Accuracy means that the information is reliable and valid. While experienced researchers
generally believe that questionnaires should use simple, understandable, unbiased, unambiguous,
and nonirritating words, no step-by-step procedure for ensuring accuracy in question writing can
be generalized across projects.
Wording Questions
Open-Ended Response Questions – Questions that pose some problem and ask
respondents to answer in their own words.
What names of local banks can you think of?
What comes to your mind when you look at this advertisement?
In what way, if any, could this product be changed or improved?
Fixed Alternative Questions – questions in which respondents are given specific, limited
alternative responses and asked to choose the one closest to their own viewpoint.
Would you say that the labor quality in Japan is higher, about the same, or not as good as
it was 10 years ago?
Higher about the same not as good
Types of Fixed – Alternative Questions
Simple – Dichotomy (Dichotomous) Question
- A fixed-alternative question that requires the respondent to choose one of two
alternatives. ‘Did you have any overnight travel for work-related activities last month?’
_____yes _____no
Determinant – Choice Question
- A fixed-alternative question that requires the respondent to choose one response
from among multiple alternatives.
‘Please give us some information about your flight. In which section of the aircraft did you sit?’
_______First class ________Business class _________Coach class