MKTG RESEARCH,MKIS AND DEMAND FORECASTING

Course: MBA

Subject: MM II

Unit: I

Marketing Research

• Marketing research involves collecting,organizing, analyzing and communicatinginformation that can be used in order to makean informed marketing decision.

• Performing market research will complementyour marketing mix strategy as it enables youto make educated decisions regardingselecting markets, your image or branding andproducts or services.

According to American Marketing Association, “MarketingResearch is the function that links the consumer, customer andpublic to the marketer through information-information used toidentify and define marketing opportunities and problems,generate, refine and evaluate marketing actions; monitormarketing performance; and improve understanding of marketingas a process.”

Scope of M.R

Marketing Research is of use to the following:-

Producers•To know about his product potential in the market vis-à-vis the total product; •New Products; •Various brands; •Pricing; •Market Structures and selection of product strategy, etc.

Business and Government Marketing Research helps businesses and government in focusing attention on the complex nature of problems faced by them. For example:

• Determination of Gross National Product; Price indices, and per capita income;

• Expenditure levels and budgeting; • Agricultural Pricing; • The economic policies of Government; and • Operational and planning problems of business and

industry.

Market Research Agencies Marketing Research is being used extensively by professionals to help conducting various studies in Marketing Research. Most prominent agencies being:-

• Linta India Ltd;

• British Market Research Bureau (BMRB);

• Hindustan Thompson Associate Ltd;

• eSurveysPro.com;

• MARG

5 key steps in Marketing Research

1. Define the Problem

2. Collect the Data

3. Analyse and interpret the data

4. Reach a conclusion

5. Implement your research

Define the Problem

• In this stage you need to identify the actual problems that are relating to the apparent symptoms.

• What information is needed in order to solve the problem?

• For example, poor sales within a business are not the problem, they are the symptom of a larger issue such as a weak marketing strategy.

Further business problems may include:

• Who are your target customers?

• What method could be implemented to reach these customers?

• Who are your customers and what advantages and disadvantages do they have over your business?

• What size is the consumer market you are trying to engage?

Collect the Data

• There are two types of market research that can be performed:

1. Primary research - involves collecting information from sources directly by conducting interviews and surveys, and by talking to customers and established businesses.

2. Secondary research - involves collecting information from sources where the primary research has already been conducted. Such information includes industry statistics, market research reports, news paper articles, etc.

Collection methods and techniques

• Qualitative research is where you seek an understanding of why things are a certain way. For example, a researcher may stop a shopper and ask them why they bought a particular product or brand.

• Quantitative research refers to measuring market phenomena in a numerical sense, such as when a bank asks consumers to rate their service on a scale of one to ten.

Analyze and interpret the data

• You must attach meaning to the data you have collected during your market research to make sense of it and to develop alternative solutions that could potentially solve your business problem.

• You should determine how the knowledge you have gained through researching your market can be applied and used to develop effective business strategies.

Reach a conclusion

• With the alternatives you have developed to solve your problem in mind, perform a cost-benefit analysis of each alternative keeping in mind the potentially limited resources available to your business.

• You may also need to perform further investigation into each alternative solution to arrive at the best decision for your business in regards to meeting consumer demands.

Implement your research

• Put your final solution into practice.

• Without completing this step your research

could potentially have been a waste of your

time and resources.

DATA COLLECTION

• Compilation and interpretation of primary and secondary sources of information.

• The integration of different sources will consolidate the write up of the report.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Primary Source•Data is collected by

researcher himself

•Data is gathered through questionnaire,

interviews,

observations etc.

Secondary Source•Data collected,

compiled or written by other

researchers eg. books, journals, newspapers•Any reference must

be acknowledged

STEPS TO COLLECT DATA

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

REVIEW & COMPILE SECONDARY SOURCE INFORMATION

(Referred to in the BACKGROUND/ INTRODUCTION section of report)

PLAN & DESIGN DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS TO GATHER PRIMARY INFORMATION

(Referred to in the FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS sections of report)

DATA COLLECTION

METHODS USED TO COLLECT

PRIMARY SOURCE DATA

1. Interviews2. Questionnaires3. Survey4. Experimentation5. Case Study6. Observation

However, for a small-scale study, the most commonly used methods are interviews, survey questionnaires and observations.

Effective way of gathering information

INTERVIEW

Involves verbal and non-verbal communications

Can be conducted face to face, by telephone,

online or through mail

Steps To An Effective Interview

Prepare your interview schedule

Select your subjects/ key informants

Conduct the interview

Analyze and interpret data collected from the interview

The most common data collection instrument

SurveyQuestionnaire

Useful to collect quantitative and qualitative

information

Should contain 3 elements:1. Introduction – to explain the objectives

2. Instructions – must be clear, simple language & short3. User-friendly – avoid difficult or ambiguous questions

2 Basic Types of survey questions:

1. Open-ended Questions– Free-response

(Text Open End)

– Fill-in relevant information

2. Close-ended Questions– Dichotomous question

– Multiple-choice

– Rank

– Scale

– Categorical

– Numerical

Note: For specific examples and students’ activities on each question style, please refer to the notes on Data Collection in the e-learning.

Steps To An Effective Survey QuestionnairePrepare your survey questions

(Formulate & choose types of questions, order them, write instructions, make copies)

Select your respondents/sampling

Random/Selected

Administer the survey questionnaire

(date, venue, time )

Analyze and interpret data collected

Tabulate data collected

(Statistical analysis-frequency/mean/correlation/% )

A sample of complete survey questionnairehttp://www.custominsight.com/demo/form_widgets.rtf

Observe verbal & non-verbal communication,

surrounding atmosphere,culture & situation

Observations

Need to keep meticulous records of

the observations

Can be done through discussions,observations of habits, rituals,

review of documentation,experiments

Steps To An Effective ObservationDetermine what needs to be observed

(Plan, prepare checklist, how to record data)

Select your participants

Random/Selected

Conduct the observation

(venue, duration, recording materials, take photographs )

Analyze and interpret data collected

Compile data collected

DATA ANALYSIS

3. In a small scale study, the most common forms of statistical analysis presented are:

•Frequency•Mean•Percentage

1. To analyse data from interviews and observation, use

Summary sheet

Checklist

2. To analyse data from questionnaires, use

Manually

SPSS

DATA INTERPRETATION

1. It involves 2 terms• ‘Results’ – presentation of data/findings (statistics)• ‘Discussion’ – interpretation of data/findings

2. Things to consider when interpreting your data:• Interpret findings based on the purpose and

objectives of your study• Relate the findings to real life context• Use persuasive language to convince your readers

to see the research from your point of view.• Order your interpretation to highlight the most important

findings• Include limitations to your research.• Use simple, clear language

http://www.slideshare.net/NITCALICUT_SOMS/marketing-research-ppt-15981252

http://www.managementstudyguide.com/marketing_research.htm

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