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Chapter 3: Market research in IM

• 3.1. Definition and classification
Chapter 3: Market research in • 3.1.1. Definition
• 3.1.2. Classification
International Marketing • 3.2. Contents of market research
• 3.2.1. Preliminary research
• 3.2.2. Detailed research
• 3.3. Market Research Process and Profile of foreign markets
• 3.3.1. International market research process
• 3.3.2. Secondary data sources
• 3.3.3. Primary data sources
• 3.3.4. Content of foreign market profile
• 3.4. International marketing information system (IMIS)
• 3.4.1. Overview of IMIS
• 3.4.2. Internal data
• 3.4.3. External data
• 3.4.4. Domestic market data
• 3.4.5. Customer data

3.1.1. Definition 3.1.1. Definition

What is a market?
What is a market?
- To an economist: market describes a collection of buyers - To a marketer:
and sellers who transact over some goods and Kotler: “the set of all actual and potential buyers of a
services. product or service.”
- To an enterprise: market is where there are needs to be
satisfied. Douglas: “any individual, group of individuals, or
organizations willing, able, and capable of purchasing
a firm’s product.”

3.1.1. Definition Importance of market research

What is market research? What is the purpose of What are the uses of
Market Research? Market Research?
• AMA: “The systematic gathering, recording,
and analyzing of data with respect to a
particular market, where market refers to a
specific customer group in a specific
geographic area.”
• In IM, market research aims at assessing the
potential of foreign markets for a firm’s
products.

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Market research isn’t

The importance of research always the answer
• When is market research not needed?
• An example from Kraft in China
– The information is already available.
– Decisions must be made now.
– We can’t afford research.
– Costs outweigh the value of market
Source: http://www.marketingmag.ca/brands/marketing-to-china-
oreos-chinese-twist-67561

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U48nmKPJclA research.

3.1.2. Classification (Types of markets) 3.1.2. Classification (Types of markets)

Consumer Market
Consumer Market:
Purchasers and household • Geographic areas:
members who intend to
consume or benefit from the  Local market
purchased products and do  Domestic market
not buy products to make
profits.  International market
Business Market: Business Market  Regional market
Individuals or groups that  Global market
purchase a specific kind of
product for resale, direct use
in producing other products,
or use in general daily
operations.

3.2 Contents of market research 3.2.1. Preliminary research

• 3.2.1. Preliminary research • Objective: selecting a target country market (i.e.,

country selection)
• 3.2.2. Detailed research
3.2.2.1. Customer research
3.2.2.2. Product research • How? Desk research
3.2.2.3. Market demand and characteristics
3.2.2.4. Distribution research • Assessing market/ country attractiveness &
3.2.2.5. Competitor research competitive strength (based on the analysis of
3.2.2.6. Infrastructure research marketing environment)
3.2.2.7. Forecasting supply, demand and changes in
prices

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Source: Hollensen (2011)

3.2.2. Detailed market research Consumer buying decision process

3.2.2.1. Customer research • The consumer buying decision process is a

five-stage process that outlines how
• Peter Drucker: “The purpose of business is to create and consumers make buying decisions.
keep a customer.”
• addresses decisions about
• Objective: understand customers’ needs and wants, – whether to purchase,
tastes, behaviors, etc. – what to purchase,
– when to purchase,
• Questions to answer: – from whom to purchase,
– Who are customers? – and how to pay for it.
– How do they buy?
– What are factors affecting their buying decisions?

Consumer buying decision process Factors affecting consumer behavior

Consumer Buying Decision Process Cultural

Problem Post Purchase
Social
Information Alternative
Purchase Personal
Recognition Evaluation
Search Evaluation Culture Psychological
Reference groups
Age & life cycle
Motivation
Occupation
Perception Consumers
Economics
Subculture Family Learning
Lifestyle
Beliefs &
Personality &
attitudes
self-concept
Roles & status
Social class

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Individual forces impacting consumer

buying decision Organizational Buying Process
Problem recognition
• Blackwell, Miniard & Engel:
General Description of Need

User Initiator Detailed Description of Product Specs

Consumer Supplier Search

buying
Buyer decision Acquisition and Analysis of Proposals
Influencer
Supplier Selection
Decider
Placing of Orders

Give an example of how individual forces affect your buying decision? Performance Review

Five Major Forces Impacting

Organizational Buying Decisions 3.2.2.2. Product research
Main contents in product research?
Organizational Buyers

1. Types of Buying Situations (New Task, Straight - Product quality

Rebuy, and Modified Rebuy)
- Product competitiveness
2. Environmental Forces (e.g. Economic and
Technological Forces) - Product use
Influences on

3. Organizational Forces

4. Individual Forces

5. Group Forces

3.2.2.2. Product research 3.2.2.2. Product research

Product Quality Product Quality
• W. Edwards Deming: “Good quality means a predictable
degree of uniformity and dependability with a quality • TCVN ISO 9000: 2007 on Quality
standard suited to the customer.” management systems − Fundamentals
and vocabulary (Article 3.1):
• American Society for Quality (ASQ): “Quality denotes an – “Degree to which a set of inherent
excellence in goods and services, especially to the degree characteristics fulfils requirements.”
they conform to requirements and satisfy customers.” – Requirements: Need or expectation
generally implied for the organization, its
customers and other interested parties
• Vietnamese Law on product and goods quality (suppliers, bankers, unions, partners or
society).
05/2007/QH12 – Article 3: “Product and goods quality means
the product and goods properties’ extent of satisfaction of
the requirements under announced applicable standards or • Product quality will determine the
level of customer satisfaction.
relevant technical regulations.”

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3.2.2.2. Product research 3.2.2.2. Product research

Quality related characteristics of a product: Note on product quality:

• Technical characteristics: determine product use (e.g. • Quality is about “fulfilment of

physical, mechanical, chemical or biological
characteristics of the product);
• Sensory characteristics (e.g. related to smell, touch,
taste, sight, hearing);
• Product dependability/ reliability: the product performs
its intended function for a specified time period when
operating under normal (or stated) conditions. (i.e., no
defect)
• Product safety in use and operation (Trends of organic
products consumption)
requirements”.
• Consider all product characteristics that
satisfy customers’ needs when evaluating
product quality.
• Quality is related to specific environmental
conditions (economic, technical, and
socio-cultural).

Display Retina display

3.2.2.2. Product research

12-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology
2304-by-1440 resolution at 226 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
16:10 aspect ratio

Processor 1.2GHz

Product competitiveness 1.2GHz dual-core Intel Core m3, Turbo Boost up to 3.0GHz, with 4MB L3 cache
Configurable to 1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz, with 4MB L3 cache; or 1.4GHz
dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz, with 4MB shared L3 cache

Memory 8GB of 1866MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory

Configurable to 16GB of memory
• Ability of a product to compete successfully Storage 256GB PCIe-based onboard SSD

Size and Weight Height: 0.14–0.52 inch (0.35–1.31 cm)

Width: 11.04 inches (28.05 cm)
• A competitive product can be sold in profitable Depth: 7.74 inches (19.65 cm)
Weight: 2.03 pounds (0.92 kg)
quantities (within a certain market) on the basis of Wireless Wi-Fi

its price, quality, and service combination preferred 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
Bluetooth
by buyers over that offered by competing products. Bluetooth 4.2 wireless technology
480p FaceTime camera
Camera
Battery and Power Up to 10 hours wireless web

• Product-level competitiveness depends on firm- Up to 12 hours iTunes movie playback

Up to 30 days of standby time3

level competitiveness. Built-in 41.4-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery

29W USB-C Power Adapter; USB-C power port

Operating System macOS High Sierra

Price Starting at US$ 1,299

Warranty and Service Your MacBook comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty.
Purchase AppleCare+ for Mac to extend your coverage to three years from your computer’s purchase date
and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage…

3.2.2.2. Product research 3.2.2.3 Market demand and characteristics

Product use: Market demand

• A purpose for or way • The total volume of a given product or service
in which a product bought by a specific group of customers in a
can be used. specified market area, during a specific time period
(a year in general).
• A product can have
different uses.
• Consumer research
may be a source of
product innovation.

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3.2.2.3 Market demand and characteristics 3.2.2.4 Distribution research

Consumer market
• Large number of buyers
• Usually small purchases
• Fluctuating demand
• Individual, except for major • Group purchase decision
purchases
• Non-professional purchasing
(trained by experience)
Business market
• Markets often geographically
concentrated (Fewer buyers)
• Large purchases
• Stable demand & derived from
the demand of consumer
goods
• Professional purchasing
(technically trained)
• Characteristics of distribution system in foreign markets
(Types of distribution, channels of distribution,
intermediaries – attitudes of channel members, intensity
of wholesale and retail coverage, channel margins, retail
and wholesale locations)
• Buying behaviors of customers (quantity of goods, time,
location, frequency, buying modes,...)
• Competition between traditional and modern types of
distribution

• Mass communication • Personal selling, close • Fit between available distribution system and a firm’s
supplier-customer relationship products  firm decisions: using current system or
establishing new distribution channels

3.2.2.4 Distribution research 3.2.2.4 Distribution research

• Retail brands in Vietnam:
• The world’s biggest retail brands:

3.2.2.5 Competitor research 3.2.2.5 Competitor Research

• Make a list of competitors • Measures often used as leading indicators of a
• Market share: the percentage of a market likely change in future sales and profits:
(defined in terms of either units or revenue)
accounted for by a firm. 2. Voice Share:
• Target market(s) • The percentage of
1. Mind Share: 3. R&D Share:
• Marketing strategies: media space or time
a brand has of the • A company’s
– Product • The percentage of
customers who total media share for expenditure as a
– Price name the brand that industry, often percentage of the
– Distribution when asked to name measured as simply total industry R&D
as dollars spent on expenditure.
– Promotion the first brand that
comes to mind when advertising.
• Strengths and weaknesses of competitors they think about
buying a particular
type of product

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Marketing strategies of
Strengths and weaknesses of
competitors
competitors
1. Current product strategy employed by primary competitors:
A......................................................................................................
B ...................................................................................................... Type of product:................................
C ......................................................................................................
2. Current price strategy employed by primary competitors:
A......................................................................................................
Strengths Weaknesses
B ...................................................................................................... Competitor A
C ......................................................................................................
3. Current distribution strategy employed by primary competitors:
A......................................................................................................
B ......................................................................................................
C ...................................................................................................... Competitor B
4. Current advertising strategy employed by primary competitors:
A......................................................................................................
B ......................................................................................................
C ......................................................................................................
5. Current sales promotion strategy employed by primary
Competitor C
competitors:
A......................................................................................................
B ......................................................................................................
C ......................................................................................................

3.2.2.6 Infrastructure research 3.2.2.7 Forecasting demand,

supply, and price changes
• Infrastructures in foreign markets: • Supply Estimate: World supply, supply of largest
producing and exporting countries
• Real estate, office for rent,
• Traffic system & means of transportation • Demand Estimate: World demand, demand of largest
• Communications system consuming and importing countries
• Banking and financial organizations
• Forecasting prices and price changes: based on demand-
supply relationship in the marketplace. The objective is to
decide the right time for import and export.

3.3.1 International Market Research Process 1. Problem Definition

• The primary objective of the
1. Problem problem definition stage is to
definition develop the research question.
2. Research • The most difficult step in the
process.
design
3. Data • Symptom – marketing
collection phenomenon (usually identifiable
4. Data analysis and measurable).
and interpretation • Marketing problem – the cause
of the symptom (usually a
5. Presentation correctable 4P issue).
of results • Marketing research problem –
identifies type of information
needed to solve the marketing
problem.

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2. Research Design 2. Research Design

• Research design is the master plan for the • Methods go with designs:
research study. • Exploratory designs High Ambiguity

• Exploratory research – Secondary data analysis (Desk research)

– Preliminary research to clarify problems – Qualitative research
• Descriptive research • Descriptive designs
– Who, what, when, where, how? – Cross sectional studies (Survey)
– Variables and basic associations – Longitudinal studies
• Causal research • Causal designs
– Identifies the extent the independent variable(s) – Experimentation Low Ambiguity
determines the value of the dependent variable(s)

Exploratory Descriptive Causal

Figure 3.1 A classification of survey methods

2. Research Design
Survey methods

Planning the research :

• Time
Telephone
Personal Mail Electronic • Location
interviewing interviewing interviewing
• Research team
• Budget
In-home Street
CAPI
(Computer assisted
• List of information to collect
In-office interviewing personal interviewing)

• Questionnaire design: content, order, question

formulation
CATI
Email Internet • Measurement: norminal, ordinal, interval, ratio
Traditional
telephone
(Computer assisted
telephone interviewing) • Sampling: sampling techniques and sample size
• …
Traditional Mail
mail survey panel

Figure 3.2 Should a new product be introduced to replace beef? – Research design

3. Data Collection
Types of Data
• Primary data: new data that is collected to address
specific market research problems.
• Secondary data: data that already exists.
– Internal secondary data- published records that already exist
within the organization.
– External secondary data- data that resides outside the firm.

Primary Secondary
Data Data

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3. Data Collection 3. Data Collection

Sampling
Advantanges Disadvantages • When every representative of the population is studied, it
is called a census, but this takes time and is a costly
process.
Secondary - Fast - Suitability (measured unit)
data - Low cost - Non conformity with specific
- Ready availability research purpose • Another option is to sample, i.e. to extract a sample that
- Not updated information is representative of the population.
- Reliability of information
• Sample: A segment of the population selected for
Primary - More reliable and - High cost marketing research to represent the population as a
data accurate information - Take time whole
- Conformity with
particular research purpose • 2 types: Probability sampling & Non-Probability sampling
- Up to date data

Figure 3.3 A classification of sampling techniques

3. Data Collection
Probability sampling
Simple random Every member of the population has a known & equal
chance of selection.
sampling
Stratified random The population is divided into mutually exclusive groups, &
random samples are drawn from each group.
sampling
Cluster sampling The population is divided into mutually exclusive groups,
and the researcher draws a sample of the groups to
interview

Nonprobability sampling
Convenience The researcher selects the easiest population members
from which to obtain information.
sampling
Judgment sampling The researcher uses his own judgment and selects the
easiest population members from which to obtain
information.

Quota sampling The researcher finds and interviews a prescribed number

of people in each of several categories.

Quota sampling 3. Data Collection

Quota sampling may be viewed as two-stage restricted judgment
sampling. • The major problem with sampling is the
– The first stage consists of developing control categories, or quotas,
risk of non-response error or
of population elements. participation bias that occurs when a
– In the second stage, sample elements are selected based on
convenience or judgment.
particular customer group is under- or
overrepresented in a sample.
Population Sample
composition composition
Control
Characteristic Percentage Percentage Number
Sex
Male 48 48 480
Female 52 52 520
____ ____ ____
100 100 1000

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3. Data Collection 3. Data Collection

Questionnaire Design • 2 types of question:
Market researchers should carefully compose the questions in a – Closed question: available alternatives
survey so that they are precise, understandable, and help reveal the
information required by the researcher. – Open-ended question: depends on interviewees
• Clarity and precision
– Avoid double negative, ambiguous wording, jargon or
complicated vocabulary - keep it simple!
– Clear instruction, easy to read
• Neutrality
– Avoid leading or forceful questions
• Meaningful questions
• Sensitivity Are the way in which questions are asked
intelligible and appropriate to respondents?
Pilot test and
refine before
fieldwork

Closed question Closed question

-Dichotomous A question with two possible answers - Importance scale A scale that rates the importance of some attributes
In arranging this trip, did you personally phone VN Airlines? Airlines food service to me is
Yes  No 
-Multiple choices A question with three or more answers Extremely Very important Somewhat Not very Not at all
With whom are you traveling on this flight? important important important important
No one  Spouse  Spouse & children  Children      
Friends/relatives  An organized tour  -Rating scale A scale that rates some attributes from poor to excellent
-Likert scale A statement with which the respondent shows the amount of Vietnam Airlines’ food service is
agreement/disagreement Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor
“Small airlines generally offer better service than large ones”     
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree
    
-Intention to buy scale A scale that describes the respondent’s intention to buy
-Semantic differential A scale connecting two bipolar words, when the “If an in flight telephone was available on a long flight, I would”
respondent selects the point that represents his or her opinion Definitely use Probably use Not sure Probably not use Definitely not use
VN Airlines is Large..........................…small     
Experience…………….Inexperienced

Open-ended question Structure of a questionnaire

-Completely unstructured: A question that respondents can answer in an
almost unlimited number of ways
- General information:
What is your opinion of Vietnam Airlines? -Information about the interviewer
-Word association: Words are presented, one at a time, and respondents
mention the first word that comes to mind -Information about the respondent
What is the first word that comes to your mind when you hear the following?
Airlines..........; Vietnam........... -Time and location of the interview
-Sentence completion: An incomplete sentence is presented & respondents
are asked to complete the sentence
When I choose an airline, the most important consideration in my decision is ..... - Opening:
-Story completion An incomplete story is presented, & respondents are
asked to complete it -Title of the research
“I flew Vietnam Airlines a few days ago. I noticed that the exterior & interior of the -Introduction of the interviewer
plane had very bright colors. This aroused in me the following thoughts and feelings” -Purpose of the research
Now complete the story.
-Picture completion: A picture of two characters is presented, with one making
a statement. Respondents are asked to identify with the other & fill
in the empty balloon. - Body:
-Thematic appreciation test: Pictures are presented & respondents are asked
to make up a story about what they think is happening or may happen in the pictures -Questions about the research problem
-Questions about personal information of the respondent

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7 tips for writing surveys - Qualtrics 4. Data Analysis and Interpretation

• 1. Keep It Simple (not too long) • A process of analyzing and interpreting data to conclude
• 2. Use Scales Whenever Possible (more information on the research problem.
about direction and intensity of opinions)
• For secondary data: classify, select, supplement
• 3. Keep Coded Values Consistent (generally highest
value to the best outcome and then move down from • For primary data: analyzing data with the assistance of
there) softwares, e.g. SPSS and N-Vivo.
• 4. Explain Why (purpose, questions of the research)
• 5. Speak Your Respondents’ Language (avoid jargon)
• 6. Follow a Logical Order (the funnel approach)
• 7. Take Your Survey for a Test Drive (ask 5 people from
your target demographic to take your survey)

5. Presentation of results
Data analysis
• Clean the data
• Tabulate the data • Research results are presented and reported to
using statistical assist marketing decision makers
techniques —
ANOVA, regression,
factor analysis,
cluster analysis
• Multidimensional
Scaling for creating
Perceptual mapping,
conjoint analysis

3.2.2 Sources of secondary data in IM

Data presentation (Text-p.159-163)
• (1) Trade promotion agencies (e.g., Vietrade)
• (2) International organizations & INGOs (e.g., FAO,
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo OECD, UNCTAD, World Bank, Oxfam…)
• (3) International Chambers of Commerce (e.g., VCCI)
• (4) Trade associations (e.g., VASEP)
• (5) Embassies
• (6) Libraries
• (7) Market research firms (e.g., Nielsen)
• (8) Internet (Business Links)
• Other: Export councils, Overseas distributors, Overseas
sales subsidiaries, etc.
• Refer to Appendix: Sources of secondary data in
Source: Lien Le Monkhouse, Bradley R. Barnes, &
Ute Stephan (2012) Cateora et al. (2011, p.244)
Source: wikipedia

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Online sources Web-based Market Research

• Brand data
o www.brandchannel.com
o www.gbrands.com
o www.globalstrategies.com •
• Business Week
o www.businessweek.com
• The Economist
o www.economist.com
• European Union
o www.europa.eu.int
• Vietnam Ministry of
Industry and Trade
o www.moit.gov.vn
• Vietnam Chamber of
Commerce and Industry Advantages Disadvantages
o vcci.com.vn/thi-truong Fast and inexpensive Sample selection/generalizability
United Nations
Diverse, large group of Internet users Measurement validity (e.g. different
o www.un.org
worldwide to small specialized niche browsers, computer screen sizes,
• World Bank resolution settings)
o www.worldbank.org/cou Self-selection bias
ntries
Computer entry reduces researcher data Respondent authenticity uncertain
• World Fact Book entry errors
o www.cia.gov/cia/publica Honest responses to sensitive questions Frivolous or dishonest responses
tions/factbook
• World Trade Anyone-can-answer, invitation-only, or Duplicate submissions
Organisation password protected
o www.wto.org Electronic data are easy to tabulate Steep learning curve for Web developers

Less interview bias

3.3.3 Problems of Gathering Primary Data

3.3.3 Problems of Gathering Primary Data
• Read Text-p.182 or Cateora et al. (2011, p.228)
• Sampling in Field Surveys:

• Ability to communicate opinions – Lack of adequate demographic data and available lists from
– The ability to express attitudes and opinions about a product or which to draw meaningful samples
concept depends on the respondent’s ability to recognize the
usefulness and value of such a product or concept.
– Limited effectiveness of various methods of communication
(mail, telephone, personal interview, and Internet) in surveys
• Willingness to Respond (because of cultural differences)
– Gender-related issues can affect willingness to respond.
– Sensitive topics (e.g., personal income and assets) – The adequacy of sampling techniques affected by a lack of
– Professional people and local students as interviewers because detailed social and economic information.
of their knowledge of the market
– Less direct measurement techniques and nontraditional data
analysis methods may be more appropriate.

3.3.3 Problems of Gathering Primary Data 3.3.3 Problems of Gathering Primary Data
• Language and Comprehension:
• Language and Comprehension: Hello
你好
– Translation issues: Difficult to establish ‘equivalence’
– Differences in idiom and difficulty of across different languages. Use three different
Olá
exact translation  problems in Привет techniques:
eliciting the specific information こんにちは
• parallel translation: two translations are made at the same
Xin chào
desired and in interpreting the time and compared
नम े
respondents’ answers. Hola • back translation: another translator translates back to the
– Low literacy rates make written Γεια σας original language
‫مرحبا‬
questionnaires completely useless. Hallo
• decentering: successive process of translation and
retranslation
สวัสดี

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Projective techniques 3.3.4 Content of Foreign market profile

• Instead of using direct questions  use Read Country Notebook in Cateora et al.
‘Projective techniques’ (2011, p.580-585)
• Unstructured prompts or stimulus to help • Cultural analysis
respondents to project his own attitude and feelings
unconsciously on the subject under study: • Economic analysis
– Sentence completion “My cell phone is like a…”
– Role play “If you were the CEO of this company, what would you
do to reduce customer complaints?” • Market audit and competitive market analysis

• “All these techniques ‘travel’ well. For example, picture

completions, collages, psycho drawings, work as well in the
US or the UK, or elsewhere in Europe. They also are
demonstrably effective in other cultures – Japan, South East
Asia, Africa, etc.” Cooper (1989)

3.4 International marketing 3.4 International marketing

information system (IMIS) information system (IMIS)
3.4.1. Overview of IMIS
Definition of MkIS
• AMA: “A set of procedures and methods for the
regular, planned collection, analysis, and
presentation of information for use in making
marketing decisions.”

• Kotler & Armstrong (2010): “People and procedures

for assessing information needs, developing the
needed information, and helping decision makers to
use the information to generate and validate
actionable customer and market insights.”

Source: Perreault et al. (2010)

3.4 International marketing 3.4 International marketing

information system (IMIS)
• Data Warehouse: a place where databases are stored
so that they are available when needed (e.g., an
electronic library).
• Decision Support System (DSS): a computer program
that makes it easy for a marketing manager to get and
use information as he or she is making decisions.
• Marketing dashboards: computers can display marketing
dashboards, i.e., up-to-the-minute marketing data in an
easy-to-read format. Usually customized to a manager’s
areas of responsibility.
• Marketing models: statement of relationships among
marketing variables.
information system (IMIS)
• IMIS (similar to MIS): “a set of people, machines, and
procedures designed to generate flows of authentic,
systematic, and consistent information for use in making
marketing decisions.”
• Scope of IMIS: broader system that is comprised of
different country MIS
• Information in IMIS: more information at different levels
– at country and global market levels
• Each country MIS provides information to IMIS to assist
strategic planning and operational control of TNCs’
affiliates in different countries.

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3.4 International marketing

3.4.2. Internal data
information system (IMIS)
• IMIS • Sources of internal data: network of subsidiaries
IMIS
of TNCs, different organizational functions
MIS • Advantages:
Country A – Fast access
– Inexpensive
Information • Disadvantages:
MIS Firm
B Directions – Incomplete or inappropriate to assist the making of a
particular marketing decision.
– Out-of-date information
MIS other
countries

Published external secondary sources

3.4.3 External data
• Data on: customers, competitors, environmental
factors that were collected, analyzed, and
published outside the firm.
• How to collect external data: customer visits,
online public opinion and competitors (press
release, marketing activities, analysis of
competing products), participation in
international trade fairs and exhibitions, online
databases and published external secondary
sources…
Guides
• An excellent source of standard or recurring information
• Helpful in identifying other important sources of directories, trade
associations and trade publications
• One of the first sources a researcher should consult.
Directories
• Helpful for identifying individuals or organizations that collect specific
data
• Example is Europages, a reference business directory in Europe that
classifies 500,000 companies in 30 European countries.
(www.europages.com).
or a business directory of companies in Vietnam
(www.yellowpagesvn.com)
Indexes
• Helpful in locating information on a particular topic in several different
publications.

Figure 3.4 A classification of published secondary sources Marketing research associations online

ESOMAR: European Society for Opinion and

Marketing Research (www.esomar.org)

MRS: The Market Research Society (UK)

(www.mrs.org.uk)
CASRO: The Council of American Survey Research
Organizations (www.insightsassociation.org)
MRSA: Australian Market & Social Research Society
(www.amsrs.com.au)
PMRS: Marketing Research and Intelligence
Association (Canada) (www.mria-arim.ca)

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3.4.4. Country market data
Some sources:
http://www.intracen.org/country/viet-nam/
https://www.trademap.org/Index.aspx
https://www.macmap.org/
http://datatopics.worldbank.org/consumption/
http://data.un.org/
http://www.wtocenter.vn/market
http://vietnamexport.com/
http://www.gso.gov.vn/Default_en.aspx?tabid=491
8/16/2019
3.4.5. Customer database
• Different customer-related databases for
different functional areas, e.g., sales, marketing,
service, etc. for different operational purposes.
• Developing a customer-related database or
spreadsheet (tables, rows, and columns).
• E.g. in a sales application, common customer
information fields include contact data, contact
history, transactional history, current pipeline,
future opportunities, products and
communication preferences
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