lst ST ul LNs Pt ns ing research resources to stu ,, Most companies use « combination of matk connate normally budget meet vy, SomPetitors, audiences, and channel strategies. a large peteentage ofthat oy, at percent to 2 percent OFA aCe Outside firms, oo ONSUME aD trade, 1. Syndicated.service research firme—These p Kantat Group, yn, wich te aR Tangle} ee N, Ih 2 cer research firms—These firms are hired to carry out specitic Projec, x oe ead nt ‘These firms provide specialized Tesearch The best example isthe fed-service fim, wcll ie _ othe ake advantage of al these diferent resoures and practices, good marketers oe ‘marketing research process, f ” 7B ty © Sen iy ida ie The Marketing Research Trocess ng fective makeing research lows thes epsshown in a? Step 1: Define the Problem, the Decision Alternati., and the Research Objectives Problems should not be defined ether too broadlyrfoOmartoWy. A very broad or vagy tion leads to excessive ‘wastage of resources. Too narrow a definition Heads to inadequate ¢ information required to take an effective decision, Clarity on the following helps define th p Jem appropriately: a What is to be researched (the content, the scope)? Why isit to be researched (the decisions that are to be made)? Working backwards from, ‘hedecisions can bea good way of defining problems because th : 4] The ca etch to generate meaning infomation hel help in taking effective ‘The end product ofthis exercise has toe acer denon ofthe problem and research oe) Step 2: Develop the Research The second stage of marketing research requites devel he ‘Most efficient plan for gahe the required information, This invlies deiione on data sources, research approaches, xe. instruments, sampling plan, and contact methods, DATA SOURCES The researcher can gather serondaty data primary data, or both, seo data are data that were collected for another Purpose, and already exist somewhere, Pri are freshly gathered data for a specific Purpose or for a specific research Project. Resear ally start their investigation by examining et data to See whether the problem can be or wholly solved without collecting cosy are dated, inaccurate, incomplete ot unrekah Most marketing research projets involve research approaches. ; Fig, 3.3) a The Marketing ae : u ee sn Xesearch Process st— MStaReH sessions ata café or bar. Photographs can roid ‘observational research approach ¢ science disciplines to provide deep indcre immerse the researcher into consumers eso in any other form of research."" Firs phic research to design breakthrough prs esearch following baby-boomer women wy feo” ey rounded up financial transactions became “hile found it difficult to save. Subsequent research ebit card program whereby purchases are rayne" faded difference is automatically transferred fran ¢ "P *0 the launch, 2.5 million customers have signed soe 8"8 ing accounts and 1 million new savings accounts s4 the that uses coy METS and f how has TBM, d from ethnographic research.°°*! of Chinese-character text messaging in Shan, ‘with which users could write messages direct! hai, Motorola ly on the keypad ir guests turn their bedrooms into work spaces, Towneplace th a flexible modular wall unit that could serve as ther a, ‘siblings and/or grandmothers looked after infants and small sker families in South Asia, researchers on child health and limited just to consumer companies in developed matkets. GE's “fiber industry showed the firm that it wasn’t in a commod- it was in an artisanal industry with customers who wanted lopment. GE completely reoriented the way it interacted - industry as a result. Ethnographic research can be particu- jecially far-flung rural areas, where companies do not know oup is a gathering of six to ten people who are invited to foes group sesion involves OP ecator in order to discuss a product, service, organization, ‘© ten eople discussing a prod Goderator needs to be objective, knowledgeable, and skilled service, organ y : eting entity in the presen : offered some gifts or incentives for attending the ™arketing e normally a moderator. jon, or any otje were resistay g room to fit the them e a playroom 4 fourth of a tradi t! : fer the advantages i = jects to participate tt all ioe persona ‘or have a s Lf ze : sla Pa my =| collecting amber of te gr0Up. ParticiPa i sa : being st results: ew product CO Boner Be raitan tat fas nd yielding ei a ® highly opinionated person and yes 8 es soa ms ran oy ricpants is crucial, DUt ee ee ye sii ae ho meet the sampling © in-person ee Naa 0 a ees s Ne e flow of discussion and ative conce| | often crops up ¥ of the group. Getting the rig! nsive to recruit qualified subjects wl to $5,000 per groun) when marketers use multiple focus groups, I Liz the results to a broader population. For éxa it may be dificult ensure “i mpl, within the tot spontaneous adjus cs, such 28 2 er ses, focus-group findings often vary from region Te region. One cal into more comple ‘te Mea tc alizing in focus-group research claimed the best city to conduct yaa campaigl Sanit takes, the beauty 0 a foc 's Minneapolis, because there It coud get a sample of fairly well Regardless 0 rtoulat OTM Og. is that it’s still the mo people who were honest and forthooming with tne opinions. os ne Ma He information in rapid t ‘eters interpret focus groups in New York and other northeaster oretatfectiv®, quickest. Wharton's Americus a uly, because the people in these areas tend to be highly eritical Mp analyzing tne Pr 5 Bee iF you k jea.” IN i is like a chain saw. If you kne ily don’t report that they like much. i - "f focus grOUP ‘ effective. If you don't, yo must feel as relaxed as possible and strongly motvated } a i Physical surroundings can be crucial to achieving te ght what you're doing! 3. At one agency an executive noted, “We wondered vay 1080 aD. ae Mar aa 7 Future?” Marketing, June 6 seca Haris, “Do Focus Groups Have 8 ; tember 1, 2005); Reb ups,” American Demographics, rn ase il 2004, pp. 73-75; Alison Stein Wellner, “The New Science of Focus Grot Research 15, 0. 2 (Summer 2003), p. 115 Dennis W. Rook, “Loss of Vision: Focus Groups Fail 40; Sarah Jeffrey Kasner, »Fistfights and Feng Shui,” Boston Globe, July 21, 2001; Piet Levy, “In V oi R. Henderson, “Beyond Top ischler, “Every Move You Make,” Fast Company, Ap -33; Dennis Rook, “Out-of-Focus Groups," Marketing xt Practice,” Marketing News, September 15, 2003, P. Marketing News, May 30, 2009, p. 19. preferences, and satisfaction. It requires develop: to learn about people's knowledge, beliefs, which the respondents are asked to fill up a survey instrument, usually a questionnaire, Behavi 7 meen rg Rae Cae actual purchases reflect preferences and are normally ighstaaama nod ased statements made in surveys. Observations have shown ti e -proul is » e products, contrary to theit : 5 c ry to their stated preferences in the st matched groups of subj . jects, subjectit ; i variables, and checki jecting them to diff ecking whether observed respon: a it treatments, tis erences are statistically sigdor te obser b OF controlled, the observed eff effects ean re ated to ers have a choice of three main g eae serch instrome ts ofa set of questions presented t rument used to collect prim tionnaites before administering the anal inuec the espns Co “ answer at are easier to interpret and wage pinitheir own words and often reveal mre ee: Ope prec ete esac pfaniloats suring how many people think a cera Fespond. dents ay data, Rese Searchers nt 8 need age scale. The iin way, ons. ot be effective in rural areas sin South (MART) has developed some ‘iam Ms tions of conventional rating and rankin 7 ete literacy level tive techn ques for Bscales, and Research Team (MART) Is a earch organization, realizing the isto 1 conducting rural ly used for market research in urban areas, mae au opriate for tural market research, Mea en a set of | icit more accurate responses from the illiterate i AMplOY Color tools is pictorial scale with five faces represe ae ferent st represents their feelings about the i Product. Similarly, other tc rent colors for rating have been effective in rural a y among the rural population, thus ensuring better Praia eters prefer more qualitative methods fr gauging cos don’t always match their answers to survey questions. ae d measurement approaches that permit a range of a mony the creativity ofthe marketing researcher, i tds both researchers in their probes and consumers in their bbe an especially useful fist step in exploring consumers direct jn nature, so consumers may be less guarded and . Marketers must temper the in-depth insigl ffien very small and may not necessarily generalize to chers examining the same qualitative results may draw t in using qualitative methods. “Marketing Insight: ies the pioneering ZMET approach Some other et inside consumers’ minds and find out what they 53 hear the brand’s name. eto mind when they Jnen you think ‘0 mind w' to identify the range of ords com: you? Tell me what comes l ks is ninds. complete stimulus and sk them to make sens ask them to complete it, e of it. One approach isata Abo FaMy Fete rege Oto rater age 2h r partes ti Party ean Teer NC rete, eats tra Teouts get thr aN egg Sy ty Mage oy °° Bramley, fosnay I a : 28 itr Muen Strate. ence 9 professor Gerald Zaltmay deve bi . a an in-depth Method Ik and fee} about Products basio assumption behing tn (ZMET) is that Most thoughts bya set of “deep Metaphors,” tions that consumers have conscious and Universal, the , SAYS, oF does, According ® OF proposed nay by how CUE. The Moe Ae Ot at th i pee images of dogg one eSeare Otte to onstonite pene uct as INS Selo Sources: Gri 2a lences; and Metaphors Reveal About wo 8) Zaan F School Pres, 2008) Daniel ff onsu= What and well-being Marchytpnl 1998, 9 (Customer's Head,” Business 20 Jetty C. Olson, “Mt an apning Consumer Marketing 19, no. 6 (June 2002), ns, ey ‘by Metaphor New Yo a king participants in advance their OWN sources (magazines, y bubbles, like those found in cartoons, appear in scenes products or services. Subjects fill in the bubble, indicat- x being said. Another technique is comparison tasks in 6 people, countries, animals, activities, fabrics, occupations, ies, or even other brands. res people to create a collage from magazine photos or ey think of when the brand is would it be like, what would it wear, who would it talk to if it went to a Paty ee the John Deere brand might make someone a iy the modern methods of farming in India. ‘The bra yre human qualities of the brand. sp oe conse ific “why” questions © ‘more specific “W! buy one wants to DUY coals. Ask why some ebewell sore pea hyi stimportantthattheDhON’ (attribute). WI ee ility imp ‘ it). functional bene! s what kind of person thi alive as a person, what why is elauantitative mea i heir pFOs and cons iline panel to partici,” his or her rea, Me in 2Fous tty, expostute toa spt fe interval that m, i ach exposure, the resp, fay oh Movements to ce used to keep. Audion, fe oe is on and to which istruments, the marke, should the sampling unit ¢., or both? Should it inc, jets. Mail question ite is usually low oave found different result It group of researchers a UDA Sure h Super Bow! advertisements cts Ree the highest brain with the highest stated preferences, Im product placement unless the jral role in the storyline. . i ; ge mM neurological consumer "étetng manque ec Eres tobe characte. Tatlees' endings aS and more “as a largely marketing vat ga t from the rational, conscious, “he anomiss and aston makeing SRS On such as the purchase of gasoline Beas Manpetc tesa® the subrational | : a0. Teal BP. 81-40; Dar News, February 13 Marketing News, May 1 Lies About Why W 8 an EEG to monitor cognitive Niet atog Neer fentiveness for 12 different rantees, onal interviewing is the most expensive method, is subj Bring and supersision, Personal inersen. s, marketers contact respondents for an appointment and In intercept interviews, researchers stop people ata shopping an interview on the spot. Intercept interviews must be quick, probability samples. the Internet offers many ways to do site and offer an incentive to answer Yahoo!, inviting people to answer jn which companies float trial ch faster than traditional n Limited t launched ‘ing importance, tionnaire on its Web ; ly visited site such as e, Online product testing, ng and providing informatio The Bangalore Metr for designing a new ™* n mu Rail Corporatio tro station. llee eens AN) M860; its called Namma Metro-t\ ri an eh, student ‘Students were to submit design ideas for the interig,, of, named after Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vive," and, a design competition for Institute of Indian Interior Dé - major stations on the metro’s network, Hi CR a Sore ATO Crib pace! Vue! focus group or fPonsoy Marketers can : introduce questions fom time to time. The can kor, room, bulletin bard, babe laaeir company on Twitter rate an ides. Online communi oa ee cramers serve as a resource for a wide varity of companies, Insights from n2% vA online communities helped the company develop its popular line of 100 calonc snack sponsor Here are two other examples a io its 400-memibe, handpicked online community ced “Love yy. See ade mS EEVAINRLA Eat ot oss. The consensus Fequest was for some, tacoma andan cdo ofisminsand mines Contigo nr jne community throughout the product development, the company introduced Sates eae RCSUTRIATPLIE Cine ivially ecuined to lnnncre new product?! ad ce tinental Hotel Groups uses both surveys and communities to gather data on a tomer satisfaction. Online surveys provide actionable and speedy results to correct custome, ice issues the online community provides a sounding board for more in-depth, longer. term research objectives. Online research was estimated to make up 33 percent of all survey-based research in and Internet-based questionnaires also accounted for neatly one-third research surveys in the same year.°! There are many other means to use the Internet 2s a research tool. The company can learn about individuals who visit its site by tracking how they lickstrean through the Web site and move to other sites. It can post different Prices, use different headlines and offer different product features on different Web sites or at different ti ; effectiveness of its offerings. Yet, as popular as online research methods are, smart companies are choosing to use them ts augment rather than replace more traditional methods. At Kraft Foods, online research ig a sup. iti i iamond, director of consumer insights and strategy ine 1s not a solution in and of itself to all of our business challenges,” he said, “but i does nd our toolkit.” are a number of pros and cons to online research." Here are some advantages: 2006, of US. spending on mare imes to learn the relatiy, te research is inexpensive. A typical e-mail survey can cost between 20 percent an¢ )percent less than what a conventional survey Costs, and return rates can be as high as 50 percent. Online research is fast. Online Surveys are fast because the survey can automatically direc respondents to applicable questions and transmit results immediately. One estimate says ar mnline survey can generate 75 Percent to 80 percent of the targeted response in 48 hours compared to a telephone survey that can require 70 days to obtain 150 interviews, People tend to be honest and thoughtful online, People may be more open about their opin ons when they can respond privately and not to another person whom they feel might b: idging them, especially on sensitive topics (such as, “how often do you bathe or shower” they choose when and where they take the survey and how much time to devote to ch question, they may be more relaxed, introspective, and candid, research is versatile. Increased broadband Penetration offers online research even ity and capabilities, For instance, virtual reality software lets visitors inspect 3-1 lich a§ cameras, cars, and medical equipment and manipulate product basic tactile level, online surveys can make answering a questionnaire er-and-pencil versions. Online community blogs allow customer ach other, ® 40 percent of households were without broadband 09; the percentage is even higher among lower-incomewon ou 8 million fixed Internet dain that more and more people sy ve ways t0 reach Population eae © online, onl combine offline sources on the other side such as malls and rt online fitngs. = Fecreation centers ie aneehs or n dls to fill in the gaps in market rohrtare Stratege meh left by fine suffer from excessive turnover. \er flee. Or pethaps even worse, they ma Fmunity organizers are taking steps to : ; st by raising recruiting sanarts a Ria he the quality andengagement levels. New features, coe ™eetives, members interested and enga “Pia and other Rage oe nological problems and inconsiy, Hprowser software varies. The Web desi “research subject's screen. e to use text messaging in ariovs wayyy witha member fn oie oe second cha 1 also auseful way to get teenagerstoopence oo IP ON topics. HUNKS AME 1S mil side of bers may be Say but ony hate cies. Problems me's final prod. aformation research is generally the most expensive and the my in homes, over the phone, via the Internet, or te odie Por problems arse in surveys Some espondere Ee fband mist be contacted again or replaced, Othe Other Ipstacles to collecting information isthe need to ach its may be ‘uncomfortable with the impersonal eee isin asurveyso they fe theyre taking to ae Ea nay feel more pressure to conform and may haeaa - Sometimes the solution may be as simple as ed iby researchers in Bangalore, India: 1 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) research, conducted te of Management Bangalore, targeted respondents from different if to bring representativeness In {the responses. So, the ini- Jin English was translated into several Indian languages including i, Hindi, and Bangla. These were then used for collecting data ‘extract findings by tabulating the data and developing ages and measures of dispersion fr the .d decision models in the hope of say test different hypotheses and theories, applying sensttiv- gth of the conclusions. keting decisions facing consulting role in o considering relevant to the major mar asked to play a more proactive, and recommendations.” TheyT® alsSe wdable and compelling a fashion F., “Maio ely se brng heirs i gRacarch te Le Personas" describes an a et a aa ae seis ie Free nS some resea Step 6: Make the Decision Resea i ide additional information and insight to managers, , Sich ea me dea i, (sce @ Table 3.8), “Marketing Insight: Researching Rural Markets” provides some gui, dling i i arkets in India. fc iSoeauee ae Bem oh ter main, make better decisions. MIT's John Little defines a marketing decision support sy &s a coordinated collection of data, systems, tools, and techniques, with supportin hardware, by which an organization gathers and interprets lear, information Depend MDs 8 Sofa, 9 from bus + Unilever's biggest and most Successful hair-care lay for Sunsilk, was aided by insights into the target Consy the company dubbed “Katie.” The Katie Persona. OUtling; twenty-something female's hair-care Needs, but also her Be Ceptions and attitudes and the way she alt with her exe, fs Ife “dramas.” ; Although personas Provide vivid information to aid me Marketing Insigh latketing do, sion making, marketers also have to be careful to Not aie. fr ing; . Any target market ‘may have a range of Consumers whg Vary ai Br Inging Marke; ting Research umber of Ke dimensions. To accommodate thes potent, to Life with Personas » €1ces, researchers sometimes Employ two to six Der Used multiple personas to help redesign ang Telau To bring al the informaton ang Insights they have gained about their i arget market to life, some lefs are employing personas, are detailed profiles of One, or perhaps a few, hypothetical rget market Consumers, imagined in SONS. Best p, n zich the firm developed five Online customer Personas to guide its Wy terms of demographic, psycho- Tedesign efforts: aphic, ‘geographic, or other descriptive attitudinal or behavioral infor- “sia suburban mom vito uses technolo 53 ay and her comp, tion. searchers may use fs, naes, ‘names, or short bios to daily and depends o p Particulars ofthe persona, n the Geek Squad akin toa landscape or plumber. i * “Charlie"—g 50-plus male who is Curious about and intereste 8, and feels that are as ae 7 ache organization technology but needs an Unintimidating guide. * "Daryl"—a technologically Savvy hands-on €xperimenter Occasionally needs a helping hand with his tech Projects, “Luisa time-presseq ‘Small-business owner Whose primary 0 { sto complete tasks as expedient as possible, “Nick’—a. Prospective Geek Squad agent who views the site c Cally and needs to be challenged, To Satisfy Charlie, a Prominent 911 button was added to the uo; right-hand corner in Case a crisis arose, but to Satisfy Nick, Best 8 Created a whole channe| devoted to geek information, the Tene ba S an outsourced so Control of the Purchase 2007, p. 13, Usa Sanders, “Major Markete: "Advertising Age, Apri 9, 20: