BA 115IU

International Marketing

Chapter 8:
Marketing Research

Lecturer: Dinh Thi Le Trinh

 Table of contents
n The importance of problem definition in
international research
n The problems of availability and use of secondary
data
n Sources of secondary data
n Quantitative and qualitative research methods
n Multicultural sampling
n Using international marketing research
 What is Marketing research?
n International enterprises: need for current,
accurate information
n Information needs:
n general data -> assess market opportunities
n specific market information for decisions about product,
promotion, distribution, and price.
 What is Marketing research?
n Marketing research:
n The systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of
data to provide information useful in marketing decision
making
n International marketing research: two
complications.
n Communicates across cultural boundaries (e.g.
“translate”).
n The research tools applied are often different in foreign
markets.
 Breadth and Scope of
International Marketing Research
n Types of information needed: 3
n General information about the country, area,
and/or market:
n Information to forecast future marketing
requirements
n By anticipating social, economic, consumer,

and industry trends within specific markets or

countries
n Specific market information used to make and
develop marketing plans (4ps)
 Breadth and Scope of
International Marketing Research
n Unisys Corporation’s planning steps for collecting
and assessing the following types of information
n Economic and demographic:
n growth in the economy, inflation, business cycle trends,...
n profitability analysis for the division’s products;
n specific industry economic studies;
n analysis of overseas economies;
n key economic indicators for domestic market and major foreign
countries, as well as population trends (migration, immigration,
and aging).
Breadth and Scope of
International Marketing Research
n Unisys Corporation’s planning steps for collecting
and assessing the following types of information
n Cultural, sociological, and political climate:
n ecology, safety, and leisure time and their potential

impacts on the division’s business.

Breadth and Scope of
International Marketing Research
n Unisys Corporation’s planning steps for collecting
and assessing the following types of information
n Overview of market conditions:
n A detailed analysis of market conditions that the division faces,
by market segment, including international.
n Summary of the technological environment
n the state-of-the-art technology

n Competitive situation.
n competitors’ sales revenues,
n methods of market segmentation, products,
n apparent strategies on an international scope.
 The Research Process
n Research process steps
n 1. Define the research problem and establish
research objectives
n 2. Determine the sources of information to fulfill the
research objectives
n 3. Consider the costs and benefits of the research
effort
n 4. Gather relevant data from secondary or/and
primary sources.
n 5. Analyze, interpret, and summarize the results
n 6. Effectively communicate the results to decision
makers
 Research steps are similar for
all countries???
n Research steps are similar for all countries
n Variations and problems can occur in
implementation
n Differences in cultural and economic
development
Defining the Problem and
Establishing Research Objectives
n The major difficulty: converting a series of
ambiguous business problems into achievable
research objectives
n The first, most crucial step in research is more
critical in foreign markets (unfamiliar environment)
n Other difficulties in foreign research: failures to
establish problem limits broad enough to include
all relevant variables
 Problems of Availability and
the Use of Secondary Data
n Availability of the data:
n Comprehensive statistics:
n US, Japan, several European countries
n Lack of comprehensive market data (quality and
quantity):
n Eastern countries, some Asian countries,...
=>Continuing efforts to improve data collection
n United Nations
n Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD)
 Problems of Availability and
Use of Secondary Data
n Reliability of data:
n Official statistics are sometimes too optimistic
(national pride)
n Less-developed countries prone to optimism
n Willful errors
n “Adjusted reporting”
 Problems of Availability and
Use of Secondary Data
n Issues with data (Ex: less developed
countries)
n Data is out of date
n Data collected on an infrequent and
unpredictable schedule
n data are reported in different categories or in
categories much too broad to be of specific
value
 Problems of Availability and
Use of Secondary Data
n Validating secondary data:
n Questions should be asked to effectively judge
the reliability of secondary data sources:
n 1. Who collected the data? Would there be any
reason for purposely misrepresenting the facts?
n 2. For what purposes were the data collected?
n 3. How (by what methodology) were the data
collected?
n 4. Are the data internally consistent and logical in
light of known data sources or market factors?
 Problems of Availability and
Use of Secondary Data
n Validating secondary data:
n Checking the consistency of one set of
secondary data with other data of known validity
n The availability and accuracy of recorded
secondary data increase with level of economic
development
Gathering Primary Data:
Quantitative and Qualitative Research
n Primary data
n Data collected specifically for the particular
research project
n Quantitative research
n Large number of respondents
n Respondents answer structured oral or written
questions
n Responses can be summarized in percentages,
averages, or other statistics
Gathering Primary Data: Quantitative
and Qualitative Research
n Qualitative research
n Open-ended or in-depth questions
n Unstructured responses: the person’s thoughts and
feelings on the subject
n Interprets people in the sample
n Is helpful in revealing the impact of sociocultural
factors on behavior patterns and in developing
research hypotheses
Problems of Gathering Primary
Data
n Ability to communicate opinions
n Formulating opinions about a product or
concept
n Depends on the respondent’s ability to recognize
the usefulness of such a product of concept
n Product or concept must be understood and used
in community
n The more complex the concept, the more
difficult it is to design research (Ex: Babies)
 Problems of Gathering Primary
Data
n Willingness to respond
nCultural differences -> unwillingness or inability
to respond to research surveys
=> Less direct measurement techniques and
nontraditional data analysis methods may also be
more appropriate
 Problems of Gathering Primary
Data
n Sampling in field surveys
n Unadequate demographic data and unavailable
lists
n Lack of detailed social and economic information
leads to:
n No officially recognized population information
n No other listings that can serve as sampling frames
n Incomplete and out-of-date telephone directories
n No accurate maps of population centers
 Problems of Gathering Primary
Data
n Language and comprehension
n Language barrier
n Literacy
Three techniques to help discover
translation errors ahead of time
n Back translation
n Parallel translation

n Decentering
Three techniques to help discover
translation errors ahead of time
n Back translation:
n The questionnaire is translated from one language to
another, and then a second party translates it back into
the original, and the two original language versions are
compared.
n Backdraw: idioms in both languages
Three techniques to help discover
translation errors ahead of time
n Parallel translation:
n More than two translators are used for the back
translation
n Compare the results
n Discuss differences
n Select the most appropriate translation
Three techniques to help discover
translation errors ahead of time
n Decentering:
n A hybrid of back translation.
n A successive process of translation and
retranslation of a questionnaire, each time by a
different translator.
 Multicultural Research: A
Special Problem
n Multicultural research involves countries
that have different languages, economies,
social structures, behavior, and attitude
patterns.
 Research on the Internet
n Online surveys and buyer panels:
n These can include incentives for participation,
and they have better “branching” capabilities
(asking different questions based on previous
answers) than more expensive mail and phone
surveys.
n Online focus groups:
n Bulletin boards can be used for this purpose
 Research on the Internet
n Web visitor tracking:
n Servers automatically track and time visitors’
travel through websites.
n Advertising measurement:
n Servers track links to other sites, and their
usefulness therefore can be assessed.
n Customer identification systems
n Registration procedures that allow them to track
visits and purchases over time, creating a
“virtual panel.”
 Research on the Internet
n E-mail marketing lists:
n Customers can be asked to sign up on e-mail
lists to receive future direct marketing efforts via
the Internet.
n Embedded research:
n searching for information about products and
services, comparison shopping among
alternatives, interacting with service providers,
and maintaining the customer–brand
relationship.
 Research on the Internet
n Observational research:
n Chat rooms, blogs, and personal websites all can
be systematically monitored to assess consumers’
opinions about products and services.
n Ex: TimeWarner maintains a laboratory full of iPads, 3D
televisions, and Xbox gaming consoles, such that it can
use all sorts of high-tech observational devices to
measure people’s eye movements, heart rates, facial
movements, and skin temperatures as they experience
visual stimuli such as television programs or video
games.
 Estimating Market Demand
n To assess current product demand and forecast
future demand
n Requires reliable historical data
n When the desired statistics are not available, a
close approximation can be made
n Using local production figures plus imports, with
adjustments for exports and current inventory levels
 Estimating Market Demand
n Two methods of forecasting demand
n Expert opinion:
n The key in using expert opinion to help in forecasting

demand is triangulation
n Analogy:
n Assumes that demand for a product develops in much
the same way in all countries as comparable economic
development occurs in each country
Problems in Analyzing and
Interpreting Research Information
n Accepting information at face value in foreign
markets is imprudent
n The foreign market researcher must posses three
talents to generate meaningful marketing
information
n 1. The researcher must posses a high degree of cultural
understanding of the market in which research is being conducted
n 2. A creative talent for adapting research methods is necessary
n 3. A skeptical attitude in handling both primary and secondary data
is helpful
 Responsibility for Conducting
Marketing Research
n Rely on an outside foreign-based agency or
domestic company with a branch in that country
n A trend toward decentralization of the research
function is apparent
n Local analysts appear to be able to provide information
more rapidly and accurately
n Control rests in hands closer to the market
n Disadvantage: ineffective communications with
homeoffice executives
n Unwarranted dominance of large-market studies in decisions
about global standardization
 Responsibility for Conducting
Marketing Research
n A comprehensive review of the different
approaches to multicountry research suggests
n Ideal approach is to have local researchers in each
country,
n Close coordination between the client company and
the local research companies
n Two stages of analysis are necessary
n Individual-country level
n Multi-country level
 Communicating with Decision
Makers
n give to decision makers in a timely manner
n directly involve not only in problem definition and
questions formulation, but also in the fieldwork
n Even when both managers and customers speak
the same language and are from the same
culture, communication can become garbled in
either direction