FUNDAMENTALS OF MR

MR is a systematic & objective study of the problem pertaining to

the marketing of goods & services . Its function is to provide
information to the management so that it can identify & react to
the marketing opportunities & problems . It provides the
information required for making marketing decisions.
Growth of MR : several factors have contributed to the growth of
MR
• As a result of large scale production , producers do not have
direct contact with the consumers . This leads to the problems in
marketing of goods. The manufacturer must know the potential
areas where his goods could be marketed , the probable demand ,
profit , competition etc . This is possible when a systematic
investigation is undertaken .
• There has been shift from sellers to buyers market .
This necessitates better understanding of buyer behavior .
3. The emergence of specialists like statisticians , psychologists have
fairly enhanced the importance of MR . They have helped the
development of MR as a separate discipline & strengthened its
techniques .
4 . Increasing use of computers have further contributed to the growth
of MR .
5 . Shift of population from rural to urban areas , has widened the scope
of marketing of various types of goods & services in the urban areas
.
LIMITATIONS OF MR
• MR tends to be fragmentary in its approach as a result of which it
becomes difficult to have an overall perspective in which a
marketing problem is to be viewed & studied .
2. MR is too superficial as it is used by those who do not have formal
training in the subject. Such persons avoid using detailed investigation
& sophisticated techniques which require both time & patience on the
part of MR .
3. There is absence of meaningful dialogue bet marketing management
& MR , as a result MR gets separated from the main stream of
marketing. This denies them to test their findings in practical marketing
situation .
4.MR is misused to support or substantiate a view point or position. In
such cases the objectivity of the research is lost.
5. In the hands of vested MR may be used to avoid taking certain
decisions or delaying them.
6. MR is used to grab power & authority in an organization.executives
who are over ambitious use MR to consolidate & strengthen their
position &extend their authority over their colleagues.
Threats to MR : GEORGE DAY identified 3 major threats .
1. Excessive interviewing.
2. Lack of consideration & abuse of respondents .(no benefit,misuse)
3. The use of MR as a sales ploy.( the greatest threat . If not checked
will erode the trust of the consumers.)
MR will suffer if it is used to camouflage(to hide) sales call . The first
threats also can be avoided by screening questions so that persons
already can be eliminated. Also it is better to use non interviewing
research techniques so that the need to approach respondents can
be minimized.
ROLE OF MR IN MARKETING PLAN
Marketing plan usually follows the mktg stgy which can be defined as
segmentation , target market selection ,& positioning. MR
provides information required in selecting suitable stgy. This is
Once mktg stgy is chosen , the mktg plan at tactical level . It includes
4 p’s of mktg PRODUCT , PRICING , PROMOTION , PLACE.
To make about any of these , a mktg manager needs information.
This is fulfilled by MR.
MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM ( mktg intelligence)
A structured interdependent activities associated associated with the
collection of mktg infn , both from int & ext sources. This infn
helps the mktg manager to take decisions in different areas of
mktg management. MR is a means of obtaining infn to be used in
making mktg decisions. Thus the diff bet the two is MR generates
infn & MIS concentrates on storage & flow of infn to mktg
managers.
TYPES OF Infn : MIS supplies 3 types of infn to mktg managers :
1. Recurrent.
2. Monitoring.
3. Requested.
Recurrent(repeated) infn is provided on periodic basis. For ex infn on
sales , market share , customer satisfaction & perception .adv exp etc
may be provided on weekly or monthly basis.
Monitoring (observe the exisisting)infn is obtained from regular
scanning of certain sources. For ex. Official publications , journals ,
annual reports of the company. These sources indicate nature of
problems that are likely to arise & the possible changes in the
business environment. They also help in identifying new market
segments , new uses of the existing product or improving it by
introducing new features.
Requested infn is the infn sought by the mktg managers.like cost
&price analysis of the competitive products , cash flow position of
the competitive companies . Such infn cannot be obtained with out
request.
MI vs MR

MI MR
Ongoing process Project based on
infn gap
Usually done Outsourced to MR
inhouse companies
Not meant for Action oriented
immediate acion
General purpose Very sp answers to
questions
Focus on Focus on
competition consumers
Who does MR ?
In case of MR it is not necessary to handle in-house all the time . It
could easily be outsourced. The reasons are :
1. It is an intermittent activity based on identified information gap
or infn need.
2. Large number of professional research firms are available to do
the needful. They have branches all over the country & some
have global associates if research needs to go beyond Indian
boundaries. Some of these firms specialize in consumer research ,
some in industrial research , in qualitative research etc. ORG , is
a major Indian research firm(now it is ORG-MARG, after a
merger bet 2 companies) thus it economical for a company to get
their MR done from one of many research firms like IMRB,
ORG-MARG, TN Sofres etc but in large consumer goods
cmpany which have multiple brands , it is better to have an in-
house department with qualified researchers.
Other reasons to do research in-house is to protect confidential infn
such as new product designs or pricing. But it is not possible to MR
internally alone , as the cost of hiring & retaining qualified staff
may be high , so there could be a mix of internal & out-sourced
research.
TYPICAL APPLICATIONS OF MR
1. Concept research.
2. Product research.
3. Pricing research.
4. Distribution research.
5. Advertising research.(copy testing , media research)
WHEN TO DO MR?
WHEN
1. When there is infn gap which TO
can beDO MR?
filled by MR.
2. The cost of filling the gap through MR is than the cost of taking a
wrong decision.
3. Time taken for research does not delay decision making. Delay can
have undesirable effects , like competitors becoming aware of the
strategies or tactics being contemplated , consumers opinion changing
etc.
MR complements a mktg managers judgment, intuition &
understanding , rather than substituting for this.