3.

THE RESEARCH CYCLE

•Product lifecycle
•Pre-launch stage
•Rollout stage
•Established market stage

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• The research needs and activities of a
company change overtime, especially as
its product line matures and grows.
• Changes in the competitive environment
influence and even dictate the types of
research studies that must be carried out.
• The research cycle illustrate the changing
configuration of research needs that
brands face as they or their markets
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 PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE CONCEPT

• It divides a product evolution by sales

patterns over time into four stages:
introduction, growth maturity and decline.
• The product research needs are cyclical as
well.
• However the idea of a research life cycle is
not widely recognized.
• Research results from the need to anticipate,
understand or respond to the changes in the
market place.
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• The research cycle acknowledge the fact
that as product move through their life
cycle they have unique research needs.
• The research cycle, which can be divided
into pre-launch, rollout and established
markets, recognizes such changes and
specifically matches research activities to
the unique needs of a product during
each stage of its life cycle.
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 1. PRE – LAUNCH STAGE

• This is the stage of the research life cycle

characterized by research activities aimed
at assisting the marketing managers in
developing and introducing new and
improved products that are likely to be
successful in the markets place.
• For many firms, the development and
successful rollout of new product and
service are essential for the continued
financial health of the organization.
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• All the marketing research activities
undertaken in the pre-launch stage are
designed to ensure that a national rollout,
if undertaken will be successful in
matching or exceeding management
performance objectives.
• The different type of research activities
undertaken in the pre-launch phase are
the concept testing, product testing,
name testing, and package testing and
test marketing.
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 II ROLLOUT

• This is the stage of the research cycle that provides

information about product/ market activities in the
introduction and growth stages of a product life cycle.
• In this phase the chief purpose of marketing research is
to provide information about what is going on in the
market place.
• Throughout this phase, research studies that track
consumer awareness level and attitudes and trial and
repeat purchase are extremely significant.
• As rollout progress, tracking of consumer perception
and usage becomes very important.
• Two research activities undertaken in this phase are
market tracking and positioning studies.
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• (a) Market tracking
• These are tests undertaken to determine where a firm
stands compared with competition
• Tracking has two objectives:
• 1. Monitoring the market place: Tracking studies are
often the principle source of data about category and
• -brand use patterns,
• - demographic characteristic of the user,
• - consumer attitudes and predispositions and
• - brand awareness level. Market tracking is relatively
undisruptive i.e. the test is conducted under normal
conditions with marketing activities continuing.
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• 2. Assessment: Monitoring the market place
yields information on real world performance
and thereby provides managers with
information that allows them to evaluate the
results of their decisions.
• The strategic assessment that market tracking
provides allows manager to set or develop
measurable objectives.
• In other words, tracking provides realistic
benchmarks by which the performance of
real- worlds marketing campaign can be
evaluated. 
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• b) Positioning studies
• They provide “pictures” or maps of the
competitive structure among particular
products or brands or services.
• Positioning maps provides management with
a consumer perspective on competition in the
market place and presumably reflect how the
market evaluates a particular set of brands or
products.
• Besides providing a structure of competitive
relationship, product map are used to:
• 1. Develop and evaluate strategic plans   www.nettconsultants.com

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• 2. Tracking market changes
• 3. Investigate the relationship between
the firm’s actions and their marketing
consequences.
• 4. Position or reposition a brand to
appeal to specific consumers.

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• Products maps are constructed from
consumer’s perceptual beliefs.
• These beliefs are elicited by asking a sample
of consumers to rate a set of products or
brands based on the degree to which each
brand or product provides a predetermined
set of end benefits.
• In practice, consumers are asked to rate or
rank a set of products or brands on a number
of products attributes or descriptive
statements concerning how each brand or
product performs.
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• Perceptual rating provides a means of
identifying the primary dimension on
which brand or product evaluations
are made.
• Statistical analysis procedures are used
to identify the relevant evaluative
dimension. The dimensions represents
broader and perhaps more general
evaluations.
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• For example efficacy (effectiveness) and mildness are
two broad conceptual end benefits that consumers look
for in laundry powders.
• These are however a number of specific products
attribute that relate to these two broad conceptual and
benefit categories.
• Efficiency Mildness
• Strong, Powerful Genital To Natural
(Fibers)
• Gets Out Dirt Wont Harm Color
• Removes Stain Wont harm synthetics.

• Good for grease oil

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  III. ESTABLISHED MARKETS

• This is the stage of the research cycle that

provides information that manager need to
use to strategically manage products in the
mature and decline stage of the PLC
• Research focuses on
• a) new ways to build interest in the product,
or
• B) identifying new segments and on
• C) developing effective ways to become more
competitive.
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• The accent (emphasis) is firmly on
competition.
• The growing intensity of competition in
most business makes predicting the
reactions of competitors to a firms own
marketing program extremely urgent.
• Research activities undertaken in
established markets include among others
markets structure studies and market
segmentation studies.
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• a) Market structure studies
• An essential ingredient in designing
successful marketing strategies is a
thorough understanding of the structure
of markets and patterns of competition
within the markets
• Decisions concerning the element of
marketing mix cannot be made without
first acquiring and understanding the
competitive arena.
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• Market structure studies seek to define the
competitive relationships within a product/
service market.
• Perceptual product maps identify a product
competitor and define the boundaries of a
market. However they do not specify the
extent of competition among a set of
products or brands.
• Markets structure studies do just that by
measuring the degree to which one
competitive product might substitute for
another.
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• The objective in market structure analysis is
to determine the degree of substitutability
among a set of products or brands.
• Before the extent of competitiveness among a
set of products or brands can be determined
the relevant product market must be defined.
• Hence, most market structure analysis
techniques define product market boundaries
and measure the degree of substitutability
among the brands making up the product
market.
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• b) Market segmentations studies
• Markets segment refer to sub group of
consumers that respond to a given marketing
mix strategy in a similar manner.
• More specifically segment consists of
subgroup of consumers who exhibit differing
sensitivities to some marketing mix element.
• Identify one market that has become highly
segmented.

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• Beer market is made up of low price, high
price premium, imports, light/low calorie
malts, low alcohol and non alcohol brands.
• Brands proliferation is a direct result of
recognizing the distinctive desires of beer
customers with respect to taste and lifestyle
• Market segmentation studies provide
guideline for a firm marketing strategy and
resource allocation among products and
markets. They consequently influence
marketing tactical plans and programs. 
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• By recognizing consumer heterogeneity, a
firm can increase its profitability by
segmenting its market.
• Initially the contribution of segmentation
analysis to marketing planning was to
provide a framework for analysis of
existing data.
• Today’s role of marketing segmentation
has expanded to provide a basis for
identifying the data needed for strategy
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• Segmentation research is used to answer a wide
range of questions concerning markets response
to a firm marketing strategy including product or
price changes, new products offering and the
selection of target markets
• Typical management questions that guide
markets segmentation studies include.
• How do the evaluations of a set of new products
concepts vary by different respondent groups’
men versus women, users versus non uses, light
versus heavy users and so on?

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• Are there different promotion sensitive
segments for a new product concept? If so
how do they differ with respect to product
use, concept evaluations, attitudes and
demographic and psychographic profiles
• How do the target markets for a new product
concept differ regarding the end benefit
sought, product use characteristics and other
background characteristics?
 
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• Review questions
–Discuss the differences between concept
screening tests and concept evaluation tests.
–Why are products tests conducted?
Translate each of the reason for conducting
products into a number of specific types of
products testing applications.
–Discuss the variorums types of products
tests. For each of the following products or
brands, which type of the product test
would you recommend and why?
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–Discuss the primary approaches to naming a
product?
–Describe the key information that should be
collected in a name test?
–Describe the steps in conducting a name test?
–Why is packaging an important considerations?
–Described the steps in conducting a package
test
–What issue should the researcher be
particularly sensitive to?
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