Chapter 7

Marketing
Research

© 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 7-1

 Chapter 7: Marketing Research

LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
LO1 Identify the five steps in the marketing research process
LO2 Describe the various secondary data sources
LO3 Describe primary data collection techniques and
summarize the differences between secondary data and
primary data
LO4 Outline ethical issues firms encounter when conducting
marketing research

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 Marketing Research
 Modern companies are
leveraging “big data”.

 Netflix relies on usage data

 Data collection helped

Netflix understand what
people want to watch

 Netflix leverages its

advanced marketing research
to understand how people
watched shows and movies.

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 Marketing Research

Consists of a set of techniques and principles for

systematically collecting, recording, analyzing
and interpreting data that can aid decision
makers involved in marketing goods, services or
ideas.

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 Test Your Knowledge

Which of the following statements is NOT correct regarding why

marketers find research valuable?
A) helps reduce some of the uncertainty under which marketers
currently operate
B) marketing research provides a marginal link between firms
and their environments
C) ongoing marketing research can identify emerging
opportunities and new and improved ways of satisfying
consumer needs and wants
D) firms can anticipate and respond quickly to competitive
moves

© 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 7-5

 Test Your Knowledge

Which of the following statements is NOT correct regarding why

marketers find research valuable?
A) helps reduce some of the uncertainty under which marketers
currently operate
B) marketing research provides a marginal link between firms
and their environments
C) ongoing marketing research can identify emerging
opportunities and new and improved ways of satisfying
consumer needs and wants
D) firms can anticipate and respond quickly to competitive
moves

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The Marketing Research
Process

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 Step 1: Define The Research
Problem & Objectives

What
information is
How should
needed to
that
answer
information be
specific
obtained?
research
questions?

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 Step 1: Define The Research
Problem & Objectives

If McDonald’s were to do research to better understand its customers’ experience, it would study both the McDonald’s experience (left) and that of its major
competitors, like Wendy’s (right).

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 Step 2: Design the Research Plan

 Identify  type of data

needed
 Determine  type of
research necessary to collect
the data
 Project objectives drive the
type of data needed

McDonald’s assesses its customers’ market experience by examining

available data and then asks customers about their experience with
products such as Value Meals.

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 Step 3: Collect Data
 Secondary Data
 Pieces of information that
have been collected prior to
the start of the focal project
 Can be internal or external
data

 Primary Data
 Data collected to address
specific research needs
 Focus groups, interviews, Politicians and non-profit organizations do research to understand their constituencies.

surveys

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 Step 4: Analyze Data & Develop
Insights

Converting data into information to explain, predict and/or

evaluate a particular situation.

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 Step 5: Present Action Plan
 PREPARE the results
 Executive summary
 Body of the report (objectives, methodology,
findings)
 Conclusions
 Supplemental tables/appendices

 PRESENT the results

 Short & to the point
 Interesting & appropriate to style of audience
 No technical jargon!
 Recommendations

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 Test Your Knowledge

Data can be collected from many different sources, including both

secondary and primary sources. All of the following about primary
data sources is true EXCEPT:
A) It is data that has been collected prior to the start of the
project.
B) It is data that addresses specific research needs.
C) It can include surveys.
D) It includes focus groups.

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 Test Your Knowledge

Data can be collected from many different sources, including both

secondary and primary sources. All of the following about primary
data sources is true EXCEPT:
A) It is data that has been collected prior to the start of the
project.
B) It is data that addresses specific research needs.
C) It can include surveys.
D) It includes focus groups.

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 Secondary Data
 Can be free or very
inexpensive to obtain
 Internal sources:
 From the company/firm
itself
 Invoices, customer lists,
other reports created by
the firm
 Firms use data mining
techniques to decipher
large amounts of data
Marketers use data-mining techniques to determine what items people buy at the same time, so
 Downside: may not be the those items can be promoted and displayed together.

data you need or the right

data

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 Secondary Data

 Data Mining:
 uses a variety of statistical analysis tools to uncover previously
unknown patterns in the data or relationships among variables.
 Can reduce Churn levels
 uses a variety of statistical analysis tools to uncover previously
unknown patterns in the data or relationships among variables.

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 Secondary Data
 Big Data:
 data sets that are too large and complex to analyze with
conventional data management software
 these data sets are then analyzed with a variety of
statistical tools, known as data mining tools
 Five Vs of Big Data (Exhibit 7.5)

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 Secondary Data
 External sources:
 census data, trade journals, books, articles,
reports
 can also be purchased from specialized research
firms
 Downside: may not be specific or timely enough
to solve the research needs

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 Test Your Knowledge

Pieces of information that have been collected prior to the start of

the focal research project is referred to as:
A) Panel data
B) Syndicated data
C) Scanner data
D) Secondary data

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 Test Your Knowledge

Pieces of information that have been collected prior to the start of

the focal research project is referred to as:
A) Panel data
B) Syndicated data
C) Scanner data
D) Secondary data

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 External Secondary Data Sources
 Secondary Data Sources:
 Syndicated data
 Scanner data
 Panel data

Syndicated external secondary data are acquired from scanner readings of UPC codes at checkout
counters (left) and from panel data collected from consumers that electronically record their purchases
(right).

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 External Secondary Data Sources
(Examples, Part 1)
Guides, Indexes, and Stats Canada & Other
Databases
Directories Government Pubs
Business Periodicals Index Canadian Economic Observer CANSIM (Statistics Canada)
Canadian Almanac and Directory Canada Yearbook CompuServe
Canadian News Index Family Expenditure Guide Dialog
Canadian Periodical Index Market Research Handbook Dow Jones
Canadian Small Business Index Statistics Canada Catalogue Factiva
and Directory Western Economic FPinfomart
Canadian Trade Index Diversification Canada Infoglobe
Directory of Canadian Ontario Ministry for Economic LexisNexis
Associations Development and Trade SEDAR
Fraser’s Canadian Trade Department of Foreign Affairs SymphonyIRI Group
Directory and Trade
Predicasts F&S Index U.S. Census
Scott’s Directories Stat-USA
Standard Periodical Directory

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 External Secondary Data Sources (Examples,
Part 2)
Periodicals and Newspaper Trade Sources Online Sources
Advertising Age Aberdeen Research Websites of competitors
Adweek Nielsen White papers from industry
American Demographics Conference Board of Canada associations
Business Horizons Dun & Bradstreet Canada Search engines
Canadian Business Financial Post Publishing Industry publication websites
Canadian Consumer Find/SVP Competitive annual reports
Canadian Grocer Gale Research Business and strategy sites (e.g.,
Financial Post Interactive Advertising Bureau http://www.canadianbusiness.com)
Financial Post Magazine Jupiter Research News alerts and online news searches
Forbes Forrester Research (e.g., Google Alerts)
Fortune MacLean Hunter Research Bureau Finance sites for publicly traded
The Globe and Mail MapInfo Canada companies (e.g., Yahoo! Finance)
Harvard Business Review Wikipedia (Always validate data from
Journal of Advertising here!)
Journal of Marketing Management The Free Library
Journal of Personal Selling and Sales (http://www.thefreelibrary.com)
Management
Journal of Small Business
Management
Marketing Magazine
Marketing & Media Decisions
Marketing News

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 External Secondary Data Sources –
Bureau of Broadcasting
Syndicated Data
Measurement
(http://bbm.ca)
GfK Mediamark Research Inc.
(http://www.gfkmri.com)
GfK NOP (http://www.gfknop.com)
Ipsos Canada, Harris/Decima, Léger
Marketing, Angus Reid, SES
Research, EKOS Research
Associates, The Strategic Counsel,
Pollara, and COMPAS
J.D. Power and Associates
(http://www.jdpower.com)
National Purchase Diary Group
(http://www.npd.com)
Nielsen (http://www.nielsen.com)
Print Measurement Bureau
(http://www.pmb.ca)
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.co
m)
Simmons Market Research Bureau
(http://www.smrb.com)
Provides broadcast measurement and consumer behaviour data, as well as intelligence to
broadcasters, advertisers, and agencies on audience behaviours during and after broadcasts.
Supplies multimedia audience research pertaining to media and marketing planning for advertised
brands.
The mKids US research study tracks mobile telephone ownership and usage, brand affinities, and
entertainment habits of American youth between 12 and 19 years of age.
Provides polling services and marketing research on all aspects of marketing, including loyalty,
branding, media analysis, pricing, position, image enhancement, customer satisfaction, focus groups,
online panels, and surveys across many industries.
Widely known for its automotive ratings, the company produces quality and customer satisfaction
research for a variety of industries.
Tracking services provide information about product movement and consumer behaviour in a variety
of industries.
With its market measurement services, the company tracks data on the sales of consumer packaged
goods, gathered at the point of sale in retail stores of all types and sizes.
Provides single-source data on print readership, non-print media exposure, product usage, and
lifestyles of Canadians. It uses an annual sample of 24,000 to measure the readership of more than
115 publications and consumer usage of more than 2,500 products and brands.
Promotes itself as a “one-stop shop” for market research and data from most leading publishers,
consultants, and analysts.
Reports on the products American consumers buy, the brands they prefer, and their lifestyles,
attitudes, and media preferences.
© 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 7-25
Disadvantages of Secondary data

 Secondary data may not be adequate to

meet researchers’ needs:

 data initially were acquired for some

purpose other than the research
question at hand, they may not be
completely relevant.
 it may not always be adequate to
answer the research objective.
 may be dated

© 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 7-26

 Test Your Knowledge

A type of quantitative research that uses data obtained from

readings of UPC codes at checkout counters is referred to as:
A) Panel data
B) Syndicated data
C) Scanner data
D) Primary data

© 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 7-27

 Test Your Knowledge

A type of quantitative research that uses data obtained from

readings of UPC codes at checkout counters is referred to as:
A) Panel data
B) Syndicated data
C) Scanner data
D) Primary data

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Primary Data Collection Techniques

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Qualitative Research
Qualitative Research
- Exploratory -

Reliability Validity Sampling

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Qualitative Research Methods

Observatio
n

Projective Social
Techniques Media

Method
s

Focus In-Depth
Groups Interviews

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 Qualitative Research Methods -
Observation
• Examines purchase
& consumption
behaviour through
personal or video
camera observance
• Ethnography –
study people in
their daily life
setting
Domino’s observes its customers virtually. Customers earn Domino’s reward points when they upload
photos of the pizza they have consumed to the app. By analyzing these photos, Domino’s learns people’s
overall pizza preferences to develop better products in the future.

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 Qualitative Research
Methods – Social Media

• Provides valuable
information that
could aid their
marketing
research and
strategy
endeavours

Sephora’s online community Beauty Insider is a valuable source of marketing research

insights. This virtual community allows customers to ask questions, join groups, chat
live with other customers, get advice, and post pictures.

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 Qualitative Research Methods –
Social Media
Pros Results Cons Results

Large accessible sample Greater objectivity Not a statistically Could skew findings
representative sample

People of all ages use Wider sample, greater Feedback may not be Not useful to research
social media representation well thought out problem

Large amount of Easier to find data Anonymity Could encourage

information posted on related to your brand extreme opinions and
social media sites comments

Very current feedback High relevance No depth of information Cannot distinguish

about consumer differences among
consumers
Consumers freely offer No interviewer bias Conversations are No opportunity to probe
opinions and insights observed only for more detail

Can search for and filter More timely No consent to study data Potential ethical issues
data

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 Test Your Knowledge

Which of the following represents a key advantage of using social

media in research?
A) Conversations are observed only
B) No consent to study data
C) Contributors to social-media sites rarely are shy about
providing their opinions
D) Anonymity

© 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 7-35

 Test Your Knowledge

Which of the following represents a key advantage of using social

media in research?
A) Conversations are observed only
B) No consent to study data
C) Contributors to social-media sites rarely are shy about
providing their opinions
D) Anonymity

© 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 7-36

 Qualitative Research Methods
– In Depth Interview

• Trained
researchers ask
questions, listen
to & record
answers
• They then pose
additional
questions to
clarify
Although relatively expensive, in-depth interviews can reveal information that would be difficult to obtain
with other methods.

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 Qualitative Research Methods –
Focus Groups
• A small group of
people come
together for an in-
depth discussion
• Guided by a
trained moderator
• An unstructured
method of inquiry A&W tried to compete with the Quarter Pounder from McDonald’s with a 1/3 pound burger. It failed because
customers believed that 1/4 pound was bigger than 1/3 pound.
is used

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 Quantitative Research
• Information
confirms early
insights
• Uses surveys,
formal studies,
scanner & panel
data
• Test the prediction
or hypothesis Survey research uses questionnaires to collect primary data. Questions can be either
unstructured or structured.

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Quantitative Research Methods

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 What To Avoid When Designing A
Questionnaire
Issue
Avoid questions the respondent cannot
easily or accurately answer.
Avoid sensitive questions unless they are
absolutely necessary.
Avoid double-barreled questions, which
refer to more than one issue with only one
set of responses.
Avoid leading questions, which steer
respondents to a particular response,
irrespective of their true beliefs.
Avoid one-sided questions that present only
one side of the issue.
Avoid questions with implicit assumptions,
which presume the same point of reference
for all respondents.
Avoid complex questions and those that
may seem unfamiliar to respondents.
Good Question
When was the last time you went to the
grocery store?
Do you take vitamins?
1. Do you think Justin Trudeau would make
a good prime minister?
2. Do you think Elizabeth May would make
a good prime minister?
Please rate how safe you believe a Volvo is
on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being not safe
and 10 being very safe.
To what extent do you feel that fast food
contributes to adult obesity? 1: Does not
contribute, 5: Main cause
Should children be allowed to drink Coca-
Cola in school?
What brand of wristwatch do you typically
wear?
© 2023 McGraw Hill Limited
Bad Question
How much money did you spend on
groceries last month?
Do you dye your hair?
Do you think that Elizabeth May or Justin
Trudeau would make a good prime
minister?
Volvo is the safest car on the road, right?
Fast food is responsible for adult obesity:
Agree/Disagree
Since caffeine is a stimulant, should
children be allowed to drink Coca-Cola in
school?
Do you believe that mechanical watches are
better than quartz watches?
7-41
 Web Surveys
• An important
component of all
quantitative surveys
• Ability to quickly
design, launch,
download & analyze
data
• SurveyMonkey &
Qualtrics are two
popular online surveys Online marketing surveys enable researchers to develop a database quickly, with many responses
at a relatively low cost.

• Response rates are

relatively high vs. other
methods © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 7-42
 Test Your Knowledge

What is the typical response rate for online surveys?

A) 1 – 2 percent
B) 10 – 15 percent
C) 30 – 35 percent
D) 40 – 45 percent

© 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 7-43

 Test Your Knowledge

What is the typical response rate for online surveys?

A) 1 – 2 percent
B) 10 – 15 percent
C) 30 – 35 percent
D) 40 – 45 percent

© 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 7-44

 Experimental Research

• systematically
manipulates one
or more
variables to
determine which
variable(s) have
a causal effect Using an experiment, McDonald’s would test the price of new menu items to determine
which is the most profitable.

© 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 7-45

 The Ethics of Using
Customer Information

• A strong ethical
orientation must be
an integral part of a
firm’s marketing
strategy and decision
making.

Using neuromarketing studies, Frito-Lay discovered that shiny potato chip bags (right)
invoked feelings of guilt. Therefore, it switched its packaging to matte bags (left), and
its potato chips sales grew.

© 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 7-46

 Ethical Dilemma 7.1:
Vacuuming Up More Than Dirt:
Information Collected By Roomba#
• As more firms adopt
advanced marketing
research technology,
they must ensure they
receive permission
from consumers.

Would you allow a Roomba vacuum cleaner to collect information about the layout of your
home, and then sell that information to other companies?

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