Marketing Research 1

Marketing Research Process/ Final Exam

Jeremy Bunker

Baker College of Muskegon

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Introduction

In this paper we will discuss the process used in marketing research planning.

There are eight steps to take in this process, identifying the problem, creation of the

research design, choosing the method of research, selection of the sampling procedure,

collection of data, analysis of the data, writing and presenting the report, and follow up.

These steps will insure that the data collected answered the right problem and is useful to

the client.

Step 1: Identifying the Problem

Identifying the problem is the first step in the marketing research planning

process. You must find out what kind of data you are looking for. There are a few

different types of data to be collected such as descriptive studies or causal studies.

Descriptive is the kind of study that asks who what where when and how. The causal

studies ask us more they why, they follow the line of thought that if one variable changes

then the other will change in a consistent way.

Step 2: Research Design

Creation of the research design is a plan of attack for accomplishing our research

objectives or we can call it a hypothesis. The book describes a hypothesis as a

conjectural statement about a relationship between two or more variables that can be

tested with empirical data.

Step 3: Method of Research

Choosing the method of research is to find out what kind of means we will use to

gather data. The three basic methods are survey, observation and experiment. A survey

is a where the participant is asked a number of questions, such as a mail survey.

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Observation is monitoring without direct interaction, such as watching peoples habits at

the mall. Experiments are types of research that are defined by the experimenter

changing one or more variables.

Step 4: Sampling Procedure

Selection of the sampling procedure is picking out a group of people to research.

You must define the population, this should include all the people whose opinions,

behaviors, preferences, attitudes and such which will gain information that will help us

answer the research problem. The next step would be to fine out if you will use a

probability or non probability sample.

Step 5: Collecting Data

Collection of data can be anything from counting boxes on the shelf of your local grocery

store to firms doing interview surveys and test/focus groups. This is the gathering of the

info for our reports. You must at all cost make sure that each and every kind of collecting

is consistent and monitored for errors.

Primary Research

Primary research is done by gathering information ones self or hiring a firm to gather it

for you. This is the kind of information that is gathered to answer the specific question

that was asked by management, or project leader. An example of primary research is

when an internet survey is presented to various people in the focused area of the market

in which we are studying. I do surveys for home depot after each time I buy stuff from

them.

Secondary Research
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Secondary research is data that was all ready gathered. It could be information that was

gathered by a local government department, a national department, or any in between.

This info could also come from another source like an older study, a study conducted by a

school or university. This kind of data can both, help or hurt the current project.

Qualitative Research

The kind of research that is not subject to quantifying and can not be counted of

measured is “Qualitative research”. This kind of research gets down to the feelings of

people. The question of “why?” Is sought after here. The information is usually

gathered by a highly trained interviewer, and used on a smaller group of people. Using a

smaller group of people can dramatically reduce the cost of the research. This kind of

research can find out the motivations of the participants of the studies. A great example

of qualitative research would be when you are asked about why you voted for a particular

person.

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is research that uses mathematical analysis. It looks at the numbers

and measures them to various variables. This kind of research is generally done with a

very large sample size, asking the same questions to each person. Then measuring the

results. The type of information that is gathered here will not be very probing with no

open ended questions. Most questions will be a yes or no or multiple choices. One of the

last examples of this kind of research that I participated in was when I rated this class.

Step 6: Analyzing the Data

Analysis of the data is where you break down the collected data and try to find links and

of patterns in it to help answer the research problem that we started with.

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Step 7: Presenting the Report

One of the most important and most often messed up is, writing and presenting the report.

The person heading up the research will have to make sure that the information and

recommendation is both credible and justified by the data, if he wants the

recommendation to be followed. The report can be presented in many different ways

such as a printed report, digital report, a presentation, or even a combination of them all.

The recommendation that you make should reflect the knowledge gathered from the data

collected. You must also state why you recommended the course of action.

Step 8: Following Up

Follow up with the firm, make sure that the research is being used and interpreted

correctly. A good way make sure that the information is going to be used is to make it so

each department don’t conflict with the others. Also doing these kinds of follow up can

let management know that you care about the work that was done for the company.

Making it a higher chance that they will use you next time that there is research to be

done.

Conclusion

In conclusion there are 8 steps to planning your next marketing research process. You

will have to take into consideration at the things we discussed such as the 8 steps and the

types of data to be collected. Make sure the gathering process is consistent and complete.

Let the report speck the same.

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Reference

McDaniel, C., & Gates, R. (2008). Marketing Research Essentials. Hoboken, NJ: John

Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Marketing Research Process: An Overview. (n.d) Retrieved on November 5, 2008, from

http://www.polarismr.com/edctr_overview.html

Marketing Research. (n.d) Retrieved on November 5, 2008, from

http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/research/