Bc080400483

Mehreen Nasir

Semester “Spring 2010”

“Principles of Marketing (MGT301)”
Assignment No. 01 Marks: 20
“Marketing Research”
Q: You are the marketing manager of a company. You are going to introduce a new
product in the market. You have to perform a marketing research in order to
analyze the
consumer demand. Explain any four methods by which you can collect the data
necessary
for conducting your research?Also explain the advantages associated with using
these
methods? (5*4 = 20 Marks)
Research Method = 1 Mark
Advantages = 4 Marks

Answer:

The four marketing research methods are:

1) Surveys
2) Focus groups
3) Personal interviews.
4) Field trials

Explanation of these methods:

1) Surveys:

Survey research is one of the very important areas of extent in practical social research.
In marketing research surveys gather people and ask them about your products & services
Data are usually collected through the use of questionnaires, although sometimes
researchers directly interview subjects. Surveys can use qualitative (e.g. ask open-ended
questions) or quantitative (e.g. use forced-choice questions) measures. There are two
basic types of surveys: cross-sectional surveys and longitudinal surveys. Much of the
following information was taken from an excellent book on the subject, called Survey
Research Methods, by Earl R. Babbie.
The survey is a non-experimental, descriptive research method. Surveys can be useful
when a researcher wants to collect data on phenomena that cannot be directly observed
(such as opinions on library services). Surveys are used extensively in library and
information science to assess attitudes and characteristics of a wide range of subjects
Types of surveys:

The Surveys can be divided into different major categories.

 1) Written Surveys
2) Oral Surveys
3) Electronic Surveys

So these are the main types of Surveys. Through these kinds of surveys we can judge the
target audience very well & collect data and analyze the demands of consumers. After the
collection of this data we can make changes in our product and change our product
according to our consumers demand.

2) Focus groups:

In focus groups, a moderator uses a scripted series of questions or topics to lead a

discussion among a group of people. These sessions take place at neutral locations,
usually at facilities with videotaping equipment and an observation room with one-way
mirrors. A focus group usually lasts one to two hours, and it takes at least three groups to
get balanced results.
3) Personal interviews:

This is also a very important method of research. In this kind of research method we have
to take face to face interviews of target markets. Like focus groups, personal interviews
include unstructured, open-ended questions. They usually last for about an hour and are
typically recorded.

Focus groups and personal interviews provide more subjective data than surveys. The
results are not statistically reliable, which means that they usually don't represent a large
enough segment of the population. Nevertheless, focus groups and interviews yield
valuable insights into customer attitudes and are excellent ways to uncover issues related
to new products or service development.

4) Field trials:

Field trials are one of the main methods of marketing research. In this method we
have to place our new products in the reach of target market. Placing a new product in
selected stores to test customer response under real-life selling conditions can help
you make product modifications, adjust prices, or improve packaging. Small business
owners should try to establish rapport with local store owners and Web sites that can
help them test their products.

Advantages of Surveys:

1) Surveys are relatively inexpensive (especially self-administered surveys.

2) Surveys are useful in describing the characteristics of a large population. No other

method of observation can provide this general capability.
 3) Good for lower literacy level like children’s and other people who have low
knowledge.
4) Because they are standardized, they are relatively free from several types of errors.

Advantages of Focus groups:

• The researcher can interact with the participants, pose follow-up questions or ask
questions that probe more deeply.
• Results can be easier to understand than complicated statistical data.
• The researcher can get information from non-verbal responses, such as facial
expressions or body language.
• Information is provided more quickly than if people were interviewed separately.

Advantages of Personal interviews:

· If the respondent lacks reading skills to answer a questionnaire.

· Are useful for untangling complex topics.

· The Interviewer can probe deeper into a response given by an interviewee.

· Interviews produce a higher response rate.

Advantages of Field trials:

1) Through Field trials data we can do better modifications in our product.

.
2) The field trial will examine the effectiveness of RF tag use in providing
consumers.
3) Field trials of RF tags have mostly been intended at testing the perfection in
effectiveness of delivery from the producer to retailers.