Marketing Research

Marketing Research

Systematic gathering, recording and

analyzing of information about problems
related to marketing goods and services
 Uses of Marketing
Research
• Preferences and opinions
• Habits (lifestyle and buying)
• Trends (economic and consumer)
• Future consumer plans
 Marketing Information Systems
Information Questions Decision
Sources & Answers Maker Results

New Information
Marketing
Market Models
Research Answers
Studies
?
Inputs
Internal Decision Marketing
Data Databases Support Manager Outcomes
Sources System Decisions
(DSS)

External
Data
Sources Information
Technology
Specialists

Feedback

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 Categorization of Marketing
Research

• Advertising Research
• Product Research
• Market Research
• Sales Research
• Price Research
• Distribution Research
Advertising Research
 Designed to measure
Advertising Advertising
Message Media
• What is it saying? • TV, radio,
• Hitting target magazine etc.
market? • Is your target
• Recall? market
• Meeting goals? using/seeing it?
• Return on costs?
 ADVERTISING RESEARCH

MESSAGE RESEARCH MEDIA RESEARCH

Pre-test Newspaper as a Medium

Verbal Response Circulation Research

Physiological Response Readership Research

Behavioral Response Television as a Medium

Post-test
Telephone Interview

Recognition Audimeter Device

Recall People Meter

Triple Association Diary Method

Radio, Cinema, Internet

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 Message Research: Pre-test

• Pre-test refers to the test of an ad-message before releasing

the advertisement. Test techniques commonly used are:
– Verbal responses involving
• Consumer jury method
• Portfolio test
• Qualitative research
• On-the air-test and Theater persuasion test
– Physiological responses involving
• Galvanic skin responses
• Pupil dilation responses and
• Eye movement tracking
– Behavioral responses involving
• In-store persuasion

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 Pre-test I

• Consumer jury method: Uses 50 to 100 customers as

jurors who are asked to rank the test advertisements in
order of interest, preference or ability to influence the
purchase of the product.
• Portfolio test:A sample of consumers are asked to look
through a portfolio of 6 - 8 print advertisements within
an allotted period of time. The portfolio is then taken
away and the respondents are asked to recall the
specifics of the ads shown. Recalls are generally unaided.
The effectiveness of the test is measured by attributes
such as ability to recall the contents, claim of credibility
in the advertisement, general reaction, etc.

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 Pre-test II

• Qualitative Research: The two most widely used

methods are Focus group discussions and depth
interviews. Commonly used during the development
stage of the advertisement.
• On-the-air test:The test advertisement is broadcast in a
small number of test markets and selected respondents
are interviewed by telephone on the following day to
ascertain various aspects of the ad message.

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 Pre-test III

• Theater persuasion test: Involves a test group of target

customers who are invited to a small theater to view pilot
episodes of some new TV programs. But before the show starts,
they are presented with a list of product brands (including the
brand shown on the test ad) and asked to indicate their
preferred brand. It is announced that a lucky draw will be held
and each winner will be awarded their preferred brand. The TV
program is then shown including the test ad. At the end of the
show, the viewers are once again asked to indicate their
preferred brand followed by a second lucky draw.
• Brand preferences both before and after the show are then
computed and compared.

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 Pre-test - IV

• Galvanic Skin Responses, pupil dilation response and eye-

movement tracking method make use of different types of
mechanical devices are not very popular methods.
• In-store persuasion: Involves intercepting a quota sample of
shoppers [Sample X] in a retail store who are shown a stack of print
advertisements including the test ad and are given a coupon booklet
with discounts for several products including the product in the test ad.
These shoppers are given sufficient time to look through these ads.
Intercept Sample X shoppers as they leave the shop and record if they
have purchased the product carried in the test ad. Calculate the
purchase incidence.
• Repeat the same treatment to another Quota sample of shoppers
[Sample Y] who are not shown the stack of ads. Calculate the purchase
incidence and determine if they are significantly different from that of
Sample X.

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 Post-test

• Most of the pre-testing techniques are applicable to post testing.

Additional ones are briefly described below:
• Recognition Test: Measures the incidence and intensity of reading
an advertisement. Normally involves interview with 100 to 150
qualified readers of a given issue of a magazine or periodical that
carried the advertisement. Specific questions are then asked to see if
they can remember the ad, its contents and the extent to which they
remembered.
• Recall: Respondents are not shown an advertisement in full in
advance but asked what he/she can remember about the ad.
• Triple Association Test: Used for assessing respondents’ abilities to
associate the product category, the brand, and the copy theme. Two
of these three are read or shown to a respondent who is asked to
mention the third.
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Product Research
 Focuses on
• Product design
• Product usage
• Product acceptance by consumers
• Competitive products
• Testing of existing products
• Package design
 Applications of Product
Research
• Designing the package
• New uses for existing product
• New product concepts
• Pricing the product
Market Research
 Focuses on
• Customer buying behavior – how buying
decision is made, who makes it, etc.
• Market trends – what the customers
are buying “out there”
 Common techniques for Market
Research
• Questionnaires
• Focus groups
• Mall interviews
• Phone interviews
• Mystery shoppers
• CLT (Central Location Testing)
Sales Research
 Focuses on
• Sales data
• Sales forecasting (determining potential
sales for product)
• Economic forecasting (determining
potential economic conditions)
 Limitations of Marketing
Research
• Cost
• Limited time to collect data
• Customer commitment/validity of
data
• Time lag between research and
application
 A Marketing Research “Model”

Information need perceived Receive feedback on research

and decision effectiveness
Formulate the problem
• do exploratory research
• formulate hypotheses

Develop the research design

Determine the data collection

method & forms

Design sample & collect data

Collect secondary data Collect primary data;

observations, surveys, experiments

Interpret and present information

Make decisions in response to results

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 Research Design
• Exploratory
• Descriptive
– Longitudinal Studies
– Cross-sectional Design
• Causal / Experimental
 Sampling
• Types of Sampling
• Sample Size Determination
Secondary Research
 Internal Sources
• Company Accounts
• Internal Reports and Analysis
• Stock Analysis
• Retail data - loyalty cards, etc.
 External Sources
• Government Statistics
• Trade publications
• Commercial Data
• Household Expenditure Survey
• Magazine surveys
• Other firms’ research
• Research documents – publications, journals, etc.
 Primary Research Methods

• Surveys
• Experimentation
• Observation
• Focus groups
• In-depth interviews
• Projective techniques
• Physiological Measures
• Online research
• Scanner data
• Hybrid Methods
 Primary Research Methods
• Exploratory Methods • Precision Methods
– Observation (can be (“Conclusive”)
more definitive with – Experiments
larger sample sizes and – Surveys
focus on specific
– Panel
behavior)
– Scanner data
– In-depth interviews
– Focus groups
– Projective techniques
 Surveys
• Forms
– Mail (self-administered, single time)
– Mail panel (self-administered, multiple surveys administered over time)
– Telephone (from central location)
– Mall Intercept
– Computer/Internet
• Planned questions
– Open-ended
– Closed-ended
• Need large sample sizes for precise conclusions
 Scales of Measurement
• Scales of measurement include:
– Nominal (Frequency, Percentages)
– Ordinal (Median, Frequency, Percentages)
– Interval (Standard Deviation, Mean, Correlation
Coefficient)
– Ratio (Geometric Mean, Average, SD)
• The scale determines the amount of information
contained in the data.
• The scale indicates the data summarization and
statistical analyses that are most appropriate.
Wording questions

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 Characteristics of Some Problematic
Questions
• Difficult to answer—respondent may not have knowledge needed
– Amounts spent annually on specific product categories may not be known
• Sensitive (embarrassing)
• Two in one—e.g., “On a scale from 1 to 10, how fast and reliable are
Microsoft programs?”
• Leading questions—giving the feeling of the “desired” response
– “Do you agree that soft drinks with sugar are bad for you?”
• Non-exhaustive question
• Non-mutually exclusive answers
 Continuum Questions
• Questions rating the degree of a characteristic (e.g.,
agreement or product usage) tend to be more effective
than binary “Yes/No” questions
• E.g.

5 4 3 2 1
Strongly Neither Strongly
Agree Agree Agree Nor Disagree Disagree
Disagree
 Some Areas Suited for Continuum Ratings
• Interest • Involvement
• Purchase • Decision control
likelihood • Frequency or level of
• Satisfaction/ use
Dissatisfaction • Awareness
• Brand loyalty • Information search
• Price sensitivity • Personality traits
• Knowledge • Variety seeking
• Experience
 Experimentation

• Subjects in different
groups treated differently
– E.g., for some, “target”
product is given better shelf
space
– E.g., some get coupon
• Subject is not biased by
questions—does not know
how others are treated
 Observation
• Looking at consumers in the field—e.g.,
– Searching for product category area
– Number of products inspected and time spent on each
– Apparent scrutiny of labels or other information
– Involvement of others
– Behavior under limiting circumstances (e.g., time constraints)
 Taste Tests
• Not experiments unless
– Two or more groups of people are treated differently (e.g.,
get different food version) or
– The same person is being treated differently at separate
times (e.g., half the participants receive new formulation,
then current; half the participants receive in the opposite
order)
• “Triangle” Measure
– Each respondent is given three items: One current, one
new, and one duplicate of either old or new
– Asked to identify the one that is different and explain why
 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
• Research techniques that allow a researcher to obtain
elaborate interpretations of market phenomena without
depending on numerical measurements.
Characteristics
1. Uses small versus large samples
2. Emphasizes unstructured (broad range of) versus
structured questioning methods
3. Involves subjective interpretation rather than
“objective” statistical inference; is researcher-
dependent
4. Has an exploratory purpose rather than descriptive and
conclusive
 Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research
Qualitative Quantitative
Research Research
Purpose Discover ideas Test hypotheses or
specific research
questions
Approach Observe and interpret Measure and test

Data Collection Unstructured; free- Structured; response

Methods forms categories provided
Researcher Researcher is Researcher is
Independence intimately involved; uninvolved; results are
results are subjective objective
Sample Small samples – often Large samples to allow
natural setting generalization
Most often used in: Exploratory research Descriptive and causal
designs research designs
 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH TOOLS
1. Focus group interviews (discussions)
2. Depth interviews
3. Conversations
4. Semi-structured interviews
5. Word Association/Sentence completion
6. Observation
7. Collages
8. Thematic Apperception Tests
(TAT)/Cartoon Tests
 1. Focus Group Interviews (Discussions)
• Unstructured, free – flowing interview
(discussion) with a small group of people about
the subject area of the research
– Unstructured
– Free flowing
– Group discussion
• Group Composition
– About 6-10 people
– Relatively homogeneous
– Similar lifestyles and experiences
• Now sometimes conducted online – “Online Focus
Groups”
Characteristics of a Good shirt
 The Focus Group Moderator
• The person in charge of “moderating” the group
discussions
• Usually he:
– Develops rapport - helps people relax
– Interacts
– Listens to what people have to say
– Everyone gets a chance to speak
– Maintains loose control and focuses discussion
– Stimulates spontaneous responses
 2. Depth Interviews
• Unstructured, extensive one-on-one interviews
conducted with subjects of ultimate concern
(typically consumers or customers).
• Purpose is to gain valuable insights for the
main study
• May sometimes involve testing aspects of the
research design, such as questionnaire clarity,
length, etc
Your Best Vacation Place
 3. Conversations
• Unstructured dialogue in which researcher
engages the respondent in a discussion of the
subject matter of interest
• Combines features of focus group and depth
interviews
– Similar to depth interview (in the sense of
engaging one respondent at a time)
– Similar to focus group discussion in the sense of
allowing free discussion rather than asking specific
questions
 4. Semi-Structured Interviews
• Open-ended questions with answers solicited
in writing – typically in the form of short
essays
• Respondents are free to write as much as or
as little as they choose
• Requires the researcher to prepare the
questions (opening and follow-up questions)
in advance
 5a. Word Association Tests
• A projective technique in which subjects are
presented with a word and asked to indicate
what other words come to mind, e.g.
• What comes to mind when you hear the
following words?
– Salary
• Technique may be used to develop an
associative network of words related to a
focal word
• Useful in brand name testing and product
concept testing
 5b. Sentence Completion Tests
• A projective technique in which subjects are
given incomplete sentences and asked to
complete them with the word or phrase
that first comes to mind, e.g.
1. People who drive Honda City are __________
2. A man who smokes Marlboro Lights is
____________
 6. Observation
• Unobtrusive data collection method in which
the researcher watches a phenomenon and
records notes describing the phenomenon
(e.g. a behavior)
• Observation can be personal or mechanical;
disguised or undisguised; structured or
unstructured, etc
 7. Collages
• Collage – a pattern (larger picture, story, etc)
made by sticking pictures or materials on a
surface
• In this research method, respondents are
asked to assemble pictures to represent their
thoughts/feelings about a phenomenon
• Collages are then analyzed for meaning
8a. Thematic Apperception Tests (T.A.T.)

• A projective technique in which subjects are

presented with a series of pictures and are
then asked to form a story about the pictures
 8b. Picture Frustration (Cartoon) Tests

• Respondent is presented with a cartoon drawing

representing an incomplete dialogue and asked to
suggest a dialogue that the characters might engage in
 Story Completion
• One winter morning I was driving from Pashan
to Kothrud in my Hyundai Santro. I was feeling
very cold. I had not eaten anything also since
the time I woke up. So I planned to grab a
bite. I looked around and found a McDonalds,
Pizza Hut and Domino’s. I turned my car
towards………………………………………….
 Scanner Data Research
Purchase on occasion: Yes, no
No. of ads seen by Time since previous purchase
shopper Previous purchases
Ads seen for competing Current price
brands RECORDED
Previous price
“Split cable” PURCHASES
Current promotional status
Previous promotional status
Current display status
TELEVISION Previous display status
EXPOSURE Display status of competing
brands
HOUSEHOLD Promotional status of competing
FILE brands
DEMOGRAPHIC Coupon used: Yes, no
INFORMATION Coupon available: Yes, no
Coupon available for other
brands? Yes, no
Family size Amount of coupon
Occupation ANALYSIS
Family size
Income
Home ownership