Marketing research process

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The marketing research process is a six-step process involving the definition of the problem being studied upon, determining what approach to take, formulation of research design, field work entailed, data preparation and analysis, and the generation of reports, how to present these reports, and overall, how the task can be accomplished. [1]

Contents

Steps in the marketing research process

The first stage in a marketing research project is to define the problem. In defining the problem, the researcher should take into account the purpose of the study, relevant background information and all necessary data, and how the information gathered will be used in decision making. Problem definition involves discussion with the decision makers, interviews with industry experts, analysis of secondary data, and, perhaps, some qualitative research, such as focus groups. Once the problem has been precisely defined, the research can be designed and conducted properly. [2]

Development of an approach to the problem is the second step. This includes formulating an objective or theoretical framework, constructing analytical models, generating research questions, hypotheses, and identifying characteristics or factors that can influence the research design. This process is guided by discussions with management and industry experts, case studies and simulations, analysis of secondary data, qualitative research and pragmatic considerations. [2]

The third step involves the formulation of the research design which is the framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project. It details the procedures necessary in obtaining the required information, and its purpose is to design a study that will test the hypotheses of interest, determine possible answers to the research questions, and provide the information necessary for decision making. Conducting exploratory research, precisely defining the variables, and designing appropriate scales to measure them are also components of the research design. The issue on how the data should be obtained from the respondents must be addressed. It is also necessary to design a questionnaire and a sampling plan to select respondents for the study.

Formulating the research design involves the following steps: [1]

  1. Secondary data analysis
  2. Qualitative research
  3. Methods of collecting quantitative data (survey, observation, and experimentation)
  4. Definition of the information needed
  5. Measurement and scaling procedures
  6. Questionnaire design
  7. Sampling process and sample size
  8. Plan of data analysis

Fourth is data collection which involves manpower/staff members who operate either in the field, as in the case of personal interviewing (in-home, mall intercept, or computer-assisted personal interviewing), from an office by telephone (telephone or computer-assisted telephone interviewing), or through mail (traditional mail and mail panel surveys with pre-recruited households). Proper selection, training, supervision, and evaluation of staff members helps minimize data-collection errors.

Data preparation and analysis is the fifth step and includes the editing, coding, transcription, and verification of data. Each questionnaire or observation form is inspected, or edited, and, if necessary, corrected. Number or letter codes are assigned to represent each response to each question in the questionnaire. The data from the questionnaires are transcribed or key-punched on to magnetic tapes, or disks or inputted directly into the computer. Verification ensures that the data from the original questionnaires have been accurately transcribed.

Analyzed data gives meaning to the information that have been collected. Univariate techniques are used for analyzing data when there is a single measurement of each element or unit in the sample, or, if there are several measurements of each element, each RCH variable is analyzed in isolation. On the other hand, multivariate techniques are used for analyzing data when there are two or more measurements on each element and the variables are analyzed simultaneously. [2]

The last stage is the report preparation and presentation. The entire project should be documented in a written report and the results and major findings must be presented. The findings must be in a comprehensible format so that they can be readily used in the decision making process. In addition, an oral presentation should be made to management using tables, figures, and graphs to enhance clarity and impact. [2]

For these reasons, interviews with experts are more useful in conducting marketing research for industrial firms and for products of a technical nature, where it is relatively easy to identify and approach the experts. This method is also helpful in situations where little information is available from other sources, as in the case of radically new products.

Primary data vs. secondary data

Primary data is sourced by the researcher for the specific purpose of addressing the research problem. On the other hand, secondary data is collected for some purpose other than the problem at hand. This data includes information made available by business and government sources, commercial marketing research firms, and computerized databases. Secondary data is an economical and quick source of background information.

Qualitative research

Information, industry experts, and secondary data may not be sufficient to define the research problem. Sometimes qualitative research must be undertaken to gain a qualitative understanding of the problem and its underlying factors. Qualitative research is unstructured, exploratory in nature, based on small samples, and may utilize popular qualitative techniques such as focus groups (group interviews), word association (asking respondents to indicate their first responses to stimulus words), and depth interviews (one-on-one interviews which probe the respondents' thoughts in detail). Other exploratory research techniques, such as pilot surveys with small samples of respondents, may also be undertaken. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Concept testing is the process of using surveys to evaluate consumer acceptance of a new product idea prior to the introduction of a product to the market. It is important not to confuse concept testing with advertising testing, brand testing and packaging testing, as is sometimes done. Concept testing focuses on the basic product idea, without the embellishments and puffery inherent in advertising.

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Questionnaire construction refers to the design of a questionnaire to gather statistically useful information about a given topic. When properly constructed and responsibly administered, questionnaires can provide valuable data about any given subject.

Survey methodology is "the study of survey methods". As a field of applied statistics concentrating on human-research surveys, survey methodology studies the sampling of individual units from a population and associated techniques of survey data collection, such as questionnaire construction and methods for improving the number and accuracy of responses to surveys. Survey methodology targets instruments or procedures that ask one or more questions that may or may not be answered.

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Conjoint analysis

Conjoint analysis is a survey-based statistical technique used in market research that helps determine how people value different attributes that make up an individual product or service.

Questionnaire Series of questions for gathering information

A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions for the purpose of gathering information from respondents through survey or statistical study. The questionnaire was invented by the Statistical Society of London in 1838.

Exploratory research is "the preliminary research to clarify the exact nature of the problem to be solved." It is used to ensure additional research is taken into consideration during an experiment as well as determining research priorities, collecting data and honing in on certain subjects which may be difficult to take note of without exploratory research. It can include techniques, such as:

Job analysis Procedures to identify content of a job activities, attributes or requirements to perform

Job analysis is a family of procedures to identify the content of a job in terms of the activities it involves in addition to the attributes or requirements necessary to perform those activities. Job analysis provides information to organizations that helps them determine which employees are best fit for specific jobs.

SERVQUAL is a multi-dimensional research instrument designed to capture consumer expectations and perceptions of a service along five dimensions that are believed to represent service quality. SERVQUAL is built on the expectancy-disconfirmation paradigm, which, in simple terms, means that service quality is understood as the extent to which consumers' pre-consumption expectations of quality are confirmed or disconfirmed by their actual perceptions of the service experience. When the SERVQUAL questionnaire was first published in 1985 by a team of academic researchers, A. Parasuraman, Valarie Zeithaml and Leonard L. Berry to measure quality in the service sector, it represented a breakthrough in the measurement methods used for service quality research. The diagnostic value of the instrument is supported by the model of service quality which forms the conceptual framework for the development of the scale. The instrument has been widely applied in a variety of contexts and cultural settings and found to be relatively robust. It has become the dominant measurement scale in the area of service quality. In spite of the long-standing interest in SERVQUAL and its myriad of context-specific applications, it has attracted some criticism from researchers.

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Data collection Gathering information for analysis

Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information on targeted variables in an established system, which then enables one to answer relevant questions and evaluate outcomes. Data collection is a research component in all study fields, including physical and social sciences, humanities, and business. While methods vary by discipline, the emphasis on ensuring accurate and honest collection remains the same. The goal for all data collection is to capture quality evidence that allows analysis to lead to the formulation of convincing and credible answers to the questions that have been posed. Data collection and validation consists of four steps when it involves taking a census and seven steps when it involves sampling.

Survey (human research) List of questions aimed at obtaining data from a group of people

In research of human subjects, a survey is a list of questions aimed for extracting specific data from a particular group of people. Surveys may be conducted by phone, mail, via the internet, and also at street corners or in malls. Surveys are used to gather or gain knowledge in fields such as social research and demography.

Product Planning, or product discovery, is the ongoing process of identifying and articulating market requirements that define a product's feature set. It serves as the basis for decision-making about price, distribution and promotion. Product planning is also the means by which companies and businesses can respond to long-term challenges within the business environment, often achieved by managing the product throughout its life cycle using various marketing strategies, including product extensions or improvements, increased distribution, price changes and promotions. It involves understanding the needs and wants of core customer groups so products can target key customer desires and allows a firm to predict how a product will be received within a market upon launch.

In survey sampling, total survey error includes all forms of survey error including sampling variability, interviewer effects, frame errors, response bias, and non-response bias. Total survey error is discussed in detail in many sources including Salant and Dillman.

With the application of probability sampling in the 1930s, surveys became a standard tool for empirical research in social sciences, marketing, and official statistics. The methods involved in survey data collection are any of a number of ways in which data can be collected for a statistical survey. These are methods that are used to collect information from a sample of individuals in a systematic way. First there was the change from traditional paper-and-pencil interviewing (PAPI) to computer-assisted interviewing (CAI). Now, face-to-face surveys (CAPI), telephone surveys (CATI), and mail surveys are increasingly replaced by web surveys.

Willem Egbert (Wim) Saris is a Dutch sociologist and Emeritus Professor of Statistics and Methodology, especially known for his work on "Causal modelling in non-experimental research" and measurement errors.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Malhotra, Naresh K. (2002), Basic Marketing Research: A Decision-Making Approach , Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, ISBN   978-0-13-376856-5
  2. 1 2 3 4 Glazer, Rashi (October 1991), Marketing in an Information-Intensive Environment: Strategic Implications of Knowledge as an Asset, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Journal of Marketing, pp. 1–19

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