MARKET RESEARCH

Planning the Research Process

 Planning the Research Process
Today we will define:
• marketing research;
• skills required to identify the business problem, the decision
alternatives, and the client's needs.

Planning is the most critical phase of any marketing research project

and is often mishandled or overlooked.

The person involved in marketing research is expected to be

proficient in planning the research process by:
 understanding the market information needs of key decision-makers; and
 knowing the proper processes and procedures for obtaining that information.
 Planning the Research Process
Marketing Research

"Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer,

and public to the marketer through information - information used to
identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate,
refine and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing
performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process."

Marketing research specifies the information required to address

these issues; designs the method for collecting information; manages
and implements the data collection process; analyzes the results; and
communicates the findings and their implications.
 Planning the Research Process
Why Do Research?

Strategically, marketing research is employed to reduce

uncertainty and thus reduce financial risk.

Is marketing research worth the effort? It is not cheap.

In brief, the cost of research is far outweighed by the likely cost of

making an erroneous decision due to lack of research.

The successful researcher in the future will be the one who

suggests creative ways to answer the questions with a judicious
use of the research budget without sacrificing quality.
 Theoretical Framework and Hypothesis Development
1

OBSERVATION
Broad area of
Research Interest
Identified
4
3
THEORETICAL 5 6 7
PROBLEM
FRAMEWORK GENERATIO SCIENTIFI DATA
DEFINITION
C COLLECTION
Research N OF RESEARCH ANALYSIS, AND
Problem HYPOTHESIS DESIGN INTERPRETATION
Variables
Delineated
already
PRELIMINARY identified and
labeled DEDUCTION
DATA
Hypotheses
GATHERINGS
8 Substantiated?
Interviewing
Research Question
Literature Survey
2 answered?

No 9 10 11
Yes Report Report Decision
Writing Presentation Making
Source: Research Methods for Business, Uma Sekaran
Theoretical Framework and Hypothesis Development
What is a theoretical Framework:
• It is a conceptual model of how one theorizes or makes logical
sense of the relationships among the several factors that have
been identified as important to the problem.
• The logical flow for development of theoretical framework is:
– Documentation of previous work carried out in this area.
– Integrating one’s logical beliefs with published research.
– Taking into consideration the boundaries and constraints governing
the situation.
• The theoretical framework discusses the interrelationships
among the variables that are deemed to be integral to the
dynamics of the situation being investigated.
• Such a framework helps us to postulate or hypothesize and
test certain relationships.
 Planning the Research Process
Research and the Scientific Method
Research can never predict the future with absolute certainty, but it
can reduce uncertainty.
To keep the research project focused on identified objectives, most
research questions should go through a two-stage transformation
process.
1. The first stage is to frame the questions as formal problem
statements. A problem statement is an interrogative sentence that
asks: "What is the relation between variable A (e.g., sales volume)
and variable B (e.g., a 5% price increase)?"
2. The second stage is to reconstruct that interrogative sentence into a
hypothesis in the form of a declarative sentence: "There is an inverse
relation between variable A and variable B."
 Planning the Research Process
Research questions are transformed in formal problem and
hypothesis statements.
For quantitative marketing research, three criteria must be met.

1. The variables must be clearly defined.

2. The variables must be measurable.
3. The variables must be testable in the field.

It is with the use of formal problem and hypothesis statements

that the purpose of marketing research can best be fulfilled.
 Planning the Research Process
The Functions of Marketing Research
General Functions
• Provide knowledge about the marketing process
• Scan the environment
• Identify market opportunities
• Be the information link between the customer and the firm
Project-Specific Functions
• Institute research to exploit opportunities
• Clarify problems
• Forecast
• Frame research objectives in terms of the firm's goals
• Answer questions for which data do not exist
 Planning the Research Process
The Functions of Marketing Research
Process Functions
• Gather data relative to the firm's objectives
• Analyze existing data
Use Functions
• Provide information relevant to marketing intelligence
• Provide actionable information that influences decisions
• Develop methods to improve decision making
• Monitor performance against firm's goals
• Institutionalize research findings
 Planning the Research Process
Research Design
The research design consists of a set of actions that constitute
a plan to justify, conduct, and draw conclusions from a
research project. Its purpose is to set in place a mechanism to
answer research questions so as to influence marketing
actions.
According to a survey 90% of the complaints about marketing
research resulted from an inadequate definition of the real
problem.
 Planning the Research Process
Research Design

The procedures for identifying causes must be taken in context.

Otherwise, the danger arises of concentrating on symptoms of
problems rather than on the problems themselves. This has two
implications.
1. First, the research design must be framed so as to allow the
consideration of situational, non-marketing forces that have raised
the concerns of marketing managers.
2. Second, the research design must be framed so that data can be
reduced to information and then further reduced to intelligence.
That intelligence is the basis upon which marketing decisions are
made.
 Planning the Research Process
Types of Research Planning Document
• From a researcher's perspective, a marketing research
planning document is a statement to conduct a specific
research project at certain cost or price and is intended to
enable a beneficiary to make an informed, reasoned choice
when making decisions about marketing activities.
• There is no industry standard to follow and no one right way
to write a planning document. It can be simple or complex,
short or long; they can be generated by clients or research
agencies; and they can be formal documents or informal
letters confirming the details set out in verbal agreements.
The exact form a planning document on the source of the
request, the situation that prompts the request, and the
nature and complexity of the request itself.
 Planning the Research Process
There are four types of situations that lead to marketing research
plan.
• TYPE 1: The provider is presented with the problem and asked to
solve it. In this situation, the client recognizes a real or potential
problem but cannot make any decisions without specific
marketing information. The client turns to a research provider to
provide the answers.
• TYPE 2: The provider is presented with the problem and a
procedure for obtaining information necessary to solve the
problem. In this situation, the client recognizes not only the need
for information but also the best way to obtain it. What lacks is
the time, the resources, and/or the expertise to find the answers.
 Planning the Research Process
• TYPE 3: The provider is given the research instrument and
sampling plan and asked to make a bid. With this much
information already in hand, the client is not really asking for a
proposalbut for the manpower to get the job done and an
estimate of the costs.
• TYPE 4: The provider uses accumulated knowledge about the
category and the brand to outline potential marketing problems
and submits an unsolicited proposal to the client company.
Because of their intimate association with client companies and
their knowledge of product/service categories and brands,
providers have begun to anticipate the research needs of the
client and to propose research programs designed to fine-tune the
client's marketing activities.
 Planning the Research Process
Elements of a Planning Document
Background:
The purpose of the background section is to establish a context and rationale for
the proposed research.
• Historical base: Introduces relevant information about where the product is, how
it got there, and where it is going in the future.
• Problem definition: Establishes the need for research. Careful problem definition
allows the researcher to identify the specific marketing issues facing the brand
and to isolate those variables that are most likely to yield actionable information.
Two rules that researchers should keep in mind when defining the problem are:
1. Problem definition covers marketing problems, not research problems. The approach and the
terminology should focus on the client's needs rather than on the researcher's needs.
2. Research works best when the variables under consideration are small, manageable, and
measurable.
 Planning the Research Process
Elements of a Planning Document
Objectives:
Objectives outline how much and what kind of information
will be provided by the research and specify how research
information is to be translated into management decisions. As
such, they serve as the researcher's promise to deliver
information that can be acted upon. They follow naturally
from problem definition.
 Planning the Research Process
Elements of a Planning Document
Method:
In general, the method section of a research Planning
Document includes the following information:
• Data requirements: Identifies what the research will cover.
By identifying the specific pieces of information to be
gathered, the researcher can show how s/he expects to live
up to the promises set down in the research objectives. If
appropriate, the description should also include an outline of
the discussion guide (for qualitative studies) and/or the
questionnaire (for quantitative studies)
 Planning the Research Process
Elements of a Planning Document
Method:
• Data collection method: Identifies how the information is going to be
obtained. This section should include information on the data gathering
procedures to be used (e.g., mall intercept, central location telephone, mail
survey) and their order of sequence (e.g., 2 focus groups followed by 300
central location interviews).
• Sample: Identifies who will be included in the study by detailing
characteristics of qualified respondents. This description includes information
about age, sex, income, usage rates, and geographic location as well as special
quota groups or booster samples e.g., sample subgroups with target numbers
of interviews, if any, and the total number of interviews to be completed.
 Planning the Research Process
Elements of a Planning Document
Method:
• Analysis: Describes how data will be analyzed and formatted.. For
quantitative studies, this should include tabulation assumptions; e.g., the
number of tables (which provide the data for each question) and banners
(sets of column headings that are used to analyze the data in total and by
subgroup). More sophisticated statistical techniques, if used, should be
described only briefly, and the Planning Document should emphasize the
results they will produce rather than how they work.
• Reporting and Other Deliverables: It is also important to state the format
in which the data and the results will be presented. Some projects require
only a simple report of results; others demand more formal reports and
presentations including the insertion of comments for qualitative studies,
or statistics, tables, graphs, and charts for quantitative studies.
 Planning the Research Process
Elements of a Planning Document
Research Use
Clients and providers agree that research is useful only if it is credible and
actionable. For example, research results may indicate that awareness of
the client company's brand is 60%, or that 70% of the consumers in a test
market expressed interest in the product. Alone, these facts have very little
meaning, however, when linked with a specific decision -- e.g., if brand
awareness measures 50% or higher, the company should continue to roll-
out nationally, or if purchase intent is less than 80%, the product should be
withdrawn from test market - they become powerful marketing tools.
Action standards, therefore, are a critical piece of the research Planning
Document. By describing how the results of the study will be used to make
decisions or to resolve issues related to the marketing problem at hand,
the researcher can turn research data into usable information.
 Planning the Research Process
Elements of a Planning Document
Research Use:
Examples of Specific Action Standards:
• Proceed with the new improved anti-dandruff shampoo formula
if it wins significantly (at the 95% confidence level) in overall
preference versus the current formula in blind home usage and
if it achieves parity for "is pleasant to use" and "smells nice."
• Proceed with the new lower cost variety of ready-made
dehydrated soup if it performs at least at parity with the current
variety in overall evaluation, purchase intent, and taste
preference.
 Planning the Research Process
Elements of a Planning Document
Timing:
• At a minimum, Planning Documents usually include dates for
fielding the study and turning in the summary and final reports.
• If the research is conducted in phases, e.g., focus groups followed
by surveys, then completion dates for the phases should be given
as well.
• More complicated Planning Documents may break the project
down into even smaller details, including dates for project
approval, questionnaire design, coding and tabbing
questionnaires, analysis, table preparation, and presentation of
results.
 Planning the Research Process
Causes of Misunderstanding About Research
THE CORPORATE CULTURE
• Marketing managers at times wonder if some researchers have
too much of an "ivory tower" mentality. They know that time
and cost constraints do not allow for ideally thorough research.
Research does not have to always be thorough. It only has to be
sufficient to meet the objectives.
• Researchers who are enthusiastic about their findings and who
suggest tactical implementation of the results must also keep
one caveat in mind. What appears to be the best tactical
solution may not always fit the client firm's broad strategic
goals.
 Planning the Research Process
Causes of Misunderstanding About Research
CLIENT REACTIONS
• Some clients, especially those who are new to the use of
research, see research as their salvation. They are looking for a
panacea. They accept all that the researcher suggests.
Remember that no one has been able to accurately and
consistently predict the future, including marketing researchers.
• Other clients fear research. They engage in it because of outside
pressure but would prefer to go with their gut feeling. Part of
the fear is that the research results will uncover something that
they should have done in the past or something that they feel
unable to do in the future.
 Planning the Research Process
PROJECT PROBLEMS
• A list of project problems could be presented from both client and supplier
perspectives. Sampling problems (from representation to adequacy) might
lead that list.
• Timing of project approvals, data collection schedules, and report
presentations are additional causes of concern. Changes in project
specifications and their effect on timing and costs also cause
misunderstandings. Likewise, the detail expected in the final report can be
another area of dispute.
• One practical problem sometimes confronted by clients is determining who
can provide up-to-date information about the progress of a project.
Subcontracting of project parts and delegation of authority and responsibility
can make this confusing to clients. It is important that a client always has a
primary contact person at a research company, and it is this person's
responsibility to provide progress reports to the client.