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Marketing Research Tools

Marketing research is a powerful tool that can help companies and managers make better

decisions from the concept development stage to customer satisfaction and improve or provide a

better and more updated version of a service/ product. There are several types of market research

tools that help track customer data like demographics for segmentation, competitor analysis,

price sensitivity of the market, and customer satisfaction for brand loyalty which enables an

informed decision providing in positioning the product better product for STP to determine the

4ps and 5C’s of Marketing. A few tools used in different stages of PLC are discussed below

(Iacobucci, 2018).

Cluster analysis helps identify different segments in the market, thus helping in the

segmentation phase. The tool helps categorize customers based on the factors that are common

among customers. This tool helps identify the segments and attributes necessary (the factors

differentiating the segment). However, it does not identify the customers in the segment

(Iacobucci, 2018).

Perceptual Mapping is used to understand how customers view a product for the

competitors and how they position it in the market. This analysis helps identify the factors that

differentiate the brand from others and identify areas of improvement to grow to more significant

or other market segments. This is done based on an attribute-based approach, which factor in the

attributes that are important or present in the market for the product and rate them according to

what the customers think is valuable in providing a better product. The other way of doing this is

by using multidimensional scaling that helps identify similar brands or how similar or different a
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brand is from others. Overlapping helps position the product in terms of what customers perceive

and help identify its strengths and weakness (Iacobucci, 2018).

Using focus groups is a tool used in concept testing. This is a powerful tool in the early

stages of product development to understand what customers want or identify as valuable

attributes in a new product. This helps identify the differentiating factor and eliminate efforts

into factors that customers do not value in a product. The focus groups are usually small groups

of 8 to 10, and companies hire 3 to 4 focus groups with a moderator to make the discussion in the

group productive to get the right questions addressed and help identify the factors that play a role

in differentiating the product and eliminate unnecessary information. The information and the

discussion are available as transcripts and recordings and are watched live by the marketing

group to better understand customers' requirements (Iacobucci, 2018) .

Conjoint analysis is used to identify which attributes are vital in affecting the market, like

price sensitivity or a market driven by quality. It helps position the product with a perfect mix of

valuable attributes for customers. This is done by getting ratings from customers on the variables

and rating them in order of preference or identifying which services or extras the customers are

willing to pay more or would not want even free of cost. A regression on the dependent variables

and the ratings is done to identify these attributes (Iacobucci, 2018).

Companies use scanner data and coupons to identify how the change in an attribute, for

example, a coupon on a product, increases a market share or decreases it in an area. Scanner data

helps identify which brands, products, and how much customers are willing to pay for the

products. It also helps identify how a competitor’s price or attribute change affects sales.

Analyzing a considerable amount of data needs a professional to look into the data and

understand the patterns in the data to make informed decisions (Iacobucci, 2018).
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Customer satisfaction plays a crucial role in increasing brand loyalty and improving

service. Customer surveys are excellent yet straightforward tools that use simple survey

questions to rate the product or service, which helps understand how much a customer is willing

to repurchase. Surveys should be short and easy for customers to answer effectively. Factor

analysis is a technique that uses a correlation matrix to understand the strength of a correlation in

the factors that differentiate and to reduce redundancy. This, when paired with the cluster

analysis, acts as a complementary tool to group variables into groups (Iacobucci, 2018)

Research Design at LSPMA

A political organization would need marketing research to understand what social issues

people value more when addressed, to understand the segments of the population that are in line

with or share values similar to the political organization, understand the demographics of people

who support them, and address the specific issues they need to gain more support. People’s

beliefs, attitudes, and preferences are highly influenced by their demographics, and the issues

people face broadly vary depending on their social status, ethnicity, culture, and background. All

this data can be gathered using the marketing tools like cluster analysis, surveys, focus groups,

segmentation, and perceptual mapping to understand how people perceive that organization and

find factors that would help increase support. All these factors can help tailor the organization’s

manifesto to target the segments and increase the chance of success in elections which LSPMA

can provide (Iacobucci, 2018).

Relationship Between Market Research and Segments

The marketing research conducted by LSPMA is aimed at identifying and understanding

the needs, wants, beliefs, and attitudes of different segments of the population on behalf of its
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clients. This research involves collecting data through polls, surveys, and focus groups and

analyzing this data to identify patterns and trends that can be used to segment the audience.

Once the segments are identified, they can use this data to help their clients understand what the

segments need, which can help their clients target better and broaden their scope if they would

like to associate with another segment. This can help cater to specific solutions, provide practical

solutions, change their marketing campaigns, attract new customers, and increase brand loyalty.

Therefore, the marketing research conducted by LSPMA is essential in identifying the needs and

wants of specific market segments, which can be used to develop marketing strategies that

effectively reach and engage these segments.

Reasons Why a Business Might Rely on A Marketing Research Firm That Is Heavily into

Political Polling

LSPMA has expertise in market research in providing research data to help political

organizations tailor their campaign, associate with diverse populations, and associate and attain

success. These need analyzing data from diverse populations, including many specific variables,

and finding patterns that make a difference. Tackling such vital data and helping political parties

represents how well they do market research, process the data to get the correct conclusions, and

help their clients make good decisions. Political polling and market research have many

similarities in methodology and techniques. Both involve gathering data through surveys, focus

groups, and other research methods to understand people's attitudes, behaviors, and preferences.

LSPMA's experience conducting political polling can translate into expertise in conducting

market research, making them a valuable business resource.

Their ability to identify target audiences, access data and resources, and understand

different perspectives and viewpoints in the business world, helping make cost-effective resource
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allocation and better marketing financial decisions, all serve as compelling reasons to opt for

LSPMA’s research firm.

References

Iacobucci, D. (2018). Marketing management (5th ed). Cengage Learning, 2018.