Prakash Sharma

Asst. Business Development Officer

IndiaReport
Metrix Web Services (P) Ltd.
 In 2005, Harley had about 50% market share in
the heavyweight category
 Wondering whether to invest in new production
facilities and become the unquestioned market
leader
 Element of high risk
 Spoke to industry experts
 Analyzed secondary data
 Conducted focus groups
 Studied forecasts
 Analyzed its resources and technological and
marketing skills to achieve its objective of being
the dominant motorcycle brand
 Experts: Brand loyalty, an important factor
influencing sales and repeat sales
 Secondary data: Vast majority of motorcycle
owners also owned automobiles
 Focus groups showed motorcycles are used for
recreation and brand loyalty is important
 Forecasts called for an increase in consumer
spending on recreation and entertainment
 Should Harley Davidson invest to produce more
motorcycles?
 Would customers be loyal in the long run? (Broad
statement)
 Specific components:
 Who are the customers? Demographics and
psychographics
 Can different types of customers be
distinguished? Is it possible to segment the
market in a meaningful way?
 How do customers feel regarding their Harley?
Are all customers motivated by the same appeal?
 Are the customers loyal to Harley? What is the
extent of brand loyalty?
 Problem definition involves stating the general
problem and identifying the specific components
of the marketing research problem
 Better communication and more involvement in
problem definition are the most frequently
mentioned ways of improving the usefulness of
research
 Tasks involved:

Discussions with DM Interviews with Experts Secondary Data Analysis Qualitative Research

Environmental context of the Problem

Step 1: Problem definition

Management decision problem
Marketing Research Problem

Step 2: Approach to the Problem

Theoretical Foundation Analytical Model Research Questions Hypotheses Specifications of Information

Step 3: Research Design

 Problem audit is a comprehensive examination of
a marketing problem with the purpose of
understanding its origin and nature
 History of the problem; alternative courses of
action available; information needed to answer
the DM’s questions, etc.
 Required 7Cs:
- Communication
- Cooperation
- Confidence
- Candor
- Closeness
- Continuity
- Creativity
 Inside and outside the firm
 Unstructured personal interviews
 Without formal questionnaire
 List of topics as a discussion guide
 The purpose is to define the marketing research
problem rather than to develop a conclusive
solution
 Secondary data
 Primary data
 Primary data should not be collected until the
secondary data have been fully analyzed
 Qualitative: Unstructured, exploratory, based on
small samples, focus groups, word association,
in-depth interviews
 Pilot surveys: Exploratory research technique;
less structured; more open-ended questions and
the sample size is much smaller
 Case studies
 Wrt: sales, market share, profitability, technology,
population, demographics and lifestyle
 Money and research skills
 Cost and time
 Find ways to reduce scope e.g. research key
markets instead of a national basis
 Goals of the organization and of the decision
maker must be considered
 Number and geographical location
 Demographic and psychological characteristics

 Product consumption habits

 Media consumption and response to promotions

 Price sensitivity

CDM (Cricket & Meetha) is a good example

 Legal environment can have a bearing on the
marketing research problem
 Restrictions on sale of cigarettes and alcohol to
underage customers
 Government not allowing entry of MNCs in
Retail (multiple brands)
 Comprises purchasing power, disposable income,
general economic conditions, etc.
 Due to inflation in India people are flying
less/eating out less
 Affect the nature and scope of the marketing
research project
 Microsoft
MDP
 Asks what the decision maker
needs to do
 Action-oriented
 Focuses on symptoms
 e.g. Should a new product be
introduced?
 e.g. Should the ad campaign be
changed?
MRP
 Asks what information is needed and
how it should be obtained
 Information-oriented
 Focuses on the underlying causes
 Determine consumer preference and
purchase intention
 Determine effectiveness of current
campaign
 Marketing Research Problem

Broad statement

Specific components

Component 1 Component 2 Component 3

 Objective/Theoretical framework: In general,
research should be based on objective evidence
and supported by theory
 Harley Davidson example, the underlying theory
was that brand loyalty is the result of positive
beliefs, attitude, affect, and experience with the
brand
 Analytical model: A set of variables and their
interrelationships designed to represent, in whole
or in part, some real system or process
 Forms: Verbal, Graphical, Mathematical - e.g.
Harley

Beliefs Attitudes Purchase Experience Repeat Purchase Loyalty

Affect
 Research Questions: Refined statements of the
specific components of the problem
 RQ: Can the motorcycle buyers be segmented
based on psychographic characteristics?
 Hypotheses: Unproved statement or proposition
about a factor or phenomenon that is of interest to
the researcher. Often a hypothesis is a possible
answer to the research question
 H1: There are distinct segments of motorcycle
buyers
 H2: Each segment is motivated to own a Harley
for a different reason
 Specification of information needed
Thanx