Market Research and Information Systems: at The End of This Module The Learning Outcomes Are

MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
At the end of this module the learning outcomes
are
1. What is market research
2. What is the purpose of market research
3. What are the steps involved in market
research process .
4. What are the best metrics for measuring
marketing productivity?
1
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Suggested Readings
• Market Management by
Philip Kotler, 16th edition Chapter 5
• Marketing Management Management by
Ramaswami & Namakumari Chapter 3 .
2
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Think of following decisions

• What should be size of plant to make Kia
Motors cars in India?
• What color of packaging consumers prefer
on Maggi-Noodles.
• How often consumers buy Lux soap?
• Which fragrance will they prefer?
3
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
• Problem Solving---------Decision ------

Information-------- Market Research
4
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Think of following decisions
• If the price of Santro car is increased by Rs 10000/,
what will by the effect on demand?
• What kind of food should by served to passengers
travelling from Delhi to London by British Airways ?
• Do customers like advertisements of Thums Up ?
you need information to take decisions as a
marketer.
5
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
What is market research
• It is the systematic design, collection ,
analysis and reporting of data and findings
relevant to a specific marketing situation
facing the company.
6
The Scope of
marketing research
• Who Does Marketing Research?
 Marketing departments in big firms

 Everyone at small firms
 Syndicated-service research firms
 Custom marketing research firms
 Specialty-line marketing research firms
The Scope of
marketing research
• Spending on marketing research topped
$40.2 billion globally in 2013, according
to ESOMAR, the world association of
opinion and market research
professionals.
8
The Scope of
marketing research
• Most companies use a combination of
resources to study their industries,
competitors, audiences, and channel
strategies.
• They normally budget marketing research
at 1 percent to 2 percent of company
sales and spend a large percentage of
that on the services of outside firms.
9
The Scope of
marketing research
Syndicated-service research firms
•These firms gather consumer and trade
information, which they sell for a fee.
Examples include the Nielsen. ORG
10
The Scope of
marketing research
Custom marketing research firms
•These firms are hired to carry out
specific projects.
•They design the study
and report the findings.
11
The Scope of
marketing research
Specialty-line marketing research
firms
•These firms provide specialized research
services.
•The best example is the field-service
firm, which sells field interviewing services
to other firms.
12
Research conducted
at small companies
Engage
students/prof
essors
Tap
employee Use Internet
creativity
Tap partner Check out

expertise rivals
The Scope of
marketing research
• Overcoming Barriers to the Use of Marketing
Research
– Many companies still fail to use it sufficiently
or correctly
The Scope of
marketing research
• Companies may not understand what it
is capable of or provide the researcher
the right problem definition and
information from which to work.
• They may also have unrealistic
expectations about what researchers
can offer.
15
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Uses of market research
• Key to the evolution of successful
marketing strategies and programmers.
used to study
• buyer behavior
• changes in consumer life styles and
consumption patterns.
16
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
used to study
• brand loyalty
• forecast market changes
• study competition
• analyze its product positioning
• how to gain competitive advantage
17
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
McDonald’s in India
• Study of the Indian market
• Many consumes are vegetarian
• Affordability
• Spicy food
• Created burgers according to the Indian need
18
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Singapore Airlines(SIA)
• Targets business travelers
• Dislike wasting time
• Wait in airport lounges
• Want to work and experience facilities as
provided in the aircraft.
• SIA created the same at the airports
• Increase in passenger traffic.
19
The Marketing Research Process
Define the problem and research
objectives
• Define the problem
• Define the decision alternatives
• Define the research objectives

Define the problem and
research objectives
• Marketing managers must be careful
not to define the problem too broadly or
too narrowly for the marketing
researcher.
• To help design the research,
management should first spell out the
decisions it might face and then work
backward.
22
Management Decision Problem versus
Marketing Research Problem
Management Decision Problem Marketing Research Problem
Should a new product be To determine consumer preferences

introduced? and purchase intentions for the
proposed new product.
Should the advertising To determine the effectiveness

campaign be changed? of the current advertising
campaign.
Should the price of the To determine the price elasticity

brand be increased? of demand and the impact on sales
and profits of various levels
of price changes.
research objectives
A leading airlines management problem
•Find out everything you can about first-class
air travelers’ needs.
24
research objectives
• Too broad
• Unnecessary, redundant information may be
collected
25
research objectives
• Find out whether enough passengers will
pay Rs 1000 on the latest Airbus 320
aircraft for a flight between Delhi and
Mumbai for ultra high-speed Wi-Fi service
so that we can break even in two years
26
research objectives
• Too narrow a problem definition.
27
research objectives
Redefining
•Will offering high speed Wi-Fi service create
enough incremental preference and profit to
justify its cost against other service
enhancements
28
research objectives
• Mutually agreed to define the problem.
29
research objectives
• Research problem
• What decisions customers need to take
• Work backwards
30
research objectives
The airlines decisions could be
•Should the airlines offer high speed Wi-Fi
service?
•If so, should it offer to first-class only,
business class or economy class?
•What prices should be charged?
•What type of routes and aircrafts should
service be offered?
31
research objectives
• What Management and Market Researchers
can agree to?
32
research objectives
• What type of First-class passengers would respond to Rs
high speed Wi-Fi service?
• How many are likely to use at different price levels?
• How many will choose our Airlines because of this
service?
• How much long-term goodwill will this service add to our
airline’s image?
• How important is high speed to first-class passengers
relative to other services such as enhanced entertainment?
33
research objectives
• Now management and marketing
researchers are ready to set specific
research objectives.
34
research objectives
Three types
•Exploratory
•Descriptive
•Causal/experimental
35
research objectives
• Some research is exploratory—its goal
is to identify the problem and to suggest
possible solutions.
36
research objectives
• Will offering high speed Wi-Fi service
create enough incremental preference and
profit to justify its cost against other service
enhancements
37
research objectives
• The favorite crime investigation TV
programs (e.g., Crime Patrol, Arjun,
Savdhaan India, etc) give a pretty good
example of the research design.
• These shows typically start with a crime
that needs to be investigated. The initial
step is to look for hints which can help
establish what has happened (exploratory).
38
research objectives
• The clues found in the exploratory phase of
the research usually point in the
• direction of a specific hypothesis or
• explanation of the events which happened,
• and investigators start focusing their efforts
in this direction, performing interviews with
witnesses and suspects (descriptive).
39
research objectives
• Some is descriptive—it seeks to
quantify demand, such as how many
first-class passengers would purchase
ultra high-speed Wi-Fi service at $25.
40
research objectives
• Some research is causal—its purpose
is to test a cause-and-effect
relationship.
• How much increase in passenger traffic
in first class will happen after the
introduction of high speed Wi-Fi
service?
41
Develop the Research Plan
Need to make decisions about
•Data sources
•Research approaches
•Research instruments
•Sampling plan
•Contact methods
42
• Data sources
– Secondary data versus primary data
• Secondary data are data that were
collected for another purpose and
already exist somewhere.
• Primary data are data freshly gathered
for a specific purpose or project.
44
Cost Accuracy
•Primary High High
•Secondary Low Low
45
• Researchers usually start their
investigation by examining some of the
rich variety of low-cost and readily
available secondary data to see
whether they can partly or wholly solve
the problem
46
• without collecting costly primary data.
When the needed data don’t exist or are
dated or unreliable, the researcher will
need to collect primary data.
• Most marketing research projects do
include some primary-data collection.
47
• Research approaches
 Observational research
 Focus group research
 Survey research
 Behavioral research
• Observational Research Researchers can
gather fresh data by observing
unobtrusively as customers shop or
consume products.
• Sometimes they equip consumers with
pagers and instruct them to write down or
text what they’re doing whenever
prompted, or they hold informal interview
sessions at a café or bar.
49
• Should Big Bazaar Bakery section be at the
beginning or at the end of the retail outlet?
• Should Maruti Omni have sliding door or
swing doors?
50
• Ethnographic research uses concepts and
tools from anthropology and other social
science disciplines to provide deep cultural
understanding of how people live and
work.
• The goal is to immerse the researcher into
consumers’ lives to uncover unarticulated
desires that might not surface in any other
form of research.
51
Airlines
•Try to listen what customers speak at lounges
about our airlines and competitors
•Travel competitor airlines.
52
• Retail outlet layout?
53
Maruti Omni
•Sliding door
•Space is less
54
Focus Group Research
•A focus group is a gathering of 6 to 10
people carefully selected for
demographic, psychographic, or other
considerations and convened to discuss
various topics at length for a small
payment.
55
•A professional moderator asks questions
and probes based on the marketing
managers’ agenda;
•the goal is to uncover consumers’ real
motivations and the reasons they say and
do certain things.
56
•Sessions are typically recorded, and
marketing managers often observe from
behind two-way mirrors.
•To allow more in-depth discussion, focus
groups are trending smaller in size.
57
Airlines
•How do you feel about first-class air travel?
•How people view different airlines services
58
• Survey Research Companies
undertake surveys to assess people’s
knowledge, beliefs, preferences, and
• satisfaction and to measure these
magnitudes in the general population.
59
An Airlines needs to study people’s
•Knowledge
•Perceptions
60
• Behavioral Research Customers leave
traces of their purchasing behavior in
store scanning data, catalog purchases,
and customer databases.
61
• Marketers can learn much by analyzing
these data. Actual purchases reflect
consumers’ preferences and often are
more reliable than statements they offer
to market researchers.
62
• The most scientifically valid research is
experimental research, designed to capture
cause-and-effect relationships by
eliminating competing explanations of the
findings.
• If the experiment is well designed and
executed, research and marketing
managers can have confidence in the
conclusions
63
• Can learn many useful things about its
passengers by analyzing ticket purchase
records.
• If price is increased by Rs 1000/ on Delhi
Mumbai route how it impacts demand.
64
Step 2: Develop the Research
Plan
• Research instruments
Questionnaires
Qualitative measures
Technological devices
Marketing researchers have a choice of
three main research instruments in
collecting primary data:
•questionnaires,
•qualitative measures,
•and technological devices.
66
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
• Questionnaires A questionnaire
consists of a set of questions presented
to respondents.
68
Questionnaire
• Because of its flexibility, it is by far the
most common instrument used to
collect primary data.
• The form, wording, and sequence of the
questions can all influence the
responses, so testing and de-bugging
are necessary.
69
Questionnaire
• Closed-end questions specify all the
possible answers, and the responses
are easier to interpret and tabulate.
70
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
• Open-end questions allow respondents
to answer in their own words.
• They are especially useful in
exploratory research, where the
researcher is looking for insight into
how people think rather than measuring
how many think a certain way.
72
Questionnaire
• Table 4.1 provides examples of both
types of questions; also see “Marketing
Memo: Questionnaire Dos and Don’ts.”
73
ZMET Word
approach association
Projective
Laddering techniques
Brand
Visualization
personification
• Open-end questions allow respondents to
answer in their own words.
• They are especially useful in exploratory
research, where the researcher is looking for
insight into how people think rather than
measuring how many think a certain way.
75
ZMET Word
approach association
Projective
Laddering techniques
Brand
Visualization
personification
• Qualitative research techniques are
relatively indirect and unstructured
measurement approaches, limited only
by the marketing researcher’s creativity,
that permit a range of responses.
77
• They can be an especially useful first
step in exploring consumers’
perceptions because respondents may
be less guarded and reveal more about
themselves in the process.
78
• The basic assumption behind the
Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique
(ZMET) is that most thoughts and
feelings are unconscious and shaped
by a set of universal deep metaphors ,
basic orientations toward the world that
shape everything consumers think,
hear, say, or do.
79
Word associations
•To identify the range of possible brand
associations, ask subjects what words come to
mind when they hear the brand’s name.
•Projective techniques. Give people an
incomplete or ambiguous stimulus and ask
them to complete or explain it.
80
Visualization
•Visualization requires people to create a
collage from magazine photos or drawings to
depict their perceptions.
81
• Brand personification
• Ask “If the brand were to come alive as a
person, what would it be like, what would it
do, where would it live, what would it wear,
who would it talk to if it went to a party (and
what would it talk about)?”
• Describe Royal Enfield as a human being
82
Laddering. A series of increasingly specific “why” questions can reveal
consumer motivation and deeper
•goals.
•Probing
•Why you want to buy Vitara Brezza
•It looks well built
•Why it should be well built
•It will not let you down
•When
•You need it the most
•When do you need it he most
•It takes you when most required
•The brand is trustworthy.
83
• The basic assumption behind the Zaltman Metaphor
Elicitation Technique (ZMET) is that most thoughts
and feelings are unconscious and shaped by a set of
universal deep metaphors, basic orientations toward
the world that shape everything consumers think,
hear, say, or do.
84
Word associations.
To identify the range of possible brand
associations, ask subjects what words
come to
•mind when they hear the brand’s name.
•Projective techniques. Give people an
incomplete or ambiguous stimulus and ask
them to complete or explain it.
85
Visualization.
Visualization requires people to create a
collage from magazine photos or
drawings to depict their perceptions.
86
• Brand personification. Ask “If the brand
were to come alive as a person, what
would it be like, what would it
• do, where would it live, what would it
wear, who would it talk to if it went to a
party (and what would it talk
• about)?”
87
• Laddering. A series of increasingly
specific “why” questions can reveal
consumer motivation and deeper
• goals.
88
Step 2: Develop the Research Plan
• Technological devices
– Galvanometer
– Tachistoscope
– Eye-tracking
– Facial detection
– Skin sensors
– Brain wave scanners
– Audiometer
– GPS
• Many advances in visual technology

techniques studying the eyes and face
have benefited marketing researchers
and managers alike.
90
Plan
• Technology now lets marketers use skin
sensors, brain wave scanners, and full-
body scanners to get consumer
responses.
• Technology has replaced the diaries
that participants in media surveys used
to keep.
91
Plan
• Sampling plan
– Sampling unit: Whom should we survey?
– Sample size: How many people should we

survey?
– Sampling procedure: How should we

choose the respondents?
Plan
• With the sampling unit chosen, marketers
must next develop a sampling frame so
everyone in the target population has an
equal or known chance of being sampled.
• Large samples give more reliable results, but
it’s not necessary to sample the entire target
population to achieve reliable results.
93
Plan
• Samples of less than 1 percent of a
population can often provide good
reliability, with a credible sampling
procedure.
• Probability sampling allows marketers
to calculate confidence limits for
sampling error and makes the sample
more repr
94
Plan
• Contact methods
• Now the marketing researcher must decide how to

contact the subjects: by mail, by telephone, in person,
or online.
Mail Contacts
• The mail questionnaire is one way to reach people who
would not give personal interviews or whose responses
might be biased or distorted by the interviewers.
• Mail questionnaires require simple and clearly worded
questions.
• Unfortunately, responses are usually few or slow.
96
Plan
Telephone Contacts
•Telephone interviewing is a good method for gathering
information quickly;
•The interviewer is also able to clarify questions if
respondents do not understand them.
•Interviews must be brief and not too personal.
•Although the response rate has typically been higher
than for mailed questionnaires, telephone interviewing
in the United States is getting more difficult because of
consumers’ growing antipathy toward telemarketers.
97
Plan
Personal Contacts
•Personal interviewing is the most versatile method.
•The interviewer can ask more questions and record
additional observations about the respondent, such as
dress and body language.
•Personal interviewing is also the most expensive
method, is subject to interviewer bias, and requires
more planning and supervision.
98
Plan
Online Contacts
•The Internet offers many ways to do research.
•A company can embed a questionnaire on its Web site
and offer an incentive for answering, or it can place a
banner on a frequently visited site, inviting people to
answer questions and possibly win a prize.
•Online product testing can provide information much
faster than traditional new-product marketing research
techniques.
99
Online Research
• Advantages • Disadvantages
– Inexpensive – Small
– Expansive – Skewed
– Fast – Excessive turnover
– Honest – Technological
– Thoughtful problems
– Versatile – Technological
inconsistencies
Step 3 to Step 6
Step 3: Collect the Information
Step 4: Analyze the Information
Step 5: Present the Findings
Step 6: Make the Decision

Collect the Information
• The data collection phase of marketing
research is generally the most expensive and
error-prone.
• Some respondents will be away from home,
offline, or otherwise inaccessible; they must
be contacted again or replaced.
• Others will refuse to cooperate or will give
biased or dishonest answers.
102
Analyze the Information
• The fourth step in the process is to extract findings by
tabulating the data and developing summary
measures.
• The researchers now compute averages and
measures of dispersion for the major variables and
apply some advanced statistical techniques and
decision models in the hope of discovering additional
findings.
• They may test different hypotheses and theories,
applying sensitivity analysis to test assumptions and
the strength of the conclusions.
103
Present the Findings
• Then, the researcher presents the
findings.
• Researchers are increasingly asked to
play a proactive, consulting role in
translating data and information into
insights and recommendations for
management.
104
Make the Decision
• Finally, the firm who commissioned the research need
to weigh the evidence.
• If their confidence in the findings is low, they may
decide against implementing the
recommendations/conclusions.
• If they are predisposed to launching it, the findings may
support their inclination.
• They may even decide to study the issue further and do
more research.
• The decision is theirs, but rigorously done research
provides them with insight into the problem
105
Good Marketing Research
Measuring Marketing Productivity
• Marketing metrics
• Marketing-mix
modeling
• Marketing dashboards
• Marketing research must assess the efficiency and

effectiveness of marketing activities.
• Two complementary approaches to measuring
marketing productivity are:
– marketing metrics to assess marketing effects and
– marketing-mix modeling to estimate causal
relationships and measure how marketing activity
affects outcomes.
• Marketing dashboards are a structured way to
disseminate the insights gleaned from these two
approaches
108
• Marketers choose one or more

measures based on the particular
issues or problems they face.
• London Business School’s Tim Ambler
believes firms can split evaluation of
marketing performance into two parts:
– short-term results and
– changes in brand equity.
109
Short-term results
•often reflect profit-and-loss concerns as
shown by sales turnover, shareholder
value, or some combination of the two.
110
Brand-equity
•measures could include customer awareness,
attitudes, and behaviors; market share; relative
price premium; number of complaints;
distribution and availability; total number of
customers; perceived quality, and loyalty and
retention.
111
Marketing-Mix Modeling
Analyzes data from a variety of sources, such as
– retailer scanner data,
– company shipment data,
– pricing,
– media, and
– promotion spending data,
•to understand more precisely the effects of specific
marketing activities
Marketing-Mix Modeling
• To deepen understanding, marketers
can conduct multivariate analyses, such
as regression analysis, to sort through
how each marketing element influences
marketing outcomes such as brand
sales or market share.
113
Marketing Dashboards
• “A concise set of interconnected
performance drivers to be viewed in
common throughout the organization.”
 Customer-performance scorecard
Stakeholder-performance scorecard
• Management can assemble a summary
set of relevant internal and external
measures in a marketing dashboard for
synthesis and interpretation.
• Marketing dashboards are like the
instrument panel in a car or plane,
visually displaying real-time indicators
to ensure proper functioning.
115
• As input to the marketing dashboard, companies
should include two key market-based scorecards that
reflect performance and provide possible early
warning signals.
• A customer-performance scorecard records how well
the company is doing year after year on such
customer-based measures as those shown in Table
4.4.
• Management should set target goals for each
measure and take action when results get out of
bounds.
116
• A stakeholder-performance scorecard tracks
the satisfaction of various constituencies who
have a critical interest in and impact on the
company’s performance: employees,
suppliers, banks, distributors, retailers, and
stockholders.
• Again, management should take action when
one or more groups register increased or
above norm levels of dissatisfaction.
117
Table 4.4
• A customer-performance scorecard
records how well the company is doing
year after year on such customer-based
measures as those shown in Table 4.4.
• Management should set target goals for
each measure and take action when
results get out of bounds.
119
• A stakeholder-performance scorecard tracks
the satisfaction of various constituencies who
have a critical interest in and impact on the
company’s performance: employees,
suppliers, banks, distributors, retailers, and
stockholders.
• Again, management should take action when
one or more groups register increased or
above norm levels of dissatisfaction.
120
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Define problem and research objective
Taj Hotels
• began to lose customers to its competitors
• management of Taj group highlighted this
problem to research agency
121
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Developing research plan
Oberoi Hotels
exploratory and qualitative research
• Business travelers for Oberoi hotels constitute a major part
of the revenue
• In order to improve its service levels, Oberoi hotels
conducted a survey
• on its existing customers to assess gaps between customers
expectations and perceptions
122
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Oberoi Hotels
exploratory and qualitative research
• want to build a second hotel in Delhi.
• They want to understand what kind of
facilities and features would be of
importance to potential customers
123
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Oberoi Hotels
Conclusive research
• Oberoi’s found out that a hotel with attributes
which business customers value the most,
would be appropriate.
• It should be in central business districts
• Now they want to decide the size of the hotel.
124
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Oberoi Hotels
Conclusive research
• To decide the size of the hotel, demand
estimation is critical.
• The next step is to estimate the demand for
Oberoi Hotel for the next 15 years
• Hotel is a capital intensive business and one
cannot alter the size quickly.
125
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Oberoi Hotels
Conclusive research
• Based on this the size of the hotel will be
decided.
• This is conclusive research
126
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Oberoi Hotels
Experimental research
• Once the size of the hotel is decided they want to
estimate the prices they can charge for each room.
• Understand the price elasticity of demand.
• Hotels need to estimate how demand varies at various
price points
• An experimental orientation
• Called as experimental research
127
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Oberoi Hotels
Experimental research
Price elasticity of demand would help in
formulating their pricing strategy
128
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Collecting the information
primary sources of data
• For studying feasibility of second hotel one has to study
the attitudes of your potential customers.
• Also identify who are potential customers.
• Such data is not available in any books or other sources.
• Has to be collected by contacting potential customers.
• This is called primary sources of data
129
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Secondary sources of data
• For demand forecasting of Oberoi hotel.
Oberoi’s wanted to find out the likely
foreign tourist arrivals in India for next ten
years
• it contacted tourism ministry
130
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Secondary sources of data
• As this data already exists with tourism
ministry
• This is known as secondary sources of data
131
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Presenting the findings.
• present findings
• To answer the objectives set out earlier
• Recommendations
• Which are actionable
132
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Market research applications
IMRB
• Market research services.
• largest market research agency in India
• various kind of services
• A consumer-specific research services
– Consumer research
– Qualitative research
– Media research
– Industrial market research.
133
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Syndicated research services
• Marketers need to take decisions
• Require information
• What magazines/newspapers consumers read?
• What television/radio programs consumers consumer
watch?
• How viewership and readership habits are changing
134
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
• These services are provided by market
researchers
• On a continuous basis
• Could be weekly/fortnightly monthly basis
• carry out retail audit
135
MARKET RESEARCH AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
• To study the sales of various brands from
various retail outlets
• How sales are varying
• Which brands are strengthening
• Which brands are becoming weaker
• To understand market share
136
Forecasting Market Demand
• Anticipating what buyers are likely to do
• Forecasts
– Macroeconomic
– Industry
– Company sales
• Industry sales and market shares
• Survey of buyers’ intentions
• Composite of sales force opinions
• Expert opinion
• Past-sales analyses
• Market-test method
Industry Sales and Market Shares
The industry trade association will often collect and publish
total industry sales, although it usually does not list
individual company sales separately.
With this information, however, each company can evaluate
its own performance against that of the industry as a whole.
•.
139
Survey of Buyers’ Intentions
•For business buying, research firms can carry
out buyer-intention surveys for plant,
equipment, and materials, usually falling
within a 10 percent margin of error.
140
Survey of Buyers’ Intentions
•These surveys are useful in estimating demand for
industrial products, consumer durables, product
purchases that require advance planning, and new
products.
•Their value increases to the extent that buyers are
few, the cost of reaching them is low, and they have
clear intentions that they willingly disclose and
implement.
141
Composite of Sales Force Opinions
•When interviewing buyers is impractical, the
company may ask its sales representatives to
estimate their future sales.
142
Expert Opinion
•Companies can also obtain forecasts from experts,
including dealers, distributors, suppliers, marketing
consultants, and trade associations.
•Dealer estimates are subject to the same strengths
and weaknesses as sales force estimates
143
Past-Sales Analysis
•Firms can develop sales forecasts on the basis of past sales.
•Time-series analysis breaks past sales into four components
(trend, cycle, seasonal, and erratic) and projects them into the
future.
•Exponential smoothing projects the next period’s sales by
combining and the most recent sales, giving more weight to
the latter.
144
Past-Sales Analysis
•Statistical demand analysis measures the impact of a set of causal
factors (such as income, marketing expenditures, and price) on the sales
level.
•Econometric analysis builds sets of equations that describe a system and
statistically derives the different parameters that make up the equations.
•Advanced machine learning techniques are revolutionizing marketing
by automating and speeding up tasks that range from analyzing sales and
revenue to spotting industry trends.
145
Marketing Performance
Market-Test Method:
•When buyers don’t plan their purchases carefully or
experts are unavailable or unreliable
• a direct market test can help forecast new-product
sales or the sales of established products in a new
distribution channel or territory
146
Marketing Metrics
•Help marketers quantify, compare, and interpret performance
•Marketers choose one or more measures based on the issues they face.
•Website analytics detail site navigation and online interaction
•Social media presence shows demographic and geographic responses to social
media channels across different markets.
•Permission marketing statistics measure interactions and engagement with
consumers from automated e-mails
147
• Measuring marketing productivity
– Marketing metrics
– Marketing mix modeling
– Marketing dashboards
• Marketing metrics
– the set of measures that help marketers quantify, compare,
and interpret their performance
• Marketing mix modeling
– analyze data from a variety of sources such as retailer
scanner data, company shipment data, as well as pricing,
media, and promotion expenditure data, to understand more
precisely the effects of specific marketing activities
Customer metrics pathway
– looks at how prospects become customers, from awareness
to preference to trial to repeat purchase, or some less linear
model
Unit metrics pathway
– reflects what marketers know about sales of
product/service units
– how much is sold by product line and/or by geography, the
marketing cost per unit sold as an efficiency yardstick, and
where and how margin is optimized in terms of
characteristics of the product line or distribution channel
Cash-flow metrics pathway
– focuses on how well marketing expenditures are achieving
short-term returns.
– Program and campaign ROI models measure the
immediate impact or net present value of profits expected
from a given investment
Brand metrics pathway
– tracks the longer-term impact of marketing through brand-
equity measures that assess both the
– perceptual health of the brand from customer and
– prospective customer perspectives and the overall financial
health of the brand
Marketing dashboards
– provide all the up-to-the-minute information necessary to
run the business operations for a company—such as sales
versus forecast, distribution channel effectiveness, brand
equity evolution, and human capital development
156
Marketing Dashboard
157
Marketing Dashboard
158

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MARKET RESEARCH AND

Think of following decisions

• Problem Solving---------Decision ------

 Marketing departments in big firms

Tap partner Check out

• Define the decision alternatives

• Define the research objectives

Should a new product be To determine consumer preferences

Should the advertising To determine the effectiveness

Should the price of the To determine the price elasticity

• Many advances in visual technology

– Sample size: How many people should we

– Sampling procedure: How should we

• Now the marketing researcher must decide how to

Step 4: Analyze the Information

Step 5: Present the Findings

Step 6: Make the Decision

• Marketing research must assess the efficiency and

• Marketers choose one or more

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