Chapter 01 Page 1 of 5

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1 Chapter 01 Page 1 of 5 Q 01_01 A 01_01 Describe the task of Marketing Research. An increased emphasis is being placed on the importance of sound managerial decision making. It is the task of marketing research to provide relevant, accurate, reliable, valid, and current information in order to make sound decisions. Q 01_02 A 01_02 What decisions are made by marketing managers? How does marketing research help in making these decisions? Marketing managers make strategic and tactical decisions in the process of identifying and satisfying customer needs. They make decisions about potential opportunities, target market selection, market segmentation, planning and implementing marketing programs, marketing performance, and control. Marketing research helps the marketing manager link the marketing variables with the environment and the customer groups. It helps remove some of the uncertainty by providing relevant information about the marketing variables, environment, and consumers (see Figure 1.2). Q01_03 A01_03 Define marketing research. Marketing research is the systematic and objective identification, collection, analysis, and dissemination of information for the purpose of assisting management in decision making related to the identification and solution of problems (and opportunities) in marketing. Q01-04 Describe one classification of marketing research. Marketing research can be classified as either problem identification research or problem solution research. Problem identification research is undertaken to help identify problems that are not apparent on the surface and yet exist or are likely to arise in the future. Examples of problem identification research include assessing market potential, market share, market characteristics, sales analysis, short-range forecasting, long-range forecasting, and business trends research. Problem solution research solves specific marketing problems such as segmentation, product, pricing promotion, and distribution research (see Figure 1.1).

2 Chapter 01 Page 2 of 5 Q 01_05 A 01_05 Describe the steps in marketing research process. The steps involved in the marketing research process are: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) Problem definition: define the marketing research problem to be addressed in terms of: discussion with the decision maker(s), interviews with industry experts, analysis of secondary data, and perhaps some qualitative research. Developing an approach to the problem: development of a broad specification of how the problem would be addressed, which involves the formulation of an objective or theoretical approach, analytical models, research questions, hypotheses, and an identification of characteristics or factors which influence the research design. Research design formulation: this is a framework for conducting the marketing research project that specifies the details of the procedures necessary for obtaining the required information. Fieldwork or data collection: data collection involves the use of some kind of field force where the field force could operate either in the field, as in the case of personal interviewing, or from an office, as in the case of phone or mail surveys. Data preparation and analysis: data preparation involves the editing, coding, transcription, and verification of data, and the purpose of data analysis is to derive meaning from the data which has been collected. Report preparation and presentation: the report should address the specific research questions identified in the problem definition, describe the approach, the research design, data collection, and the data analysis procedures adopted, and present the results and the major findings. Q 01_06 A 01_06 How should the decision to conduct research be made? The decision should be guided by a number of considerations including the costs versus the benefits, the resources available to conduct the research, the resources available to implement the research findings, and management s attitude toward research. Marketing research should be undertaken when the expected value of information it generates exceeds the costs of conducting the marketing research project.

3 Chapter 01 Page 3 of 5 Q 01_07 A 01_07 Explain one way to classify marketing research suppliers and services. Marketing research suppliers can be classified into internal suppliers and external suppliers. An internal supplier is a marketing research department located within the firm where the research staff members are employees of the firm. External suppliers can be further classified into full-service and limited-service suppliers. Full-service suppliers can be classified as syndicated services, standardized services, customized services, and Internet services. Limited-service suppliers can be classified as field services, coding and data entry, data analysis, analytical services, and branded products (see Figure 1.3). Q 01_08 A 01_08 What are syndicated services? Syndicated services are offered by research organizations that provide information from a common database to different firms that subscribe to their services. Surveys, diary panels, scanners, and audits are the main means by which such data is collected. Q 01_09 A 01_09 What is the main difference between a full-service and limited-service supplier? The difference between limited-service and full-service suppliers is that limited-service suppliers specialize in one or a few phases of the marketing research process and offer services only in the area of their specialization, whereas full-service suppliers offer the entire range of marketing research services. Q 01_10 A 01_10 What are branded products? Branded products and services offered by marketing research firms e.g. Nielsen Retail Index, consist of specialized data collection and analysis procedures developed to address specific types of marketing research problems. These procedures are patented, given brand names, and marketed like any other branded product.

4 Chapter 01 Page 4 of 5 Q 01_11 A 01_11 List 5 guideline for selecting an external marketing research supplier. The guidelines for selecting an external marketing research supplier are: a) The firm selected should be capable of working on the project. This means that the firm should have the appropriate resources, such as well-trained employees, facilities for fieldwork, and good data analysis capabilities. b) The firm should possess a high degree of technical competence. c) The client and the supplier should cooperate with one another and maintain a professional relationship. d) Good communication between the client and the supplier is essential to the success of a project. e) The supplier should provide supervision and control of the fieldwork and other phases of the project and offer acceptable validation procedures. Q 01_12 A 01_12 What career opportunities are available in marketing research? Career opportunities that are available in marketing research include Vice President of Research, Research Director, Assistant Director of Research, Project Director, Fieldwork Director, Statistician/Data Processing Specialist, Senior Analyst, Analyst, and Junior Analyst. Q 01_13 Discuss three ethical issues in marketing that relate to 1) the client 2) the supplier and the 3) respondent. A 01_13 Some of the ethical issues in marketing research that pertain to the client include protecting the public from misrepresentation. Full and accurate information should be provided to the supplier regarding the true purpose of the research, nature of the problem being addressed, time, cost, and resource constraints. Also, clients should not knowingly disseminate conclusions from a project that are inconsistent with or not warranted by the data. Additionally, they should not solicit specialized research designs or techniques from one supplier and deliver them to another for execution without the approval of the design or technique originator. Some of the ethical issues in marketing research which pertain to the supplier include adherence to the basic and commonly accepted standards

5 Chapter 01 Page 5 of 5 of scientific investigation: Research should be conducted in an objective manner free of personal biases and motivations, the accuracy and validity of the procedures or findings should not be misrepresented, details about the procedures and techniques used should be made available to the client upon request, and the confidentiality of the client and the subjects should be maintained. Some of the ethical issues in marketing research that pertain to the respondent include assurance of anonymity, respondents privacy, and the respondents right to be informed about the various aspects of the research. Q 01_14 A 01_14 Q 01_15 A 01_15 What is marketing information system? A marketing information system consists of a formalized set of procedures for generating, analyzing, storing, and distributing pertinent information to marketing decision makers on an ongoing basis. How is DSS different from MIS? DSS differ from MIS in that they are aimed at solving less structured problems. They combine the use of models or analytical techniques with the traditional access and retrieval functions and help answer what if questions. As an example, take the case of American Airlines. Their MIS collects routine data and helps answer questions like capacity utilization during a certain quarter, most popular destinations, most preferred times and days of travel, method of payment, baggage size etc. The DSS will go even further and help American answer questions such as what would be the revenue and profit impact of adding one more flight a day to London or the impact of a different seating arrangement etc.