Marketing Research Tools. Michele Morehouse. University of Phoenix MKT/441. Norma Atkinson

Transcription

1 Marketing Research Tools 1 Marketing Research Tools Michele Morehouse University of Phoenix MKT/441 Norma Atkinson

2 Marketing Research Tools 2 Overview Market research has several pertinent points that are data gathered from primary and secondary research. Primary and secondary research involves the use of qualitative and quantitative approaches, which use specific tools for each approach. When using market research tools in primary and secondary research it is important to differentiate between these two types of research. Primary Research Primary research is original work created either by an individual or a group of people (Thachappilly, G 2009). Primary research involves gathering information from sellers, consumers and potential consumers of a product. Primary research is classified as qualitative and quantitative. The use of primary research is essential to making decisions that supporting marketing activities. Qualitative Qualitative research reveals customer motivations, views, opinions and beliefs. Qualitative research can collect this information through interviews, focus groups and projective techniques. These methods point out clues that explain behaviors and attitudes by developing a discussion. This gets consumers to talk through in their own words how they view a particular product. For either an interview or focus group a discussion guide is needed to ensure all the pertinent points are covered. Any spontaneous opinions can be gathered prior to the starting the discussion (Dobney: Qualitative Research 2009). The tools that are used to conduct qualitative research in are interviews, focus groups and projective techniques are discussion guides and

3 Marketing Research Tools 3 stimulus materials. The use of these discussion groups will help inform an organization of any changes or modifications that need to occur with products or services. Discussion Guides A discussion guide provides a list of topics and related questions that a researcher will need during either an interview or a focus group. These questions a researcher will want to ask to ensure all areas of the discussion are covered. Research has to be clearly defined a discussion guide. The format of a discussion guide has similarities to that of a questionnaire (Dobney: Brewing up Qualitative Research 2009). The discussion guide will help ensure that the researcher is staying on course with the discussion making sure all topics and questions are answered effectively. Stimulus Materials Stimulus materials generate a response from consumers or individuals in a discussion. The stimulus materials are used to show or elicit a response during the discussion. Stimulus materials could include visuals, such as a list of brands, a video, or a demonstration. Non visual stimulus materials are tasks, building collages, sorting cards, and role playing (Dobney: Brewing up Qualitative Research 2009). The purpose of stimulus materials is to help generate a response that may have been hidden from a company. These hidden responses help identify strengths and weaknesses of a product. Quantitative Quantitative research measures attitudes, satisfaction, commitment, and a range of other useful market data and market metrics. Unlike qualitative, quantitative research collects

4 Marketing Research Tools 4 numerical data through surveys, field tests and observations (Dobney: Quantitative Research 2009). The market metrics are used in quantitative approach. The market metrics that are used are market size, market share, market penetration, customer attitudes, advertising awareness, and brand image. Market Size Market size measures the number of buyers and sellers in a particular market. Market size is approached through surveying manufacturers, surveying channels/distribution routes, and surveying the end users (Investor Words: Market Size 2009). The market size which is collected as unit and revenue and divided by the number of customers a company estimates leading to the basket size (Dobney: Understanding Market Metrics 2009). The purpose of market size is to indicate how much each customer in the market is worth. Market Share Market share is the number or value of units sold in a given period for a manufacturer as a percentage of the total market size. Market share is the share of units sold. The purpose of market share is to generate the estimated total market size and a company s market share (Dobney: Understanding Market Metrics 2009). Market Penetration Market penetration is the measure of the amount of sales or adoption of a product or service compared to the total theoretical market for the product or service. An example of market penetration is if there are 300 million people in a country and 65 million of these people have cell phones, then the market penetration of cell phones is 22%. This would propose that there are

5 Marketing Research Tools 5 still 235 million more potential customers for cell phones (Investopedia 2009). The purpose of market penetration is to estimate the total potential customer for a product. Market penetration helps measure customer activity, customers loyalty, and brand reputation. Customer Attitudes Gathering data through customer attitudes is important for advertising research because communication is constantly changing or improving, so that a company can understand the attitudes of their target markets. Attitudinal segmentation is used in strategic analysis. Since segmentation is to get something that can be implemented and acted upon, which allows company s to look for segments of the market which impacts what a company can do with the end result. In quantitative research this allows for a study to prove the existence of segments and to size them with the aim of forming simple questions to place customers in different groups. A cluster analysis checks intuition gained and checking these clusters against the simple questions (Dobney: Understanding Market Metrics 2009). The simple questions allow for data gathered to identify customers at a point of scale. Through placing a customer in a specific segment a company will know what to sell. Advertising Awareness Advertising awareness is the percentage of customers in a market who claim to have seen a company s advertising. Awareness of advertising can be spontaneous or prompted. A halo effect occurs when the brand prompts awareness, so that ratings may be high. Advertising uses field tests to test and control specific areas. Additional measures that a company takes are media impact. Media impact is where advertising was seen or which element of the promotion was seen (Dobney: Understanding Market Metrics 2009).

6 Marketing Research Tools 6 Brand Image Brand image is important because it associates brand and image together. Brand image is the pattern of scores across an image bank. When effective advertising occurs a company is trying to change or improve a certain aspect of brand image. Through the association between brand and image a company can measure image strength and image character. Image strength is the percentage of all people making an association between a brand and a statement. Image character is the percentage of those making an association of making the association of a brand and image positive (Dobney: Understanding Market Metrics 2009). The purpose of brand image is to help drive sales. Secondary Research Secondary research does not use qualitative or quantitative approaches the same as primary research because this type of research involves using existing sources. The existing sources include, internal company data, public reference materials, industry publications, media reports, and scientific journals are derived from primary research which used qualitative and quantitative approaches (Thachappilly, G 2009). The tools that qualitative research uses are recording and transcribing and reporting. A tool that quantitative research uses is product usage. Recording and Transcribing Recording and transcribing are important techniques used by qualitative researchers that allow them to gain all interpretations from a research discussion. Typically, interviews are recorded and reviewed. By reviewing the recorded interview a research may gain additional insights that are beneficial depending on the purpose of the research being conducted. After reviewing a recording some researchers will include a transcription phase. This is where a whole

7 Marketing Research Tools 7 recording are typed out. Mini-discs recordings are the best quality to record discussions because organizations can use the recordings in presentations (Dobney: Brewing up Qualitative Research 2009). Reporting Reporting occurs through several mediums, such as formal documents, presentations or a brief summary of conclusions. Reporting is influenced by how organizations gather data. In a PowerPoint presentation, good high quality sound bits can incorporate live quotes. (Dobney: Brewing up Qualitative Research 2009). The purpose of reports is to inform the group or client the data collected. Information in reporting is gathered from existing sources, such as public reference materials, and industry publications. Product Usage Product usage is a tool used by quantitative researchers. Product or brand usage measures the frequency and weight use of a product. Through market segmentation of product usage a company can separate heavy purchasers from light purchasers. Mechanisms can be hidden between these two types of purchasers (Dobney: Understanding Market Metrics 2009). These hidden mechanisms can increase the usage across the market. Product usage is classified under secondary research because all information used for the metric measurements is derived from existing company data publications. Reflection Primary and secondary research is differentiated. This is because the two types of research serve different purposes. Since primary research involves original and fresh data collected through interviews, journals, focus groups, and publications the data ensures that consumers are understood as their views,

8 Marketing Research Tools 8 and opinions are expressed. Secondary research uses existing sources which help market researchers to identify main points that are crucial to supporting marketing decisions that companies make.

9 Marketing Research Tools 9 References: Dobney (2009), Brewing up Qualitative Research, Retrieved September 22, 2009 from Dobney (2009), Qualitative Research, Retrieved September 22, 2009 from Dobney (2009), Quantitative Research, Retrieved September 22, 2009 from Dobney (2009) Segmentation-business issues, Retrieved September 22, 2009 from Dobney (2009), Understanding Market Metrics, Retrieved September 22, 2009 from Investor Words (2009), Market Size, Retrieved September 22, 2009 from Investopedia (2009), Market Penetration, Retrieved September 22, 2009 from Thachappilly, G (2009), Market Research-Importance, Goals and Methods, Retrieved September 17, 2009 from _and_methods

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