What is Marketing Research?
How did Marketing Research Evolve? The idea of marketing research was developed in the late 1920 s by a man named Daniel Starch. This is about the same time that advertising was introduced in the United States. At that time, copywriters would write what they thought an ad should be, publish the ad, and then hope that readers would act upon the information provided. During the early 1930 s Daniel Starch developed the theory that effective advertising must be seen, read, believed, remembered, and then acted upon. Soon after, he developed a research company that would interview people in the streets, asking them if they read certain publications. If they did, his researchers would show them the magazines and ask if they recognized or remembered any of the ads found in them. After collecting the data, he then compared the number of people he interviewed with the circulation of the magazine to figure out how effective those ads were in reaching their readers. Thus surveying or marketing research was born. As time went on, many marketing research companies began to emerge and began following Starch s example and worked to improve his techniques. A man by the name of George Gallup developed a rival system that was known as the aided recall which prompted people interviewed to recall the ads seen in a publication, without actually showing them the ads. This rival system was later used to measure the effectiveness of radio and television advertising. Today Marketing Research has evolved to a great extent in terms of methods of data collection (faster with online surveys) & analysis ( statistical methods with high speed computing) but the essentials have remained the same. Reference:http://www.marketresearchworld.net/content/view/3754/49/
What is Marketing Research? Marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company.
Marketing research can possibly tell us How our customer service is perceived by our customers and what particular areas we can improve on or emphasize How customers shop and how we can adjust our atmospherics to maximize sales What new products or new product features do customers want How customers perceive us in relation to our key competitor (or do they even recognize us as a key player in the industry) Who our most loyal customers are and how do we cater to this important segment Who our typical customer is
.Marketing research can possibly tell us How can we segment the market in more manageable groups What marketing communications are most effective at reaching various segments of the market What is going to be the demand for a new product or an existing product in a new market Where should we build our next retail location At what price point we can maximize profitability and maintain consumer demand Which media vehicles will be most effective to communicate our advertising message Etc.
The Key Steps Before A Market Research Study Step 1: Specific marketing issues to be addressed What is it you want to understand or resolve? Any Hypothesis Purpose for which research would be used who are the ones who need to act on the results Step 2 : Translating marketing issues to Research Objectives Understanding of needs, marketing issues Information that research should provide to address the marketing issue/s 7 check the hypothesis Step 3: Research design Clarity of explanation of research design qualitative /quantitative / observation & indepth interviews/ Focus groups etc Target segment to be met Convincing rationale for the research design Design able to address all the information needs 6
Example for Discussion: Fair & Lovely, Pretty 24
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Fair & Lovely is a big brand which has been talking about Fairness for years and is the biggest brand in the category? It has changed its position over a time period by linking Fairness to Confidence 9
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A new brand was recently launched attacking Fairness Creams. Its trying to break the myth about Fairness Creams What impact it will have on Fairness Cream Brands esp Fair & Lovely 11
What are the possible issues? Credibility will people believe? Will the perception of Beauty change? Will fairness be less important? Leading to various hypothesis to be checked out in the research. 12
Understanding Marketing Issues Should I change my communication / advertising? Should I take on Pretty 24 head on and say fairness is possible through Fair and Lovely? 13
Research Objectives Awareness of Pretty 24 Ad? What message and end benefit is Pretty 24 ad conveying? Whether communication of Pretty 24 is believed and can they identify with it or discard? If fairness still important and reasons? 14
Company has launched Flavoured/ Masala Oats but sales not picking up? What should the company do? 15
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What are the possible issues? Lack of awareness about the product Benefit not accepted Taste not liked Not available easily Competitive products may be better Perception about health products? Wrong target group? Expensive? Leading to various hypothesis to be checked out in the research. 17
Understanding Marketing Issues Should I change the target segment? Should I change flavours which are more acceptable? Should I reduce the price? Communication Changes? 18
Research Objectives Awareness, Trial, Repurchase Advertising awareness visibility of the brand Understand barriers to purchase Understanding the perception of the category, brand and competition 19
Research Design Systematic Method of collecting information Target : who will you talk to? How will you go about it? What research method will you use? Where will you go? 20
What are the different types of Research 21
Types of Research 22
Quantitative vs. Qualitative Qualitative To understand why & how Quantitative To measure How many? Qualitative In-depth Understanding Attitudes & Behavior Open ended, dynamic Flexible Taps consumer creativity Goes beyond rational or superficial responses Richer source of ideas for marketing & creative teams Quantitative Statistical & numerical measurement Structured, Precise Questionnaire Replicable Done on a larger Scale Taps individual responses 23
Different Types of Quantitative Studies Wherever hard numbers are required Readership Studies Viewership Studies Where you want to establish awareness, usage of products Market Definition studies Usage & Attitude Studies Tracking Studies Wherever predictions are required Market Size Estimation Opinion Polling Simulated Test Markets 24