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Market Research. Professor Lawrence Feick University of Pittsburgh. Outline. Definition: what is market research? Examples of market research problems Who does market research? Glossary: types of data, studies, variables Focus on focus groups, surveys, observation, experiments Sampling
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Market Research Professor Lawrence Feick University of Pittsburgh
Outline • Definition: what is market research? • Examples of market research problems • Who does market research? • Glossary: types of data, studies, variables • Focus on focus groups, surveys, observation, experiments • Sampling • Market research in 1998
What is market research? • Collection and organization of information to be used for marketing decision making
Examples of market research problems • Target market selection • Product studies • Pricing studies • Distribution studies • Promotion studies • Sales research
Who does market research? • Managers or market researchers in the firm producing the product (clients) • Market research firms (suppliers) • Advertising agencies (agencies) • Organizations that produce market research information as a byproduct of other activities
The Largest Market Research Firms 1997 Source: Advertising Age May 25, 1998
Market research suppliers:types of services • Custom research • Syndicated research
A glossary of research terms • Types of data • Types of studies • Type of variables
Types of data • Secondary data • collected for another purpose • there is always relevant data available • sources of secondary data • Primary data • collected to answer the current question
Types of studies • Quantitative • quantity data: amounts, means, percentages • surveys, experiments, observation methods • Qualitative • richness, depth of understanding • directional, not quantified results • depth interviews, focus groups
Types of variables • Independent variable • a variable that has an effect on another • a predictor or explanatory variable • Dependent variable • a variable that is affected by another • Examples: • purchase patterns and income
Focus groups • Most frequently used qualitative method • Involves moderated group discussion • Typically 1.5 hours • Example usage: product concept testing, name tests
Surveys • Data collected by asking questions • Art and science of asking questions • Descriptive technique that yields: • averages: potato chip consumption • relationships: is potato chip consumption related to age? to income?
Interviewer-administered questionnaires • Personal interview surveys • Telephone surveys
Self-administered questionnaires • Mail surveys • Fax surveys • Computer surveys
Observation • Data collected by recording information • Avoid bias from contact that influences responses • UPC scanners, Nielson Media’s black boxes, hidden cameras
Experiments • Involve manipulated independent variables • provide insight into cause and effect • Data collected with surveys and observation • Package design tests, ad copy tests, test markets
Sampling: an aside • Population • Census versus sample • Types of samples • probability samples • nonprobability samples • Sampling and statistics
Market research in the late 1990s:linked data • Supermarkets loyalty cards • purchase data from scanners • demographic data from membership • tailored promotions to members, neighborhoods • Reader’s Digest direct mail system • tailored mailings based on expected response and expected profitability • uses purchase data, survey data, purchased lists
Market research in the late 1990s: single source data • Uses a consumer panel • Combines: • demographics from surveys • observed black box data • observed scanner data • Provides linkages among: • customer demos, media habits, purchases • Split cable experiments
Market research in the late 1990s: brand anthropology • Developing new ways to understand brand meaning in consumers • collages • thick description • in-home observation
Market research: the bottom line • Market research defined--reprise • Collection and organization of information to be used for marketing decision making • Market research, to be useful, • focuses on manager’s problems • answers the right questions • affects decision making