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Problem Definition & Qualitative Research

-11 steps in marketing research process

When do we know we have a marketing problem?

Failure to meet objectives or be where we should or want to be

o Sales
o Market share
o Profitability
o Some other indicator
*typical indicators (measures of success or failure)
Sales volume: total units or dollar value of units sold in a
given time period
Market share: percentage of total industry
Complaint competitors
**Knowing you have a problem is NOT knowing you have a
problem**
Iceberg sighted- seeing the ice on the top of the water,
but not knowing how big it is underneath

Make up of a marketing research problem

o Researcher must be a detective
o

The Dialog
MR(marketing researcher): Whats going on?
MM(marketing manager): We had a drop in our sales last quarter
and again in this quarter.
MR: Any ideas as to why?
MM: Our competitor dropped prices last quarter, so maybe our
customers are switching.
MR: What can you do about it?
MM: I can cut my prices by 5 percent, but I am not sure this will
solve the problem.
MR: So, what do you need?
MM: I need to know if my lost customers will come back if I drop
my price by 5%.
The marketing researcher does not make decisions. They dig into
issues/problems told to them by the marketing manager. Marketing
managers make decisions.
The marketing researcher gets information to help marketing
managers make the best decision out of their suggested
solutions.

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Pets, Pets, & Pets

o Research objectives
Why are people buying fewer puppies?
Adopters efforts?
Negative perception of puppy mills?
Other reasons?
o Reactions to:
Price cut of 15%
1 year discount for adopters
certified puppy-mill free

The Marketing Research Proposal

o
o

Decision maker and background

The marketing management problem
Symptoms
Suspected causes
Research objectives

The research method (How the researcher intends to undertake the research)

Basic Types of Research

Quantitative: data collection, surveys, panels

Qualitative: ethnograohics, mystery shoppers, depth interviews,

focus groups
o Direct observation:
mystery shoppers: pose as normal customers performing
specific tasks
purchasing product
asking questions
registering complaints
behaving in a certain way
interviewing techniques:
just ask questions
protocol analysis- major purchase steps taken and
considerations
depth interviews (IDIs)

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focus groups:
focus group facility
online focus groups
Pros- generate fresh ideas, allow clients to see
participants, may be directed at understanding a
wide variety of issues, allow easy access to special
respondent
Cons- representativeness of participants,
interpretation sometimes difficult, high cost per
participant
Ethnographic research
Ethnography is the study of people in their natural or
native environments where they work, play, shop
and live
o Ethnographic tool kit
o Participant-observation in real life settings,
video documentaries, onsite in-depth
interviews