M A R K ET R ES EA R C H

RO LE AN D IM PO RTAN CE O F
M ARKET RESEARCH
Process of collecting and analyzing

data for a good/service in a market

Analyzing consumer reaction to eg.
Price changes, forms of promotion,
packaging
Impacts marketing decisions

IM PO RTAN CE O F A RESEARCH
PLAN
Reduce risk of new product launches
Predict future changes
Explain patterns in sales of existing

products and market trends

Assess most popular designs, flavors,
styles, promotions and packages

STAG ES O F M ARKET
RESEARCH
Management problem identification
Research objectives
Sources of data (primary, secondary)
Sampling (probability, non

probability)
Research techniques (focus groups,
surveys, in depth interviews,
observation)
Analysis and presentation of results

M AN AG EM EN T PRO BLEM
ID EN TIFICATIO N
Most important step in process
Clear idea of purpose of research of

problem to be investigated
What is the size of the potential
market for our product?
Why are sales falling?
How can we challenge our competitors?

M ARKET RESEARCH
O BJECTIVES
Must tie in with original problem
Set to collect all information needed

to solve problem
How many people are willing to buy
our product?
If we advertise via newspaper, what
will be the impact on sales and market
share?

SO U RCES O F D ATA
Primary: original data gathered from people in target

market
Secondary: use and analysis of data that already exist
Secondary data may be more beneficial and should be
undertaken first!
Advantages: cheap, quick, identifies nature of
market/helps plan for primary research, comparison of
data from different sources
Disadvantages: out of date, unsuitable/irrelevant,
inaccurate, not available for new product developments

SECO N D ARY SO U RCES O F

D ATA
Government publications: social indicators report,

economic trends, annual abstract of statistics,

family expenditure survey
Local libraries and local government offices
Trade organizations: society of motor traders,
furniture retailers assoc, engineering employers
federation
Market intelligence reports: mintel, keynotes,
business monitor intl, euromonitor
Newspapers and specialist publications:
marketing journals, financial times
Internal company records

SAM PLIN G
Probability and non probability

sampling
Sample size: larger samples give
better results
Cost and time to consider

PRO BABILITY VS N O N
PRO BABILITY SAM PLIN G
PROBABILITY SAMPLING

NON PROBABILITY
SAMPLING

Simple random sampling: each

member of population has an
equal chance of being included
in sample

Convenience sampling: sample

chosen based on ease of access

Systematic sampling: sample is Snowball sampling: refer from

made up of every nth item from friend to friend
population
Stratified sampling: sample is
taken from different
groups/layers/stratas of
population (different opinions)

Judgemental sampling: sample

made up of suitable persons
(timely)
Ad hoc quotas: any person is
chosen to make up pre-set

RESEARCH TECH N IQ U ES
Quantitative: number of consumers

who may buy a product and in what

quantities
Qualitative: discovering motivational

factors behind consumer buying

habits

Q U AN TITATIVE RESEARCH
OBSERVATION: how consumers behave
TEST MARKETING: testing limited

quantity of new product on the market

CONSUMER SURVEYS: directly asking

consumers about preferences or

opinions

 Who to ask? : sample must represent

population
What to ask? : clear, logical
questions
How to ask? : self completed
questionnaire or direct interview
How accurate is it? : sampling bias,
questionnaire bias, untruthfulness

Q U ALITATIVE RESEARCH
FOCUS GROUPS

PRESEN TATIO N O F RESU LTS

Bar charts
Histograms
Line graphs
Pie charts

LIM ITATIO N O F M ARKET

RESEARCH
90% of products fail after they have been launched!
PROBLEMS WITH PRIMARY DATA
Reliability of data
Human behavior: untruthful, unpredictable
Sampling and bias: sample may not represent
population (sampling discrepancy)
Badly constructed questionnaires, leading questions
PROBLEMS WITH SECONDARY DATA
out of date, unsuitable/irrelevant, inaccurate, not
available for new product developments