Conduct
preliminary
investigation
Purpose/scope
of research
Create the
resea rch design
Conduct
th e research
Process
the data
Report
the results
FIGURE 3.3
The marketing research process
to be worthwhile (indeed, for it not to be a waste of resources), the problem must be stated
clearly and correctly. Failure to do so is the most serious of mistakes in this project.
Correctly defining the research problem should lead to the establishment of the research
parameters. A research study could be restricted by
(advertising); customer group
(heavy users); market (Far East); and time frame (1999-2001) . Because research is so costly,
it is imperative that parameters are established and maintained .
The Informal Assessment
The second important phase of the preliminary investigation is calied the informal assess-
ment. This is an unstructured search of the marketing environment. It enables the researcher to become familiar with the problem setting. This is particularly important for the outside
consultant who needs to become acquainted with the company, its customers, its products,
and all of the marketing conditions surrounding the problems. But it is also wise for the
company researcher to refresh hislher knowledge of those intern al factors bearing on the
problem and also to discover the external elements irvolved.
The informal investigation goes beyond merely "getting acquainted" with the prob-
lem and its marketing setting, however. T h e final result of the preliminary investigation is
the creation of a set of research questions. In marketing research, theses questions can be
stated as a tentative explanation of the problem that the research is designed to solve. For
example, if a marketing manager is trying to solve a problem that involves an important
loss of market share in a particular area of the country, an informal investigation might reveal three possible reasons for the decline in market position. These
until verified b y
thorough study, can best be stated as research statements :
PROCEDURES AND TECHNIQUES IN MARKETING RESEARCH
59
1. The decline in market share is the result of increased competitive advertising in
the area.
2. The decline in market share is the result of the te:: t marketing of a new product
by a major competitor.
3. The decline in market share is the result of "stock outs" at the retail level caused by a trucking strike in the area.
In attempting to verify one or more of these hypothetical statements, the researcher exam-
ines company records to uncover new sources of information or to discover relationships
in old data with bearing on the current problem. Interviews with company executives and
operating personnel are often conducted. Interviews are also conducted with various per-
sons outside the company whose opinions might be expected to have some relevance to the
problem. The preliminary search is always limited to obtaining an insight into the problem
and into possible. solutions for it.
in the final phase of the preliminary investigation, the
analyzes the results
he has so far obtained and restates them in the form of research questions to be tested in
the subsequent research steps.
Creating the Research Design
The design of a marketing research project is the plan proposed for
the research ques-
tions as wel1 as collecting and processing infoITiation. The administratioD of the project
according to the design insures that the fact-finding process wiIl be adequately control1ed.
" Design" means more than simply using good market research procedures. Every research project should be individually designed to produce the kinds of information needed to solve
a particular problem. For this reason, nc two market research projects are ever exactly alike. 3
Six steps are involved in creating a research design: choosing the approach, deter-
mining types of data needed, locating data sources, choosing a method of collecting data,
selecting the sample, and anticipating/col1ecting the results.
Choosing the Approach
Three alternative approaches are possible in creating a
research design. They are not mutually exclusive, but in most cases, the design of a research
plan is limited to the use of one of the three.
The first approach is the experimental approach. This approaCh requires that certain
procedural rules must be followed . Essentially, the variable of interest---c.g., price, message-must be manipulated and everyone participating in the experiment must have a known and
equal chance of being selected.
In a market experiment, information relating to the basic problem is obtained through
the use of a small-scale simulated program designed to test a
research hypothesis.
Suppose, for example, that we wish to test the question that families of similar size and
economic characteristics living in three different cities purchase different amounts ofa particular formula of a soft drink, such as Dr. Pepper. The first step would be to establish the research question: "For a given t;me period, the average fluid ounces of a Formula A, B,
or C purchase in each city were the same." Next, a sample of the families in each city would be selected and randomly assigned either A, B, or C. Next, a survey would be taken to determine the number of ounces purchased by each family. Once this was done, a statistical test
would be used to test the research question. If statistically significant differences in pur-
chases of Formula A, B, or C of Dr. Pepper were noted, it could be concluded that taste
does influence the amount of this soft drink purchased by families with the same social and
economic characteristics. Of course, other hypotheses about soft drink purchasing could
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