Marketing Research Process

                                                     MARKETING RESEARCH

Marketing Research Process

Establish the Need- if the information already exists, you can't afford it, when the costs exceed the benefits, and timing is wrong.

Define the Problem- state the decision alternatives, not a symptom.(most important step)

Establish the Research Objectives- stating what you need to study and understand to solve the problem. 

Determine your Research Design- descriptive- unstructured, answers who, what, where, when and how (experience survey, focus groups), to desribe marketing phenomena, study conducted to measure customer satisfaction on a 10pt. scale exploratory- highly unstructured and beginning of the process such as going to the library or exploring the internet to collect kbackground information , and causal- answers why.

Identify Information Types and Sources- primary- new information specifically for the problem at hand, and secondary- information that has been already collected.

Determine Methods of Accessing Data- qualitative a) have a person ask questions (conduct an in-home survey or telephone survey, b) use computer-assisted or direct questioning (computer-assisted telephone interview or an online survey delivered to an email address) c) allow respondents to answer questions themselves without computer assistance (mail survey) or d) hybrid or mixed-mode studies.Observing and describing in in-depth interviews using probing questions, focus groups (contemporary more people than 6-12, and tradition with only 6-12 people in a room) observation- watching people what they say and do, faulty recall and. Projective- word association and sentence coompletion through scenario questions for sensitive topics. Laddering- making connections between values and needs. Protocol Analysis- complex decisions broken down step by step. Physiological- physical responses to stimuli by looking at pupils or eye movement. Ethnographic- group or subculture behaviors=qwetsjzxcvb12

Design Data Collection Forms- communication with respondents (ask them questions) called a questionnaire, or observing respondents called observation form. Great care must be given to design the form properly by phrasing questions properly to generate answers that satisfy research objectives.

Determine Sample Plan and Size- how each unit is going be used in a population, sample plan- representativeness, size- accuracy of your results.

Collect Data

Analyze Data- determine what the data means and what your going to do with it.

Prepare your Report

I. Exploratory