MARKET RESEARCH

Research comprises "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications.“ It is used to establish or confirm facts, reaffirm the results of previous work, solve new or existing problems, support theorems, or develop new theories. A research project may also be an expansion on past work in the field. To test the validity of instruments, procedures, or experiments, research may replicate elements of prior projects, or the project as a whole.

In layman terms:

Research is the systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data to answer a certain question or solve a problem.

MEANING OF RESEARCH

To achieve new insights/ new facts

(Exploratory Study)• Discovering a new drug

molecule, consumer preference for a particular product.

To define the characteristics of a particular

individual/situation or a group

(Descriptive Study)• Study on Eating habits of

Americans and Indians, Study on choice of touring destinations among males & females

To determine the cause and effect of a particular thing

(Diagnostic Study)• Study on effect of

administration of XYZ drug on a certain population

To test a hypothesis

(Hypothesis Testing Study)

• Study to determine that Fat people are more prone of heart ailments, Study to prove that singles are 3 times more prone to depression than their married counterparts.

OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH

IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH

Research is important in both scientific and non scientific fields.

Problems, events, phenomenon and

process

Solutions and Suggestions

ResearchCauses,

explanations

• To generate new knowledge and technologies to deal with major unresolved issues and problemsBasic Research

• To identify priority problems and to design and evaluate policies and programs using optimal use of available resources

Applied Research

RESEARCH CLASSIFICATION

Basic Research Applied Research

Seeks Generalisation Studies individual or specific cases without the objective to generalize

Aims at Basic Processes Aims to any variable which makes the desired difference

Attempts to explain why things happen

Tries to say how things can be changed

Tries to get all facts Tries to correct the facts which are problematic

Reports in technical language of the topic

Reports in common language

Example:Chemical reactions leads to development of new compound

Example:Effect of vaccination on a certain population, Factors that lead to increasing efficiency of a machine/system

MARKETING RESEARCH

It is "the process or set of processes that links the consumers,

customers, and end users to the marketer through information —

information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and

problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor

marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a

process. Marketing research specifies the information required to

address these issues, designs the method for collecting information,

manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes the

results, and communicates the findings and their implications."

DEFINITION OF MARKETING RESEARCH

• Acc to AMA :• “Marketing Research is the systematic gathering, recording and analysing of

data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services.”

• Acc to Philip Kotler:• “Marketing research is a systematic problem analysis, model building and

fact finding for the purpose of improved decision-making and control in the marketing of goods and services.”

•  Acc to Paul Green and Donald Tull:• “Marketing research is the systematic and objective search for, and analysis

of, information relevant to the identification and solution of any problem in the field of marketing.”

NEED & IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING RESEARCH

Provides valuable data

Studies consumer behaviour

Selects promotional techniques

Supplies marketing information

Evaluates marketing performance

Miscellaneous needs and importance

FUNCTIONS OF MARKETING RESEARCH

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF MARKETING RESEARCH

The market and its structure

The market size (usually broken down by segments)The route to market (through the value chain)The companies that compete in the market (and their market shares)

The numbers of consumers (again broken down by segment)

CONT…

Consumer needs and satisfaction

Factors that trigger the purchase of the product (or service) Factors that influence the choice of supplier The importance of specific issues on the selection of supplier (such as product

quality, availability, price, brand etc) Consumers satisfaction with the product (or service)

CONT…

Product information

Products that are purchased Un-met needs (new product opportunities) Attitudes to new products (either in concept, as prototypes or in their finished

form) Packaging of the product

CONT…

Price information

Prices of the products (list and net) Price sensitivity (elasticity) of the product Values attached to various aspects or components of the offer

CONT…

Promotion information

Sources through which consumers and potential consumers acquire their information on products and services

Messages that trigger an interest in the products/services Attitudes to different adverts. including new adverts. Awareness of advertising Effectiveness of different forms of advertising Readership of different media

CONT…

Distribution information

Role of different levels in the value chain Price levels and margins in the value chain Factors that prompt merchants and distributors to stock products Marketing and merchandising within the value chain Availability and stocking levels in the value chain

CONT…

Segmentation opportunities

Demographics of the population in terms of age, gender, income group, location Behaviour of the population in terms of how they buy (eg. frequency of purchase,

place of purchase, size of purchase etc) Needs of the population in terms of what drives their selection of a supplier (eg

often referred to as the drivers behind the decision such as convenience, bargain hunters, safety seekers etc).

CONT…

Financial problem solving

How can we reverse a fall in sales (or achieve an increase in sales)? How can we obtain more profit from the product/service? How can we improve the satisfaction of our customers so that loyalty is

improved?

CONT…

Meeting opportunities

How can we improve our offer to customers (the product/service, the delivery, the guarantees, the service support etc)?

What is the optimum price we should charge? How can we segment the market so that we can better satisfy customers’

needs? How can we persuade people to buy our products when they are being

tempted in other directions? How can we increase our sales in other territories? Which new products or services could we offer to our customers?

CONT…

Evaluation and diagnosis

What is the cause of the fall off in sales and/or profitability? Why are people rejecting our product in favour of those from other companies? What are the triggers that would cause people to buy our products/services (or

the barriers that are stopping them)?

APPLICATION OF RESEARCH MARKETING

• Market & consumer analysis

• Product research

• Pricing research

• Promotional research

• Place research