MARKETING RESRACH AND

CONSUMER BUYER BEHAVIOUR

WHAT IS MARKETING RESEARCH?

Marketing Research is ‘The systematic gathering,

recording, and analysing of data about problems

relating to the marketing of goods and services’

(The American Marketing Association)

MARKETING RESEARCH INFORMATION IS COMPOSED OF“PRIMARY DATA’ AND ‘SECONDARY DATA’

MARKETING RESEARCH

SECONDARY DATA PRIMARY DATA

SECONDARY DATA

Secondary data refers to "Off the shelf' informationwhich already exists and which was collected for someother specific purpose.

The collection of secondary data is often referred as ‘desk research’.

SOURCES OF SECONDARY DATA

a) Internal Sources of Secondary Data:

• Accounting records• Sales force reports• Internal Data bases and records• Reports from previous marketing research studies• Budgets• Profit and loss statements

b) External Sources of Secondary Data:

• Computerized databases• Trade publications• Market research reports• Journals• Government data/statistics• Central bank• Websites, social media feeds and blogs• Other publishing sources

ADVANTAGES OF SECONDARY DATA

There are several advantages of getting secondary data in comparison to collecting primary data. They are:

• Relatively cheaper to gather secondary data since it is already available.

• Relatively quicker to extract

• One would not require too much of an expertise in extracting secondary data

• In many situations multiple sources are available to collect and to verify it.

• It provides historic or comparative data

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED WITH SECONDARY DATA

• Relevance – it is not related to the research problem

• Sufficiency - At times secondary data may be available, relevantand accurate, but still may not be sufficient to meet the datarequirements for the problem being researched.

• Validity - The collected information may be out dated and willtherefore be redundant.

PRIMARY DATA

Primary Data is data collected for the first time for thespecific purposes of the particular marketing research studybeing conducted. The collection of primary data is oftenreferred as ‘field research’.

Primary data is generally collected after a thorough analysisof secondary research, when information collected from thelatter is insufficient for marketing decision making.

Observational

Experimentation

Survey Research – Mail, email, telephone, personal

Depth Interviews/Focus groups

SOURCES OF PRIMARY DATA

ADVANTAGES IN COLLECTING PRIMARY DATA

There are several advantages in collecting primary data. They are as follows:

• Relevance: A marketer could collect data, which is relevant and specific to the information requirement.

• Sufficient: Sufficient amount of information could be collected.

DISADVANTAGES IN COLLECTING PRIMARY DATA

• Time Consuming

• Cost

• Expertise

QUANTITAIVE & QULATITATIVE RESEARCH

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

The collection of data that are open to interpretation, for instance onattitudes, value judgments, motivations and subjective opinions thatmight not be able to validate statistically. (depth interviews, focus group,observation)

As the term implies, qualitative marketing research involves the collectionof data (qualitative data) which is difficult or impossible to quantify.(Questions in terms of “why”). The results of qualitative research aredescriptive.

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

The collection of quantified data, for example sales figures, demographic data,purchase frequency, etc, that can be subjected to statistical analysis and canbe expressed numerically. (Quantitative data collection methods includevarious forms of surveys – online surveys, face-to-face interviews, telephoneinterviews,

Quantitative research, on the other hand, involves the collection of data(quantitative data) which can be measured. (Questions in terms of “Howmany”). Findings may be expressed numerically.

CONSUMER BUYER BEHAVIOUR

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR

Consumer Market

All the individuals and households who buy or acquire goods and services forpersonal consumption.

(Philip Kotler)

Consumer Buying Behaviour

The buying behavior of final consumers – individuals and households who buy

goods and service for personal or household consumption.(Philip Kotler)

Buying behaviour is the decision process and actions of people involved inbuying and using products.

(Michael J Baker)

CONSUMER NEEDS

A human need is a state of felt deprivation of some basic satisfaction.

People require food, clothing, shelter, safety, belongingness, esteem,and a few other things for survival.

These needs are not created by society or by marketers; they are partof the human makeup. (marketers could trigger a need)

CONSUMER NEEDS, WANTS AND DEMAND

Desired state

Current state

state

Need

The degree of difference between the two states is what determinesthe level of motivation the person feels to do something about theproblem.

CONSUMER WANTS

Wants are specific items or objects that might satisfy the need.

It is a means of expressing a need. A need may be satisfied by any one ofa large number of alternatives. The availability of alternatives means ofsatisfying a need constitutes choice.

For example, Mr. Perera is hungry and needs food. Thus, to satisfy hishunger, Mr. Perera could order pizza, burger, rice and curry, fried rice,noodles etc. Mr. Perera decides to order a rice and curry to satisfy hishunger. In this instance the rice and curry was an expression or the meansof satisfying the need for hunger.

DEMAND

Demands are wants for specific products backed by an ability tobuy (purchasing power).

Many people want a Mercedes; only a very few are able to buyone.

Organisations must measure not only how many people wanttheir products, but also how many would actually able to buy it.

Thus, the demand for a given product is therefore a function ofneed, want and the ability to buy.

KEY STAGES OF CONSUMER BUYING DECISION PROCESS

NEED/PROBLEM RECOGNITIONFor the decision process to begin, a potential consumer/buyer must firstrecognize a problem or need. The problem or need can be triggered by:

INTERNAL STIMULI or drive: A person’s normal needs – hunger, thirst - rises to alevel high enough to become a drive.

EXTERNAL STIMULI or drive: A person passes a bakery and sees freshly bakedbread that stimulates his hunger; he watches a television advertisement for avacation in Singapore or he admires a friend’s new smartphone.

Marketers need to identify the circumstances that trigger a particular need.By gathering information marketers can identify the most frequent stimuli ordrive that spark an interest to develop appropriate marketing strategies totrigger consumer interest.

INFORMATION SEARCHThere are two aspects to information search, such as:

Internal Search: Involves remembering previous experience of theproduct category (search their memory for information)

External Search: Obtaining information from sources such as newspapers,catalogues, TV advertisements, friends/colleagues, sales force and ofcourse the internet.

An organisation must design its marketing mix strategies to makeprospects aware of and knowledgeable about its brand. It shouldcarefully identify consumers’ sources of formation and theimportance of each source.

EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES

This stage involves the buyer establishing a set of attributes or criteria againstwhich to compare the products/brands under consideration.

Hotels: Location, cleanliness, environment, price

Cameras: Picture sharpness, camera speeds, camera size, warranty, price.

Smartphones: Camera pixels, storage, battery, warranty, price

Marketers should understand how consumers actually evaluatebrand alternatives. If they know what evaluative processes go on,marketers can take steps to influence the buyer’s decision.

PURCHASE DECISION

The purchase stage, when the consumer chooses which product or brand topurchase, is mainly the outcome of the consumer’s evaluation of alternatives &information collected. Generally, the consumer ’s purchase decision will be to buythe most preferred brand, but two factors can come between the purchaseintention and the purchase decision.

Attitude of others - If someone important to you thinks that you should buythe lowest- priced car, then the chances of you buying a more expensive car arereduced.

Unexpected situational factors - unexpected events may change thepurchase intention. For example, the economy might take a turn for the worse,a close competitor might drop its price, or a friend might report beingdisappointed in your preferred car or the attitude of the sales people, notaccepting credit cars, delivery etc

Thus, preferences and even purchase intentions do not always result in actual purchase choice.

POST – PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR/EVALUATION

• The satisfaction or dissatisfaction that the consumer feels about the purchase

• Relationship between:– Consumer’s expectations– Product’s perceived performance

• The larger the gap between expectation & performance, the greater the consumer’s dissatisfaction

• Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort caused by a post-purchase conflict

Marketers task is to mange cognitive dissonance

KEY/FACTORS/INFLUENCES ON CONSUMER BUYING PROCESS

IMPORTANACE OF UNDERSTANDING BUYER BEHAVIOUR

• Ability to design appropriate and relevant marketing strategy andprogrammes (marketing mix decisions)

• The marketer can influence the stage which the consumer goes through in order to need to purchase stage quickly favorable to the marketers’ product.

• The marketer could reduce post-purchase dissonance to a greater extent by providing reinforcing information.

• Because no longer can we take the customer/consumer for granted.

THANK YOU