(Textbook Page 41)
This unit of the textbook focuses on how the various players and stakeholders in the field of marketing research work together to understand marketers’ needs and design research that will give them the direction they need.
It is important to distinguish between marketing objectives and marketing research objectives.
Marketing Objectives - What is the marketing decision that needs to be made and what information will help you make that decision? Properly defining this is essential to a successful research outcome, but we often see little discipline around it.
Marketing Research Objectives - These must be written in a way that can be answered directly by the research study.
Four steps to help write the marketing research objectives:
o State the marketing problem
o Explicitly state the factual information implied in the problem
o State the possible causes that might have led to this problem
o List what you would like to know about the market, including hyptheses to be tested
Research Scope
- While the objectives outline the exact purposes for conducting the research, the scope is how the project will be conducted. The scope is fleshed out from the objectives and describes the breadth of all of the information in the study, including sample frame and main lines of questioning.
- Market research includes questions to measure both Manifest variables (those aspects of the consumer, like demographics or behaviour, that can be directly observed or physically proven) and Latent variables (attitudes and opinions that cannot be observed). For example, behavioural loyalty can be manifest – repeat purchases of a brand – while attitudinal loyalty is latent – a mental state that only one brand can satisfy needs. Both can be combined to create the Latent Construct of ‘brand health’.
- The answers provided by marketing research must be both reliable (an observation can be replicated using the same procedure and same sample) and valid (correctly measures what you intend to measure).
- Identifying the correct type of project is a critical step in the design process. This unit describes a wide range of types, from Usage and Attitude and Market Landscaping to Claims and Concept Resting to Customer Satisfaction and Mystery Shopping.
- Decide if the information requirements are:
o exploratory – when little is known about the topic and the company needs to be challenged to consider new learnings and hypotheses,
o descriptive – profiling the current state of the market using variables from experience and learning, or
o causal - determining the hierarchy of triggers or barriers often using advanced modelling.
Here is a common project design sequence:
- Select the most appropriate research methodology to get the right information from the right respondents in a context that is as close as possible to real life.
o This unit of the textbook lists a wide range of potential methodologies and a set of questions that will lead researchers to choose the most appropriate design.
o It must suit the problem and type of respondent, fit into the budget, provide the required accuracy with the appropriate interview length in a suitable timeline.
- Qualitative research collects verbal and non-verbal information from personal interactions with a relatively small number of respondents.
o It is often exploratory, searching for insights, creating hypotheses or understanding but does not count, measure or extrapolate to larger populations.
o It includes live and online focus groups, in-depth personal interviews, dyads and triads, live or online ethnography and bulletin boards or communities.
- Quantitative research describes any project in which the interpretation depends on the numbers collected from the investigation.
o Key characteristics include numerical data on many data points, representative sample, structured questionnaires, findings presented numerically, interpretation based on numerical relationships rather than intuition.
o Personal interviews can be conducted in-home, in a central location, or through on-location intercepts. Computer assisted personal interviews is a standard.
o Telephone interviews are a common way to collect information from a widely dispersed, somewhat representative sample.
o Self-completion surveys were once conducted by mail or handed out during an intercept, but are now more commonly web-based or online and generally with sample from pre-recruited panels.
o This unit of the textbook covers the advantages and disadvantages of each.
- Technological advances have introduced observational tracking (e.g. with cameras), social media listening, facial recognition and adaptation to smaller screens (e.g. phones). Emerging perceptual methods read the physiological reaction of the body when exposed to stimuli, for example, with eye-tracking, reaction time, or neuroscience adaptations (measuring brain activity and electrical resistance of the surface of the skin).
- Other current approaches include omnibus (shared-cost) survey vehicles, consumer access panels and retail audits.
- A Request for Proposals is an invitation to a research house to bid on a project.
o The RFP should include: A clear statement of the marketing problem, detailed background on the marketplace, a summary of previous research, a clear statement of research objectives, the expected timeline, and the budget.
o This textbook unit offers tips to make the process more effective and improve the writing of proposals.
- There are different types of RFPs:
o an expression of interest to screen down an extensive list of potential bidders,
o a simple price quote to help prepare a budget, or if a past study is being replicated,
o a letter proposal to simply ensure everyone is on the same wavelength
o a formal proposal, which is more of a sales document written in a competitive situation, and
o a statement of work, generally prepared after a project has been awarded to formalize and gain sign-off on the details.
- Reasons to not bid on a project include the project being outside the firm’s strategic focus, a lack of expertise or experience, poor financial feasibility, impossible timelines, a sense that you are invited to bid only to check prices and a client who is difficult to work with.
- This textbook unit runs through how to write different sections that you might consider including: a cover letter, title page, background information, a clear statement of the marketing problem/opportunity, marketing research objectives, design considerations, the proposed methodology, proposed analysis procedures, expected project schedule and investment, the terms of agreement, biographical profiles of the study team, testimonials and experience.
- The proposal plays a critical role in the relationship between the researcher and the client. A well-written proposal will help clarify information needs, justify the need for the research, set out detailed assumptions, educate the reader about innovative approaches, serve as a contract, set expectations and provide a master plan for execution.
