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Chapter 02 – The Marketing Research Process and Proposals

Chapter 2

The Marketing Research Process and Proposals

Learning Objectives (PPT slide 2-2)

1. Describe the major environmental factors influencing marketing research.

2. Discuss the research process and explain the various steps.

Key Terms and Concepts

1. Causal research

2. Census

3. Descriptive research

4. Exploratory research

5. Gatekeeper technologies

Chapter Summary by Learning Objectives

Describe the major environmental factors influencing marketing research.

Several key environmental factors have significant impact on changing the tasks, responsibilities,

and efforts associated with marketing research practices. Marketing research has risen from a

Chapter 02 – The Marketing Research Process and Proposals

to assist decision makers in solving decision problems and taking advantage of opportunities.

Researchers need to improve their ability to use technology-driven tools and databases. There are

environments.

Discuss the research process and explain the various steps.

The information research process has four major phases, identified as (1) determine the research

problem; (2) select the appropriate research design; (3) execute the research design; and (4)

communicate the results. To achieve the overall objectives of each phase, researchers must be able

Distinguish between exploratory, descriptive, and causal research designs.

The main objective of exploratory research designs is to create information that the researcher or

decision maker can use to (1) gain a clear understanding of the problem; (2) define or redefine the

initial problem, separating the symptoms from the causes; (3) confirm the problem and objectives;

or (4) identify the information requirements. Exploratory research designs are often intended to

provide preliminary insight for follow-up quantitative research. However, sometimes qualitative

exploratory methods are used as standalone techniques because the topic under investigation

requires in-depth understanding of a complex web of consumer culture, psychological motivations,

and behavior. For some research topics, quantitative research may be too superficial or it may elicit

responses from consumers that are rationalizations rather than true reasons for purchase decisions

and behavior.

Chapter 02 – The Marketing Research Process and Proposals

enables the decision maker or researcher to model cause-and-effect relationships between two or

more variables.

Identify and explain the major components of a research proposal.

Once the researcher understands the different phases and task steps of the information research

process, he or she can develop a research proposal. The proposal serves as a contract between the

researcher and decision maker. There are nine sections suggested for inclusion: (1) purpose of the

Chapter Outline

Opening Vignette: Solving Marketing Problems Using a Systematic Process

Bill Shulby, president of Carolina Consulting Company, a marketing strategy consulting firm, was

working with the owners of a regional telecommunications firm located in Texas. The Texas firm

was interested in improving service quality processes. Dan Carter, one of the owners, asked

Shulby about customer satisfaction and perceptions of the company’s image as they related to

service quality and customer retention. During the conversation, Carter stated that he was not sure

I. Value of the Research Process (PPT slide 2-3)

Business owners and managers often identify problems they need help to resolve. In such

situations, additional information typically is needed to make a decision or to solve a problem. One

solution is a marketing research study based on a scientific research process.

II. Changing View of the Marketing Research Process (PPT slides 2-4 to 2-6)

Organizations, both for-profit and not-for-profit, are increasingly confronted with new and

Chapter 02 – The Marketing Research Process and Proposals

complex challenges and also opportunities that are the result of changing legal, political, cultural,

technological, and competitive issues. Perhaps the most influential factor is the Internet. The rapid

technological advances and its growing use by people worldwide are making the Internet a driving

force in many current and future developments in marketing research. Traditional research

Another development is increased use of gatekeeper technologies (e.g., caller ID and automated

screening and answering devices) as a means of protecting one’s privacy against intrusive

marketing practices such as by telemarketers and illegal scam artists. Similarly, many Internet

users either block the placement of cookies or periodically erase them in order to keep marketers

from tracking their behavior. Marketing researchers’ ability to collect consumer data using

traditional methods such as mail and telephone surveys has been severely limited by the

combination of gatekeeper devices and recent federal and state data privacy legislation. Similarly,

online marketers and researchers must provide opt-in/opt-out opportunities when soliciting

business or collecting information. Advances in gatekeeper technologies will continue to

challenge marketers to be more creative in developing new ways to reach respondents.

Collectively, these key influences are forcing managers and researchers to view marketing

research as an information management function. The term information research reflects the

evolving changes occurring in the market research industry affecting organizational decision

makers. Indeed, a more appropriate name for the traditional marketing research process is now the

information research process. The information research process is a systematic approach to

collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and transforming data into decision-making information (PPT

Chapter 02 – The Marketing Research Process and Proposals

slide 2-6).

III. Determining the Need for Information Research (PPT slides 2-7 and 2-9)

Decision makers and researchers frequently are trained differently in their approach to identifying

and solving business problems, questions, and opportunities. Until decision makers and marketing

researchers become closer in their thinking, the initial recognition of the existence of a problem or

opportunity should be the primary responsibility of the decision maker, not the researcher. A good

rule of thumb is to ask “Can the decision-making problem (or question) be resolved based on past

experience and managerial judgment?” If the response is “no,” research should be considered and

perhaps implemented.

There are several situations in which the decision to undertake a marketing research project may

not be necessary. These are listed and discussed in Exhibit 2.1 (PPT slide 2-9).

• Insufficient time frames

The initial responsibility of today’s decision makers is to determine if research should be used to

collect the needed information. Following are the questions the decision maker must ask to

determine this.

• Can the problem and/or opportunity be resolved using existing information and managerial

judgment?

• Is adequate information available within the company’s internal record systems to address

the problem?

IV. Overview of the Research Process (PPT slides 2-11 to 2-12)

Exhibit 2.2 illustrates four distinct but related phases of the research process (PPT slide 2-12).

Chapter 02 – The Marketing Research Process and Proposals

• Phase 1: Determine the research problem

• Phase 2: Select the appropriate research design

The four phases are guided by the scientific method. This means the research procedures should

be logical, objective, systematic, reliable, and valid.

A. Transforming Data into Knowledge (PPT slide 2-13)

The primary goal of the research process is to provide decision makers with knowledge that will

enable them to resolve problems or pursue opportunities. Data becomes knowledge when

someone, either the researcher or the decision maker, interprets the data and attaches meaning.

B. Interrelatedness of the Steps and the Research Process (PPT slide 2-14)

Exhibit 2.4 shows in more detail the steps included in each phase of the research process (PPT

slide 2-14). Although in many instances researchers follow the four phases in order, individual

steps may be shifted or omitted. The following factors directly impact how many of the steps

are taken and in what order.

• The complexity of the problem

• The urgency for solving the problem

V. Phase I: Determine the Research Problem (PPT slide 2-14)

The process of determining the research problem involves three interrelated activities.

• Identify and clarify information needs

A. Step 1: Identify and Clarify Information Needs (PPT slides 2-15 to 2-17)

Chapter 02 – The Marketing Research Process and Proposals

For researchers to understand the problem, they use a problem definition process. Any process

undertaken should include the following components.

• Agree on the decision maker’s purpose for the research

• Understand the complete problem situation.

Problem definition begins by determining the research purpose. Decision makers must decide

whether the services of a researcher are really needed. The researcher helps decision makers

begin to define the problem by asking the decision maker why the research is needed. Having a

general idea of why research is needed focuses attention on the circumstances surrounding the

problem.

The decision maker and the researcher must both understand the complete problem. To gain an

understanding, researchers and decision makers should do a situation analysis of the problem.

A situation analysis gathers and synthesizes background information to familiarize the

researcher with the overall complexity of the problem. A situation analysis attempts to identify

the events and factors that have led to the situation, as well as any expected future

consequences. Awareness of the complete problem situation provides better perspectives on the

decision maker’s needs, the complexity of the problem, and the factors involved. A situation

analysis enhances communication between the researcher and the decision maker. The

researcher must understand the client’s business, including factors such as the industry,

Chapter 02 – The Marketing Research Process and Proposals

some combination. The unit of analysis will provide direction in later activities such as scale

development and sampling.

B. Step 2: Define the Research Questions (PPT slide 2-14)

The researcher must redefine the initial problem as a research question. For the most part, this is

the responsibility of the researcher. To provide background information on other firms that may

have faced similar problems, the researcher conducts a review of the literature. The literature

review may uncover relevant theory and variables to include in the research. While the

literature review ordinarily does not provide data that answers the research question, it can

supply valuable perspectives and ideas that may be used in research design and in interpretation

of results.

C. Step 3: Specify Research Objectives and Confirm the Information Value (PPT slide

2-14)

The research objectives should be based on the development of research questions in step 2.

Formally stated research objectives provide guidelines for determining other steps that must be

taken. The assumption is that if the objectives are achieved, the decision maker will have the

information needed to answer the research questions.

Before moving to Phase II of the research process, the decision maker and the researcher must

evaluate the expected value of the information. “Best judgment” answers have to be made to the

Chapter 02 – The Marketing Research Process and Proposals

following types of questions.

• Can the information be collected at all?

VI. Phase II: Select the Research Design (PPT slides 2-13 to 2-15)

The main focus of Phase II is to select the most appropriate research design to achieve the research

objectives.

A. Step 4: Determine the Research Design and Data Sources (PPT slides 2-14 to 2-16)

The research design serves as an overall plan of the methods used to collect and analyze the data.

Determining the most appropriate research design is a function of the research objectives and

information requirements. The researcher must consider the types of data, the data collection

method (e.g., survey, observation, in-depth interview), sampling method, schedule, and budget.

Following are the three broad categories of research designs:

• Exploratory research

Exploratory research has one of the following two objectives.

• Generating insights that will help define the problem situation confronting the researcher

• Deepening the understanding of consumer motivations, attitudes, and behavior that are

not easy to access using other research methods.

Descriptive studies may provide information about competitors, target markets, and

environmental factors. These studies referred to as either image assessment surveys or customer

Chapter 02 – The Marketing Research Process and Proposals

satisfaction surveys, describe how customers rate different restaurants’ customer service,

convenience of location, food quality, and atmosphere research.

The sources of data needed to address research problems may be classified as either secondary

or primary. The sources used depend on the following two fundamental issues.

• Whether the data already exist

• If so, the extent to which the researcher or decision maker knows the reason(s) why the

existing secondary data were collected

Sources of such secondary data include a company’s data warehouse, public libraries and

universities, Internet websites, or commercial data purchased from firms specializing in

providing secondary information.

B. Step 5: Develop the Sampling Design and Sample Size (PPT slides 2-14 and 2-16)

When conducting primary research, consideration must be given to the sampling design. If

secondary research is conducted, the researcher must still determine that the population

represented by the secondary data is relevant to the current research problem.

If predictions are to be made about market phenomena, the sample must be representative.

Typically, marketing decision makers are most interested in identifying and resolving problems

associated with their target markets. Therefore, researchers need to identify the relevant target

Chapter 02 – The Marketing Research Process and Proposals

from the defined target population. Researchers must use a representative sample of the

population if they wish to generalize the findings. To achieve this objective, researchers

develop a sampling plan as part of the overall research design. A sampling plan serves as the

blueprint for the following:

• defining the appropriate target population

• Identifying the possible respondents

Sampling plans can be classified into the following two general types.

• Probability: In probability sampling, each member of the defined target population has a

known chance of being selected. Probability sampling gives the researcher the

opportunity to assess sampling error.

• Nonprobability: Nonprobability sampling plans cannot measure sampling error and thus

limit the generalizability of the research findings.

C. Step 6: Examine Measurement Issues and Scales (PPT slide 2-14)

Step 6 is an important step in the research process for descriptive and causal designs. It involves

identifying the concepts to study and measuring the variables related to the research problem.

Researchers must be able to answer questions such as those given below.

• How should a variable such as customer satisfaction or service quality be defined and

D. Step 7: Design and Pretest the Questionnaire (PPT slide 2-14)

Researchers must select the correct type of questions, consider the sequence and format, and

pretest the questionnaire. Pretesting obtains information from people representative of those