Marketing Research Questions
1. Describe the typical steps in the market research process
Market research is the systematic process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting data pertaining to market conditions (Clow & James, 2013). It comprises of five steps. The first of these is the problem definition, which involves clarifying the overarching opportunity or problem, such as why a product is losing market share or the best strategy for launching a new product to a target population (Clow & James, 2013). In the problem definition step, the researcher carries out focus group discussions, interviews, estimations, simple observation, and physical assessments to ascertain that a problem exists and needs to be addressed. By the end of step one, the researcher has identified that a problem exists, developed the research objectives, and formulated hypotheses.
The second step involves determining the methods and techniques to be used in gathering relevant data that will provide answers to the research questions (Clow & James, 2013). This step involves developing the research design, and has to do with determining what type of data to collect (primary or secondary), methods of collecting data (surveys, interviews, observation), sampling procedures, sample size, and designing the questionnaire or interview guide (Clow & James, 2013). The plan developed in this step sets out the research techniques that will be used to answer the research question.
The third step is data collection, which is the actual collection of research data using the tools and techniques identified and developed in the preceding step. The researcher will collect either quantitative or qualitative data, depending on the research objectives. Quantitative data is in the form of numbers, while qualitative data is descriptive and observational (Clow & James, 2013). A common technique of collecting market data is interviewing customers, either face-to-face or by phone to obtain their views on say, the pricing or quality of a certain product or the unmet needs in a certain market (Clow & James, 2013). Alternatively, the researcher could distribute questionnaires to customers, which they would fill and give back to the researcher. Data collection is crucial as it informs the generation of insights on a companys marketing strategy (Clow & James, 2013).
The fourth step is the analysis of the collected data. This step involves organizing, reviewing, verifying, and interpreting data (Clow & James, 2013). The researcher, focuses on identifying trends and patterns in the data, and then using these to answer the research questions. Market research often involves collecting a large amount of data and as such, analysis requires the use of software that can easily depict patterns and trends in the data (Clow & James, 2013).
The last step is the development of a report (Clow & James, 2013). The report plays a two-fold role: a) summarizing the research findings and b) developing action plans in view of the findings (Clow & James, 2013). Market research is...
…variable to minimize the effect of external factors (Alexander, 1992). However, empirical studies carried out in the real world setting have higher external validity because they take into account the external factors that, although are not included in the study, influence the dependent variable. As such, the findings from these studies are more generalizable to the population.5. Identify three types of information that can be gathered from customer satisfaction surveys
To a large extent, customer satisfaction surveys come in handy in efforts to assign meaning to customer perceptions or insight about a wide range of factors that could be inclusive of, but are not limited to; the brand, product, customer support, etc. It therefore follows that a lot could be gathered from customer surveys. To begin with, the said surveys could be used to identify specific customer problems. This is particularly important given that a significant percentage of customers do not formally reach out to an enterprise to register dissatisfaction. Customer satisfaction surveys are a deliberate attempt to reach out to customers instead of waiting for them to reach out. Secondly, customer satisfaction surveys could come in handy in efforts to establish exactly what a company should add to its services or what aspects of products to review to ensure that they address customer needs better. Third, customer satisfaction surveys could also be key sources of information on what to include in sales and marketing efforts. This is more…
References
Alexander, J. (1992). Handbook for Evaluating Objective Prison Classification Systems. San Francisco, CA: US Department of Justice.
Blythe, J. (2013). Principles and Practice of Marketing. SAGE.
Clow, K. E., & James, K. E. (2013). Essentials of Marketing Research: Putting Research into Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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