STUDY GUIDE

• Materials used in the course

  • Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation, Fifth Edition” by Malhotra, N. and Birks, D., (2007), Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson
  • “Essentials of Marketing Research, Fourth Edition” by Zikmund, Babin, (2010), SOUTH-WESTERN CENGAGE Learning
  • Articles and case studies
• Marketing Research covers the broad scope of marketing activity, being a continuous and ongoing effort to systematically design, collect, analyze, interpret, and report data and information across a broad spectrum for marketing and decision-making
• Marketing research can help a company achieve the goal of creating valuable experiences for customers
• The coursework details are explained in the syllabus and will include classroom workshops, discussions and practical projects
• Key questions in marketing

  • What do we sell?
  • How do consumers view our company?
  • What does our company / product mean?
  • What do consumers desire?
• Marketing Research

  • Links the consumer, customer, and public to the market through information used to identify and define marketing
  • Generates, refines, and evaluates marketing actions
  • Monitors marketing performance
  • Underlines the understanding of marketing as a process
• The study guide is meant to aid students with the overall learning process. It is not meant to replace other course materials
• Companies must produce bundles of benefits that consumers will view as valuable
• Market Research vs. Marketing Research
• Marketing Research

  The systematic and objective identification, collection, analysis, dissemination, and use of information for the purpose of improving decision making related to the identification and solution of problems and opportunities in marketing
• Market Research is research about a market or markets, while Marketing Research is research into all aspects of marketing
• Introduction to Marketing Research

  1. What marketing research is and what it does for business

  2. The difference between basic and applied marketing research

  3. How the role of marketing research changes when a firm is truly marketing oriented

  4. How to integrate marketing research results into the strategic planning process

  5. When marketing research should and should not be conducted

  6. The way technology and internationalization are changing marketing research
• Two examples of how marketing research can aid strategic marketing management are Identifying and evaluating market opportunities and Analyzing and selecting target markets
• Basic Marketing Research is "Research conducted without a specific decision in mind that usually does not address the needs of a specific organization. It attempts to expand the limits of marketing knowledge in general and is not aimed at solving a particular pragmatic problem."
• Applied Marketing Research is "Research conducted to address a specific marketing decision for a specific firm or organization."
• The hallmarks of scientific research include Purposiveness, Rigor, Testability, Replicability, Precision and Confidence, Objectivity, Generalizability, and Parsimony
• The Seven-Step Process in the Hypothetico-Deductive Method includes Observation, Problem identification, Theoretical framework, Hypothesizing, Research Design, Logical Analysis of Data, and Deduction
• Marketing Research covers the broad scope of marketing activity, being a continuous and ongoing effort to systematically design, collect, analyze, interpret, and report data and information across a broad spectrum for marketing and decision-making purposes
• Developing and implementing a marketing strategy involves four stages: Identifying and evaluating market opportunities, Analyzing market segments and selecting target markets, Planning and implementing a marketing mix that will provide value to customers and meet organizational objectives
• Marketing Research can help a business maximize customer satisfaction with purchase, identify after-sale services, prevent commercialization of products that are not consumer-oriented, identify optimal pricing to maximize profitability, and increase sales efficiency through effective use of market data
• The determination of the need for Marketing Research centers on time constraints, the availability of data, the nature of the decision to be made, and benefits versus costs
• Problem Identification Research is undertaken to help identify problems that are not necessarily apparent on the surface and yet exist or are likely to arise
• Global Marketing Research is increasingly important due to globalization and advancements in Information & Communication Technologies (ICT)
• The Marketing Research Process

  • The Marketing Research Process
  • The Marketing Research Plan
  • The 3 Types of Marketing Research and their characteristics
  • Uncertainty Influences The Type Of Research
  • Identifying Causality
  • Primary and Secondary Data
  • What Actions Guarantee Good Marketing Research
  • Information in the Knowledge Economy
• Dummy Tables


  Representations of the actual tables that will be in the findings section of the final report; used to gain a better understanding of what the actual outcomes of the research will be
• Marketing Research Proposal

  • What a Marketing Research Proposal is
  • The contents of a Marketing Research Proposal
  • Selecting the marketing research agency
  • What are dummy tables
  • The three steps of the data analysis
• Research Proposal

  • A written statement of the research design that includes a statement explaining the purpose of the study
  • Detailed outline of procedures associated with a particular methodology
• The Marketing Research Process


  A set of six steps that defines the tasks to be accomplished in conducting a marketing research study. These include problem definition, development of an approach to the problem, research design formulation, field work, data preparation and analysis, and report preparation and presentation - Malhotra, Page 9
• The Marketing Research Proposal
• The research cycle

  • QUESTIONING
  • PLANNING
  • GATHERING
  • SORTING & SIFTING
  • SYNTHESIZING
  • EVALUATING
  • REPORTING
• Problem Identification Research: "Research that is undertaken to help identify problems that are not necessarily apparent on the surface and yet exist or are likely to arise in the future." - Malhotra, Page 8
• Problem Solving Research: "Research undertaken to help solve specific marketing problems." - Malhotra, Page 9
• Computer Technology and Marketing Research
• The Iceberg Principle


  • The dangerous part of many business problems is neither visible to nor understood by managers
  • Symptoms can be confusing
• Computer Technology and Marketing Research

  • What is a Marketing Information System (MkIS)
  • What a Marketing Information System (MkIS) consists of, provides, and its role
  • What is Marketing Intelligence and what are its sources
  • What is Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Data Warehousing
  • What is a Marketing Database
  • How to setup and develop a Marketing Database
  • What is Data Mining
  • What is a Decision Support System (DSS)
• Problem-Solving Research

  Research undertaken to help solve specific marketing problems - Malhotra, Page 9
• List the 11 steps of the detailed Marketing Research Process
• Types of Marketing Research

  • Exploratory
  • Descriptive
  • Causal
• Some obstacles to conducting scientific research in the management area
• Data Mining is the process of analyzing the database or the data warehouse to extract meaningful and actionable information