1. MARKETING
RESEARCH
Vinay Nair

2. WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
1. Market research
2. Purpose of market research – 4 C‟s
3. Steps in Marketing Research
4. Coming back to the Steps
5. Case Study – Focus JD Retail

3. RESEARCH ON AGATHA
CHRISTIE
HarperCollins found sales of Agatha Christie
novels declining in early 90‟s
 Quantitative & qualitative research commissioned
 Readers liked “niceness” of the crimes,
but covers were gruesome and bloody
Results:
New cover designs commissioned
and in the first year sales rose 40%

4. MARKETING RESEARCH
Data
Collectio
n
Data
Data
Data
Target
Audienc
e
Data
Analysis
Informatio
n
Evaluation
Presentati
on

5. PURPOSE OF MARKETING
RESEARCH- 4 C‟S
1. Customers: To determine how well customer needs are being
met, investigate new target markets, and assess and test new services
and facilities.
2. Competition: To identify primary competitors and pinpoint their strengths
and weaknesses.
3. Confidence: To reduce the perceived risk in making marketing decisions.
4. Change: To keep updated with changes in target customers needs and
expectations.

6. STEPS IN MARKETING
RESEARCH
1. Define the problem & research objectives
2. Develop the research plan
3. Collect the information
4. Analyze the information
5. Present the findings

7. 1. DEFINE THE PROBLEM &
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
You want to launch a new product or service. (Objective)
Awareness of your company and its products or services is low. (Problem)
The market is familiar with your company, but still is not doing business with
you.
(Problem)
Your company has a poor image and reputation. (Problem)

8. 1. DEFINE THE PROBLEM &
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Determine how many people will buy your product packaged in a certain
way &
when it is offered at a certain price.
[Test possible cause- and effect- relationships. (Hypothesis testing)]
EG: If you lower your price by 10 percent, what increased sales volume should you expect?
(Price
elasticity impact?)

9. 2. DEVELOP THE RESEARCH
PLAN:
1. Budget
2. Timelines
3. Type of research

10. 2. DEVELOP THE RESEARCH
PLAN:
BUDGET
1%-2% of Company
Sales = Total Budget
50% - 80% In-house
20%-50% Externally

11. 2. DEVELOP THE RESEARCH
PLAN:
TIMELINES
A detailed timeline needs to be established.
Establish target dates that will allow the best accessibility to your market.
 For example, a holiday greeting card business may want to conduct research before or
around the holiday season buying period, when its customers are most likely to be thinking
about their purchases.

12. 2. DEVELOP THE RESEARCH
PLAN:
TYPES OF MARKET
RESEARCH
By Source
By
Methodology
• Primary
• Secondary
• Qualitative
• Quantitative

13. BY SOURCE : PRIMARY
RESEARCH
Primary research involves finding out new, first-hand information. This is
called
primary data.
Methods of primary research include:
1. Experimental (e.g., test marketing / cause & effect relationship)
2. Observational (mystery shopper / eye tracking)
3. Survey (mail, telephone, personal interview, in-house selfadministered, online)
4. Simulation (mathematical and computer modelling)
5. Focus groups (groups of 8 to 12 people with moderator trying to reach a
consensus of opinions)

14. EG: EXPERIMENTAL
RESEARCH
Variation 1
Variation 3
Variation 2
• Limited Information.
• Less Information.
• More leads.
• Filtered Leads via
• Less Engagement
price disclosure.
More Information.
•
A/B/C testing
•
Filtered leads.
•
Increased engagement
via chat module

15. EG: OBSERVATIONAL
RESEARCH

16. BY SOURCE : SECONDARY
RESEARCH
Secondary research involves gathering existing information. This is called
secondary
data.
Sources of secondary data include:
1. Market research reports
2. Trade journals
3. Government statistics
4. Sales and customer records

17. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH VS
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Qualitative Research
Quantitative Research
To gain an understanding of
underlying reasons and
motivations
To quantify data and generalize
results from a sample to the
population of interest
To uncover prevalent trends in
thought and opinion
Sometimes followed by
qualitative research which is used
to explore some findings further
Sample
Usually a small number of nonrepresentative cases
Usually a large number of cases
representing the population of
interest
Data analysis
Non - statistical
Statistical data is usually in the
form of tabulations (tabs).
Findings are conclusive and
usually descriptive in nature
Example
Focus Groups, individual depth
interviews , group discussions
Survey, Simulations,
Objective / Purpose

18. COMING BACK TO THE
PROCESS
1. Define the
problem & research
objectives
Distinguish
between the
research type
needed.
2. Develop the
research plan
3. Collect the
information
Decide on
- budget
- data sources
- research
approaches
- research
instruments
- sampling plan
- contact
methods
Information is
collected
according to the
plan (N.B. it is
often done by
external firms)
4. Analyzing the
information
Play with the
data, establish
co-relations
using statistical
tools.
5. Presenting the
findings
Overall
conclusions to
be presented
rather than
overwhelming
statistical
methodologies

19. CASE IN
FOCUS:
GLOBUS
CUSTOMER
SURVEY
(ONLINE)
Purpose / Objective : To get a pulse on how
existing customers feel about the brand, feel
of the website among others.
Target / Sample Size : 3000+ existing
customers
Medium: Questionnaire via email

20. EMAIL COMMUNICATION

21. FINDINGS –
SAMPLE
PRESENTED
BELOW
1.
Our respondents are mostly professionals mostly
between the age groups of 21-30 yrs, with an almost
equal male-female ratio
2.
1 in 4 respondents feel that the website is not
exciting
3.
Perception about the brand and the website is
generally considered Urban, with slightly mixed
perceptions on the background & font representing
an Urban feel
4.
While most users feel that the Globus brand &
website are casual, they aren't equally evocative of
the font & background on Casualness
5.
More than half of the respondents have trouble
finding products on the website
6.
Homepage gives a feel that the range on the site is
limited

22. CASE IN FOCUS – JD SPORTS
(OFFLINE)
Market Research for JD: why?
Provides information of current and future consumer needs
Provides information of current and future consumer needs
Informs the marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion)

23. RESEARCH JD EMPLOYS
Exit surveys
 Face-to-face with consumers to gather views on leaving store
 Primary purpose to understand reasons for visit, frequency of visit/purchase, reasons for and
against purchase
„Shopping bag‟ survey
 Identifies what other stores customers visit from carrier bags carried
 Provides insight into competitors/retailers attracting similar customer profiles
On-site fieldwork - researches new locations
 Assesses competition and the area
 Helps to build a detailed SWOT analysis of each new site

24. EXAMPLE: CHECK-OUT
SURVEY
Why?
Cost-effective collection of data
from purchasers at tills
350,000 customers every year.
Large
sample size means robust results.
Face-to-face with consumers to
gather
views on leaving store
Primary purpose to understand
reasons
for visit, frequency of

25. CHECK-OUT SURVEY – FEW
LEARNINGS/OUTPUT
Data shows how far customers travel to stores
 Enables JD to identify new store opportunities
Consumer profiles by gender, age, brand and lifestyle
 Influences selection of product ranges to meet customer needs
Shopping bag‟ survey
 Identifies what other stores customers visit from carrier bags carried
 Provides insight into competitors/retailers attracting similar customer profiles
Provides invaluable insights into consumer buying behaviour
 Helps to identify effective marketing strategies

26. THANK YOU!