Chapter 1

An Introduction to Marketing Research

Marketing research provides information to help implement…

• Marketing• Marketing Concept• Marketing Strategy

Marketing research provides information to help implement…

• Marketing: process of all activities necessary for the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives

Marketing research provides information to help implement…

• Marketing Concept: the business philosophy that holds the key to achieving organizational goals consists of determining the needs & wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions more effectively & efficiently than competitors

Marketing research provides information to help implement…

• Marketing Strategy: consists of selecting a segment of the market as the company’s target market and designing the proper “mix” of the “4Ps”

Key Point: To practice marketing; to implement the marketing concept; to implement marketing strategy, managers must make decisions.

Many decisions require additional information and marketing research is needed in order to supply that information.

What is marketing research?

• Marketing research: is the process of designing, gathering, analyzing, and reporting information that may be used to solve a specific marketing problem. (Burns & Bush)

…is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information—information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve the understanding of marketing as a process. (AMA)

What is online research?

• Online research: the use of computer networks, including the Internet, to assist in any phase of the marketing research process including development of the problem, research design, data gathering, analysis, and report writing and distribution

What is online research?

• Web-based research: research that is conducted on Web applications; may use traditional methods as well as on-line research methods in conducting research on Web-based applications

• Online survey research: collection of data using computer networks

Marketing Information System

• Marketing Information System (MIS): a structure consisting of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision makers19

Components of an MIS

• Internal Reports System• Marketing Intelligence System• Decision Support System• Marketing Research System…this system

provides information not available through the other systems. When a specific problem must be solved, marketing research is often needed. It is also “project-based” and is not continuous as are the other systems.