Marketing Research

By Chishimba Chishimba
 What is Marketing Research?
• Marketing research is defined as any
technique or a set of practices that
companies use to collect information to
understand their target market better.
• Organizations use this data to improve
their products, enhance their user
experience, and offer a better product to
their customers.
• Marketing research is used to determine
what the customers want, and how they
react to products or features of a product.
 Why is research so valuable?
• Understand customers
• Attract potential customers
• It also helps to retain current customers
• Marketing research gives you the answer to the
‘why.’ (e.g., It can explain why customers leave
you)
• Better decision-making: Bad decisions are often
taken due to emotional reasoning and
guesswork.
• Better planning: Research keeps you from
making absurd decisions by planning in a
vacuum.
Advantages of Marketing Research
• Improves efficiency: You can improve the
efficiency of delivering the product to the
market and also increase its usability.
• Cost-effective: It helps you make right
decisions based on consumer demand,
thus saving you costs in creating
something that customers do not like or
want.
Advantages of Marketing Research
• Competitive edge: Quicker, more robust
insights can help you place your services
and products strategically, gaining a
competitive advantage over others.
• Build strategies: You can quickly build,
alter, or design new approaches to attract
your users and consumers.
• Improves communication: Bridge
communication gap by interacting with
consumers. This helps consumers feel
wanted and special.
 Marketing Research v Market
Research
• Market research is the study of customers
and the market, whereas marketing
research is the study of all aspects of
marketing.
• Market research is reliant, whereas
marketing research is autonomous.
• Marketing research has a much broader
reach since it involves doing product
research and customer preferences,
whereas market research just involves
gathering market information.
 Marketing Research v Market
Research2
• Market research investigates the market
success of a product or service, whereas
marketing research collects data for
marketing intelligence activities and
decision-making.
• Market research is focused on answering
particular questions, whereas marketing
research is more general and utilized to
solve various marketing challenges.
 Marketing Research v Market
Research3
• Marketing research entails investigating
new goods, distribution channels, and
product development.
• Depending on the setting, it can also
involve promotion research, pricing,
advertising, and public relations. It has a
considerably broader reach and may thus
be utilized to determine a marketing plan.
 Marketing Research v Market
Research4
• Marketing Research is also far more
technical, systematic, scientific, and
objective than Market research.
• Market research examines the market for
a certain commodity or service to
determine how the audience will react.
 Market research explained
• Market research studies a target market.
• It collects data about that marketplace and
the consumers within it.
• It deals with only one P of Marketing –
Place. Place in this context means a
specific market or segment.
 Market research explained2
• Market research gathers, analyzes and
interprets data about:

- that specific market

- a product, service or developing concept
to be offered for sale in that market
- customers (present, past and future) for
that product, service or concept
 Marketing research
• Marketing research is much broader.
• It deals with all four Ps of Marketing –
including Place.
• It covers diverse areas, some of which
market research wouldn’t touch, and
others where it would only touch lightly:
• New product research, Product
development, Advertising research,
Customer research, Pricing, Sales
Distribution methods, Public relations
 Marketing Research 2
• In essence, marketing research covers the
conception, development, placement and
evolution of a product or service, its
growing audience and its branding – all
the way from brand awareness to brand
equity.
 Conclusion

• Market research is a
subset of Marketing
Research.
 Similarities
• Both are important to the success of a
business.
• Both types of research generate useful
data.
• Surveys, focus groups, questionnaires,
and interviews are examples of tools and
approaches that may be used to acquire
information.
• Effective for making judgments on the
type and quality of items and services
given to clients
 Types of Research(Branding
Research)
• Branding market research assists a
company to create, manage and maintain
the company brand.
• This can relate to the tone, branding,
images, values or identity of the company.
• Research can be carried out through
interviews, focus groups or surveys.
• Eg, brand awareness surveys will ask your
participants whether the brand is known to
them and whether it is something they
would be interested in buying.
 Branding Research2
The aim of research will be to understand
how to know if:

• Your brand is performing in relation to

other competitors
• There are areas to improve your brand
activities
• There are positives to showcase to
enhance your brand’s image
 Branding research3
Generally, your brand sentiment will encompass your brand’s

• Awareness: How many people are aware of your brand?

• Loyalty: How loyal are people to your brand?

• Advocacy: How likely are people to recommend your brand?

• Penetration: How successful is your brand at penetrating

its market vertical?

• Value: How valuable is your brand in nominal terms?

 Customer research
• Customer market research looks at key
influences on target customers and how a
company can make changes to encourage
sales.
• The aim of this research is to know
customers inside out, and continuously
learn about how they interact with the
company.
 Customer Research2
Some themes covered by this include:
• Customer satisfaction – Exploring what keeps
customers happy, as higher customer
satisfaction is more likely to lead to increased
customer retention.
• Customer loyalty – This looks at what
experiences have happened to lead to greater
customer loyalty across the customer lifecycle.
• Customer segmentation research –
Discovering who the customers are, what their
behaviour and preferences are and their shared
characteristics
 Competitor research
• This is about knowing who competitors are
and understanding their strengths and
weaknesses, in comparison to your
organization.
• It can also be about your competitive offering
in the market, or how to approach a new
market.
• The aim is to find ways to make a firm stand
out and future planning through horizon
scanning and listening to customer preferences.
• Firm can create a SWOT for the business and
competitors
 Product research
• Product research is a key way to make sure
products and services are fit for launching
in the market, and are performing as well as
they can.
• The aim of this research is to see how a
product is perceived by customers, if they
are providing value and working correctly.
• Ideas can also be formed about upgrades
and future product development.
 Product research 2
There are a number of avenues within product research:
• Product branding – Does the product brand and design
attract customers in the intended way?
• Product feature testing – this can happen at various
stages of development (in early development, between
versions, before product launch, etc.) to check if there
are positive reaction to new or improved features
• Product design thinking – what solutions would solve
your customers’ current or future problems?
• Product marketing – Do the marketing messages help
your product’s memorability and saleability, or can they
be improved?
 Quantitative research
• Quantitative research is the collection of
primary or secondary data that is
numerical in nature, and so can be
collected more easily.
• Researchers collect this market research
type because it can provide historical
benchmarking, based on facts and figures
evidence
 Qualitative research
• Qualitative market research is the collection of
primary or secondary data that is non-numerical
in nature, and therefore hard to measure.
• Researchers collect this market research type
because it can add more depth to the data.
• This kind of market research is used to
summarise and infer, rather than pin-points an
exact truth held by a target market.
• For example, it can be done to find out a new
target market’s reaction to a new product to
translate the reaction into a clear explanation for
the company.
 Primary research
• Primary research is research that you
collect yourself but going directly to the
target market through a range of methods.
Because it is data you create, you own the
data set.
• Data is collected as raw data and then
analyzed to gather insights from trends
and comparisons.
 Secondary research
• Secondary research is the use of data that
has previously been collected, analysed
and published (and therefore you do not
own this data).
• Eg, Desktop research – This can be public
domain data from think tanks, government
statistics or research centres.
• It can also include research from journals,
education institutions, and commercial
sources like newspapers.
 Research methods/techniques
1. Surveys: the most commonly use
• Surveys are a form of qualitative research
that ask respondents a short series of open-
or closed-ended questions.
• can be delivered as an on-screen
questionnaire, via email or via phone
• What makes online surveys so popular?
• They’re easy and inexpensive to conduct, and
you can do a lot of data collection quickly
 Research techniques2
2. Interviews: the most insightful
• Interviews are one-on-one conversations
with members of your target market.
• Nothing beats a face-to-face interview for
diving deep (and reading non-verbal cues).
• But if an in-person meeting isn’t possible,
video conferencing is a second choice.
• Any type of in-depth interview will produce
big benefits in understanding your target
customers
 Research techniques3
3. Focus groups: the most dangerous
• Focus groups bring together a carefully selected
group of people who fit a company’s target
market.
• A researcher leads a conversation surrounding
the product, user experience, and/or marketing
message to gain deeper insights.
• Doing it right is expensive, and if you cut corners,
your research could fall victim to all kinds of
errors.
• Dominance bias (when a forceful participant
influences the group) and moderator style bias.
 Research techniques 4
4. Observation: the most powerful
• During a customer observation session,
researcher takes notes while they watch
an ideal user engage with their product (or
a similar product from a competitor).
• ‘Fly-on-the-wall’ observation is a great
alternative to focus groups.
• It’s not only less expensive, but you’ll see
people interact with your product in a
natural setting.
 Research techniques 5
5. Field trials
• When you place a new product in selected
stores, you can test the customer
response under real-life selling scenarios.
• This can help make product modifications,
improve the packaging or adjust the price.
• You can establish rapport with local store
owners and web sites, so that they can
help you test their products.
 Research process
• 1: Identify the Problem
• 2: Develop a Research Plan
• 3: Conduct the Research (collect data)
• 4: Analyze
• 5: Report Findings
• 6: Take Action/implement
 Market research process(Define
the problem
• The first step in market research is to
identify or define the research problem.
• The research problem determines the scope
of the research, the tools and methods to
be used, and the sources of data.
• The research problem is an information gap
that the organization wants to close.
• It should be specific
 Market research process(Define
the problem) 2
• Once the problem has been identified, a
problem statement is prepared
highlighting importance of subject matter,
contextualizing the issue, and establishing
the success criteria.
• The success criteria is what will
determine whether the problem has been
solved after the exercise is done.
 Research process(Develop the
Research Strategy)
• First adopt different approaches in their
market research processes depending on
various factors.
• These factors include: area of study,
research budget and the research problem.
• A research strategy specifies the
approach to be taken on a particular
project including the market research
steps, methods, tools, objectives, budget,
and time allocation for each stage.
 Research process(Develop the
Research Strategy)
• Market research can be primary or secondary
where the data used is either first-hand or
second-hand, respectively. Each of these two
divisions can take a quantitative or qualitative
approach.

• Quantitative research deals with data that is

represented by magnitudes such as numbers,
sizes, and percentages. Qualitative research
deals with the attributes in data e.g. emotions,
opinions, and behaviors. It’s best understand
these days as structured and unstructured data.
 Research process(Acquire the
Research Materials)
• The research strategy informs the
materials to be used in the process.
• Materials include methods and tools used
to collect, analyze, and present data.
• The most effective market research
methods include surveys, interviews,
focus groups, direct observation, and
ethnography.
• Advances in technology have allowed
researchers to improve the capabilities of
each of these methods.
 Research process(Acquire the
Research Materials)
• Among tools, traditional market research has
heavily relied on analog alternatives such as
questionnaires, recording equipment, and spaces
such as observation rooms and the open field.
• The internet is a boon for modern market research.
• Beyond internet, AI technology has allowed market
research to flourish in an environment of big data.
• AI-backed tools and platforms are the modern
organization’s main component of the market
research toolkit.
Research process(Collect the Data)
• Data is the heart of market research.
• This makes data collection the most
important of the market research steps.
• Therefore, the quality of the data gathered
can make or break the whole process.
• Key features of high quality data are
accuracy, consistency, relevance,
completeness, and timeliness.
• Without any of these features, the data is
corrupted.
Research process(Analyse data)
• Once collected, the data that’s in raw form
must be analyzed to yield information
• The analysis of data should be done by
experts using dedicated tools.
• Advanced tools can crunch large volumes
of data quickly and automatically. This
takes care of the tediousness of doing it
manually.
• With the help of these tools, humans are
able to apply their mental powers to tasks
that machines cannot perform.
 Research process(Compile the
Data)
• After analysis, the data must be compiled
and presented or reported to the relevant
people i.e. marketers, managers, sales
people, and customer service personnel.
• Important information and notes should be
included to address any confusion.
• And it should be visualized to enhance the
attention, understanding, and memory of
the stakeholders.
Research process(Implement data-
driven strategies)
• Finally, the market research steps are not
complete without testing the utility of the
process.
• This is best done through the application of
insights in business.
• Modern businesses use data to inform all
their strategies be it acquiring customers,
beating the competition, or taking
advantage of various opportunities.
 Secondary Information
• Secondary research is a type of research that has
already been compiled, gathered, organized and
published by others.
• Secondary research uses information that has
previously been collected either inside or outside the
organization.
• It includes reports and studies by government
agencies, trade associations or other businesses in
an industry.
• For small businesses with limited budgets, most
research is typically secondary, because it can be
obtained faster and more affordably than primary
research.
 Secondary Info sources
• A lot of secondary research is available right on the
Web.
• Simply enter key words and phrases for the type of
information you’re looking for.
• You can also obtain secondary research by reading
articles in magazines, newspapers, trade journals
and industry publications.
• It can also be done by visiting a reference library, and
by contacting industry associations or trade
organizations.
• Note: When you locate the research you want, check
its publication date to be sure the data is fresh and
not outdated.)
 Secondary Info sources 2
• One excellent source of secondary
research data is government agencies.
• This data is usually available free of
charge.
• On the other hand, data published by
private companies may require permission,
and sometimes at a fee, for you to access
it.
• A company's internal data, such as sales
and marketing records, customer account
information, product purchasing and
usage data are typical secondary data
 Benefits of secondary info
1) It is cheaper
• The expense of gathering information from
secondary sources is usually a fraction of
the cost of collecting primary data.
2) It also requires less time to collect
secondary data
3) Easy access: With advanced ITC, it is
becoming easier and more cost-effective to
gather, merge, and reformulate numerous
secondary sources of data within a single
system or database
 Benefits of secondary data 2
4) Allow you to generate new insights from
previous analysis: old data can bring
unexpected new points of view or even new
relevant conclusions.
5) Longitudinal analysis: Secondary data
allows you to perform a longitudinal
analysis which means the studies are
performed spanning over a large period of
time
 Benefits of secondary data
5) Longitudinal analysis: This can help you to determine
different trends.
• In addition, you can find secondary data from many
years back up to a couple of hours ago. It allows you to
compare data over time.
6) Anyone can collect the data
• Secondary data research can be performed by people
that aren’t familiar with the different data collection
methods.
• Practically, anyone can collect it.
7) A huge amount of secondary data with a wide variety of
sources
• It is the richest type of data available to you in a wide
variety of sources and topics.
 Limitations of Secondary Info
• 1) Might be not specific to your needs:
Secondary data are rarely collected for
precisely the same reasons that you are
conducting your marketing research
project.
• Secondary research may be related to your
current marketing problem, but it probably
does not address your exact problem with
your exact market and competitive
dynamics.
• 2) You have no control over data quality.
The secondary data might lack quality.
 Limitations
3) Biasness
• As the secondary data is collected by
someone else, typically the data is biased
in favour of the person who gathered it.
• This might not cover your requirements as
a researcher or marketer.
4) Not timely
• Secondary data is collected in the past
which means it might be out-of-date.
 Limitations
5) You are not the owner of the information
• Secondary data is not collected
specifically for your company.
• Instead, it is available to many companies
and people either for free or for a little fee.
 Types of secondary data
• Internal sources of data: information
gathered within the researcher’s company
or organization (examples – a database
with customer details, sales reports,
marketing analysis, your emails, your
social media profiles, etc).
• External sources of data: the data
collected outside the organization (i.e.
government statistics, mass media
channels, newspapers, etc.)
 Secondary internal data
1) Sales data
• Examples of sales data are revenue, profitability,
price, distribution channels, buyer personas, etc.
• This information can show areas of strength and
weakness, which will drive future decisions.

2) Finance data
• Collecting and analyzing financial data is a way to
maximize profits.
• Examples of financial data are overheads and
production costs, cash flow reports, amounts
spent to manufacture products, etc.
 Secondary internal data
3) General marketing data
• Examples of marketing data are reports on
customer profiles, market segmentation, level
of customer satisfaction, level of brand
awareness, customer engagement, content
marketing, customer retention & loyalty, etc.
4) Human Resource data
• Human resource departments have
information about the costs to recruit and train
an employee, staff retention rate and churn.
• Productivity of an individual employee, etc.
 Secondary internal data
5) Customer relationship management system (CRM
software)
• Businesses can also collect and analyze data within
their own CRM system.
• This system is a great source of secondary data
such as clients’ company affiliations, regional or
geographical details for customers, and etc.
• 6) Your social media profiles
• Social Media profiles on networks like Facebook,
Tweeter, LinkedIn are a great source of information
that you can analyze to learn more about,.
• For example, how people talk about your business
and how users share and engage with your content.
 Secondary internal data
• 7) Your website analytics
• There’s a huge amount of valuable
secondary data accessible through your
website analytics platform.
• The most popular platform for insights
into website statistics is Google Analytics
and Google Search Console.
 Secondary internal data
• 7) Your website analytics (continued)
• Examples of data that you can gather from
your website include:
• visitor’s location, patterns of visitor
behavior, keywords used by visitors to find
your site and business, visitor’s activities
in the site, most popular content, etc.
 Secondary external data
1) Govt and its agencies
2) World Bank Open Data
• World Bank Open Data offer free and open access to
global development data.
• Datasets provide population demographics and a vast
number of economic indicators from across the world.
3) IMF Economic Data
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an
organization of 189 countries.
• It provides data such as international financial
statistics, regional economic reports, foreign exchange
rates, debt rates, commodity prices, and investments.
 Secondary external data
4) Google Alerts
• Google Alerts is one of the most popular
free alert services that allows you to
follow mentions on the internet about
practically anything you want – company,
brand, customers, purchasing patterns,
and so on.
5) HubSpot Marketing Statistics
• HubSpot offers a large and very valuable
free repository of marketing data.
Advantages of primary research
• Data is fresh; has not been previous collected;
• Research that’s conducted by yourself is solid,
authentic
• Collected information is up-to-date, unlike secondary
data which may be old and therefore no longer
accurate;
• Specific results. Primary research aims to answer
questions that are relevant only to your company,
allowing you to can gain valuable insight into the key
issues
• Data collected belongs to you. Competitors cannot
get the data and information unless you publish it,
which gives your business a competitive advantage.
 Disadvantages
• It can be expensive.
• Time-consuming and take a long time to
complete if it involves face-to-face contact
with customers.
• It requires some prior information about
the subject, and ideally market research
skills to get the best results.
• Attracting enough customers to take part
in your survey, especially when doing it
yourself, can be challenging.