C H A P T E R

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INTRODUCTIONMarketing research is about finding out about the market behaviour and its structure, competitors, consumer and the needs and wants of customers. All organisations require marketing research and there

are many different marketing research techniques to assist this quest for information.

By far the biggest users of marketing research have been large fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, Sainsbury, Tesco, Asda and Litttewoods. In Singapore, we have the NTUC, Shop & Save, etc.

This chapter looks at some applied areas of marketing research: product research,segmentation research, promotion research, distribution research and pricing research. These applications of marketing research are substantive enough to warrant specific consideration in their own right. In the case of product research, attention is given to product generation and testing, consumer product testing and packaging research. In the case of segmentation research, attention is given to researching ways of segmenting the market. Attention is given to competition research in which understanding the market strategies of competitors is seen as a focal point. The identification of competitors and sources of information about competitors are also seen as key issues. Next, in promotion research, attention is focused on the ways of assessing its effectiveness. This is followed by a discussion of various approaches to pricing research. Finally, aspects of distribution research are considered

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Essential Readings

1) Proctor, Essentials of Marketing Research, 4/e, Pearson Education Limited 20052) Management Information for marketing & sales, BPP publication, 2010.3) John Boyce, Marketing research (2nd edition), McGraw Hill, 20054) Salkind, N. (2005) Exploring Research, 6th edn, Prentice Hall, Singapore5) Marketing Strategy Ferrell, & Hartline ,5th South Western Publisher, (Cengage,

2011)6) Lecture PowerPoint Presentation Slides Chapter 12

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1Specific marketing research techniques I

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, students should have an understanding of :

The scope of marketing research

Market research

Product research

Sales research

Price research

Distribution research

Advertising and communications research

________________________________________________________________________ PRODUCT RESEARCHMost new products fail, so the use of research in developing and evaluating productsis important since it reduces the risk of failure. Product research covers several different kinds of research. The aim of product research is to provide company management with information about the likely acceptance of a new product, a modified product or an existing product. Product research has three roles to play in this aspect of marketing :

1 getting ideas for new products2 evaluating new product ideas3 consumer product testing.

PROMOTION RESEARCHMuch of promotional research is aimed at the development of advertisingappeals. The type of research this requires may be classified as psychological (ormotivational), sociological (focus groups) and anthropological (observation).

Advertising media researchResearch here tries to eliminate waste in advertising by systematically examiningthe media available for promoting products and services.

MEASURING ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESSMeasurement of advertising effectiveness is one of the most difficult aspects ofmarketing research. Many factors influence sales besides advertising. The otherfactors include all the elements of the marketing mix, together with the availabilityof the product and the effect of competition. It is perhaps only when peopleplace orders in response to advertisements, however, that we can be reasonablysure about its effectiveness in terms of producing sales.

PRICING RESEARCH

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Research into pricing explores pricing approaches both for new products beforethey are launched and any proposed changes once they have been launched.There are two general approaches to pricing research. The first19 involves presentingdifferent prices for a product to respondents who are then questionedabout whether or not they would buy. A ‘buy-response’ curve of different pricesassociated with positive purchase intentions is then constructed. Anotherapproach involves people being shown different sets of brand in the same productcategory, at different prices. They, too, are then asked which ones theywould buy. This latter approach enables competitors’ brands to be taken intoaccount by respondents.

DISTRIBUTION RESEARCHA variety of research can be conducted to cover distribution. The relevanceof such research often reflects whether the sponsors are engaged in businessto-business or consumer marketing. There are many commonalities in termsof requirements. Possibly the main difference reflects the fact that research isrequired at the retail level – the consumer interface – in the case of consumergoodsmarketing.

Product life cycle research - Information for PLC controlIt is possible to summarise the different information and financial control needs ofdifferent stages of the PLC as follows.

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___________________________________________________________________________Conclusion

This chapter has examined several applied areas of marketing research: product research, segmentation research, competition research, promotion research, pricing research and distribution research. In the case of product research, attention has been paid to product generation and testing, consumer product testing and packaging research. In the case of segmentation research, attention has been given to researching ways of segmenting the market. In promotion research, attention has been focused on the ways of assessing its suitability and effectiveness, and various approaches to pricing research were examined. Finally, attention was paid to some aspects of distribution research.

In particular, the following areas are discussed indepth:

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Marketing research typically embraces six major areas: market research; product research; sales research; price research; distribution research; and advertising/communications research.

Market research tries to quantify information to provide sales forecasts and assess potential sales.

Product research seeks to achieve a marketing orientation to the orsanisation's research and development focus.

The product life cycle(PLC) is a useful model for marketing planning and control, although there are difficulties in predicting the precise shape of PLC curve for any given product/ service.

Financial control measures have to be varied for each of the four phases in the product life cycle.

Price sensitivity is influenced by five major factors, including the extent to which customers use the 'just price' concept, the nature of the purchase involved, and perceptions of price versus 'value'.

Distribution research addresses such issues as timeliness of distribution channels, the distribution options available ( and whether traditions can be challenged) and the profitability of various distribution methods.

Advertising is normally measured against four specific criteria: impact, persuasion, message delivery and liking.

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