Marketing Research Prep Task
Marketing Research Prep Task
Marketing Research Prep Task
Tutorial
Preparation Task
Marketing Research
PREP TASK:
Familiarise students with the bases of marketing research theory and processes.
Facilitate a critical, reflective understanding of marketing research as a basis for decision-making.
Encourage a more critical appreciation of knowledge gathering techniques within marketing.
Encourage the use of a more formal, evidence based approach to the exposition of personal
knowledge.
Student Task:
Task a: (No need to submit answers to task a). Understanding the value needs of consumers lies at
the heart of successful marketing but useful, valid and reliable knowledge is often difficult to achieve.
You may like to search for journal articles that address the value of marketing research to help
formulate your ideas and potential insights. Whilst this is not compulsory, it would be a useful
starting point and a valuable future resource for you .
Task b: (No need to submit answers to task b - this is not compulsory). Find two willing
participants and conduct a short interview with each, separately. Your objective is to find out their
experience of a particular retail brand (you choose the brand). Before the interview, prepare a
maximum of 10 questions for each interview. For participant 1, you must prepare highly structured
questions (e.g. Do you …) and answers (e.g. ‘agree’ … ‘disagree’). For respondent 2, you must
prepare highly unstructured questions (e.g. ‘why’). Once you have your answers, reflect on their
usefulness in satisfying your objectives; the ease of construction and analysis; the experience of both
the respondent and of yourself as interviewer.
Task c: (Submission required) Complete the ‘boxed’ questions overleaf to form a basis for
this understanding.
This topic will form the basis of discussion in your next Tutorial.
Provide at least one definition of marketing research and identify the source.
(American marketing association) – “Marketing research is the systematic gathering,
recording and analysing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and
services”
the consumers are the source
Identify 4 types of data within a Marketing Information System and suggest an advantage and
disadvantage of each.
Market decision support system
advantage: makes communication easier
disadvantage: eliminates possibility of subjectivity
custom research reports:
advantage: requirements can be met according to specific needs
disadvantage: low flexibility
Identify the stages/steps in a Marketing Research Process and explain which step is the most
important (‘explain’ = which one and why):
Define the problem
Determine the research design
Choose data collection method
Design the sample
Collect the data
Analyse and interpret data
Prepare the research report
The most important step in the marketing research process is to define the problem and/or
the goals of the project.
Once the correct problem is identified then the rest of the marketing research processes fall
in place
For example: when the Pepsi challenge was launched, Pepsi did blind taste tests to prove
that in blind tests Pepsi tasted better than Coca cola. Originally when the open tests were
done people chose Coca Cola over Pepsi.
Hence, in any marketing research process, defining and identifying the problem is
paramount.
Identify and describe the key features of qualitative and quantitative approaches to research:
Quantitative: the data collected is solely in the form of numbers
Mode of collection is very structured
C18FM - FUNDAMENTALS OF MARKETING
Qualitative:
The data is collected in the form of words and pictures
Questions are generally open ended
Data is observable
Mode of collection is unstructured
Uses a small sample
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using unobtrusive measures to gather information:
ADVANTAGES
Behaviour can be observed first hand without being manipulated
Quick and inexpensive
Avoids overreliance on verbal descriptions by respondents
More natural (non-reactivity)
DISADVANTAGES:
Ethical issues (privacy invasion)
Time consuming
Observer bias
Recall a personal experience of marketing research as interviewer or respondent and offer some
reflections on the process:
As respondent
I was asked to rate the quality of the service, the ambience and the things that
can be improved upon. I was also asked to give my personal details.
Well done … now I’m sure that you will be only too pleased to help out those poor market
researchers when they call!