Marketing research

Marketing research can help a business or organization reach its target audience in an effective way. In this Assignment, you will have the opportunity to apply the marketing research process to a local business or organization in order to help that entity.

To complete this Assignment:
Identify a marketing problem faced by a local business or charitable organization and propose a research project addressing that problem.
Create a research proposal that implements each step of the marketing research process as discussed in the Lecture Notes below. Discuss how the research results will help the business or organization.

Your document should have 700+words

Lecture Notes:
Another way to view the marketing research process is in terms of the five-step application of the scientific method (Perreault, Cannon and McCarthy, 2013):

• Step 1 is defining the problem: The manager and the involved business analyst determine the key decision issues requiring information.

• Step 2 is analyzing the situation: a study of information that is available in the problem area.

• Step 3 is obtaining problem-specific data: the collection of data that is customized to the decision-maker's unique needs.

• Step 4 is interpreting the data: the process of deciding what it all means; the transformation of raw data into useful information.

• Step 5 is solving the problem: the delivery of recommendations to the marketingmanager, who is ultimately responsible for implementing the recommendations.

Step 1: Defining the problem
Finding the right problem almost solves the problem, in many cases. For example, the problem might involve determining who would buy a new product, or defining the features of that product, or trying to increase sales of an existing product. Marketing research is required to investigate questions about the product's function and appearance, how it is distributed, who is targeted to buy it and how it is priced. As the Kotler and Armstrong text describes, the first step also involves defining the research objective and the type of research that will be performed (i.e. exploratory, descriptive or casual).

Steps 2 and 3: Analyzing the situation and obtaining problem-specific data
Secondary data is information that has already been collected or published. It is different from primary data, which is new information specifically collected to solve a current problem. In other words, secondary data is information that has already been gathered for some other purpose, but it might be useful to the researcher. Primary data is custom- designed to the researcher's immediate need. Examples of secondary data sources from inside the company might be financial information from the accounting department or reports from the field
sales force. Information from outside the company might include government information, trade association studies or information available in magazine or journal articles.

There are two categories of data that can be collected during research:
qualitative and quantitative. These categories can be used together or independently, depending on the type of problem and the resources available to conduct the research.

Qualitative research aims for in-depth, detailed responses-not yes-or-no answers. Asking people questions in an open-ended fashion allows them to  elaborate on their answers. So, the main advantage of qualitative questioning is the depth of responses obtained. It tends to work best in research situations that require the generation of a lot of ideas as opposed to firm conclusions.

A common qualitative research tactic is a focus group interview, which involves interviewing a small group of people in an informal setting. A facilitator leads the discussion. He or she asks open-ended questions on very specific topics that have been structured to take advantage of group dynamics. Common practice in the technology industry is to gather a list of managers, segment the list into a particular geographic area, and then invite a small number (10 or so) to a session. The lure is often a small honorarium and dinner or lunch. Focus groups usually are held in specialized conference rooms where one wall is mirrored. Behind the mirror, however, are observers, one of whom might be filming the session. The focus group members are asked very specific questions that have been scripted well in advance.

Many researchers use focus groups as preparation for more formal quantitative research utilizing a larger, scientifically selected group of respondents. Moreover, it is typically in the technology industry where the CIO is becoming more and more the preferred (and possibly even necessary) sparring partner for the CEO in terms of determining future business models.

Quantitative research is the numerical representation of information obtained from research. The results are summarized in numbers, such as percentages, averages or other statistics. Usually quantitative research incorporates standardized data collection forms, such as survey questionnaires, which provide fixed responses to questions instead of the open-ended questions typical of many types of qualitative studies.

Step 4: Interpreting the data
The first question a marketing researcher must answer is this: Is your sample really representative of the population? A sample is a smaller group selected to represent the larger group (population) of customers. The key here is to use a variety of techniques, including statistical tools, to ensure that the sample selected represents the larger population and to estimate the likelihood that it does not. The Kotler and Armstrong text discusses probability as well as non- probability samples.

Step 5: Solving the problem
The marketer should apply the research results to create and/or fine-tune the marketing strategy planning process.