Week 05 · Introduction to Marketing
Davood Wadi, PhD
Welcome to Week 5 of Introduction to Marketing.
Today we focus on Marketing Research and Data Analytics.
We will cover the research process, data types, and how insights drive decisions.
Marketing research is the systematic design, collection, and analysis of data.
It connects consumers, customers, and the public to the marketer through information.
This information is used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems.
The first step is to carefully define the problem and agree on research objectives.
This is often the hardest step, as it guides the entire research process.
Objectives can be exploratory, descriptive, or causal depending on the problem.
A research team skips agreeing on objectives and starts collecting data right away. Why is this risky?
The research plan determines the exact information needed.
It outlines sources of existing data and spells out specific research approaches.
The plan must balance the cost of obtaining data against the value of the insights.
A Montréal bakery chain is writing its research plan. Which part of the plan is each decision?
Pinning down exactly what the team needs to learn is the plan determining the exact information needed.
Till records and a city report already exist. Listing them is outlining sources of existing data.
Saying how new information will be gathered spells out a specific research approach.
The plan weighs what the data costs against what the insights are worth to the decision.
A precise statement of what must be found out is the exact information needed.
This spells out how the data will be gathered: a specific research approach.
Which concept does this case show?
Implementing involves collecting, processing, and analyzing the information.
Interpreting the findings involves drawing conclusions and reporting them to management.
Managers and researchers must work together to extract actionable insights.
Discussion: If a company notices a sudden drop in sales for a flagship product, what specific exploratory research objectives might they set before rushing to launch a new advertising campaign?
Marketers gather two main types of data: primary and secondary.
Understanding the difference is crucial for cost-effective research.
Each type of data has distinct advantages and limitations.
Secondary data consists of information that already exists somewhere.
It is usually collected for another purpose but can be relevant to the current problem.
Sources include internal databases, government reports, and commercial data services.
A sporting-goods retailer wants to know why winter-boot sales fell. Match each source of secondary data to what the retailer finds there.
Source
What the retailer finds
Tap a term, then the example it goes with.
It can be obtained quickly and at a lower cost than primary data.
It can provide data an individual company cannot collect on its own.
However, the needed information might not exist or might not be very usable or accurate.
Primary data consists of information collected for the specific purpose at hand.
It requires decisions on research approaches, contact methods, and sampling plans.
This data is highly relevant but takes more time and resources to gather.
A coffee chain is gathering data. Sort each piece: is it primary data or secondary data?
Tap a card, then tap the group it belongs to.
Observational research involves gathering data by observing relevant people and actions.
Survey research is best for gathering descriptive information about knowledge and attitudes.
Experimental research is best for gathering causal information by matching groups and controlling factors.
Each case gathers primary data. Which research approach is it?
The grocer gathers data by observing relevant people and actions.
Asking about knowledge and attitudes gathers descriptive information. That is survey research.
Matched groups and controlled factors show whether the price causes a change in sales. That is causal information.
The gym watches what members do instead of asking them. That is observational research.
Two matched groups, one factor changed: experimental research gathers causal information.
A rating form gathers descriptive information about attitudes. That is survey research.
Which concept does this case show?
Discussion: When launching a completely novel product category that does not currently exist, why might a company have to rely heavily on primary data rather than secondary data?
In the digital age, marketers have access to massive amounts of data.
Big Data refers to the huge and complex data sets generated by sophisticated technologies.
The challenge is not getting more data, but getting better data and insights.
CRM involves managing detailed information about individual customers.
Marketers use CRM to carefully manage customer touchpoints to maximize loyalty.
It integrates everything a company sales, service, and marketing teams know about customers.
A bank's sales, service, and marketing teams each keep separate notes on the same client and never share them. Which idea is the bank failing to apply?
Marketing analytics consists of the analysis tools, technologies, and processes.
These tools are used to dig out meaningful patterns in big data.
Analytics helps marketers gain customer insights and gauge marketing performance.
An online clothing store runs analytics on its data. Sort each finding: does it give a customer insight, or gauge marketing performance?
Tap a card, then tap the group it belongs to.
Data alone is useless without the human element of interpretation.
Customer insights are fresh understandings of customers and the marketplace.
These insights become the basis for creating customer value and relationships.
Discussion: With companies collecting vast amounts of personal data to generate insights, where is the line between providing personalized value and invading consumer privacy?
Marketing research reduces uncertainty in decision making.
A strategic mix of primary and secondary data provides a complete market view.
Effective use of analytics transforms raw data into a competitive advantage.