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MODULE –3 BUSINESS RESEARCH PROCESS MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS Business or Marketing Research (Design) process consists of a set of steps that define the tasks to be accomplished in conducting a

business/marketing

research

study.

These include: Step: 1.

Define the problem or opportunity = Problem Formulation – Here information need is first felt – This leads to the development of research question

2.Define the research objectives – Specify what information is needed – Formulate hypothesis 1

3.

Identify the sources of information – Primary & Secondary sources – Review

concepts,

theories

&

previous research findings 4.Research Design Formulation – Decide data collection techniques (research methodology) ←Apply ethics in research 5.Field Work or Data Collection –

Design

sampling

techniques

&

survey (Primary research)

2

6.

Data preparation & analysis – Editing, coding, tabulation & analytical techniquesing - Testing hypothesis Review ethics in research 7.

Preparation of research report –Document submitted to management for decision making.

Step-1

Define

Problem/Opportunity

=

Problem Formulation Steps in Problems Formulation 1.Management Dilemma 2.Situation Analysis ( employs iceberg principle) 3.Management Questions 3

4.Research Questions

forms basis

for Research Hypothesis Also specifies: Unit of analysis Variables to be measured - Time reference 5.Research

objectives

for

focus

&

approach to solve research problem • Only when problem or opportunity is precisely

defined

designed

to

can

research

provide

be

relevant

information. This goes through following process: •

A) Management Dilemma prompts the research process

4

Symptoms of the actual problems /opportunities leads to management dilemma eg

–

rising

costs,

declining

sales

(Symptoms of problems) - demand for new std of performance (symptom of opportunity) •

B)

Situation

background

Analysis

information

&

studies identifies

events & factors that have led to current management dilemma . -employs ice-berg principle that states that symptoms only represent 10% of the problem and balance 90% of the problem are

deep rooted requiring in-

depth study and analysis eg – all factors causing declining sales of a brand are CONSIDERED 5

i)poor awareness ii) poor repeat purchase iii) no brand loyalty iv) quality problems v) consumer preference vi) manufacturing problems vii) distribution problems etc •

C) Management Questions arise out of situation analysis eg – i)what are the possible reasons that are actually related to poor sales? ii) what should be done to solve the problem ? iii) which of the alternative methods is better?

•

D) Research Questions arise out of analyzing the management questions. eg –i) Low sales may be attributed to poor awareness of the brand 6

ii) Quality not meeting consumer preference iii) No repeat purchase iv) competing products resulting in poor brand loyalty etc may be the possible analytical answers.

So, the Research Question will be:What is the awareness level of the brand? Does the product quality meet consumer expectation? What is the frequency of purchase? What is the expected repeat sales level of the brand ? 7

Does this product category have brand loyalty? Res. Question helps determine:- Research Hypothesis i.e, unproven statement of research - Unit of analysis i.e., who is the sample? - Variables to be measured eg brand awareness = Suitable time reference i.e., period of research. Step – 2

Define the research objectives

• Research questions form the basis for research objectives. • Research objectives help develop a focus and

an

approach

to

the

research

problem.

8

Eg –

To determine the awareness level

of a particular brand. -

To

ascertain

whether

there is -

brand

loyalty

particular

for

a

category

of

product - To what extent is brand loyalty

converted

to

repeat sales. • One common pitfall in research is to specify too many objectives for a single research project. Sometimes too many objectives leads to: - making data collection task tedious - producing mass data not really needed. 9

-too many question in the questionnaire resulting in respondent

losing interest.

• Research objective is sometimes called research problem as this forms the basis of research • It is the best to be focused in research on a few (4-5) clearly stated objectives. •

Restating hypotheses wrt key variables is

appropriate

here

to

guide

the

research process. Step – 3 Identify Sources of Information Secondary Data / Secondary Research / Literature Survey • These

are

purpose

data

other

collected than

the

for

some

research

situation at hand.

10

• These are statistics that already exist sometimes collected as a matter of – routine. • The purpose of secondary data differs from the researcher’s objective. • Thus a researcher has to assess which secondary data may be relevant & useful and evaluate such data in the light of requirements of the research study. eg – II ry data

Internal 2ry data – data within the organization External 2ry data – data from outside the orgn.

Data within orgn : books

of accounts,

invoices, annual report, MIS, production records, sales reports, other confidential information etc 11

Data outside orgn: census, retail trade statistics;

data

from

websites,

virtual

warehouses, competitive company records, brochures,

reports

etc

credit

cards,

warranty cards, research reports of other surveys,

trade

and

journals/magazines/bulletins,

academic directories,

newspapers etc. Primary Data / Primary research • Data

originated

by

the

researcher

specifically for study on hand from the actual

sources

such

as

customers,

consumers, dealers & other entities involved in the research to address the research problem. • It is

a

systematic collection of

information directly from respondents. eg – Personal, telephone, mail, internet, 12

surveys/interviews through proper research design. • Experimental Research – The researcher manipulates one or more variables in a controlled environment in such a way that its effect e other variables can be measured. eg – Laboratory experiments, Field experiments. Step – 4

Research Design Formulation

Research Design (primary data)

1.Exploratory Research Design Conclusive Research Design eg – Expert Opinion Surveys Quantitative Research - Qualitative Research 3. Causal Research 13

Experiment

2.Descrip tive Res Res Cross Sec Design

Longl Design

Exploratory Research Design 1.Highly flexible 2.Used to gain insights into the problem esp.,

when

problem

lacks

clarity

and

requires deep probing 3.Qualitative

study

that

uses

unstructured format 4. Uses smaller samples 5. Forms basis for hypothesis and further conclusive research 14

Descriptive Research Design 1.Structured, rigid, formal research design 2. Employs quantitative techniques 3. Used to get descriptive characteristics of samples esp in mktng Surveys that serve as inputs for mgmt decision making Causal Research Design 1.Establishes cause and effect relationships between variables Eg. Advertising and sales ; price and demand 2. Employed in experimental designs 3. Helps at arriving definite, quantifiable conclusions that serve as inputs for mgmt decision making 4. Affected by extraneous variables in 15

environment Cross sectional studies -

Study of

a

fixed sample of consumers buying habits during

festive

seasons

or

particular

month(s)

Longitudinal study -

Study of fixed

sample of consumers buying habits all thro’ year and record changes to establish a buying pattern Step – 5 • Field

Field Work or Data Collection operations

such

as

personal

interviews (at home, mall intecepts, or computer assisted) or from an office thro’ telephone, mail, internet etc., or through observation. 16

• Some instrument must be designed to record the data being collected eg. Questionnaire (Structured) • Involvesd design

using

appropriate

sample

to collect primary data clearly

specifying who or what units should provide the needed data. •

The method of choosing individuals depends on whether or not a probability or non probability sampling method is used.

Step-6 Data Preparation & Analysis • Each questionnaire or observation form is edited & if necessary corrected. • Number or letter codes are assigned to represent

each

response

to

each

question in the questionnaire.

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• The data from questionnaire are key punched directly into the computer. • The

data

are

analyzed

to

derive

information related to the components of the business or marketing research problem Step – 7 • The

Preparation Research Report entire

project

should

be

documented in a written report that addresses -

the

specific

research

questions

identified, - describes the approach, - the res. Design -data collection & analysis procedures & presents the results & the major findings

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• The mgmt. can readily use them in the decision making process.

General Question A problem well defined is half solved Discuss. 1.Management

– 10 Marks Dilemma;

2.Ice

Berg

Principle 3.

Situation

Analysis;

4.

Management

Questions 5. Research Questions– Res. Hypothesis, Unit of analysis,Relevant Variables, Suitable time reference 6.Research objectives for focus & approach

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