Summary
Summary Marketing Management 344 (research) A1 & A2 notes
- Institution
- Stellenbosch University (SUN)
A1 and A2 notes made from a combination of the class slides, student summaries and my own notes from class.
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Chapter 1: The role of marketing researchWHAT IS MARKETING RESEARCH:
Market research: the application of the scientific method in searching for the truth about
marketing phenomena
Processes includes:
1. Idea and theory development
2. Problem definition
3. Information gathering
4. Analysing data
5. Communicating the findings and their implications
This definition suggests that marketing research information is:
• Not intuitive or randomly gathered
• Accurate and objective
• Relevant to all aspects of the marketing mix
• Limited by one’s definition of marketing
APPLIED VS BASIC MARKETING RESEARCH:
Applied marketing research:
• Conducted to address a specific marketing decision for a specific firm or
organisation
• Helps a form to make better decisions
Basic marketing research:
• Conducted without a specific decision in mind and usually does not address the
needs of a specific organisation
• Attempts to expand the limits of marketing knowledge in general
• Not aimed at solving a pragmatic problem
• Can tests the validity of a general marketing theory or can be used to learn more
about some market phenomenon (e.g. social networking)
WHEN MARKETING RESEARCH SHOULD BE CONDUCTED:
When is marketing research needed?
The determination of the need for marketing research centres on:
1. Time constraints
2. The availability of data
3. The nature of the decision
4. Benefits vs costs – the value of the research information in relation to costs
,MARKETING RESEARCH IN THE 21ST CENTURY:
Communications technologies:
• Always connected à time, place, and distance are irrelevant
• Decreases in information acquisition, storage, access, and transmission costs
Global marketing research:
• Business research is increasingly global
• Market knowledge is essential
- General information about a country’s economic conditions and political
climate
- Cross-validation of cultural and consumer factors
- Market and competitive conditions – demand estimation
Chapter 2: Harnessing big data into better decisions
DATA TO BIG DATA:
Data: facts or recorded measures of certain phenomena (things or events)
Example:
• July 2020 à sold 30 ice-creams
• July 2019 à sold 65 ice-creams
- Data gives info to help make decisions à increase sales / run a promotion
-
Big data: large quantities of data taken from multiple, varied sources that:
• Were not intended to be used together
• Are available to be analytically applied to provide input to organisational decision
making
Example: I want to buy new running shoes
1. Search shoe brands on Google, 2. Look on Instagram, 3. Look on Facebook, 4. Watch YouTube
videos, 5. Buy shoes on Takealot, 6. Compile all the data from the above sources on one Excel
spreadsheet = BIG DATA
Information: data formatted (structured) to support decision making or define the
relationship between two or more data points
Market intelligence: the subset of data and information that actually has some explanatory
power enabling effective decisions to be made
CHARACTERISTICS OF VALUEABLE DATA:
1. Relevance: reflects the pertinence of the particular facts 1. Relevance
2. Completeness
2. Completeness: having the right amount of information 3. Quality
4. Timeliness
,3. Data quality:
• Degree to which data represents the true situation
• To enhance data quality:
- Automated at a collection and entry when feasible
- Inspect the data and cleanse for obvious errors
- Be mindful of the costs and benefits of efforts at improving data quality
4. Timeliness:
• Data are current enough to still be relevant
• Market dynamism: represents the rate of change in the environmental and
competitive factors
Global marketplace:
• The potential marketplace is the entire world
• Large companies use tech to keep track of business details globally
DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS:
Marketing research serves 4 possible functions:
1. Foundational: answers basic questions à such as what consumer segments should
be served and with what type of products
2. Testing: addresses items à such as new product concepts or promotional ideas, and
their effectiveness
3. Issues: examines how specific issues impact the firm à such as organisational
structure
4. Performance: which metrics are critical in real-time management and what insights
can be gained from “what-if” analyses of policy changes?
Helps decision makers confront problems through direct interaction with computerised
databases and analytical software programs
• Store data and transform them into organised information that is easily accessible
to marketing managers
• A customer relationship management (CRM) system is the part of the DSS that
addresses exchanges between the firm and its customers
DATABASE MARKETING:
Database: a collection of raw data arranged logically and organised in a form that can be
stored and processed by a computer
• Examples:
1. Statistical databases
2. Financial databases
3. The internet and research
4. Data retailers
5. Cookies
, Data warehousing: the process allowing day-to-day operational data to be stored and
organised for simplified access
Data warehouse: the multi-tiered computer storehouse of current and historical data
Cloud storage: data files store on devices that make them directly accessible via the
internet
Database marking:
• Data mining: computers which discover patterns in a company’s customer records
• Helps create a one-on-one relationship with customers
- The stronger the customer’s relationship with the brand, the more loyal the
customer will be
Example:
• Discovery Vitality & Woolworths rewards cars (offers customised vouchers to each card
holder)
ETHICS OF GATHERING DATA BY DIGITAL MEANS:
4 factors for consideration:
1. Has the consumer implicitly or explicitly consented to being traces?
2. Does the tracking behaviour violate any explicit or implicit contracts or agreements?
3. Can researchers enable users to know what information is available to data miners?
4. Do the benefits to consumers from tracking their behaviour balance out any
potential invasion of their privacy?
Chapter 3: The marketing research process
KEY WAYS IN WHICH RESEARCHERS CONTRIBUTE TO DECISION MAKING:
• Helping to better define the organisation’s current situation
• Identifying useful decision statements and related research questions
• Defining the firm’s meaning à how consumers, competitors, and employees view
the firm
• Providing idea for product improvements or possible new product development
• Testing ideas that will assist in implementing marketing strategy including
innovations
• Examining how well a marketing theory describes marketing reality
Decision making: the process of developing and deciding among alternative ways of
resolving a problem or choosing from among alternative opportunities
Researcher’s role in the decision making process:
• Recognising the nature of the problem or opportunity
• Identifying how much information is currently available and how reliable it is
• Determining what information is needed to better deal with the situation
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