《市場營銷專業英語教程》(第15版)（專門用途英語系列教材）Chapter2MarketingResearch：ProcessandSystemsforDecision2Contents:TheRoleofMarketingResearchTheMarketingResearchProcessMarketingInformationSystems3Pre-readingquestions:Whyisitimportanttodomarketingresearchpriortolarge-scaleproduction?Howwillmarketingmanagersdomarketingresearch?Istheinformationobtainedinmarketingresearchtheonlyreferencefordecisionmaking?4Lead-inThischapterisconcernedwiththemarketingresearchprocessandinformationsystemsfordecisionmaking.Itbeginsbydiscussingthemarketingresearchprocessthatisusedtodevelopusefulinformationfordecisionmaking.Then,marketinginformationsystemsarebrieflydiscussed.Thechapterisintendedtoprovideadetailedintroductiontomanyoftheimportanttopicsinthearea,butitdoesnotprovideacompleteexplanationoftheplethoraofmarketingresearchtopics.5

Marketingresearchistheprocessbywhichinformationabouttheenvironmentisgenerated,analyzed,andinterpretedforuseinmarketingdecisionmaking.Marketingresearchisanaidtodecisionmakingandnotasubstituteforit.Inotherwords,marketingresearchdoesnotmakedecisions,butitcansubstantiallyincreasethechancesthatgooddecisionsaremade.TheRoleofMarketingResearch6

Marketingresearchcanbeviewedassystematicprocessesforobtaininginformationtoaidindecisionmaking.Therearemanytypesofmarketingresearch,andtheframeworkillustratedinFigure2.1representsageneralapproachtotheprocess.TheMarketingResearchProcess7

Figure2.1TheFivePsoftheResearchProcessTheMarketingResearchProcess81.PurposeoftheResearch

Thefirststepintheresearchprocessistodetermineexplicitlywhytheresearchisneededandwhatitistoaccomplish.

Attheendofthisstage,managersandresearchersshouldagreeon(1)thecurrentsituationinvolvingtheproblemtoberesearched(2)thenatureoftheproblem,and(3)thespecificquestionorquestionstheresearchisdesignedtoinvestigate.TheMarketingResearchProcess92.PlanoftheResearch

Aresearchplanspellsoutthenatureoftheresearchtobeconductedandincludesanexplanationofsuchthingsasthesampledesign,measures,andanalysistechniquestobeused.

PrimaryV.S.SecondaryDataQualitativeV.S.QuantitativeResearchCompanyV.S.ContractResearchTheMarketingResearchProcess10PrimaryV.S.SecondaryData

Primarydataaredatacollectedspecificallyfortheresearchproblemunderinvestigation;secondarydataarethosethathavepreviouslybeencollectedforotherpurposesbutcanbeusedfortheproblemathand.

Secondaryinformationhastheadvantageofusuallybeingcheaperthanprimarydata,althoughitisnotalwaysavailableforstrategy-specificresearchquestions.TheMarketingResearchProcess11QualitativeV.S.QuantitativeResearchQualitativeresearchtypicallyinvolvesface-to-faceinterviewswithrespondentsdesignedtodevelopabetterunderstandingofwhattheythinkandfeelconcerningaresearchtopic,suchasabrandname,aproduct,apackage,oranadvertisement.

twomostcommontypes：

focusgroups&

longinterviewsTheMarketingResearchProcess12

Focusgroupsinvolvediscussionsamongasmallnumberofindividualsledbyaninterviewer;theyaredesignedtogenerateinsightsandideas.

Longinterviewsareconductedbyaninterviewerwithasinglerespondentforseveralhours.Theyaredesignedtofindoutsuchthingsasthemeaningsvariousproductsorbrandshaveforanindividualorhowaproductinfluencesaperson’slife.TheMarketingResearchProcess13QualitativeversusQuantitativeResearchQuantitativeresearchinvolvesmoresystematicproceduresdesignedtoobtainandanalyzenumericaldata.

fourmostcommontypes：

observationsurveysexperimentsmathematicalmodelingTheMarketingResearchProcess14Observationinvolveswatchingpeopleandrecordingrelevantfactsandbehaviors.e.g.usedbyretailstorestoobservecustomers’behaviorstodesignstorelayoutsmoreeffectivelydotrafficcountsatvariousintersectionstohelpdeterminethebestlocationsforstoresTheMarketingResearchProcess15Surveysinvolvesthecollectionofdatabymeansofaquestionnaireeitherbymail,phone,orinperson.

arecommonlyusedinmarketingresearchtoinvestigatecustomerbeliefs,attitudes,satisfaction,andmanyotherissues

Advantagesanddisadvantagesofthedifferentforms

Mailsurveysareusefulforreachingwidelydispersedmarketsbuttakemoretimetogetresponsesthantelephonesurveys;personalsurveysinvolvingstructuredquestionsareusefulbutexpensive.TheMarketingResearchProcess16Experiments

involvesmanipulatingonevariableandexaminingitsimpactonothervariables.e.g.usedtodeterminethelikelyimpactofapricechangeintheoverallmarketExperimentsareusefulforgettingabetterideaofthecausalrelationshipsamongvariables,buttheyareoftendifficulttodesignandadministereffectivelyinnaturalsettings.Thus,manymarketingresearchexperimentsareconductedinlaboratoriesorsimulatedstorestocarefullycontrolothervariablesthatcouldimpactresults.TheMarketingResearchProcess17Mathematicalmodelingofteninvolvessecondarydata,suchasscannerdatacollectedandstoredincomputerfilesfromretailcheckoutcounters.Thisapproachinvolvesthedevelopmentofequationstomodelrelationshipsamongvariablesanduseseconometricandstatisticaltechniquestoinvestigatetheimpactofvariousstrategiesandtacticsonsalesandbrandchoices.Itprovidesanefficientwaytostudyproblemswithextremelylargesecondarydatasets.TheMarketingResearchProcess18Summary

Often,qualitativeresearchisusedinearlystagesofinvestigatingatopictogetmoreinformationandinsightaboutit.Then,quantitativeapproachesareusedtoinvestigatethedegreetowhichtheinsightsholdacrossalargersampleorpopulation.TheMarketingResearchProcess19CompanyV.S.ContractResearchCompanyResearchisdonebythemarketingresearchdepartmentsofthecompany.ContractResearchisdonebyothermarketingresearchfirms,advertisingagencies,andconsultingcompaniesonacontractbasis.Somemarketingresearchsuppliershavespecialexpertiseinaparticulartypeofresearchthatmakesthemabetterchoicethandoingtheresearchinternally.TheMarketingResearchProcess203.PerformanceoftheResearch

Performanceoftheresearchinvolvespreparingfordatacollectionandactuallycollectingthem.Thetasksatthisstageobviouslydependonthetypeofresearchthathasbeen-selectedandthetypeofdataneeded.

Failuretoobtainandrecorddataclearlycanobviouslyleadtoapoorresearchstudy,whilefailuretoconsidertherightsofrespondentsraisesbothpracticalandethicalproblems.Thus,boththeobjectivesandconstraintsofdatacollectionmustbeclosely-monitored.TheMarketingResearchProcess214.ProcessingofResearchData

Processingresearchdataincludesthepreparationofdataforanalysisandtheactualanalysisofthem.Preparationsincludesuchthingsaseditingandstructuringdataandcodingthemforanalysis.Theappropriateanalysistechniquesforcollecteddatadependonthenatureofthe-researchquestionandthedesignoftheresearch.TheMarketingResearchProcess22

5.PreparationoftheResearchReport

Theresearchreportisacompletestatementofeverythingdoneinaresearchprojectandincludesawrite-upofeachofthepreviousstagesaswellasthestrategicrecommendationsfromtheresearch.

Researchreportsshouldbeclearandunambiguouswithrespecttowhatwasdoneandwhatrecommendationsaremade.Oftenresearchreportsmusttradeofftheapparentprecisionofscientificjargonforeverydaylanguagethatmanagerscanunderstand.

TheMarketingResearchProcess23

LimitationsoftheResearchProcess(could-beproblems)1.Testmarketareasarenotrepresentativeofthemarketingeneralintermsofpopulationcharacteristics,competition,anddistributionoutlets.2.Samplesizeanddesignareincorrectlyformulatedbecauseofbudgetconstraints.3.Pretestmeasurementsofcompetitivebrandsalesarenotmadeorareinaccurate,limitingthemeaningfulnessofmarketshareestimates.TheMarketingResearchProcess24

LimitationsoftheResearchProcess(could-beproblems)4.Teststoresdonotgivecompletesupporttothestudysuchthatcertainpackagesizesmaynotbecarriedorpricesmaynotbeheldconstantduringthetestperiod.5.Test-marketproductsareadvertisedorpromotedbeyondaprofitablelevelforthemarketingeneral.TheMarketingResearchProcess25

LimitationsoftheResearchProcess(could-beproblems)6. Theeffectsoffactorsthatinfluencesales,suchasthesalesforce,season,weatherconditions,competitiveretaliation,shelfspace,andsoforth,areignoredintheresearch.7. Thetest-marketperiodistooshorttodeterminewhethertheproductwillberepurchasedbycustomers.TheMarketingResearchProcess26Mostmarketersusecomputer-basedsystemstohelpthemgather,sort,store,and-distributeinformationformarketingdecisions.Apopularformofmarketinginformationsystemisthemarketingdecisionsupportsystem,whichisacoordinatedcollectionofdata,tools,and-techniquesinvolvingbothcomputerhardwareandsoftwarebywhichmarketersgatherand-interpretrelevantinformationfordecisionmakingMarketingInformationSystems27Thesesystemsrequirethreetypesof-software:1. Databasemanagementsoftwareforsortingandretrievingdatafrominternaland-externalsources.2. Modelbasemanagementsoftwarethatcontainsroutinesformanipulatingdatainwaysthatareusefulformarketingdecisionmaking.3. Adialogsystemthatpermitsmarketerstoexplore