Types of marketing research and features of their implementation. Research. Types of marketing research depending on the goals
Depending on the goals, the following types of marketing research are distinguished:
- Exploration studies - these are marketing studies conducted with the aim of collecting preliminary information necessary to better define problems and put forward assumptions (hypotheses), as well as to clarify terminology and set priorities among the tasks of marketing research.
- Descriptive studies - marketing research aimed at describing marketing problems, situations, markets. For example, a study of the demographic situation, consumer attitudes towards a certain product, etc. Descriptive studies only show connections between objects, but do not reveal the reasons for their existence.
- Experimental (casual) research - marketing research conducted to test hypotheses regarding cause-and-effect relationships. Distinctive feature experimental research is the study of patterns of change in one factor under strict control over others. But the possibilities of using experimental research are limited, since there are many factors at work in the market, sometimes leading to unpredictable, contradictory results.
Based on the type of information collected and the collection methods used, marketing research is divided into:
- Qualitative Research - are carried out on small samples, do not pretend to be representative of the results, but their the main task- clarify the problem, determine its elements and components. When conducting such studies, in-depth interviews, focus groups, expert assessments, etc. are usually used.
- Quantitative Research - when conducting them, sufficiently large samples are used in order to increase its representativeness. The results of such a study should be such that they can be generalized to all consumers.
Very often, these two groups of studies are complementary: for example, the directions of the problem are first identified using qualitative research, then they are explored using quantitative research.
Depending on the frequency of conduct and technology used, studies are distinguished:
- One-time (sporadic) study - carried out by the enterprise itself or ordered from a specialized company as needed.
- Panel study - consists of repeated receipt of information from a certain permanent group of objects. This group called a panel. A distinction is made between buyer and retailer panels. Panel studies are effective when the researcher is faced with the task of studying the subject of interest over time.
- Multi-sponsored research - carried out periodically marketing firm simultaneously for several clients. Each enterprise that has signed up for this study has the right to include one or more questions in it.
- Cabinet And field research - carried out using internal and external sources of information.
Marketing research can be carried out by all interested organizations, neutral organizations, special agencies, as well as sales specialists and intermediaries.
Marketing research is aimed at obtaining reliable information about consumer needs in relation to certain goods, services or programs. It is a reliable tool that allows market participants to make competent and informed decisions aimed at effective promotion its products and attracting attention to it from an increasing number of customers.
Marketing research is the collection, analysis and synthesis of information about a specific group of people, their problems and the degree of involvement in them, as well as the possible reaction to the proposed solution. Thus, marketing research is a unique tool that allows you to confirm or refute the hypotheses regarding the strategy being developed. marketing activities organizations.
There are two types of marketing research: secondary (desk) research and primary (field) research.
Secondary research is a search and analysis of previously published materials and the results of similar studies on the problem under study conducted by other organizations. Such research allows us to obtain information about the problem as a whole, possible ways and means of solving it, including those already tested, as well as about their effectiveness. Processing such secondary information allows you to save time and material resources that could have been spent on research that someone else had already done.
Primary Research aims to obtain, through a direct survey (interviewing), primary information directly related to the subject of this marketing research. Primary research can be conducted in the form of a personal, telephone, or postal survey; it can be group or individual; it can take place at the place of residence or work, as well as in target audiences.
Achieving the best result is facilitated by the combination of these two types of research, when, at the first stage, secondary research is carried out, which makes it possible to draw up a methodologically sound program of primary marketing research, and only then a direct survey of respondents is carried out in accordance with the calculated sample. One of the components of marketing research is the study and analysis of market conditions. After all, the situation that develops in the market at a certain point in time as a result of the influence of a combination of various factors has a significant impact on the development marketing strategy.
Marketing research can be classified according to other criteria:
In accordance with the goal:
Intelligence Research– this is the simplest type of marketing research, which is carried out according to a simplified program using small-scale instruments on a small population being surveyed. The purpose of such research is to collect information about the object and subject of research, clarify basic concepts, and form a detailed idea of the problem being studied, which allows one to correctly formulate working hypotheses. Typically, such research is a preliminary step before organizing a more serious descriptive or analytical study.
Descriptive studies allow you to obtain information about the nature of the phenomenon or process being studied, a marketing problem or market situation. They make it possible to identify priorities related to the nature of consumers of a particular product, its assortment, the place and time of the most active sales, as well as options for using the product or service.
Analytical research allow you to establish cause-and-effect relationships between the objects or phenomena being studied. When conducting such studies, primary hypotheses are put forward, which as a result of the study must be either confirmed or refuted. In the latter case, secondary working hypotheses are put forward. A special type of analytical research is experimental research.
Experimental research is the most complex type of marketing research. Indeed, in order to use the results of an experiment, it is necessary to ensure its internal and external validity. Internal validity is the confidence that it was the variable introduced during the experiment, and not some other variable, that ensured the achievement of a particular result. External validity is the confidence that the results obtained in an experiment can be generalized to other non-experimental situations.
According to the type of information collected :
Qualitative Research, as a rule, are carried out on small sample populations, and the respondents, the number of which does not exceed 50, are most often specialists - experts in a particular field. The purpose of such studies is to probe the problem. With their help, you can obtain information about those behavioral models that are inherent in a particular group of consumers. Qualitative marketing research is carried out using such methods of collecting primary information as:
Interviewing (in-depth interview)
Expert survey (method of expert assessments)
Focus group method, etc.
Quantitative Research aim to obtain an assessment of the problem using statistical inferences. That is, the percentage of respondents adhering to a certain behavioral model is analyzed. To obtain reliable statistical results, it is necessary to conduct quantitative research on a sufficiently large sample: no less than 100 and no more than 1200 people. Moreover, the level of statistical reliability is directly dependent on the number of audiences surveyed.
Best results allows you to obtain marketing research in which initial stage Qualitative methods of collecting information are used, and only then, after analyzing the data obtained, a full-fledged quantitative study is carried out.
Taking into account all the determining factors, we can derive a marketing research algorithm:
1. Problem formulation
2. Development of the main research concept
3. Secondary (desk) research
4. Primary (field) research
5. Study of market conditions
6. External market analysis
7. Building a simulation model
8. Creation of an information system
9. Simulation modeling
10. Development of a management solution
Topic 1. general characteristics and classification of marketing research
The concept of marketing research and its purpose
Marketing research is the collection, processing and interpretation of data about the marketing environment to answer pre-defined questions that are necessary for making and evaluating marketing decisions.
The marketing environment is a set of active subjects and forces that influence the organization and, above all, its ability to sell its product (service) on the market.
The marketing environment is divided into two layers: microenvironment and macroenvironment. The microenvironment consists of the following groups of subjects and forces: suppliers, competitors, consumers, intermediaries, authorities. The macroenvironment is formed by the following groups of forces (factors): demographic, economic and legal, political, natural, socio-cultural.
Marketing Solutions– These are solutions in the field of segmentation, positioning, as well as in the field of marketing mix.
Analysis of the marketing research market in Russia for last years allows us to highlight the following most popular areas in which marketing research is conducted.
1) Assessment of the distribution of market shares.
2) Market capacity research.
3) Analysis of market segments.
4) Research of consumer motives and behavior.
5) Forecasting market development.
9) Testing of goods and packaging.
10) Positioning of a product or service.
Marketing research in the organization included constituent element V common system collection of marketing information, which is otherwise called MIS (marketing Information system). In addition to marketing research, MIS includes: internal marketing monitoring, external marketing monitoring, and marketing audit.
The concepts of marketing monitoring and marketing research are close, but not identical.
If marketing research is always a process that has its beginning and its end, then monitoring is constant observation of the behavior of certain subjects, factors, forces, objects and processes. Marketing monitoring is monitoring the same factors of the marketing environment and recording their changes. At a certain level of change, the issue is brought up for discussion. Perhaps a decision will be made to conduct marketing research, that is, targeted collection of information to answer the question: why did such a significant change occur?
MIS contains both external and internal monitoring. If external monitoring is the observation of micro- and macroenvironmental factors, then internal monitoring monitors the marketing characteristics of the organization itself. These may be the following indicators: the number of returns and complaints, the number of customers who stopped making purchases, the number of new customers, the average bill per purchase, etc. If internal monitoring shows that any indicator is outside the normal range, then the alarm sounds. In this case, a decision may be made to conduct marketing research and find out the reason for the negative signal, which lies in the marketing environment. However, perhaps the reason lies in internal business processes and then they need to be investigated. As a rule, in practice such research of business processes will not be called marketing.
Marketing audit is an audit of actual business processes for compliance with standards. marketing policy, principles of marketing strategy. Marketing audits are carried out at certain intervals. It shows to what extent the decisions made are being implemented, to what extent established standards and technologies are being implemented.
Types of marketing research
From the point of view of the implementation scheme (or design in other words), marketing research is usually divided into search (exploratory), descriptive and causal (causal).
Exploratory research aims to clarify a marketing problem or formulate a hypothesis. To conduct such studies, qualitative methods of collecting information are more often used, and secondary information plays an important role.
Descriptive research is marketing research aimed at describing marketing situations, markets, and behavior patterns. This will include research into consumer preferences, buyer attitudes towards a new product, and determining the seasonality of demand for a product. Descriptive research provides answers to the questions: who, what, where, when, how?
To the question “Why?” Causal research provides the answer. This is a study conducted to test hypotheses regarding cause and effect relationships. When conducting such a study, logical relationships of the “If...” type are built. That….". For example, if you reduce the price by 5%, then sales volume will increase by….
Depending on the technology used, desk research and field research are distinguished. Desk research involves collecting only secondary marketing information (the results of someone else’s research), and “field” research involves collecting primary information based on a survey of respondents. The vast majority of marketing research involves both field and desk research simultaneously.
Marketing research is also divided according to the type of information collected. This classification distinguishes between qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative research is conducted on small samples. Their goals are usually to clarify the problem, break it down into its components, and find out the causes of a particular phenomenon. Quantitative research, on the contrary, is conducted on fairly large samples. These studies are designed to show a trend or situation based on statistics of certain responses or actions large quantity of people.
Marketing research is divided into types depending on which stage of the purchase decision-making process is chosen as its object. The purchase decision-making process involves the following stages: 1) awareness of the problem; 2) collection of information; 3) assessment and selection of alternatives; 4) purchase; 5) actions and evaluations after purchase.
Thus, we distinguish:
Study of motivation (object – stages 1 and 2). The purpose of such research is to answer the question: “Why does the consumer buy this particular product?”
Attitude research (stage 3). Such studies are used to clarify the following questions: who knows (finding out brand awareness), who likes and who doesn’t like (trust in the brand), whether the buyer has intentions to purchase a product of this particular brand.
Behavioral research (stages 4 and 5). Such studies answer the following questions: What do they buy? How much do they buy? When do they buy (at what time and what is the reason)? Where do they buy?
Marketing research is divided into one-time (single) and repeated research. One-time ones are carried out once. As a rule, they are aimed at clarifying a specific problem or confirming a hypothesis, and as soon as the result is obtained, repeated research loses its meaning. Repeated ones are designed to determine the answer to a question with a certain frequency. For example, customer preferences change over time and they need to be measured at certain intervals. Repeated studies can be either wave, that is, carried out at certain intervals, or constant, that is, carried out immediately one after another.
Repeated studies can be divided into tracking and panel studies. Their difference is in the sampling method. In panel studies, the same group of people is surveyed at certain intervals, while in tracking studies, a new sample of respondents is formed.
Traditionally, taking into account the fundamental plan for conducting marketing research, i.e., the problems solved in it, the following types of research are distinguished:
- reconnaissance;
- descriptive;
- experimental;
- innovative.
Exploratory research is carried out if there is only a vague idea about the object of research and the researcher is not yet able to put forward any hypotheses. For example, it is necessary to explore the possibility of establishing a market for some particularly new (fundamentally new or new for a given country) goods.
Descriptive research presupposes a systematic qualitative and quantitative description of the object. Thus, a certain type of product or service has a significant distribution in the market of a certain city. An entrepreneur wants to find out what the volume of the actual market for a given product will be in another city where he plans to implement his expansion plans.
Experimental research (the most important condition for its implementation is the presence of sufficiently serious knowledge and significant information on the problem being studied) is aimed at analyzing cause-and-effect dependencies in the development of certain economic processes. Thus, an entrepreneur sets the task of finding out how effective the advertising impact on the market will be in a certain situation. To do this, an experiment is conducted to determine how much the impact of a controlled variable (additional advertising exposure) increases the number of sales.
A common type of marketing research, of course, should be considered work carried out according to an innovative plan. Such research is close to experimental in nature. However, its goal is not simply to identify causal relationships in an object, but to develop, based on knowledge of such connections, some new methods of activity and marketing. In other words, in parallel with the research itself (detection of problems, diagnosis of the situation), there is a search for ways to solve the identified problems, i.e., a search for forms and methods of the most effective organization of marketing.
Marketing research can be carried out in the form of:
- consumer opinion surveys;
- the actual marketing research problem.
As for public opinion polls, i.e. those conducted on the basis of a representative sample using interview techniques or questionnaires to study the opinions of consumers of various goods and services, they are of significant importance in marketing. Indeed, in the process of conducting marketing research, an entrepreneur is most often not interested in deep-seated beliefs and moods potential buyers, but consumer assessments of the quality and other characteristics of goods and services, which mainly influence decisions about purchasing a product or using a service. Such assessments are precisely contained in public opinion.
The specificity of a public opinion survey as a type of marketing research is that when conducting it, a detailed research program is not developed (although here it is necessary to clarify the basic concepts and justify the representativeness of the sample), but are limited to a brief business plan. Such marketing research is carried out most often, and it is often their results that a company or company is limited to when making decisions about operating in a particular market.
Marketing research itself is deep, complex works on the study of certain markets, their segmentation, analysis of consumer types or the effectiveness of advertising influence on them. When conducting such research, a detailed program is developed, hypotheses are put forward, and a fairly serious arsenal of methods is used (surveys, document analysis, observation, experiments, testing, etc.). The conclusions of such a study and recommendations based on its results are qualitatively different from those inherent in public opinion polls.
