The process of market research can be done through deploying surveys, interacting with a group of people, also known as a sample, conducting interviews, and .

1. Overview

2.  To understand what research design is and
why it is significant.
 To learn how exploratory research helps the
researcher gain a feel for the problem.
 To know the fundamental questions
addressed by descriptive research and
different types of descriptive research.
 To explain what is meant by casual research
and to describe four types of experimental
research designs.
 To know the different types of test marketing
and how to select test market cities.

3.  Marketing research methods vary from focus
groups to stimulated test markets to large,
nationally representative sample surveys.
 Research design is a set of advance decisions that
make up the master plan specifying the methods
and procedures for collecting and analysing data.
 Each research problem is unique. However,
There are similarities among research problems to allow
us to use the best plan to solve the problem.
There are basic research designs that can be
successfully matched to a given research problem.

4. Research designs are classified into three
categories: exploratory, descriptive, and causal.
refer: Table 1.0
Choice depends largely on objectives of the
research.
Research does not necessarily follow the order
of exploratory, descriptive and casual designs.
Caution about thinking about research in a step-
by-step process.

5. Research ObjectiveAppropriate design
To gain background information, to define terms, EXPLORATORY
To clarify problems and hypotheses, to
establish Research priorities.
DESCRIPTIVE
To describe and measure marketing phenomenaat
A point in time.
To determine causality, to make “if-then” statements
CAUSAL
Table 1.0

6. Exploratory Research: is most commonly unstructured,
informal research that is undertaken to gain background
information about the general nature of the research
problem.
Exploratory research is systematic and flexible and
allows the researcher to investigate whatever sources
he or she desires.
Such research may consist of going to the library and
reading published secondary data; of asking questions,
salespersons acquaintances for their opinions about a
company, its products and services, and prices; or of
simply observing everyday company practices.

7.  Exploratory Research is used in a number
of situations:
1. Gain background information- When very little is
known about the problem or when the problem has
not been clearly formulated.
 Firms having an MIS in which a review of internal
information tracked over time can provide useful
insights into the background of the company, brand,
sales territories etc.

8. Exploratory Research is used in a number
of situations:
2. Define Terms – Exploratory research helps to
define terms and concepts.
What is 3M’s image? The researcher learns that
“image” is composed of several components –
innovative products, friendly sales/customer service,
good corporate citizen and so on.

9. Exploratory Research is used in a number
of situations:
3. Clarify Problems and Hypotheses – Exploratory
research allows the researcher to define the problem
more precisely and to generate a hypotheses for the
upcoming study.
i.e.: banks have three types of customers: retail
customers, commercial customers and other banks
for which services are performed for fees. Define
which group bank image should be measured.

10.  Exploratory Research is used in a number of
situations:
4. Establish Research Priorities – Exploratory research can be
used to prioritise research topics in order of importance,
especially when it is faced with conducting several research
studies.
i.e.: customer complaint letters may indicate the productor
service that needs attention.
i.e.: Office furniture store owner decided to conduct researchon
the feasibility of carrying overhead projectors after interviewing
his sales people revealed that customers were requesting
overhead projectors.

11. Methods of Conducting Exploratory
Research:
1.Secondary Data Analysis – refers to the process
of searching for and interpreting existing information
relevant to the research problem.
Sources of secondary data includes: information found in
books, journals, magazines, special reports, bulletins,
newsletters, and so on.
An analysis of secondary data is often the “core” of
exploratory research.

12. Methods of Conducting Exploratory
Research:
2.Experience Surveys – refer to gathering
information from those thought to be knowledgeable
on the issues relevant to the research problem.
3.Case Analysis – we refer to a review of available
information about a former situation(s) that has some
similarities to the present research problem.
4.Focus Groups – bringing small groups of people
together and guided by a moderator through an
unstructured, spontaneous discussion for the purpose
of gaining information relevant to a research problem.

13.  Methods of Conducting Exploratory Research:
5. Projective Techniques – we refer to the process of
searching for and interpreting existing information
relevant to the research problem.
Sources of secondary data includes: information
found in books, journals, magazines, special reports,
bulletins, newsletters, and so on.
An analysis of secondary data is often the “core” of
exploratory research.

14. Descriptive Research: which provides answers to
questions such as who, what, where, where and how, as
they are related to the research problem.
Who- may be defined as a firms (competitors)
customers.
What- defined as brands, brands, sizes that are
being purchased.
Where- places where customers are purchasing
products.
Why- we can not conclusively answer the question of
why using descriptive research. Need to use causal
research designs.

15.  Classification of Descriptive Research
Studies:
1. Cross-sectional studies- are very prevalent in
market research, outnumbering longitudinal studies
and casual studies.
 Because cross-sectional studies are one time
measurements.
 Often described as “snapshots” of the population.
 i.e. used to describe the readership of a magazine
in terms of demographics.

16.  Classification of Descriptive Research
Studies:
2. Longitudinal studies- repeatedly measure the
same population over a period of time.
 Often described as “movies” of the population.
 To be successful researchers must have access to
the same members of the sample, called a panel
 Refer NFO(National Family Opinion)

17.  Classification of Descriptive Research
Studies:
3. Causality- may be thought of as understanding a
phenomenon in terms of conditional statements of
the form “If x, then y.” These “if-then” statements
become our way of manipulating variables of
interest.
 If I spend more on advertising will sales increase.
 Casual is difficult in terms of if-then in
understanding business problems.

18.  An Experiment – is defined as manipulating an
independent variable to see how it affects a dependent
variable, while also controlling the effects of additional
extraneous variables
 Types of experiments:
 Laboratory experiments – are desirable when the intent of the
experiment is to achieve high levels of internal validity.
 Field experiments – those in which independent variables are
manipulated and the measurements of the dependent
variable are made on test units in their natural setting.

19.  Test Marketing – is the phase commonly used to
indicate an experiment, study, or test that is conducted
in a field setting.
 Companies may use one or several test market cities,
which are geographical areas selected in which to
conduct the test.
 There are two broad classes of uses of test markets:
 To test the sales potential for a new product or service
 To test variations in the marketing mix for a product or service.

20. Types of Test Markets:
1. Standard test market is one in which a firm tests the product
and/or marketing mix variables through the company’s normal
distribution channels.
2. Controlled test markets are conducted by outside research
firms who guarantee distribution of the product throughpre
specified types and numbers of distributors.
3. Electronic test markets in which a panel of consumers have
agreed to carry an id card that they present when buying goods
and services.
4. Simulated test markets (STMs) are those in which a limited
amount of data on consumer response to a new model are fed
into a model containing certain assumptions regarding planned
marketing programs, which generates likely sales volumes.

21. Consumer versus Industrial Test
Markets:
 With industrial test markets, prototype
products are tested, revised, and
retested under actual conditions.
 i.e. 3M are experimenting with this
concept

22. “Lead Country” Test Markets:
 Is test marketing conducted in specific
foreign countries that seem to be good
predictors for an entire continent.
 i.e. Colgate Palmolive use lead country
test marketing when it launched its
Palmolive Optims shampoo and
conditioner.

23. Pros and Cons of Test Marketing:
 Test markets are considered by some to
be the “ultimate” way to test a new
product.
 Test markets are costly and subject to
competitive sabotage.
 Predicting changing consumer behavior
is difficult.

24.  Research design refers to a set of advance
decisions made to develop the master plan
to be used in the conduct of the market
research.
 If very little is known about the project
exploratory research is appropriate.
 Descriptive research measures market
phenomena and answers questions such as
who,what,where,when and how.
 It can be cross sectional or longitudinal
 If we know quite a bit about our research we
can use causal relationships.

25.  Laboratory experiments are used for achieving
internal validity while field experiments suited
for achieving external validity.
 Test marketing is a form of experimentation
and take various forms(standard, controlled,
electronic, simulated, consumer, industrial and
lead country.