FOR MANAGEMENT STUDENTS

1. Marketing Research
marketing
S.T.P
Segmentation
Target market
positioning
Market mix
Product
Price
Place
promotion
Research
Basic research Applied research

2. Basic research- basic research addresses more
the fundamental questions and not the
problem with the quick solutions.
Applied research- solution of routine and
immediate problems.
Marketing research- M.R. is the systematic and
objective study of problems pertaining to the
marketing of goods &services.
Tiil R Ted “ it is defined as the systematic
gathering, recording and analysing of data
about problems relating to the marketing of
goods and services under essentially non-
recurring conditions”

3. Aim & Objective of Marketing Research-
a)Understanding customers buying habits.
b)Knowledge about marketing opportunities.
c)Helpful in decision making.
d)Helpful in market growth.
Objective of Marketing Research-
a)To define a business idea.
b) To access the market condition.
c)To determine the competitive strength of
various business policies.
d) To know about customers preference for a
product.

4. Limitation of M.R
1)Not similar to science- no any particular rules
will be follow in the marketing research.
2)Uncontrollable variable- all the external
factors like- political, legal, technological,
social. Will be uncontrollable. The result will
be affected if these variables changes.
3)Human tendencies- consumers, dealers,
wholesellers,retalers, etc are the basic
constituents in marketing research.
4)Lack of technological innovation- paper work
will take so much time.

5. Marketing information system
M.R.= Marketing information system.
MIS- it is follow of information and generate
process such as information on a continuing
basis.
Kotler’s define- marketing information system is
more than a system of data collection of
information technology.
(Diagram from notes )

6. 1) Internal report system- each and every firm
must adopt these type of information
system. It is provide data on sales, cost,
inventories, cash flow, and a/c receivable
and payable etc, to mgt. it may be
computerized and manual.
2) Marketing intelligence system- provide day
to day information pertaining to the external
marketing environment. Marketing manager
generate the marketing intelligence by
reading newspaper, and business magazines.
3) Analytical marketing system- in this case use
of “statistical data”.

7. Evaluation &control of marketing research
1- individual project- (any one dept.)
2- total research activity with in a firm. (all dept.)
a) check list- specific question and research design,
Problem that are likely to come up the project and
solution of them. Most of time check list prepare
by experience person.
2- flow chart- represent research by flow chart.
(collection of data, analysis of data)
3- pert- (programme evaluation and review
technique) .
It is use in administrative and production problems,
it can also be applicable in every application of
marketing research.

8. 4) Advisory committee- it main task is to provide
a broad direction to the marketing research
programme. So that it is a problem oriented
and helpful to the company.
5) Marketing research audit- a) a critical
evaluation of the existing research
programmes.
b) An appraisal of the research needs.
c) Programme of the organisation/ objective/
motive of the organisation.
(Decision tree diagram from notes)

9. Basis
Difference in approach
In side-out side
information.
Qualitative or
quantitative.
Marketing
research
In marketing research
needs qualified data
related to
products/services and
current customers then
M.R will apply.
Appropriate in inside
information research.
(company)
Quantitative research use
in depth information
about- the customers,
interviews, taste offer
with feed back, follow up
the consumers and its
behavior.
Market research
More information about
the market situation, non-
current customer,
competitive or substitutes.
Appropriate in out side
information research.
(new market)
Qualitative information
related to country
specification, market
potential, and
accessibility.
Overall customer
information –( who, what,
when, where, & how)

10. Difference with respect
to:
Approach to inquiry
Main purpose of
investigation.
Measurement of
variables
Sample size
Dominant research
Quantitative research
Structured / rigid/
predetermined
methodology.
To explain of variation
in a situation , issue etc.
Emphasis on some form
of either measurement
or classification of
variables.
Emphasis on greater
sample size.
Reliability and
Qualitative research
Unstructured/ flexible/
open methodology.
To describe variation in
a situation , issue etc.
Emphasis on
description of
variables.
Fewer cases.
Authenticity but does
not claim to be value

11. Dominant research
topic
Analysis of data
Communication of
findings
Incidence, extent,
nature of issues,
opinions and attitude,
discover regularities
and formulate theories.
Subject variables to
frequency distributions,
cross-tabulations or
other statistical
procedures.
Organisation more
analytical in nature,
testing magnitude and
strength of a
relationship.
Explore experiences,
meanings, perception
and feelings.
Subject responses, or
observation of data to
identification of theme
and describes these.
Organisation more
descriptive in nature.

12. Application of marketing research
1)Advertising testing research- it is evaluate the
advertising concept, advertising themes etc.
2)Branding research- product information that
helps client better understanding about
brand. Enhance that brand position in the
market place.
3)Customers satisfaction research-marketing
research helps to company to identify its level
of customers satisfaction and also the factors
that will help them to achieve customers
satisfaction.

13. 4) Pricing research- it is involves pricing strategy
assessment supported by strong pricing research
capabilities, sound pricing market requires a broad
strategic prospective together with a focus on
company’s pricing options.
5) Product positioning research-it is involves new
product design and validation research, or
assessing existing products.
6) New product development research- product
development, market research methods and tools
used may vary according to the product type. The
extent of incremental change from other
products, the investment and risk factors, & the
cost of new product in the market place.

14. Sources of experimental errors-
1)History- Q1= sales affected by salesman
Q2= sales affected by salesman
X= training prograsmme
Company providing training facilities for the
Q2salesman.
Q2 higher sales in the post training programme.
Q1 less sales in the pre-training period.

15. 2) Maturation- salesman become matured and
more experienced due to the passage of time.
Improvement in sales performance can not be
attribute to the training alone.
3) Pre-measurement effect- before doing any work
do complete pre-work.
Exp- questionnaire, before given any instruction, it
will be complicated to fill by the customers. But if
researcher give demo/sample now they fill the
questionnaire very easy.
4) Interactive testing effect- try to find out the
reaction/ observation of the treatment. Ask
question from the people about a particular
brand like-television, hair oil, mobile, etc.

16. 5) Selection bias- when the researcher assign
groups on the basis of his judgment.
6) Statistical regression- selected for exposure
to the treatment on the basis of an extreme
pre-treatment measure.
Exp- training only for poor performer.
Health or luck may contribute to the better
performance of salesman.

17. Value information in decision making-
Manager need information in order to introduce
product and services that create value in the
minds of the consumer. In order to make the
right kind of the product and to use the right
strategy to place the product in the market,
the marketer need information from the
market. the perception of value in the mind of
the consumer is a dynamic concept.
The goal of marketing research is to provide the
facts and the direction that managers need to
make their more important marketing
decision-

18. Information is useful, but determines value to
the organisation is determined by-
a)Ability and willingness to act on the
information.
b)The accuracy of the information.
c)The amount of variation in the possible
results.
d)The level of risk.
e)The cost of information in the terms of time
and money.
(Steps/process of marketing research diagram
from notes)

19. Formulating a research problem-
Research problem- any question that you want
answered and any assumption that you want
to challenge or investigate can become
research problems or research topic for the
study.
Sources of research problems- basically most of
the research problems around four Ps.
1)People
2) Problems
3) Programs
4)Phenomena

20. ‘P’ may vary from study to study but generally in
practice, most of research studies are based
upon at least a combination of 2 Ps.
You may select a group of individuals ( a group
or a community as such- ‘people’), either to
examine the existence of certain issues or
problems relating to their lives, to ascertain
attitude of a group of people towards an issue
(‘problem’), to establish existence of a
regularity (‘phenomenon’) or to evaluate the
effectiveness of an intervention (‘program’).
Exp- the relationship between unemployment
and street crime, smoking and cancer or -

21. Fertility and mortality, which is done on the
basis of information collected from
individuals, groups, communities or
organisation.
Your study population –individuals, groups, &
communities- is the people from whom the
information is collected. Your subject areas is
a ‘problem’, ‘program’ or ‘phenomenon’
about which the information is collected.
Every research study has two aspect-
1- the study population
2- the subject area.

22. Aspect of
study
Study
population
Subject areas
About
People
problem
Study of
Individuals,
org. groups,
communities.
Issues,
situations,
associations,
needs,
populations
composition
profile, etc.
They provide
you with the
required
information or
you collect
information
from or about
them.
Informat
ion that
you-

23. aspect of
study
Subject area
about
Program
Phenomenon
Study of
Content,
structure ,
outcomes,
tributes,
satisfaction,
consumers,
etc.
Cause and
effect
relationship,
study of
phenomenon
itself.
Need to
collect
to find
answers
to your
research
question
s.

24. Consideration in selecting a research problem-
1)Interest- it is the most important consideration
for selecting a research problem. Because we
know very well that a research problem so much
time consuming, involves hard work. So you
should select topic according to your interest.
2)Magnitude- you should have proper knowledge
about the research process. it is extremely
important to select a topic that you can manage
with in the time.
3)Measurement of concepts- if you are using a
concepts in your study, make sure you are clear-

25. About its indicators and their measurement.
Exp- if you plan to measure the effectiveness of
health promotion program, you must be clear
as to what determines effectiveness and how
it will be measured. Do not use concepts in
your research problem that you are not sure
how to measure.
4) Relevance- select a relevant topic according
to problems. Make sure that your study will
be playing a very vital role in planning
formulation.

26. 5) Availability of data- before selecting a topic
you should sure that all data will be available.
6) Ethical issues- it is another important
consideration in formulating a research
problem. When conducting research study,
the study population may be adversely
affected by some of the questions (directly or
indirectly). How it is affect the study and how
it can be overcome .

27. Steps in the formulation of a research problem-
Steps-1) identify a broad field or subject area of
interest to you- it is a good idea to think
about the field in which you would like to work
after graduation. this will help you to find an
interesting topic, and one which may be of use
to you in future.
Exp- if you are social work student, to work in the
area of youth welfare, refugees, or domestic
violence, after graduation you might take
research in one of these areas.
If you are studying marketing you might be
interested in researching consumer behavior.

28. If you are student of public health, intending to work
with patients who have HIV/AIDS, you might like
to conduct research on a subject area relating to
these.
Step-2) Dissect the broad area in to subareas-
you will realise that all the broad areas
mentioned above- youth welfare, refugees,
domestic violence, consumer behavior, &
HIV/AIDS, have many aspects. Take domestic
violence for examples. There are many aspects
and issues in the area of domestic violence.

29. Dissecting the subject area of domestic violence in to subareas-
Subject area subareas
Domestic violence
(DV)
Profile of families in which DV occurs
Profile of the victims of DV.
Extent and types of DV.
Impact of DV on the family.
Impact of DV on children.
Service available to the victims of DV.
Effectiveness of the services provided
to the victims of DV.
Extent of DV in a community etc.

30. Similarly, you can select any subject area from
other fields such as community health or
consumer research and go through this
dissection process. When you develop subareas
from various sources you proceed to the next
stage where you select what will become the
basis of your inquiry.
Step-3)Select what is of most interest to you- in this
case select issues or subareas about which you
are passionate. This is because your interest
should be the most important determinant for
selection. if you decided what interest you must
is to start with the process of elimination, go
through your list and delete all those subareas in

31. Are not very interested. once you are confident
that what you have selected you are passionate
about and can manage, you are ready to go to
the next step.
step-4)Raise research question- at this step ask
yourself, ‘what is it that I want to find out about
in this subareas ‘? In this selected subareas, first
list whatever questions you want to find answer
to. if you find yourself in a situation where you
can think of many questions, too many to be
manageable, again go through of elimination, as
you did in step3.

32. Step-5) Formulate objective- formulate your main
objectives . Your objectives grow out of your
research questions. Some researcher are satisfied
only with research questions and do not
formulate objective. If you prefer to have only
research questions or only objectives, this is fine
but keep in mind the requirements for research
proposals.
Step-6) Assess your objectives- now examine your
objectives to ascertain the feasibility of achieving
them through your research Endeavour. Consider
resources financial, human, & technical
expertise at your disposal.

33. Step-7) Double-check- go back and give final
consideration to whether or not you are
sufficiently interested in the study, and have
adequate resources to undertake it. Ask yourself,
‘Am I really reliable about this study, ‘ Do I really
have enough resources to undertake it,? Answer
these question thoughtfully and realistically. If
your answer to one of them ‘no’ re-assess your
objective.

34. Steps in formulating a research problem-Alcoholism
Suppose you want to conduct study in the area of alcoholism. In
formulating your research problem take the following steps-
Step-1, identify (alcoholism)
Step-2,dissect
1)profile of alcoholism, 2)the causes of alcoholism, 3)the
process of becoming an alcoholic, 4)the effect of alcoholism on
the family, 5)community attitudes towards alcoholism, 6)the
effectiveness of a treatment model, etc.
Step-3, select
Effect of alcoholism on the society.
Step-4, raise questions
1)What impact has alcoholism on marital relations?,2) how
does it affect the various aspect of children’s live?, 3)what are
the effects on the family’s finance?

35. Step-5, formulate objective
1)to find out the effects of alcoholism on the family, 2)to
ascertain the impact of alcoholism on marital relations. 3)To
determine the ways in which alcoholism affects the different
aspects of children’s live. 4)To find out the effects of
alcoholism on the financial situation of the family,etc.
Step-6, make sure (assess these objectives)
1)The work involved, 2)the time available to you , 3)the
financial resources at your disposal, 4)your technical
expertise in the area.
Step-7, double-check
1)That you are really interested in the study, 2)that you
agree with the objectives, 3)that you have adequate
resources, 4)that you have the technical expertise to
undertake the study.

36. Formulating a research problem-the relationship between fertility and
mortality.
Exp- suppose you want to study the relationship between fertility and
mortality. Follow these step-
Step-1, identify (fertility and mortality)
Step-2, dissect
(1.trends in fertility and mortality,2.determinanats of fertility
behavior, 3.relationship between fertility and
mortality,4.impact of health services on mortality.
Step-3, select
relationship between fertility and mortality.

37. Step-4,raise questions
1.What happen to fertility when mortality declines? 2.what is
the time lag between the start of decline in mortality and
the start of decline in fertility. 3.what are the factors that
contribute to the decline in fertility? Etc.
Step-5, formulate objective
1.To find out the extent of the decline in fertility in relation to
the decline in mortality. 2. to ascertain the time lag
between the decline in mortality and the decline in fertility.
3. to identify the factors that affect the changes in fertility.
4. to explore the relationship between socioeconomic-
demographic feature of the population and the extent of
changes in fertility and mortality.

38. Step-6, make sure (assess the objectives)
1.The work involved, 2. the time available to you ,3. the
financial resources at your disposal. 4. your technical
expertise in the area.
step-7. double-check
1. That you are really interested in the study, 2. that
you agree with the objective, 3. that you have
adequate resources, 4. that you have the technical
expertise to undertake the study.

39. Exp- suppose you want to conduct a study in the area of
health.
Step-1, identify (health)
Step-2, dissect
1.Health services provided to the community, 2.
effectiveness of the services, 3. cost of the services, 4.
health insurance scheme available to people, 5. training
of health professionals, 6. attitude of the consumers
towards health services, 7. community responsiveness in
the delivery of health services,etc.

40. Step-3, select
Community responsiveness in the delivery of health
services.
Step,4- raise question
1.How do the health administratirs,planners, service
providers and consumers define community
responsiveness?.2. how can community
responsiveness be achieved?.3.what indicators can
be used to evaluate the effectiveness of community
responsiveness strategies?

41. Step-5. formulate objective
(the effectiveness of community responsiveness
strategies in the delivery of health services)
1.To find out understanding of the concept of
community responsiveness, among health
administrators, planners, service providers and
service consumers. 2. to identify the strategies to
implement the concept of community
responsiveness in health services.3.to develop a set
of indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of the
strategies used in implementation of community
responsiveness.

42. Step-6,make sure (assess the objective)
1.Work involved, 2. time available to you ,3. financial
resources at your disposal,4. your technical expertise
in the area.
Step-7, double –check
Ask your self-
1. Are you really interested in the study?
2. Do you agree with the objectives?
3. Do you have adequate resources?

43. Research design
1.Exploratory research design
2.Descriptive/diagnostic research design
3.Experimental research design
1. Exploratory research design- it depend up on
secondary data base. It is the discovery of ideas.
“exploratory design used to define research problems
where as the descriptive and experimental design are
used to find out solutions to these”

44. Methods of exploratory study
a. Literature surveys- published/ unpublished data
from books, newspaper, govt. documents, trade
journals, professional journals.
Exp- why sales of soft drinks declining?
b. Experience surveys- it is include top executives,
sales managers, sales man, wholesalers, retailers,
consumers, who have used product.
c. Analysis of selected cases- if the researcher goal
is to determine the reason for varying sales
productivity, in this case it would be determine
its best and worst sales people. There were any
variation in education or age between highly -

45. Productive and highly unproductive sales personnel.
d.Depth interview- ask question from consumers-
Why the are purchasing particular products/ services.
And talk freely about interest of the subject etc.
e. Focus group- taking idea from the consumers .
Combination of consumers.
F.projective technique- consumers have different
option to buy products/ services. Responses depend
upon the personality of the consumers. The person
should be brand loyal and not interested to change
their brand.
It is to difficult to predict any consumers behavior
based on his personality.

46. 2.Descriptive/diagnostic research design-
descriptive research studies are studies which
are concerned with describing the characteristics
of a particular individual, or group, etc. most of
the social research comes under this category. In
this research , the researcher must be able to
define clearly, what he wants to measure and
must find adequate methods for measuring it
along with a clear cut definition of ‘population’
he wants to study.
This design in such studies must be rigid and not
flexible and must focus attention on the
following a. Formulating the objective of the
study (what the study is about and why is it being

47. b. Designing the methods of data collection (what
techniques of gathering data will be adopted?)
c. Selecting the sample (how much material will be
needed?)
d. Processing and analysis of data
e. Reporting the findings.
Exp- an investigation of the trends in consumption
of soft drinks with respect to socio-economic
characteristic such as- age, sex, occupation,
family income, education, geographic location,
etc.

48. 3. Experimental/ casual research design-
This type of research design based on cause and
effect. Make advertisement for increasing. Sales.
Use of experimental design-
a. Product design
b. Packaging design
c. Pricing policies
d. Promotion policies
e. Distribution policies.

49. 1.Exp- market growth of sprite increasing by
periodically demand.
2.Exp- which customers group most buy it.
3.Exp- what is the causes for increasing
demand/buying in this age group.

50. Types of experimental research design-
Informal research design
a.Before and after without
control design
b.Before and after with
control.
c.After only the control
design.
Formal experimental
design
a.Completely
randomized design
b.Randomized block
design
c.Factorial design
d.Latin square design

51. Informal experimental research design-
a. Before and after without control design- a single
test area are selected and the dependent
variable is measured before the introduction of
the treatment.
D1 before treatment – 40 lakh unit produce
D2 after treatment - 90 lakh unit produce
30 workers in both condition
Effect of treatment (E)=D2-D1= 50 lakh

52. b. Before and After with control design- select two
areas and the dependent variable is measured in
both areas. For identical time period before the
treatment .
Woolen textile during the end of winter season in
malls-
malls
Experimental units sale before the treatment was
rupees, 4 lakh per month. And after the
treatment it was Rs. 7 lakh per month.
Discounted sale in some stores
(experimental units)
Without discount sale in some stores

53. Without discount or control group the sale was Rs.
3 lakh, before the start of experiment and Rs. 4.5
lakh after the experiment .
Treatment effect-
experimented sale-before experimented sale
7-4=3Lakh
Sale before the experiment in the control sale after
the experiment in the control-
4.5-3=1.5 lakh
3-1.5= 1.5 lakh

54. c.After only the control design- in this design two
group selected – Test area(experimental group)
& control area/ group. And the treatment is
introduced in the test area only.
Group
No “before” measurement of the groups involved.
One is control group
Second is experimental group

55. Exp- a small sample of biscuits was mailed to a
selected no. of customers in a locality. After one
month 25 paisa off on one packet of biscuits,
coupon was mailed to each of the customers to
whom a free sampled was sent earlier. An equal
no. of coupons were also mailed to another
customers in similar locality. 400 coupons were
redeemed in the experimental group and 250
were redeemed from the control group.
The difference 150 coupons is supposed to be the
effect of the free sample.

56. Formal experimental design-
a. Completely randomized design- treatments are
assigned to test units on a randomized basis. Analysis
of variance is performed to determine whether these
treatment caused significance difference in
outcomes-
Exp- a supermarket chain selling washing powder in
packets of 1 kg, each . But they don’t know that
what price should be charged for a packet.
They test 3 different price per packet Rs,7, Rs, 6.5, Rs, 6
They record the sales by each prices, they randomly
assign these prices to the 12 experimental stores 4
of which are using each price.

57. Week
1
2
3
4
Total
Rupees 7
500
450
300
350
1600
Rupees 6.5
400
450
350
350
1550
Rupees 6
300
350
450
550
1650

58. b.Randomised block design- in the randomised
design the researcher is interested to isolate one
of the major factors which influencing the
experiment such as store size.
Exp- block first constitutes store having sales
turnover in excess Rs, 1000.
Block second store having sales turnover ranging
from Rs.600 to Rs. 1000,
Block third stores having sales turnover less than
Rs, 600.

59. No. Of packets of washing powder
sold at various prices.
Rs.6.00 Rs. 6.5 Rs. 7.00
Block-store size depending upon
sales
turnover
1. Rs, 1000 and above per month 500 550 450
2. Rs, 600 to Rs,1000 per month 600 300 250
3. Below Rs, 600 per month 400 350 150
total 1500 1200 850

60. c.Factorial design- the experimental attempts to
measure the influence of interacting variables on the
dependent variable. Exp- the increase in sales might
be related to income of store buyer and display of
washing powder at the store or the change in sales
might be associated with improved package design
and display at the store’s showroom.
d.Latin square design- the researcher isolate two major
variations. It is more complex design it requires
more effort, cost, time. It is assume that there is no
interaction b/w the factors being measured. It is
useful in retail studies, establish control for the
effect of store size.(supermarket vs. general store)

61. Research design
Overall design
Statistical
design
Exploratory
Flexible (design
must provide
opportunity for
considering
different aspect
of the problem)
No-pre-planned
design for
analysis
Descriptive
Rigid design
(design must
make enough
provision for
protection
against and
must maximise
reliability)
Pre-planned
design for
analysis

62. Sampling design
Observational
design
Operational
design
Non-probability
sampling design.
(judgment
sampling)
Unstructured
instruments for
collection of data
No fixed design
about the
operational
procedure
Probability
sampling design.
(random
sampling)
Structured or
well thought
instrument for
collection of data
Advance decision
about
operational
procedure

63. Assignment -1
Q.1 define marketing research and distinguish
between market research and marketing
research.
Q.2 what are the different types of research
design? Explain EXPERIMENTAL research design
with an examples.
Q.3