CH01 Steps in Creating Marketing Insights and the Growing Role of Marketing Analytics Flashcards
what is a hypothesis?
a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation
marketing research plays two key roles in the marketing system:
- (as part of the marketing intelligence feedback process) it provides decision-makers with data on the effectiveness of the current marketing mix and offers insights into necessary changes
- it is a tool for exploring new opportunities in the marketplace
what is exploratory research?
preliminary research conducted to increase the understanding of a concept, to clarify the exact nature of the problem to be solved, or to identify important variables to be studied
what are experience surveys?
discussions with knowledgeable individuals, both inside and outside the organization, who may provide insights into the problem (eg. jet blue redesigning the interiour of its aircraft, it may use experience surveys to speak with interiour designers, frequent flyers, flight attendants, and pilots)
what is diagnostic function?
“the explanation of data or actions” eg. what was the impact on sales when the Oscar Mayer package design was changed? How can product/service offerings be altered to better serve customers and potential customers?
the ability to retain customers is based on an intimate understanding of…
their needs; this knowledge comes primarily from marketing research
segmentation research and new product research help managers to…
identify the most profitable opportunities for a firm
descriptive function defined
“the gathering and presentation of statements of fact” eg. what is the historic sales trend in the industry? what are consumers’ attitudes and beliefs toward a product?
marketing research defined
marketing research: “the planning, collection, and analysis of data relevant to marketing decision-making and the communication of the results of this analysis to management”
marketing research also helps managers to…
understand trends in the market place and to take advantage of opportunities
marketing research online community (MROC), aka “insights community” defined
an online private community that people of interest to a company, such as customers and potential customers, agree to participate in topics of interest to marketing researchers over an extended time period
exploratory research can take several forms:
pilot studies, experience surveys, secondary analysis, case analysis, and focus groups
why is social media and user-generated content important?
marketing researchers are tapping into these huge streams of data online (eg. blogs, online communities, social media sites, …) to determine what people think about their products and services, as well as those of the competition. researchers are building profiles of persons online and using this data to target their promotional efforts. other researchers use online communities to create new products and services.
marketing analytics defined
the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data
research design defined
the plan to be followed to answer the marketing research objectives
note, that the ultimate goal is to…
develop clear, concise, and meaningful research objectives. researching such objectives will yield precise decision-making information for managers.
marketing research can be viewed as playing three functional roles:
descriptive, diagnostic, and predictive
marketing research problem defined
a statement specifying the type of information needed by the decision maker to help solve the management decision problem and how that information can be obtained efficiently and effectively
the research process, described above, relies on…
supervised learning.
- researcher follows a pre-existing process
- an algorithm then learns from the dataset
predictive function defined
“specification of how to use descriptive and diagnostic research to predict the results of a planned marketing design” eg. how can the firm best take advantage of opportunities as they arise in the ever-changing marketplace?
casual research attempts to…
determine whether a change in one variable likely caused an observed change in another
instead, different designs offer an array of choices, each with certain advantages and disadvantages:
- the more precise, the higher the cost
- the faster, the higher the cost
experiments defined
research to measure casualty, in which the researcher changes one or more independent variables and observes the effect of the changes on the dependent variable
algorithm defined
a process or set of rules to be followed in calculation, especially by a computer
collecting the data:
- most survey-based data are collected on the internet or on mobile devices
- interviewer-based data collection is usually done by marketing research
the marketing research process begins with…
the recognition of a marketing problem or opportunity
determine whether the information already exists:
avoid the trap of assuming that current data are superior to data collected in the past
- researcher do have more control over fresh data
- … but using existing data can save time and money! research objectives must be as specific as possible and unambiguous as possible. avoid the “nice-to-know” syndrome
- all findings must be actionable
- unless the research is exploratory, it should lead to a management decision
we have just discussed the first step in the research process:
identifying the problem/opportunity and stating the research objectives
selecting a means of gathering – there are 3 basic research methods:
- survey
- observation
- experiment
survey research defined
research in which an interviewer (except in mail and internet surveys) interacts with respondents to obtain facts, opinions, and attitudes
unsupervised learning defined
an algorithm examines the data and tries to make sense of it by extracting features and patterns on its own. marketing analytics may be coupled with big data to tell the researcher more about “what” and “why”
pilot studies defined
surveys using a limited number of respondents and often employing less rigorous sampling techniques than are employed in large quantitative studies
case analysis defined
reviewing information from situations those are similar to the current one
situation analysis defined
studying the decision-making environment within which the marketing research will take place
the proactive role of marketing research:
proactive management alters the marketing mix to fit newly emerging patterns in economic, social, technological, and competitive environments, whereas reactive management waits for change to have a major impact on the firm before deciding to take action. a reactive stance is viewing the turbulent marketing environment as a threat, whereas a proactive stance is seeing it as an opportunity.
the research process defined
- recognize the problem or opportunity
- find out why the information is being sought
- understand the decision-making environment (the industry, company, products, and target market)
- use the symptoms to help clarify the problem
- translate the management problem into a marketing research problem
- determine whether the information already exists
- determine whether the question really can be answered
- state the research objectives
(exhibit 1.1 problem definition process)
opportunity identification defined
using marketing research to find and evaluate new opportunities
the other steps in the process are…
creating the research design, choosing the method research, selecting the sampling procedure, collecting the data, analyzing the data, presenting the report, and following up on any recommendations that were made as a result of the report
supervised learning defined
the researcher follows the process defining the problem, specifying the research method and so forth
request for proposal (RFP) defined
an internal document, a solicitation sent to marketing research suppliers inviting them to submit a formal proposal, including a bid
what to look for in a marketing research supplier:
- maintains client confidentiality
- is honest
- is punctual
- is flexible
- delivers against project specifications
- provides high-quality output
- is responsive to the client’s needs
- has high-quality control standards
- is customer-oriented in interactions with client
- keeps the client informed throughout the project
selecting the sampling procedure:
several issues must be addressed, including:
- defining the population of interest
- determining the type of sample to use: probability or non-probability
secondary data defined
data has been gathered for some purpose other than the one at hand
focus groups defined
in-depth discussion, usually consisting of 8-12 participants, which are led by a moderator and are generally limited to one particular concepts, idea, or theme
using intranets for exploratory research:
using intranets, the researcher can determine whether needed or relevant information is available somewhere inside the organization. intranet systems like the one at Texas Instruments will help organizations get the most mileage out of their research dollars,
a symptom is…
a phenomenon that occurs because of the existence of something else (10/90 iceberg rule)
what is the marketing research objective?
a goal statements, defining the specific information needed to solve the marketing research problem
management decision problem defined
a statement specifying the type of managerial action required to solve the problem
structured data defined
clearly defined data types that are found in numeric fields
determine whether the question can be answered:
signs indicating potential for research success:
- you know for certain that info of the type required exists or can be readily obtained
- you are fairly sure, based on similar prior experiences, that info can be gathered success is likely when:
- you know that you are trying something quite new, and
- there is a real risk of drawing a complete blank
state the research objectives:
the culmination of the problem definition process
- stated in terms of the precise information needed
- well-formulated objectives serve as a road map
- they also serve as a standard that later will enable managers to evaluate the results
what motivates decision-makers to use research information?
- conformity to prior expectations
- clarity of presentation
- research quality
- political acceptibility within the firm
- lack to challenge the status quo
observation research defined
typically, descriptive research that monitors respondents’ actions without direct interaction
non-probability sample defined
the chances of selection for the various elements in the population are unknown. researchers cannot statistically calculate the reliability of a non-probability sample; that is, they cannot determine the degree of sampling error that can be expected
descriptive studies examine what?
who, what, when, where, AND how
a typical RFP provides…
- background on why the study id being conducted
- the research objectives
- the methodology
- suggested time frame
sample defined
a subset from a larger population, used to draw conclusions about population characteristics
presenting the report:
decision-makers today typically want summary data delivered to an online portal
probability sample defined
a sample for which every element in the population has a known nonzero probability of being selected. such samples allow the research to estimate how much sampling error is present in a given study
the sections of a formal research requests are as follows:
- action to be taken on the basis of the research
- origin of events that led to a need for a decision
- information needed to take action
- use of each piece of information will be used to help make the actual decision
- target groups and subgroups to gather data from
- logistics of doing the research (time and budget)
- comments relevant to the research project
analyzing the data’s purpose
to interpret and draw conclusions from the mass of collected data
following up:
management should determine whether the recommendations were followed and, if not, why not
research request defined
an internal document used by large organizations that describes a potential research project, its benefits to the organization, and e estimated costs; it must be formally approved before a research project can begin
managing the research process:
- the research request
- request for proposal
- the marketing research proposal
- what to look for in a marketing research supplier
most RFPs also ask for…
- a detailed cost breakdown
- supplier’s experience
- references
most proposals contain the following elements:
- title page
- statement of research objectives
- study design
- areas of questioning
- data analysis
- personnel involved
- specification and assumptions
- services
- cost
- timing
when marketing research suppliers receive an RFP, they respond to the potential client with a…
research proposal
research proposal defined
a document developed, usually in response to a RFP, that present the research objectives, research design, timeline, and cost of a project, most research proposals are short
big data defined
the accumulation and analysis of massive quantities of information that is especially related to human behaviour and interactions. companies have been gathering structured data for years.
unstructured data defined
data that does not have a predefined data model or it not organized in a predefined manner
