MODULE 1- Definition of the market research problem
inside and outside of the company
Chapter 1
Introduction: THE BUSINESS OF MARKETING RESEARCH
Why do we even need market research? - It helps businesses become more
consumer-centric, ensuring they deeply understand customer needs and preferences,
as well as competitors
What is marketing research?
Marketing research - driver of business success, combining various disciplines such
as consumer behavior, psychology, data collection, statistical analysis, Big Data,
business understanding, and effective communication.
Importance of Marketing Research - it helps businesses become more consumer-
centric, ensuring they deeply understand customer needs and preferences, as well as
competitors
Purpose of Marketing Research
- Helps companies make better marketing decisions, even though not every decision
will succeed
- Aids in developing strategies that enhance appeal to customers and improve
competitive positioning
Marketing research can be defined in 3 key ways:
Definition Based on Objective
Marketing research - systematic collection, analysis, and dissemination of
information to help solve problems and seize opportunities in marketing.
,Our formal definition of marketing research is that it help companies advance their
goal through the following:
1. Collecting data, information, and insight about society, markets, and
consumers.
2. Articulating the actions that a company should consider as a result of this data,
information, and insight.
3. Supporting activation of the data, information, and insight
MR always has a business purpose, it is not an academic exercise for the sake of
doing research
Data, Information, and Insights
• Data: Direct observations or raw facts (the average age of consumers for a
certain brand)
• Information: When we do sth with this data (if a competing brand’s customers
are younger, that’s information that can drive marketing decisions)
• Insight: More complex. It involves deeper understanding, revealing hidden
opportunities. Insights often highlight tensions between what consumers expect
and what’s available, which can lead to new business opportunities.
Marketing researchers often work with internal clients (company decision-makers)
who may lack the time to process raw data. The researchers’ role is to convert raw
data and information into actionable insights, which are useful for making business
decisions.
Order-Taker vs. Trusted Advisor
Order-Taker Approach: In some cases, internal clients simply ask the marketing
researcher to carry out a specific task (conducting a focus group).
Trusted Advisor Approach: In other cases, the researcher takes on a problem from
the client, analyzes it, and then provides recommendations, working closely with the
internal client (more collaboration and better results)
Definition Based on Market Researchers' Activities
Marketing research can be understood by looking at the 4 activities that market
researchers engage in.
These are connected to the types of knowledge they have or don’t have:
1. What we know we don’t know:
- Information that we know we are missing (we can clearly identify what
information we lack). For example, if we want to know how many consumers are
, aware of a new product, we can ask the target audience directly through surveys.
It is quite straightforward to design the research approach.
2. What we know we know:
- Data and insights that a firm already has but hasn’t used yet. The researcher
needs to decide if this existing data is enough to act on or if more research is
needed. For example, the company might have access to reports, but no one’s
using them to make decisions yet. Before starting new research, the first step is
to check what data we already have.
3. What we don’t know we know:
- Information the company already has but isn’t aware of. Such hidden data could
reveal insights. If different teams don’t communicate, valuable data might be
missed.
4. What we don’t know we don’t know:
- There are things we don’t even realize we need to know. If consumer behavior
suddenly changes due to a pandemic, there might be unexpected challenges. The
research here is more exploratory.
Definition Based on Purpose
Marketing research can be defined by its main purpose, which typically falls into 3
categories: exploratory, descriptive, and predictive research.
1. Exploratory Research:
◦ First step when a topic hasn’t been studied much. It helps us understand
the issue better and find out what’s important to look into. It often uses
qualitative methods like focus groups or interviews. (more about
discovering insights than having clear answers)
2. Descriptive Research:
◦ This step describes things like consumer behavior, what they buy, and
how they interact with media. We already know some of the questions to
ask based on the exploratory stage, so it’s more structured. It helps us
see patterns in what people do.
3. Predictive Research:
◦ This is the most structured type. It helps us predict what might happen in
the future based on specific factors. For example, we might test which
, menu design will lead to more drink sales. It’s about testing ideas and
finding out what’s most likely to happen.
When solving business problems we often mix all 3 approaches.
Research Example
• A soft drink company conducted exploratory research (focus groups) to
understand consumer preferences, descriptive research (quantitative surveys) to
track consumption behavior, and predictive research (modeling) to design a
menu that increased beverage sales by 32% year-over-year.
We have 2 types of problems in market research:
What do we explore when the problem is broad?
- general issues where it’s not clear exactly what to research
- company has a goal, but the steps to achieve it are uncertain
- figuring out where to start
- for example, if sales drop or if the CEO wants the brand to grow, it's unclear what
research can help solve these issues
And when it’s specific?
- are clear, well-defined issues
- management already knows what decision needs to be made.
- an answer is related to the decision that needs to be taken
- example- should we launch this new product?
The marketing research industry
The marketing research industry is large, growing, and has experienced nearly
continuous growth for decades. This growth was driven by advances in Big Data and
analytics
The Marketing Research Ecosystem
inside and outside of the company
Chapter 1
Introduction: THE BUSINESS OF MARKETING RESEARCH
Why do we even need market research? - It helps businesses become more
consumer-centric, ensuring they deeply understand customer needs and preferences,
as well as competitors
What is marketing research?
Marketing research - driver of business success, combining various disciplines such
as consumer behavior, psychology, data collection, statistical analysis, Big Data,
business understanding, and effective communication.
Importance of Marketing Research - it helps businesses become more consumer-
centric, ensuring they deeply understand customer needs and preferences, as well as
competitors
Purpose of Marketing Research
- Helps companies make better marketing decisions, even though not every decision
will succeed
- Aids in developing strategies that enhance appeal to customers and improve
competitive positioning
Marketing research can be defined in 3 key ways:
Definition Based on Objective
Marketing research - systematic collection, analysis, and dissemination of
information to help solve problems and seize opportunities in marketing.
,Our formal definition of marketing research is that it help companies advance their
goal through the following:
1. Collecting data, information, and insight about society, markets, and
consumers.
2. Articulating the actions that a company should consider as a result of this data,
information, and insight.
3. Supporting activation of the data, information, and insight
MR always has a business purpose, it is not an academic exercise for the sake of
doing research
Data, Information, and Insights
• Data: Direct observations or raw facts (the average age of consumers for a
certain brand)
• Information: When we do sth with this data (if a competing brand’s customers
are younger, that’s information that can drive marketing decisions)
• Insight: More complex. It involves deeper understanding, revealing hidden
opportunities. Insights often highlight tensions between what consumers expect
and what’s available, which can lead to new business opportunities.
Marketing researchers often work with internal clients (company decision-makers)
who may lack the time to process raw data. The researchers’ role is to convert raw
data and information into actionable insights, which are useful for making business
decisions.
Order-Taker vs. Trusted Advisor
Order-Taker Approach: In some cases, internal clients simply ask the marketing
researcher to carry out a specific task (conducting a focus group).
Trusted Advisor Approach: In other cases, the researcher takes on a problem from
the client, analyzes it, and then provides recommendations, working closely with the
internal client (more collaboration and better results)
Definition Based on Market Researchers' Activities
Marketing research can be understood by looking at the 4 activities that market
researchers engage in.
These are connected to the types of knowledge they have or don’t have:
1. What we know we don’t know:
- Information that we know we are missing (we can clearly identify what
information we lack). For example, if we want to know how many consumers are
, aware of a new product, we can ask the target audience directly through surveys.
It is quite straightforward to design the research approach.
2. What we know we know:
- Data and insights that a firm already has but hasn’t used yet. The researcher
needs to decide if this existing data is enough to act on or if more research is
needed. For example, the company might have access to reports, but no one’s
using them to make decisions yet. Before starting new research, the first step is
to check what data we already have.
3. What we don’t know we know:
- Information the company already has but isn’t aware of. Such hidden data could
reveal insights. If different teams don’t communicate, valuable data might be
missed.
4. What we don’t know we don’t know:
- There are things we don’t even realize we need to know. If consumer behavior
suddenly changes due to a pandemic, there might be unexpected challenges. The
research here is more exploratory.
Definition Based on Purpose
Marketing research can be defined by its main purpose, which typically falls into 3
categories: exploratory, descriptive, and predictive research.
1. Exploratory Research:
◦ First step when a topic hasn’t been studied much. It helps us understand
the issue better and find out what’s important to look into. It often uses
qualitative methods like focus groups or interviews. (more about
discovering insights than having clear answers)
2. Descriptive Research:
◦ This step describes things like consumer behavior, what they buy, and
how they interact with media. We already know some of the questions to
ask based on the exploratory stage, so it’s more structured. It helps us
see patterns in what people do.
3. Predictive Research:
◦ This is the most structured type. It helps us predict what might happen in
the future based on specific factors. For example, we might test which
, menu design will lead to more drink sales. It’s about testing ideas and
finding out what’s most likely to happen.
When solving business problems we often mix all 3 approaches.
Research Example
• A soft drink company conducted exploratory research (focus groups) to
understand consumer preferences, descriptive research (quantitative surveys) to
track consumption behavior, and predictive research (modeling) to design a
menu that increased beverage sales by 32% year-over-year.
We have 2 types of problems in market research:
What do we explore when the problem is broad?
- general issues where it’s not clear exactly what to research
- company has a goal, but the steps to achieve it are uncertain
- figuring out where to start
- for example, if sales drop or if the CEO wants the brand to grow, it's unclear what
research can help solve these issues
And when it’s specific?
- are clear, well-defined issues
- management already knows what decision needs to be made.
- an answer is related to the decision that needs to be taken
- example- should we launch this new product?
The marketing research industry
The marketing research industry is large, growing, and has experienced nearly
continuous growth for decades. This growth was driven by advances in Big Data and
analytics
The Marketing Research Ecosystem
