Marketing Research
Lecture 1
Example of marketing action based on marketing research
Brand tropicana : Orange Juice
• They decided to modernize the packaging and changed it
into a more sleek design
• Only few days after the launch of the new design, a lot of
criticism came in in social networks and sales dropped so
that the packaging had to be changed again
• A lot of money has been spend on marketing and marketing
research in order to come up with the new design which
‚failed‘
Problem:
• the new packaging was no longer recognizable for the loyal
customers of tropicana
• Customers might think that the whole product has changed
What we learn from this case:
• Consumers can be very attached to a certain packaging
• This whole initiative costed Tropicana around 15 Million Dollars
• Another issue : the company conducted the wrong marketing research for the wrong problem
since probably there has not been any problem before
Make sure that there is a concrete problem before you start marketing research
The researchers did not study the packaging in a real environment, consumers were not able to
find the product quickly
Positive influence of marketing research
Old Spice sells deodorants, etc
Made a video campaign with a good looking
muscular men, claiming that everything is possible
when you smell like a men, like old spice
What makes this commercial so successful?
• This commercial focused on a new target
audience
• The previous target group were men found
40-60 years but sales went down and the brand
was more appealing for men between 20-40
years
• In order to attract this age group, marketing research was conducted, which showed that
commercial for this age group should be created in a more funny way in order to attract them
• 60-70% of men’s toilet ting products are bought by women - someone’s mother, sister,
girlfriend, wife, so that a good looking men in the campaign is more attractive. Therefore the
commercial should also attract the people who buy the products
• What old spice also did: they interacted with their customers via social media, etc.
Importance of Marketing Research
• 50-95% of new products fail
• 50% of advertising has no effect
• 85% of price promotions do not pay off
,Goals of marketing research
• Guide and improve decision making
• Guide the marketing plan (e.g. STP = segmenting, targeting and positioning )
• Trace problems
• Understand changes
• Predict outcomes
Why you should care
• Interesting and diverse area
• Every company uses marketing
• Companies love students who are good at research
Learning Objectives
• Set up a marketing research design
• Select a suitable qualitative marketing research technique
• Apply suitable quantitative marketing research techniques
• Analyze dataset (using e.g. SPSS)
• Translate results into managerial decisions
• Formulate a research report
Definition Marketing Research
Marketing Research is
the systematic and objective identification, collection, analyst and dissemination of information
for the purpose of improving decision making related to the identification of problems and
opportunities in marketing
All these date do not mean that we have
actionable insights, so its highly important to
know what to do with the data
e.g. if you use the right algorithm and data on Netflix
you can be more relevant for the future
If you know how your brand is perceived then you
know where you are and where you should be in
order to be more successful
,Research can take many forms
• Qualitative vs. Quantitative
• Explorative vs. descriptive vs. causal
• Secondary data vs. primary data
• Survey data vs. transaction data
• Ad-hoc vs. Continuous vs. panel
• B-to-B vs. Consumer
• Applied vs. scientific
• Valid vs. Not valid
Marketing Research Process
Problem Definition
• Clarify the management decision problem
• Take into account :
purpose, background information, information needed
• Define research problem and questions
• Create mutual understanding and agreement
• Confirm information value
• Should guide the researcher in proceeding with the project
You can not define a problem by yourself but have to discuss it with the decision maker -
communication is key
MDP vs. Marketing research
problem
, Example Groningen
City of Groningen faced the problem that as soon people graduate they leave the city of
Groningen
Step 1 : The Problem Definition Process
Management Decision Problem :
• What can we do to retain talented workforce?
• How can we make the city more attractive ?
Tasks involved
> Discussion with decision
makers ( city marketing)
> interviews with experts
> Secondary data analysis
Marketing Research Problem > Qualitative Research
• How attractive is the city currently?
• What aspects influence the attractiveness?
• What aspects influence the choice of living?
• How can these be improved?
The problem definition process
Step 2 : Development of an Approach
Objective /Theoretical Framework
• Which variables ( „constructs“) should be investigated?
• Based on academic literature, general empirical findings
Model
• Variables and their interrelationships
• Verbal, graphical, or mathematical
Hypotheses
• Tentative statements about relationship between two or more variables (according to theory)
• I.e., a possible answer to each research question
• Can be tested empirically
What is a model?
A stylized representation of reality
Lecture 1
Example of marketing action based on marketing research
Brand tropicana : Orange Juice
• They decided to modernize the packaging and changed it
into a more sleek design
• Only few days after the launch of the new design, a lot of
criticism came in in social networks and sales dropped so
that the packaging had to be changed again
• A lot of money has been spend on marketing and marketing
research in order to come up with the new design which
‚failed‘
Problem:
• the new packaging was no longer recognizable for the loyal
customers of tropicana
• Customers might think that the whole product has changed
What we learn from this case:
• Consumers can be very attached to a certain packaging
• This whole initiative costed Tropicana around 15 Million Dollars
• Another issue : the company conducted the wrong marketing research for the wrong problem
since probably there has not been any problem before
Make sure that there is a concrete problem before you start marketing research
The researchers did not study the packaging in a real environment, consumers were not able to
find the product quickly
Positive influence of marketing research
Old Spice sells deodorants, etc
Made a video campaign with a good looking
muscular men, claiming that everything is possible
when you smell like a men, like old spice
What makes this commercial so successful?
• This commercial focused on a new target
audience
• The previous target group were men found
40-60 years but sales went down and the brand
was more appealing for men between 20-40
years
• In order to attract this age group, marketing research was conducted, which showed that
commercial for this age group should be created in a more funny way in order to attract them
• 60-70% of men’s toilet ting products are bought by women - someone’s mother, sister,
girlfriend, wife, so that a good looking men in the campaign is more attractive. Therefore the
commercial should also attract the people who buy the products
• What old spice also did: they interacted with their customers via social media, etc.
Importance of Marketing Research
• 50-95% of new products fail
• 50% of advertising has no effect
• 85% of price promotions do not pay off
,Goals of marketing research
• Guide and improve decision making
• Guide the marketing plan (e.g. STP = segmenting, targeting and positioning )
• Trace problems
• Understand changes
• Predict outcomes
Why you should care
• Interesting and diverse area
• Every company uses marketing
• Companies love students who are good at research
Learning Objectives
• Set up a marketing research design
• Select a suitable qualitative marketing research technique
• Apply suitable quantitative marketing research techniques
• Analyze dataset (using e.g. SPSS)
• Translate results into managerial decisions
• Formulate a research report
Definition Marketing Research
Marketing Research is
the systematic and objective identification, collection, analyst and dissemination of information
for the purpose of improving decision making related to the identification of problems and
opportunities in marketing
All these date do not mean that we have
actionable insights, so its highly important to
know what to do with the data
e.g. if you use the right algorithm and data on Netflix
you can be more relevant for the future
If you know how your brand is perceived then you
know where you are and where you should be in
order to be more successful
,Research can take many forms
• Qualitative vs. Quantitative
• Explorative vs. descriptive vs. causal
• Secondary data vs. primary data
• Survey data vs. transaction data
• Ad-hoc vs. Continuous vs. panel
• B-to-B vs. Consumer
• Applied vs. scientific
• Valid vs. Not valid
Marketing Research Process
Problem Definition
• Clarify the management decision problem
• Take into account :
purpose, background information, information needed
• Define research problem and questions
• Create mutual understanding and agreement
• Confirm information value
• Should guide the researcher in proceeding with the project
You can not define a problem by yourself but have to discuss it with the decision maker -
communication is key
MDP vs. Marketing research
problem
, Example Groningen
City of Groningen faced the problem that as soon people graduate they leave the city of
Groningen
Step 1 : The Problem Definition Process
Management Decision Problem :
• What can we do to retain talented workforce?
• How can we make the city more attractive ?
Tasks involved
> Discussion with decision
makers ( city marketing)
> interviews with experts
> Secondary data analysis
Marketing Research Problem > Qualitative Research
• How attractive is the city currently?
• What aspects influence the attractiveness?
• What aspects influence the choice of living?
• How can these be improved?
The problem definition process
Step 2 : Development of an Approach
Objective /Theoretical Framework
• Which variables ( „constructs“) should be investigated?
• Based on academic literature, general empirical findings
Model
• Variables and their interrelationships
• Verbal, graphical, or mathematical
Hypotheses
• Tentative statements about relationship between two or more variables (according to theory)
• I.e., a possible answer to each research question
• Can be tested empirically
What is a model?
A stylized representation of reality
