There are two levels at which the marketing research must be evaluated and controlled. They are:
1. The Individual Research Project: One approach to controlling the individual marketing research project is the checklist, which may contain numerous standard questions applicable to the general conduct of research in marketing. While a management tool of long descent, the checklist, can nevertheless prove useful in helping the researcher avoid mistakes that should have been obvious at the time they were made.
1. The Individual Research Project: One approach to controlling the individual marketing research project is the checklist, which may contain numerous standard questions applicable to the general conduct of research in marketing. While a management tool of long descent, the checklist, can nevertheless prove useful in helping the researcher avoid mistakes that should have been obvious at the time they were made.
Another excellent technique for the evaluation and control of the individual research project is the PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) network.
(i) The research advisory committee:
The research advisory committee consists of representatives of all departments that utilize marketing research. The purpose of the committee is to provide overall direction for the marketing research program by identifying problem areas that are of greatest importance to the organization and directing the attention of marketing research toward informational needs in these areas.
(ii) The research audit:
A periodic audit can be a useful supplement to the marketing research advisory committee. Conducted every two to five years, the purpose of the audit is to provide a fresh perspective toward evaluation and control of the marketing research program.
(iii) The research budget: The total research budget is most effective as a means of controlling costs, because it becomes a natural constraint on marketing research program activities. However, by imposing cost constraints, budget limitation can also lead to serious evaluation of both individual projects and the overall research function.
PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
There are three fundamental sources for marketing research problems or opportunities.
They are:
Latent difficulties are those which are not so apparent and that, if unchecked, would soon become evident. For example, a decline in the number of loyal customers, which may not be directly reflected in the sales figures, could be a latent difficulty.
Unnoticed opportunities indicate the potential for growth in a certain area of marketing. For example, an undiscovered niche for a product is an unnoticed opportunity.
Once the researcher has identified two or more problems or opportunities, then he should be concerned with selecting a particular problem. This is necessary, given the limited finances and the existing time constraints. By looking into the value and cost aspects of the problem, the researcher selects the problem which gives the maximum net value of research.
The factors that affect the conversion of concerns to problems are many. Some of the major factors include:
The following list poses a number of managerially oriented diagnostic questions to aid in problem identification:
A research problem is essentially a restatement of the decision problem in research terms. The decision problem involves what needs to be done. Research can provide the necessary information to make an informed choice, and the research problem essentially involves determining what information to provide and how that information can best be secured.
Not all management problems are translated into research problems. Some of the reasons for this are a lack of value, priorities, research-ability and limited resources. Some illustrations of the distinctions between decision problems and research problems are shown in the table.
Relationship between Decision Problem and Research Problem
Decision Problems Research Problems
1. Develop package for new project Evaluate effectiveness of alternative
Package designs.
2. Increase amount of repeat Assess current amount of repeat
Purchasing behavior purchasing behavior
3. Increase market penetration through Evaluate prospective locations
4. Increase store traffic Measure the current image of the store
PROBLEM FORMULATION
After the problem has been selected, the next task is to formulate the problem precisely. Formulation of the problem involves a clear statement of the problem. A comprehensive problem definition must consist each of the following:
The problem definition in marketing research is a step towards identification and structuring of the management’s question. The most important objective of problem definition, however, should be to answer the right question.
Symptom Recognition (Managerial Concerns)
1. There is a growing discontent among the dealers in the marketing channel. Verbal complaints have been received from dealers concerning the stocking and credit options.
- This approach involves the construction of an arrow network of research sub-activities, their orders of performance and their estimated times for completion.
- The use of the PERT network allows the determination of required overall project completion time and provides the opportunity to compare the actual progress of the study with that projected at the planning stages in which the network was constructed.
(i) The research advisory committee:
The research advisory committee consists of representatives of all departments that utilize marketing research. The purpose of the committee is to provide overall direction for the marketing research program by identifying problem areas that are of greatest importance to the organization and directing the attention of marketing research toward informational needs in these areas.
(ii) The research audit:
A periodic audit can be a useful supplement to the marketing research advisory committee. Conducted every two to five years, the purpose of the audit is to provide a fresh perspective toward evaluation and control of the marketing research program.
(iii) The research budget: The total research budget is most effective as a means of controlling costs, because it becomes a natural constraint on marketing research program activities. However, by imposing cost constraints, budget limitation can also lead to serious evaluation of both individual projects and the overall research function.
PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
There are three fundamental sources for marketing research problems or opportunities.
They are:
- overt difficulties,
- latent difficulties and
- unnoticed opportunities.
Latent difficulties are those which are not so apparent and that, if unchecked, would soon become evident. For example, a decline in the number of loyal customers, which may not be directly reflected in the sales figures, could be a latent difficulty.
Unnoticed opportunities indicate the potential for growth in a certain area of marketing. For example, an undiscovered niche for a product is an unnoticed opportunity.
Once the researcher has identified two or more problems or opportunities, then he should be concerned with selecting a particular problem. This is necessary, given the limited finances and the existing time constraints. By looking into the value and cost aspects of the problem, the researcher selects the problem which gives the maximum net value of research.
The factors that affect the conversion of concerns to problems are many. Some of the major factors include:
- Management Awareness – the ‘aware’ manager will be more adept at identifying problems than others.
- Urgency of Concerns – a concern, if unattended for a long time, might blow up as a big problem and
- Research Orientation – in an organization with strong research and development orientation, future and present managerial concerns are more likely to be identified and converted into problem statements.
The following list poses a number of managerially oriented diagnostic questions to aid in problem identification:
- What is the current situation of the firm? Are there any undesirable situations, which need attention?
- Are there any conditions, processes, etc., which could be improved?
- Are there any anticipated problems in foreseeable future which could affect the operations of the firm?
- Are there any potential opportunities in the future, which the organization may capitalize on?
- Is the problem identified really a problem, or is it some symptom of another problem?
- Does the identification of the problem follow from the available evidence?
- Is research needed to identify the underlying problem of some undesirable situation?
A research problem is essentially a restatement of the decision problem in research terms. The decision problem involves what needs to be done. Research can provide the necessary information to make an informed choice, and the research problem essentially involves determining what information to provide and how that information can best be secured.
Not all management problems are translated into research problems. Some of the reasons for this are a lack of value, priorities, research-ability and limited resources. Some illustrations of the distinctions between decision problems and research problems are shown in the table.
Relationship between Decision Problem and Research Problem
Decision Problems Research Problems
1. Develop package for new project Evaluate effectiveness of alternative
Package designs.
2. Increase amount of repeat Assess current amount of repeat
Purchasing behavior purchasing behavior
3. Increase market penetration through Evaluate prospective locations
4. Increase store traffic Measure the current image of the store
PROBLEM FORMULATION
After the problem has been selected, the next task is to formulate the problem precisely. Formulation of the problem involves a clear statement of the problem. A comprehensive problem definition must consist each of the following:
- Unit of analysis includes the individuals or the objects whose characteristics are to be measured.
- Time and space boundaries define the suitable time reference and the location for the decision. The researcher runs the risk of making the right decision at the wrong time.
- Characteristics of interest: identifies the focus of the problem. Both the results that are of concern to management and the variables that are to be tested for their relationship to the results are included.
- Specific environmental conditions: indicates the uniqueness or generality of the problem under investigation.
The problem definition in marketing research is a step towards identification and structuring of the management’s question. The most important objective of problem definition, however, should be to answer the right question.
Symptom Recognition (Managerial Concerns)
1. There is a growing discontent among the dealers in the marketing channel. Verbal complaints have been received from dealers concerning the stocking and credit options.
II. Problem Identification
1. Evaluation of data
a. Monitoring of discontent and compliant information b. Any history of past discontent? c. Literature related to similar problems in other firms.
2. Isolation of problem area: a. Management has no consistent credit policy b. Verbal complaints reveal discontent with the credit and stock limits. c. A long-time dealer has recently cancelled his dealership.
III. Managerial Problem Statement: Is the stocking and credit policy of the firm equitable?
IV. Managerial Problem Statement: Is the stocking and credit policy of the firm equitable?
2. Isolation of problem area: a. Management has no consistent credit policy b. Verbal complaints reveal discontent with the credit and stock limits. c. A long-time dealer has recently cancelled his dealership.
III. Managerial Problem Statement: Is the stocking and credit policy of the firm equitable?
IV. Managerial Problem Statement: Is the stocking and credit policy of the firm equitable?
V. Research Problem Statement: What are the major factors associated with the fixing of stock and credit limits for the dealers in our channel? Once the problem has been identified and formulated by the researcher, there are several mechanisms available for ensuring that the true decision problem will be addresses by the research process. The researcher can draft a statement describing his understanding of the problem. The statement should include, but is not limited to, the following items:
- Action – actions that are contemplated on the basis of the research.
- Origin – the events that led to a need for the decision to act.
- Information – the questions that the decision maker needs to have answered in order to take one of the contemplated courses of action.
- Use – a section that explains how each piece of information will be used to help make the action decision.
- Targets and subgroups – a section that describes from whom the information must be gathered.
- Logistics - a section that gives approximate estimates of the time and money that are available to conduct the research.
- Such a statement prepared by the researcher should be submitted to the decision-maker – the manager, for his approval. This ensures that the true decision problem, as sensed by the manager and as formulated by the researcher, is addressed in the remaining course of the research.
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