Identify marketing opportunities assignment

To meet the information needs, the researcher can gather primary and secondary data. Primary Data is information collected for the specific purpose at hand. Secondary Data is information that may already exist elsewhere, having been collected for another purpose. Inexpensive data may be gathered from: ??? Internal sources ??? Government publications ??? Periodicals and books ??? Commercial data OHT 4. 2 PRIMARY DATA Research methods explained Observational research – is the gathering of primary data by observing relevant people, actions and situations. Survey research – is the gathering of primary data by asking people questions about their knowledge, attitudes, preferences and buying behaviour.

Experimental research – is the gathering of primary data by selecting matched groups of subjects, giving them different treatments, controlling unrelated factors and checking for differences in group responses. OHT 4. 3 DATA COLLECTION Internal (Primary) Data is usually located within the organisation itself ??? Sales data ??? Credit reports ??? Inventory reports ??? Transportation costs ??? Raw materials costs External (Secondary) Data is collected from outside the organisation ??? Research agency ??? Government statistics ??? Industry reports OHT 6. 1 MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM (MIS) MIS consists of people, equipment and procedures to gather, sort, analyse, evaluate and distribute needed, timely and accurate information to marketing decision-makers. OHT 6. Marketing Information System (MIS) Marketing Managers Analysis Planning Implementation Organisation Control Assessing Information Internal Records Marketing Intelligence Distributing Information Information Analysis Market Research Marketing Environment Target Markets Marketing Channels Competitors Macro-environmental forces OHT 6. 3 MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS ??? Establish the need for marketing research ??? Define the problem ??? Establish research objectives ??? Determine research design ??? Identify information types and sources ??? Determine methods of assessing data ??? Design data collection forms ??? Determine the sample plan and size ??? Collect data Analyse data ??? Prepare and present a report OHT 7. 1 EXTERNAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OHT 8. 1 FUNCTIONS OF A QUESTIONNAIRE ??? Translate research objectives into specific questions to be asked of the respondents. ??? Standardise questions and response categories ensuring each participant responds to the same stimuli. ??? Present to promote cooperation and motivation: wording, question flow and appearance. ??? Provide record of research ??? Speed up data analysis ??? Present information that could be subjected to reliability tests, follow-ups, or other validation OHT 8. 2 FOUR TYPES OF QUESTIONS ??? Open-ended questions invite the respondent to answer in their own words. Multiple-choice questions invites the respondent to choose responses from a list ??? Dichotomous questions are an extreme form of multiple-choice, in that only two choices are offered. (Yes/No) Closed questions require a respondent to make one or more choices from a list of possible responses (D. O. B. , Gender etc. ) OHT 8. 3 QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENT ??? Plan what to measure ??? Formulate questions to obtain the needed information ??? Decide on the order and wording of the questions and the layout of the document ??? Test the questionnaire for omissions and ambiguity ??? Correct the problems and pre-test OHT 8. 4 FOUR BASIC APPEALS OHT 8. 5 DEVELOPING QUESTIONS You should: focus each question on a single topic ??? keep the questions brief ??? ensure each respondent can interpret the question the same way ??? use the respondents’ core vocabulary ??? make the sentence grammatically simple. OHT 8. 6 DEVELOPING QUESTIONS You should not: ??? assume anything ??? question beyond the respondents’ ability or experience ??? use an example to generalise ??? ask anyone to recall specifics when generalities will only be remembered ??? ask anyone to guess ??? ask for details that cannot be related ??? use words to overstate a condition ??? have ambiguous words ??? ask double-barrel questions ??? lead the respondent to an answer ??? use emotional appeals OHT 8. 7 ATTITUDE MEASUREMENTS

The interviewer needs knowledge of the product, industry and human behaviour. People are usually paid to participate. On-line Surveys ??? Using e-mail, HTML-coded web forms etc allow fast, inexpensive results, but again limits apply regarding response profiles, accuracy etc. OHT 13. 1 TEST MARKETING Three reasons to use test marketing: 1. test the reactions of the marketplace to a new product 2. evaluate alternative marketing mixes for new or existing products 3. gain more information or experience before launching the product nationally or internationally. OHT 13. 2 Advantages ??? Minimises losses ??? Ensure new product doesn’t cannibalise sales of existing products Very accurate with high external validity ??? Ultimate way to test a new product ??? Allows for pre-testing ??? Able to accurately predict product performance Disadvantages ??? High costs ??? Alerts competitors ??? Does not guarantee success ??? Alerts to more problems ??? Infallibility OHT 13. 3 GUIDELINES TO TEST MARKETING ??? Test only products with a good chance of success ??? Set a test period (10-12 months) ??? Minimum 2 cities (geographical areas) and 4 cities for a national launch ??? Do store audits for: Quantity Who purchases Resources ??? Test marketing acceptance by copying the promotional mix: Price levels Promotional effectiveness Discounts & samples Advertising

Packaging ??? Minimise losses OHT 13. 4 TEST MARKETING SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR: ??? faddish products ??? easy to copy products ??? expensive products ??? products with a low failure rate ??? extra assurance ??? competitor’s influence ??? similar products. OHT 13. 5 VARIOUS TYPES OF TEST MARKETING Standard test marketing ??? test the product and the marketing mix Controlled test marketing ??? conducted externally by research firms Electronic test marketing ??? panel of consumers agrees to carry an identification card, which they present and have scanned whenever they purchase goods or services Simulated test marketing (STM) ??? a fast, inexpensive and confidential method: