MANAGEMENT DECISION AND MARKETING RESEARCH PROBLEMManagement decision problem asks what the management needs to do whereas marketing research problem asks what information is needed and how it can be best obtained. Research can provide the necessary information to make sound decision . Management decision problem is action oriented. It is concerned with the possible action that the management can take . How should the loss in market share may be gained ? Should the market be segmented differently ?should a new product may be introduced . In contrast marketing research problem is information oriented . It involves what information is needed and how that information can be obtained effectively and efficiently.

Consider for example the loss of market share for a particular product line . The management decision problem is how to recover this loss. Alternative courses of action include modifying existing products , introducing new products , changing other elements in the marketing mix and segmenting the market . Suppose the management and the researcher believes that the problem is due to inappropriate segmentation of the market and want researcher to provide information on this issue . The research problem would then become the identification and evaluation of an alternative basis for segmenting the market .

Management decision problem ask what the decision maker needs to do action oriented focus on symptoms

Marketing research problem ask what information is needed and how it can be obtained . Information oriented focus on the underlying causes.

Management decision problem

Marketing research problem

Should a new product be introduced. Should the advertising compaign should be changed Should the price of brand be increased .

To determine consumer preferences and purchase intentions for the proposed new product . To determine the effectiveness of the current advertising compaign . To determine the price elasticity of demand and the impact onsales and profits on various level of price changes .

QUALITATIVE RESEARCHIt is unstructured exploratory in nature , exploratory in nature , based on small samples and may utilize popular qualitative techniques such as focus groups( group interview ), word association ( asking respondents to indicate their first responses to stimulus words ), depth interviews (one on one interviews that probe the respondents ' thoughts in detail . Other exploratory research techniques such as pilot surveys and case studies may also be undertaken to gain insights into the phenomenon of interest . Pilot surveys tend to be less structured than large scale surveys in that they generally contain more open ended questions and the sample size is much smaller . Case studies involve an intensive examination of few selected cases of the phenomenon of interest

CLASSIFICATION OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PROCEDURE

Direct approach it is not disguised . The purpose of the research is not disclosed to the respondents or is otherwise obvious to them from the questions asked . Focus group and depth interviews are the mazor direct techniques . Indirect approach it disguises the true purpose of the report .projective techniques the commonly used indirect techniques , consist of association , completion , construction and expressive techniques .

FOCUS GROUP

The main purpose of focus group is to gain insights by listening to a group of people from the appropriate target market talk about issues of interest to the researcher . Focus groups are the most important qualitative research procedure . They are so popular that many market research practitioners considers this technique synonymous with qualitative research .

DEPTH INTERVIEW

Depth interviews are another method of obtaining qualitative data .Like focus groups , depth interviews are an unstructured and direct way of obtaining information but unlike focus groups depth interviews are conducted on one to one basis . A depth interview is an unstructured , direct personal interview in which a single respondent is probed by a highly skilled interviewer to uncover underlying motivation , attitudes , feeling on a topic .

EXPLORATORY RESEARCHThe primary objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into , and understanding of the problem confronting the researcher . Exploratory research is used in cases when you must define the problem , identify relevant courses of action , or gain additional insights before an approach can be developed . The information needed is loosely defined at this stage , and the research process that is adopted is flexible and unstructured. tThe findings of exploratory research should be regarded as tentative or as input to further research . As the name implies , the objective of exploratory research is to explore or search through a problem or situation to provide insights and understanding .

Exploratory research can be used for any of following

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely . Identify alternative courses of action. Develop hypothesis . Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination . Gain insights for developing approach to the problem. Establish priorities fot further research .

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCHAs the name implies , the major objective of descriptive research is to describe something usually market characteristics or functions . Descriptive research is cconducted for the following reasons :

To describe the characteristics of relevent groups , such as consumers , salesperson , organisation or market areas .For ex we could develop a profile of the heavy users (frequent shoppers ) of prestigious department stores . To estimate the percentage of units in a specified population exhibiting a certain behaviour .For ex we might be interested in estimating the percentage of heavy users of department stores who also patronize discount department stores . Todetermine the perception of product characteristics . For ex how do households perceive the various department stores in terms of the salient features of choice criteria .

To determine the extent to which market variables are associated . For ex , to what extent is shopping at department stores related to eating out .

TYPE OF DESCRIPTIVE DESIGN

The cross sectional study is the most frequently used descriptive design in marketing research . Cross sectional design involves the collection of information from any sample of population elements only once . They me be either single cross sectional or multiple cross sectional . In single cross sectional designs only one sample of respondents is drawn from the target population ,and the information is obtained from this sample only once. In multiple cross sectional design there are two or more samples of respondents and information from each sample is obtained only once . Often information from different samples is obtained at different times over long intervals .

LONGITUDINAL DESIGN

In it a fixed sample of population elements is measured repeatedly on the same variables. A longitudinal design differs from a cross sectional design in that sample or samples remain same over time. In other words , the same people are studied are over time and same variables are measured . In contrast to the typical cross sectional design , which gives a snapshot of the variables of interest at a single point in time , a longitudinal study provides a series of pictures that give in depth view of the situation and the changes that takes place over time .

GENERAL QUESTIONS

What type of research should be undertaken ?

Exploratory research should be undertaken which will define the problem more precisely ,identify the relevent courses of action or. for gaining additional insight before an approach can be developed . Descriptive research in the form of single cross sectional design will quantify the findings of exploratory research. The objective of descriptive research is to test specific hypothesis and examine specific relationships.

How can qualitative research be used to strengthen the image ? What type of qualitative technique should be used.

Qualitative research provides a beter understanding of the problem and helps to define the problem more precisely and accurately . It provides better insight into the problem and know the key variables surrounding the issue. Focus group and in depth interviews are the most familiar techniques used.Focus group provide insights by listening to the group of people from appropriate target market . In depth interview helps to gain the key answers from the respondents who are interviewed .

EX OF LIKERT , DIFFERENTIAL, SEMANTIC SCALELikert Scale: Disagree Strongly Neutral AgreeAgree Strongly Disagree

Nike running shoes are durable. 1 2 3 4 5

Semantic Differential Scale: Durable _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Not durable

Stapel Scale: Nike running shoes +5 -1 +4 +3

Durability -1 -2 -3

Marketing research problem an example The marketing research problem is to determine consumer preferences for skin care products. More specifically: What criteria do consumers use for evaluating skin care products? How do consumers evaluate the various brands of skin care products in terms of the choice criteria? What is the demographic and psychographic profile of customers loyal to Nivea in the U.S. market? What characteristics differentiate Nivea loyalists from consumers loyal to other brands?

Research design to be adopted ? Example Exploratory research followed by descriptive research would be the most appropriate research design for understanding consumer preferences for skin care products. Exploratory research will provide insights into how consumers select and use skin care products. Descriptive research in the form of a single cross-sectional survey will quantify the findings of exploratory research and allow the researcher to test specific hypotheses.

MALL INTERCEPT PERSONAL INTERVIEW

In mall intercept personal interviews repondents are intercepted while they are shopping in malls and bought to test facilities in the malls . The interviewer then administers questionnare as in the in- home personal survey. The advantage of mall intercept interviews is that it is more efficient for respondents to come to the interviewer than for the interviewer to go to respondents .mall intercepts are especially appropriate when the respondents need to see , handle or consume the product before they can provide meaningful information

How internet can be used as a valuable source of information ?The Internet can be a valuable source of information. One can visit the Websites relating to the issue and sites providing infornation about other competitors. One can also use the various search engines to locate other sites with valuable information. Several of the Internet databases can be searched using appropriate key words. Finally, one can visit newsgroups and chatgroups to collect more information.

What research design would be appropriate for monitoring changing needs and preferences ?

When needs are changing, an exploratory design is appropriate since little is known about their new needs. From the results of this study, a clear statement of the problem, specific hypotheses, and detailed information needs can be devised. Then, a descriptive approach can be applied to test particular hypotheses about the new needs and their effect on consumer preferences. Given the need to monitor changing needs, a longitudinal design should be used.

What type of research design would be most appropriate for segmenting the market and why ( ex hotel market)?An exploratory phase followed by a descriptive phase is recommended. The exploratory phase will consist of focus groups to determine consumers perceptions, preferences, and the benefits that they seek from hotels. These findings will be used to construct a questionnaire that will be administered in a single cross-sectional descriptive design. Since only a snapshot of the market is needed, a single cross-sectional design is appropriate.

If a survey is to be conducted to understand the preferences of american consumers for skin care product , which survey should be used and why ?Mallinterceptinterviewswouldbethemostusefulsurveymethod inunderstandingconsumerspreferencesforskincare.Thiswould allowforahighflexibilityandcontrolofdatacollection,andgood diversityofquestions.Itwouldbequickandhaveahighresponse rate.Theonlydrawbackwouldbetheprobablehighcostsof

conductingsuchasurvey.

EXAMPLE OF LIKERT , SEMANTIC AND DIFFERENTIAL SCALE NIVEA Likert Scale: Strongly Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree

Foreign skin care products: (a)Are of a high quality (b)Priced fairly compared to domestic products

1 2 1 2

3 3

4 5 4 5

Stapel Scale: Foreign skin care products are:

+5 +4 +3 +2 +1 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5

+5 +4 +3 +2 +1 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5

High quality Fairly price compared to domestic products

Semantic Differential Scale:

Foreign skin care products are: High quality -- -- -- -- -- -- -Low quality Not priced fairly Priced fairly compared To domestic products -- -- -- -- -- -- -compared to domestic products

NIKE SAMPLING PLANDevelop sampling plan for survey of consumers of athletic brand? Target population: Mall shoppers in the United States in the current year Sampling frame: List of Malls in the US Sampling unit: Mall Shoppers Sampling technique: Judgmental sampling Sample size: 1000 Execution: Judgmentally select a set of shopping malls across the United States. Interview shoppers using the mall-intercept method.

SAMPLING PLAN FOR NIVEATarget population: American consumers Sampling frame: People at malls across the U.S. Sampling unit: Individual consumers at malls Sampling technique: Quota sampling Sample size: 1000 Execution: Select specific shopping malls based on the judgment of the researcher. Set quotas by age and gender. Use quota sampling to select mall patrons and interview them.

SURVEY TO BE ADMINISTERED BY NIVEA

A mall-intercept survey can be used to determine if Nike should invest by opening more upscale company retail outlets such as Nike Town. Mall shoppers can be regarded as representative of Nikes target consumers for regular Nike shops as well as the upscale Nike

Town.

MARKETING RESEARCH PROBLEM NIKEMarketing Research Problem: The marketing research problem is to determine consumer preferences for athletic shoes. More specifically, a. What criteria do consumers use for evaluating athletic shoes? b. How do consumers evaluate the various brands of athletic shoes in terms of the choice criteria? c. Are the consumers willing to pay a premium price for high performance shoes? d. What is the demographic and psychographic profile of customers loyal to Nike? What demographic, psychographic, and product usage characteristics differentiate Nike loyalists from consumers loyal to other brands?

RESEARCH DESIGN USED BY INTELDuetothenatureofthequestion,exploratoryresearchshouldbe conductedfirst.Exploratoryresearchwillprovideinsightand understandingintotheproblem.ThistypeofresearchwillhelpIntel gainabetterunderstandingofhowconsumersandbusinessesselect PCsandnetworkcommunicationproductsTheexploratoryphase shouldbefollowedbydescriptiveresearchintheformofasingle crosssectionalsurveythatwillquantifythefindingsofexploratory researchandenableInteltotestspecifichypotheses.

USE OF INTERNET The Internet is a large source of secondary data. Information can be found through search engines or traditional suppliers of secondary data. Both industry and company data can be obtained through various sources and databases found over the internet.

QUALITATIV RESEARCH FOR INTEL Role of qualitative esearch in how business select pc and netork communication product?Qualitativeresearchwouldbeusedtodefinetheproblemand developanapproach.Intelwouldusethisresearchtogenerate hypothesesanddevelopaninitialunderstandingofhow businessesselectPCandnetworkcommunicationsproducts.Both depthinterviewsandfocusgroupswouldbeappropriate qualitativeresearchtechniquesinthiscase.

Survey is to be conducted to business selection criteria for choosing pc and network communiacation product ?The most appropriate survey method to determine selection criterion used by businesses for choosing PC and network communications would be an Internet based survey. Virtually all businesses in the US have access to the Internet. This technique would be preferred based on diversity of questions, flexibility of data collection, control of the field force, perceived anonymity, obtaining sensitive information, speed, and cost.

SAMPLING PLAN FOR INTELTarget population: Business executives/decision makers. Sampling frame: List of businesses in the US with more than 100 employees requiring PC or communications networks during the survey period. Sampling unit: Businesses on the list and decision makers within the business. Sampling technique: Stratified sampling by business size and industry. Sample size: 1000 Execution: Stratify the businesses by business size and industry. Within each stratum select the businesses by simple random sampling. E-mail an invitation to the businesses selected to participate in the survey providing the relevant URL and the password.