A Desiscion-Making Perspective on Marketing research - Successful Marketing Research: Some Guidelines
A Desiscion-Making Perspective on Marketing research - Successful Marketing Research: Some Guidelines
All marketing decisions involve uncertainty, both in the information on which they are based and the forecasts of the consequences. We have emphasized—and will emphasize throughout this book—that successful marketing research is decision oriented. This means, first, that marketing research should be undertaken only when the results will reduce uncertainty and influence decisions. Indeed, there is no point in doing research if the decision maker isn't in a position to alter anything. More specifically, marketing research will make a contribution when it is relevant to current or anticipated decisions, timely, efficient, and accurate. At all times the research must maintain high ethical standards.
Relevant Research
Research should not be conducted to satisfy curiosity or confirm the wisdom of previous decisions. Relevance comes through support of strategic and tactical planning activities, that is, by anticipating the kinds of information that will be required. This information is the backbone of the ongoing information system. As new circumstances arise and decision alternatives become more specific, research projects may be undertaken. Throughout the planning of these projects the focus must be constantly toward decisions.
Timely Research
Research decisions are constrained by the march of events. Often these decisions are fixed in time and must be taken according to a specified schedule, using whatever information is available. If a new product is to be launched in the spring, all the research-based decisions on price, product formulation, name, copy appeals, and other components must be conducted far in advance. One role of the planning system is to schedule needed market research so that it can be conducted in time to influence decisions. The formulation of responses to competitive actions puts the greatest time pressure on researchers, for the results are always wanted "yesterday." There are, of course, many situations where the timing of decisions is contingent upon the research results. Even so, there is still time pressure stemming from the recognition that failure to take corrective action or pursue an opportunity as quickly as possible will result in opportunity costs.
efficient Research
There are two senses in which marketing research must be efficient. The first asks: What is the maximum quality of information the researcher can provide with the minimum expenditure of time and money? Most often this question is phrased in terms of the consequences of a reduced expenditure on research. The second asks: Is the research study appropriate to the decision context? The study should be expensive and elaborate only if the decision is important and the research information will be helpful and timely. Sometimes the conclusion is that the research is not justifiable, although it clearly can contribute to the decision. In such a case, the costs of a minimally acceptable study exceed the foreseeable benefits of increased revenue and profits, improved client satisfaction, or other performance criteria. The dictates of efficiency also influence the kind of research that is done. One well-known policy researcher advocates "... research designs and research procedures that give good results with high probability, rather than more sophisticated approaches that give excellent results if they are correct, but may be very inaccurate if some of their assumptions are not met."4
Accurate Research
Relevance, timing, and efficiency requirements should not compromise the accuracy of the results. Throughout this book we will discuss a variety of
4James S., Coleman, Policy Research in the Social Sciences (Morrlstown, NJ: General Learning Press, 1972), p. 24.
methods and procedures that will help ensure accuracy. Despite careful research design it is inevitable that biases will arise due to question wording or interpretation, the sampling plan, and other elements of the research design. One way to reduce bias is to use more than one approach to address a research problem. If several approaches with different kinds of biases yield similar conclusions, the accuracy will be enhanced.
Ethical Research
Researchers have responsibilities to their profession, clients, and respondents that must adhere to high ethical standards to ensure both the function and the information are not brought into disrepute. Suppliers of research are ethically obligated to provide unbiased designs and honest and objective fieldwork, regardless of the clients' expectations about the desired outcomes. They are also held responsible for ensuring that the information they obtain for their clients is held confidential. To keep the trust of the respondents who provide the information, researchers must respect their rights of anonymity (they are not identified with their answers), and privacy (they can elect to refuse to participate in a study).
Barriers to Effective Utilization
In spite of the rapid growth of marketing research, many companies fail to use it effectively. There are a number of reasons why it is not fully accepted.
• A narrow conception of research. Too often marketing research is equated with narrow fact-finding or scorekeeping activities. The researchers are given a limited appreciation of the need for research, or the alternatives being considered. Consequently, the research that is produced is of little use because it fails to address the real management need. This simply reinforces the bias that management has toward the value of research.
• Intellectual differences. Too often researchers are oriented toward research methods that are abstract, complex, and difficult to understand. When they report the results, the findings are carefully hedged and qualified. What managers want are clean-cut results that can be readily applied to an immediate decision. One result of these differences is that marketing researchers are excluded from the management team, and thus lack a full understanding of the strategic issues that could be resolved with research.
• Uneven competency of researchers. Marketing research is a creative activity that draws on a wide array of skills. When poorly qualified researchers are hired, the weaknesses in their training and lack of insight produces unimpressive results. This further confirms management's prejudice about the limited value of research. The problem is compounded when this prejudice extends to continued hiring at low salaries on the ground that it is not worth spending more. More enlightened companies find that it is worth paying a premium to get high-quality, decision-relevant research.
All marketing decisions involve uncertainty, both in the information on which they are based and the forecasts of the consequences. We have emphasized—and will emphasize throughout this book—that successful marketing research is decision oriented. This means, first, that marketing research should be undertaken only when the results will reduce uncertainty and influence decisions. Indeed, there is no point in doing research if the decision maker isn't in a position to alter anything. More specifically, marketing research will make a contribution when it is relevant to current or anticipated decisions, timely, efficient, and accurate. At all times the research must maintain high ethical standards.
Relevant Research
Research should not be conducted to satisfy curiosity or confirm the wisdom of previous decisions. Relevance comes through support of strategic and tactical planning activities, that is, by anticipating the kinds of information that will be required. This information is the backbone of the ongoing information system. As new circumstances arise and decision alternatives become more specific, research projects may be undertaken. Throughout the planning of these projects the focus must be constantly toward decisions.
Timely Research
Research decisions are constrained by the march of events. Often these decisions are fixed in time and must be taken according to a specified schedule, using whatever information is available. If a new product is to be launched in the spring, all the research-based decisions on price, product formulation, name, copy appeals, and other components must be conducted far in advance. One role of the planning system is to schedule needed market research so that it can be conducted in time to influence decisions. The formulation of responses to competitive actions puts the greatest time pressure on researchers, for the results are always wanted "yesterday." There are, of course, many situations where the timing of decisions is contingent upon the research results. Even so, there is still time pressure stemming from the recognition that failure to take corrective action or pursue an opportunity as quickly as possible will result in opportunity costs.
efficient Research
There are two senses in which marketing research must be efficient. The first asks: What is the maximum quality of information the researcher can provide with the minimum expenditure of time and money? Most often this question is phrased in terms of the consequences of a reduced expenditure on research. The second asks: Is the research study appropriate to the decision context? The study should be expensive and elaborate only if the decision is important and the research information will be helpful and timely. Sometimes the conclusion is that the research is not justifiable, although it clearly can contribute to the decision. In such a case, the costs of a minimally acceptable study exceed the foreseeable benefits of increased revenue and profits, improved client satisfaction, or other performance criteria. The dictates of efficiency also influence the kind of research that is done. One well-known policy researcher advocates "... research designs and research procedures that give good results with high probability, rather than more sophisticated approaches that give excellent results if they are correct, but may be very inaccurate if some of their assumptions are not met."4
Accurate Research
Relevance, timing, and efficiency requirements should not compromise the accuracy of the results. Throughout this book we will discuss a variety of
4James S., Coleman, Policy Research in the Social Sciences (Morrlstown, NJ: General Learning Press, 1972), p. 24.
methods and procedures that will help ensure accuracy. Despite careful research design it is inevitable that biases will arise due to question wording or interpretation, the sampling plan, and other elements of the research design. One way to reduce bias is to use more than one approach to address a research problem. If several approaches with different kinds of biases yield similar conclusions, the accuracy will be enhanced.
Ethical Research
Researchers have responsibilities to their profession, clients, and respondents that must adhere to high ethical standards to ensure both the function and the information are not brought into disrepute. Suppliers of research are ethically obligated to provide unbiased designs and honest and objective fieldwork, regardless of the clients' expectations about the desired outcomes. They are also held responsible for ensuring that the information they obtain for their clients is held confidential. To keep the trust of the respondents who provide the information, researchers must respect their rights of anonymity (they are not identified with their answers), and privacy (they can elect to refuse to participate in a study).
Barriers to Effective Utilization
In spite of the rapid growth of marketing research, many companies fail to use it effectively. There are a number of reasons why it is not fully accepted.
• A narrow conception of research. Too often marketing research is equated with narrow fact-finding or scorekeeping activities. The researchers are given a limited appreciation of the need for research, or the alternatives being considered. Consequently, the research that is produced is of little use because it fails to address the real management need. This simply reinforces the bias that management has toward the value of research.
• Intellectual differences. Too often researchers are oriented toward research methods that are abstract, complex, and difficult to understand. When they report the results, the findings are carefully hedged and qualified. What managers want are clean-cut results that can be readily applied to an immediate decision. One result of these differences is that marketing researchers are excluded from the management team, and thus lack a full understanding of the strategic issues that could be resolved with research.
• Uneven competency of researchers. Marketing research is a creative activity that draws on a wide array of skills. When poorly qualified researchers are hired, the weaknesses in their training and lack of insight produces unimpressive results. This further confirms management's prejudice about the limited value of research. The problem is compounded when this prejudice extends to continued hiring at low salaries on the ground that it is not worth spending more. More enlightened companies find that it is worth paying a premium to get high-quality, decision-relevant research.
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