Marketing research methods: exploratory, descriptive, and causal approaches

Marketing Research Process and Research Methods

The four steps in the marketing research process are designed to capture the information and insights needed to make better strategic and tactical decisions, gain greater intelligence on customer needs, and ultimately create greater value for a company. The four stages of the market research process are defined in this analysis with their applicability for given strategic decisions and trade-offs also discussed. The three dominant research methods including causal, exploratory and descriptive research are also analyzed from the standpoint of their applicability to specific types of decisions. Both of these concepts of the marketing research process and research methods fit into the broader definition of marketing research as defined in the text. The authors state that marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation facing an organization. This paper will also illustrate how these concepts fit into the author's definition of marketing research.

Analysis of the Marketing Research Process

In totality, the four steps of the marketing research process are designed to accurately and completely capture the information needs of a business and define a methodology that will lead to reliable analysis which can be used for effective decision-making. The four steps of the marketing research process also are designed to be flexible enough to take into account a wide variation in information needs within a business, yet structured and organized enough to drive accuracy, statistical reliability and usability of results. The level of statistical accuracy and reliability will be dictated to a large extent by the methodology decisions made during the second step of the marketing research process. Many companies will sacrifice a level of statistical precision in terms of extrapolating their results across broad populations of users, as cost and time constraints for making a decision based on research results drive greater urgency into the process. Each of the steps in the marketing research process are briefly defined and assessed next.

The first phase of the marketing research process is defining the problem and research objectives. This is the most critical step in the process as it sets the direction, scope and approaches to measuring progress and completion of the research project. The most critical aspect of this first step is translating business problems and information needs into research goals and objectives that can deliver information needed to drive better decisions. The time spent translating business problems to research objectives is well-spent during this phase, as that will often make the difference between the research project being successful or not. Another decision made during this first phase or step of the process is what the methodology will be, how much the company can afford to spent in terms of dollars and time to get the information they need.

The second step in the market research process is developing a research plan and collecting information. This is where the research objectives are translated into a plan with dates, resources and costs assigned to each step. The research plan will also add a very detailed level of steps and planning, including process and action dependencies to make the methodology achievable in the timeframes needed. This step is also one where there is often a fair degree of debate between market research departments and business departments needing the information for a project or to make a decision. It is common for insights found during this phase to also force a re-evaluation of problems and research objectives as well, as marketing research and business unit managers debate what is achievable in the cost and timeframes of the study. Once the research plan is defined the next step begins, which is implementing the research plan.

The third phase or step of the market research process is getting the research plan done, and this often includes several phases of collecting secondary data in addition to interviewing respondents and completing surveys. This step can vary from a very simple series of interviews if the decision makers are content with a convenience sample or just getting an overview of an issue. Conversely this phase can include interviewing thousands of respondents, as consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers incouding Procter & Gamble routinely do when launching a new product or repositioning an existing one. This is a phase where the research objectives begin to get accomplished and primarily results begin to show if the insights needed will be obtained. This is also the phase or step where additional studies are defined and entire new research processes are also begun. Line-of-business managers will often preview initial results and see if their assumptions about a given issue or right or not, and will also drive for quicker completion of results once data arrives in. This is a period of the research process that must be executed with a very high level of precision to ensure results are reliable and usable to attain the initial objectives the study was designed to achieve. Often line-of-business managers get impatient during this phase to get to the final step in the market research, which is interpreting and reporting research findings.

The final of the four steps is the interpreting and reporting of research findings. This is where the results are aggregated, analyzed and presented to the line-of-business managers and leaders for their use in making decisions on strategies and programs. Often market researchers will use statistical analysis programs including SAS and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) a suite of software applications IBM offers for advanced statistical analysis. Often the research project director will create a formalized report and include a PowerPoint slide deck to illustrate the key findings and insights of the study. The findings are handed over to the line-of-business managers and directors, who use the data and intelligence to make their decisions regarding strategy and product direction.

Analysis of Research Methods

The authors of our text mention three dominant types of research methods. Causal, exploratory and descriptive research methods are most often used in research project, defined during the first phase of setting research objectives. Exploratory research is defined as the gathering and analysis of preliminary information that will help define an initial problem and suggest hypotheses for further research. Exploratory research is invaluable in gaining greater insights into the key factors that long-term research needs to concentrate on, specifically the areas of hypothesis definition and testing. An example of exploratory research would be Google testing their Google instant search results and the launch of Google+ for example. Initially the exploratory research concentrated on the navigational and usability issues of the new instant search function and the approach to defining circles on Google+.