Marketing – 7/23/2008

In this class so far, among other things, we’ve discussed what marketing actually is and four areas that we can manipulate in order to “maximize shareholder wealth” (isn’t that the whole point of business?).

That’s all well and good, but how we know which of the 4Ps to change and how to change them?  The answer lies in market research, which was the topic of chapter four, and of today’s discussion.

In researching, the first thing we must do is define the problem we’d like to solve.  Next, we have a couple of options: what kind of research do we need to get — primary or secondary?  Secondary research involves taking results from research that has already been performed to solve a separate problem than the one you’re working on.  We can get secondary research from individual data providers (more often than not on the web) and from our own past research projects.  The downside to this method is that the research is by definition older and may not exactly fit the exact problem that you have to solve.

Primary research, on the other hand, is designed to solve the specific problem that you have.  While it does cost more and takes longer (due to information gathering), it has the distinct advantage of being well, relevant.  We discussed several methods of gathering primary information, including focus groups, interviews, surveys, etc.

Just as a reminder, we will be having a checkpoint exam on August 13 which will cover the first six chapters of the book.  Make sure you study past quizzes, handouts and, of course, the text.

Homework:

• Chapter 4: Company Case