Methods of collecting information in marketing research. Basic types, principles and stages of collecting marketing information

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To make marketing decisions at any level of a company, information is needed. The necessary information can be obtained through market (marketing) research. Companies operating on the principles of marketing regularly conduct such studies. They can be carried out either independently - by the company's marketing department, or with the help of third-party companies specializing in marketing research. And if in the early 90s. XX century To succeed in the market, observation and common sense were enough, since the market was almost empty, but now the situation is different. Markets have become more saturated, and for successful development It is not enough for executives and company management to rely on intuition - they need objective marketing data that can be obtained as a result of marketing research.

Marketing research is the collection, processing and analysis of information for making marketing decisions.

Reasons for conducting marketing research: introducing a new product to the market, searching for new markets for existing products, determining the motives of consumer behavior, tracking the activities of competitors, developing an advertising campaign.

Main types of marketing research (Fig. 2):

• * permanent and one-time;
• * panel;
• * qualitative and quantitative;
• * exploratory, descriptive and causal;
• * office and field.

Fig.2

Constant (regular) research - collection and analysis of data occurs regularly on the same range of issues. This questionnaire is offered to a group of respondents, the composition of which can be either constant or changing.

One-time studies are studies that are carried out when a problem arises; such a study is planned anew each time.

Panel studies are conducted on the basis of a panel - a group of individual consumers or companies that retains all the properties of a larger population and whose members regularly supply information. The most famous panel research firms in the world are Attwood and Nielsen.

Qualitative research is research that aims to explain observed phenomena. Qualitative research can help determine what motivates consumers, how they make decisions, and based on what considerations. As a result of such studies, hypotheses are put forward, which are then tested using quantitative methods analysis. Examples of qualitative research are individual interviews, group discussions (focus groups), expert assessments(Delphi method).

Quantitative research is carried out to obtain and analyze reliable statistical data. These studies provide an opportunity to test the accuracy of hypotheses developed during qualitative research.

Exploratory (probing) research is aimed at searching for preliminary hypotheses, explanations of the problem (situation) that has arisen, or searching for ideas. They are carried out using qualitative analysis techniques, such as personal interviews with individuals related to the issue and with experts.

Descriptive (discrete) research is a characterization of a situation based on the collection and recording of data. An example is the research conducted by Goskomstat.

Causal research aims to find a cause-and-effect relationship between variables and thus makes it possible to find optimal solution Problems.

Desk research is carried out based on secondary data analysis. Secondary data is data from official sources, publications, statistical reference books, i.e. information that was collected by someone for their own purposes, and it can be useful for solving this specific marketing problem. The purpose of such research is to obtain information about the main trends and processes taking place in the market.

Sources of secondary data (Fig. 3)

Rice. 3

Field research - collection and analysis of primary information.

Primary information is information that is collected during the research process to solve a specific marketing problem using certain methods.

Methods for collecting primary information (Fig. 4)

Fig.4

Observation is a method whose main purpose is to study consumer behavior without coming into direct contact with them. There is only a recording of events without explaining the reasons for what is happening.

An experiment is used in cases where the result is influenced by several variables. Its purpose is to determine the extent to which one variable influences an outcome by changing it while holding other variables constant. You can also study the influence of advertising on the effectiveness of sales promotion activities, prices on the sales volume of a product, brand on the perception of product quality, etc.

Survey (questioning) is a special procedure that allows you to obtain data by asking individuals (respondents) about their intentions, attitudes, awareness, consumption habits, etc. A survey can be complete or selective - when not all consumers of the general market participate in it totality. A sample is a certain number of representatives of the general population participating in the survey, and their composition should reflect all the main characteristics of the general population. The following survey methods are distinguished:

• * personal interviews - oral surveys, usually conducted using questionnaires at pre-prepared addresses. This method is characterized by a low failure rate. Disadvantages include the significant cost of personal interviews, as well as the risk that the respondent will fall under the influence of the interviewer;
• * mail survey is a fairly cheap way of obtaining information that allows you to cover quite a large number of respondents, and there is no influence of the interviewer. However, the percentage of questionnaires returned is very low (does not exceed 10-15%). This method also includes the registration of returned coupons placed in advertisements, on leaflets, on packaging and on instructions for using the product;
• * telephone survey is an inexpensive and quick way to conduct surveys. This method is characterized by a low failure rate (about 10-20%). Its disadvantage is that the interviewer can only ask a small number of questions, which should be direct and simple. In addition, a telephone sample may not be representative enough (it may be dominated by certain population groups), which will distort the survey results.

Market Research Process

The research includes the following stages:

Formulation of the problem. At this stage, the problem to be solved by the research is formulated and the objectives of the research are established. The goal is to define as clearly as possible what information is needed to solve a marketing problem.

Drawing up a research plan. The research plan must specify methods, procedures for collecting and analyzing information. The plan must contain the goals and objectives of the study, sources of information, research tools, sampling methodology, research schedule and cost estimate.

Collection of information. Once the research plan is approved, information collection begins. The company can do this on its own or outsource it to a specialized research firm. This stage may contain two stages: at the first, the correctness of the selected data collection methods is checked on a small sample, at the second, information is collected from the entire sample.

Data processing and reporting. The data obtained during the study is processed and analyzed. The result of this analysis is the writing of a research report in which conclusions and recommendations are made to enable management decisions to be made.

Principles of conducting marketing research (Fig. 5):

• 1 Objectivity - consists of the need to take into account all factors and the inadmissibility of adopting a certain point of view before the analysis of all collected information has been completed.
• 2 Accuracy - implies clarity in setting the tasks to which the research is subject, unambiguity in their understanding and interpretation, as well as the choice of research tools that ensure the necessary reliability of the research results.
• 3 Thoroughness is a principle consisting of detailed planning of each stage of the study, high quality execution of all research operations, which is achieved due to the high level of professionalism and responsibility of the research team, as well as effective system control of its work.

Fig.5

The marketing research system systematically determines the range of data required in connection with the marketing task facing the company, collects it, analyzes it, and reports the results.

The scope of marketing research is constantly expanding and covers the following areas:

study of market capacity, distribution of its shares between competing firms;

income level of the population;

consumer behavior and motivations;

studying price policy and pricing;

analysis of business activity.

Marketing research also includes the main trends in socio-economic development, the study of competitors' products, the study of advertising and its effectiveness, etc. Currently, up to 100 possible areas of marketing research are named.

The very definition of a “marketing research system” emphasizes its systematic, rather than random or unrelated nature, including a set of activities for collecting data, recording it and analyzing it. Data can come from anywhere various sources: from the company itself; independent organizations or research professionals working both within and outside the firm.

Stages of collecting marketing information.

Typically, managers who resort to marketing research must be well aware of the technology for conducting such research. In the very general view Marketing research includes four main stages:

Identifying problems and formulating goals. This is a very important stage for all marketing research. Firstly, the market can be studied using hundreds of different parameters, and therefore it is necessary to clearly define their number in order to limit ourselves to the actual scope of work. Secondly, collecting information is quite an expensive task, and inaccurate formulation of the problem will lead to large unproductive costs. Thirdly, a vaguely formulated problem will not allow you to correctly determine the goals of the study.

The objectives of marketing research (Fig. 6) can be divided into three groups:

search - involve the collection of any preliminary data that helps clarify the problem and develop a number of working hypotheses;

descriptive - provide a description of individual phenomena and facts;

experimental - involve testing working hypotheses, for example, about the presence and forms of cause-and-effect relationships between the demand for goods, the characteristics of the product and the consumer himself.

Fig.6

Selection of information sources. All marketing information can be divided into primary and secondary.

Primary information is information obtained for the first time to solve a specific problem.

Secondary information is information that has already been collected by someone for other purposes and which may be useful for solving a given problem.

Any marketing research should begin with the selection of secondary information. It often turns out that much of the necessary information is already available to the researcher. According to some estimates, in 17 out of 20 cases, secondary information is quite enough to make a qualified decision. Naturally, the selection of secondary information is much cheaper.

Collection of primary information. This stage occurs when secondary information is insufficient. Obtaining primary information is a kind of aerobatics in marketing. This especially applies to the conditions in our country, where it is extremely difficult to gain access to company and industry information, there is no developed marketing infrastructure, a marketing culture has not been instilled, and the vast majority of manufacturing and commercial enterprises have not accumulated experience in using marketing.

Having decided on the research methods, it is necessary to select the appropriate research instrument. There are two types of weapons: mechanical devices(various types of fixing devices) and questionnaires.

One of the most effective research tools is a questionnaire. This is not just a list of questions, but a very subtle and flexible tool that requires careful study, during which it is necessary to determine:

• - what information needs to be obtained;
• - type of questionnaire and method of action;
• - content of each question;
• - sequence of questions.

Typically, drawing up a questionnaire requires a fairly high level of qualifications. The most common mistakes found in questionnaires are the formulation of questions that are difficult to answer or one does not want to answer, or the absence of questions that should definitely be answered. The questionnaire writer should use simple, unambiguous words that do not contain leading elements. It is very important to correctly sequence the questions. The first question should arouse the interest of the interviewee. Difficult or personal questions should be asked at the end of the questionnaire.

The text of the questionnaire should consist of four blocks: preamble, passport, “fish” and detector.

The preamble states the purpose of the study and who is conducting it, emphasizes the anonymity of the survey and, if necessary, provides instructions for filling out the questionnaire. When conducting a personal survey, the preamble is removed; in this case, the interviewer must voice it personally.

The passport consists of questions designed to characterize the person being interviewed. Usually this includes questions about age, gender, marital status, education, profession, income, etc. The passport is placed either at the beginning of the questionnaire (after the preamble) or at the very end.

The fish is the main part of the questionnaire, which includes the questions for which the research is being conducted.

The detector includes questions designed to check the attentiveness of filling out the questionnaire, the frankness of the respondents, as well as the integrity and professionalism of the interviewers.

If there is complete trust between customers, researchers and interviewers, you can do without a detector.

The great variety of questions asked in questionnaires can be divided into two large classes: closed and open.

Closed questions include everything possible options answers or prompts, from which the respondent must choose the one that most closely matches his opinion on the problem under consideration. In turn, closed questions can be presented in the form of three types: alternative, scale, semantic.

Alternative questions are very easy to use, their interpretation is quite unambiguous and requires an answer of the “yes” or “no” type or the “underline as appropriate” type.

Scale questions presuppose the presence of some kind of rating scale.

A typical example of a semantic question is a semantic differential, the essence of which is to place a scale of one’s assessment between two extreme semantic values ​​in a certain place.

Generalization and interpretation of results. When all the data is collected, it needs to be explained and interpreted. The result of this procedure is a report. A report is a coherent presentation of the research results, which includes an introduction (formulation of hypotheses, goals, objectives, methods), the main part (description of the results obtained and their connection with the hypotheses) and conclusion (brief conclusions that can be drawn based on the data obtained).

After processing the received data, they must be presented in the form of a report of the appropriate form. Depending on the nature of the research conducted, the report may take the form of a summary or other textual material that helps evaluate the results obtained. In all cases, it is necessary to indicate by what method the information was obtained.

The collection of information about the internal and external environment of the organization must be carried out continuously. For this purpose, marketing information and marketing decision support systems should be created. A marketing information system is a permanent system that includes personnel, equipment, procedures and methods for collecting, processing, analyzing, evaluating and distributing relevant and reliable information necessary for preparing and making marketing decisions. A marketing information system transforms data received from external and internal sources into information that is required by enterprise management. The system allows you to determine the information needs for making marketing decisions, obtain it and provide it to managers in a timely manner.

The purpose of the study, which follows from the strategic guidelines of the enterprise’s marketing activities, depends on the general statement of objectives and the actual market situation. A complete marketing research program is not necessary for all cases, especially in the field of small and medium-sized businesses. When developing it, one should proceed from the degree of need for information, the costs of obtaining it and the value for achieving the set goals.

Marketing research is the collection, processing and analysis of data with the aim of reducing the uncertainty associated with making marketing decisions, and, consequently, increasing their economic sustainability. The market, competitors, consumers, prices, and internal potential of enterprises are subject to research.

Information support for marketing research consists of desk and external research and various sources of information available to the enterprise (see data in Table 2). As the results of marketing research are generalized, it is necessary to carry out a series of measures for the creation and operational maintenance of an information base.

Table 2.

Directions and content of market research

An adequate assessment of the importance of marketing in small and medium-sized enterprises is hampered by the widespread opinion among Russian entrepreneurs that marketing, due to its complexity, is possible only at large enterprises. Indeed, serious marketing research, monitoring the market environment, developing forecasts and market experiments require large financial as well as human resources. But leaving marketing inaccessible to all small and medium-sized enterprises means depriving the future of the main link of any normal economy. It is possible to make marketing accessible to small and medium-sized businesses on the basis of partnership, development of an associative type, with the effective support of the Federation and the regions. However, for a long time the state did not make any efforts in this direction, since there was a widespread point of view on marketing as an “intra-company management system.” Such a one-sided understanding of marketing forces us to abandon in marketing all the tools that help a company influence other market actors external to it: competitors, intermediaries, and even the customers themselves. This stereotype easily justifies the inaction of the authorities in the field of supporting marketing development. In this case, the biggest losers are, first of all, small and medium-sized businesses, and, ultimately, the consumer and society.

In close connection with this, it is necessary to consider the problems of creating modern system collection and analysis of marketing information in industries and regions throughout the country, a network of consulting marketing services. Without accessible marketing and market information, the market itself is unthinkable, at least in its mature forms. Meanwhile, the problem of information support for internal marketing was (and in many ways still remains) essentially insoluble for small and medium-sized businesses.

Only under conditions of openness has it become possible to access even such information of a very general nature, such as the exact number of people employed in national economy(taking into account the defense industries), inflation indicators, unmet demand, etc. But as before, manufacturers could not, on the basis of official data (for example, a directory of passport data of an enterprise), create a picture of the potential market for the means of production they produced. Only little by little, on the basis of sample surveys, the parameters of demand for consumer goods and services began to be identified, and information about their supply and its correlation with demand became more reliable.

For effective marketing, the data on population characteristics that could be extracted from published census results is clearly insufficient. The lack of information about trends in its development remained very high, which did not make it possible to predict changes in demand. In this sense, marketing requires data not only on the absolute size of the population and its geographic distribution, but also on density, mobility, regional indicators of age and sex distribution, birth and death rates, marriage and divorce, racial, ethnic, religious structures. It is important to navigate the pace of manifestation of trends such as increased specific gravity categories of older people, the spread of small children, one- and two-generation families, increasingly late marriages, an increase in the number of divorces, an increase in the proportion of unemployed women, single citizens, families with one adult member, the increasing spread of the “dormitory” type of residence, etc. P. Traditionally, it has been easier for us to find out such information about the peoples of other countries than about ourselves.

Current information about geographic trends in development and population dynamics has begun to acquire increasing importance for internal marketing, especially in connection with growing regional independence, a number of complex and contradictory phenomena caused by ethnic, racial, religious reasons that our society is increasingly faced with. .

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Chapter 3. Collection of marketing information

Collecting the necessary information is one of the most time-consuming stages of marketing research, since most of the required information is of a commercial nature and does not relate to published data. Practice shows that about 70% of all research costs are spent on collecting information. In this regard, it is important to constantly compare the cost and significance of the information received. In other words, the researcher must determine his position regarding objective, but rather “expensive” results, and “cheap”, but not sufficiently accurate. To do this, during preliminary work it is necessary to evaluate:

1) what is the potential cost of making the wrong decision?

2) what is the probability of making a wrong decision based on existing information?

3) how appropriate is it to collect additional information?

4) how and what will additional information help during the analysis?

5) How urgently is additional information needed?

6) what level of accuracy is required to perform the analysis?

By answering the questions posed, the analytical service staff determines the composition of the analyzed data. They can be broadly classified into two groups: primary and secondary information about the state of the market.

3.1. Sources and methods of collecting primary information

Data specifically obtained for analysis and not subjected to any pre-treatment, i.e. primary information about the facts of interest is of particular interest to the analyst. With its help, you can answer questions of interest quite accurately and with the necessary degree of reliability. Despite the fact that collecting primary information requires relatively large financial costs and significant time reserves, its use is a prerequisite for the specific focus of analytical procedures.

Main sources of primary information are:

1) consumers of products;

2) product distribution channels, including wholesale and retail network;

3) suppliers of raw materials, materials, parts, units, units, spare parts;

5) engineering, sales and management personnel of competing organizations;

6) special analytical services and agents.

Methods for collecting primary information include: surveys, observations and experiments. During the development of the concept of collecting primary information, it is especially important to use these methods correctly, since the possibility of using statistical processing methods will depend on the nature of the initial information; the quality of the measurement determines the reliability of the conclusions formulated.

3.2 Survey technique

A survey is the most common and most important form of collecting primary information, during which the position and/or preferences of respondents are clarified. All the variety of survey types can be classified according to:

circle of respondents (private individuals, experts, entrepreneurs, etc.);

the number of respondents simultaneously (single or group interview);

the number of topics included in the survey (single- and multi-topic, omnibus);

level of standardization (free scheme or structured, fully standardized);

by frequency (single or multiple polling);

by the form of information transfer (telephone, postal, virtual, face-to-face).

In the practice of marketing research, face-to-face interviews, telephone surveys, and mail surveys are most often used (Fig. 4, 5).

In a written survey, respondents receive questionnaires that must be filled out and sent back to their intended destination. In this case, mostly closed questions are used, the answers to which consist in choosing one of the presented options:

Rice. 4 Using various types of surveys when collecting primary information

Sources: 1. Churchill G. Marketing Research: Methodological Foundations / Sixth Edition. – The Dryden Press. – 1995, 361 p. 2.Fomicheva Yu.V., Kudrya R.V. Marketing services in Russia (information and analytical directory). – M.:USAID, 1996.- C.9.

Rice. 5. Approximate diagram conducting a telephone survey

“yes-no” questions (sometimes the answer “I don’t know” or “neither yes nor no” is provided);

alternative questions, in which you need to choose one answer (sometimes several) from a number of possible ones;

ranking comparison objects, such as cars, based on perceived benefits;

scaling questions that provide a differentiated assessment of the similarity or difference of the objects being studied.

Different types of questions ask different levels of scales, which can be used in the future to measure the value of the characteristic being studied (Table 5).

Table 5

Examples of question types and levels of measurement

When developing questionnaires, one must take into account the need for information and the ability of respondents to give the correct answer. If the researcher is only interested in agreement or disagreement, then a yes-no question is sufficient. If you need to make a conclusion about the preferences of the respondents, scaling questions are used. In addition to questions on the merits of the matter, questions are needed that help establish contact with the respondent, control the correctness and authenticity of the answers, and statistical questions relating to the personality of the respondent.

Questions should not evoke unpleasant feelings, such as shame, dissatisfaction, or a desire to embellish reality. If they are necessary, it is better to put them not in a direct, but in an indirect form, for example: instead of the question “Do you have a car?” You can ask the question “Who in your family has a car?”

When exploring real motives and opinions, methods of projection and association are often used. In the first case, the respondent is asked to describe a situation or express a possible reaction of a third party to this situation. As a rule, people attribute to others those character traits that they themselves possess, their opinions and ideas. A test is based on the principle of association, finding out what a particular word reminds a subject, for example: what is associated with the word “service”. The same basis is found in the sentence completion test, during which the respondent is asked to complete an incomplete sentence, for example: “A sports car is owned by people who...”. The response time in both cases must be limited in order to obtain spontaneous judgments.

In field research, oral interviews are more often used. If the survey follows a strictly defined pattern, then we speak of a standardized interview. The representativeness of this form of information collection largely depends on the person conducting the interview. Good preparation helps to reduce the proportion of respondents who refuse to participate in the work. At the same time, the excessive zeal of the interviewer sometimes distorts the results of the survey.

In this sense, a free survey is more preferable (there is only a topic and a goal, there is no specific scheme). Its advantages lie in the possibility of an individual approach to each of the interviewees, which helps maintain an atmosphere of trust. In addition, free questioning facilitates obtaining additional information. At the same time, in this case, respondents’ answers are difficult to record and compare, and the costs of processing them are high. In practice, free interviews are used during a preliminary study of a problem, when interviewing experts and enterprise managers. The standardized form is widely used in mass research. Criterias of choice various forms surveys are given in table. 6.

Table 6

Criteria for selecting different survey forms

Note.“+” advantages; "-" - flaws; gap - the absence of both special advantages and disadvantages. For example, a written survey is associated with relatively low costs, but does not exclude the influence of outsiders on the formulation of answers.

To improve the quality of questionnaires and successfully collect information, it is advisable to adhere to a number of recommendations.

2. Construction of questionnaires. Order of questions: from simple to complex, from general to specific, from non-binding to sensitive; confidence-building questions first, then substantive questions, then perhaps Control questions, and at the end - questions about personality.

3. Means for increasing return rates for written surveys:

material incentives for respondents (costs must be taken into account, as well as possible embellishment of answers out of gratitude);

presence of a cover letter (awakening interest, guaranteeing anonymity);

telephone warning about sending questionnaires;

presence of a marked envelope for the answer;

attractive design, small volume.

3.3. Features of observations

Observation as a method of obtaining primary information is used in marketing research much less often than a survey. It serves to display real events and phenomena without explaining the reasons for what is happening.

Using a survey, you can identify people’s opinions, perceptions, and knowledge. All these subjective circumstances are closed to observation. However, objects such as products included in the assortment, consumer behavior, and the consequences of behavior can be captured through observation. The advantages of this method of collecting primary information (compared to a survey) include:

the possibility of collecting data does not depend on the desire of the respondent, on his ability to verbally express the essence of the matter;

higher objectivity is ensured due to the lack of influence on the respondent;

unconscious behavior is assessed (choosing a product on the shelves in a store);

the surrounding situation is taken into account, especially when observing with instruments.

Observation also has disadvantages:

it is difficult to ensure representativeness, since observation usually requires special conditions(for example, when observing the behavior of customers in a store, only those who came to the store can be observed; the randomness of the sample is violated);

subjectivity of perception of the observer, selective observation (no longer necessary when observing with the help of instruments);

the behavior of objects may differ from natural if observation is open (observation effect).

The following forms of observation are distinguished:

according to the nature of the environment - field (in a natural setting: in a store, near a display window), laboratory (in an artificially created situation). The advantage of the first form is the naturalness of the observed behavior. The second form allows you to maintain more stable observation conditions and makes possible use row technical means(for example, tachistoscopes);

at the observer’s place – with the direct participation of the researcher and observation from the outside;

according to the form of perception of the object - personal observation (directly by the observer) and indirect - through instruments or by recording the “consequences” of behavior;

according to the degree of standardization - standardized and free observation. Standardization usually involves specifying certain categories of behavior and patterns of action. For example, to monitor the effectiveness of window advertising, the following standard behavior patterns of passers-by can be identified and recorded:

entered the store, first looking at the advertisement;

saw the window, did not enter the store;

passed without looking at the window display.

3.4. Forms of conducting experiments

Decisions in marketing can be defined as the evaluation and selection of behavioral alternatives in terms of their contribution to achieving goals. To make decisions, it is necessary to have information about the expected success of individual alternatives. This information can be obtained using an experiment that establishes cause-and-effect relationships, the influence of independent variables on the characteristic being studied(for example, the influence of color, shape and volume of packaging on the sale of goods).

According to the form of conducting experiments, they are divided into laboratory, taking place in an artificial environment (product test), and field, taking place in real conditions (market test). From the point of view of the technique of conducting them, they are classified according to two criteria: 1) according to the nature of the groups of respondents used: experimental group (E - experimental group), control group (C - control group) ]; 2) according to the time of exposure to the factor under study: A - after exposure (after), B - before exposure (befoge). In accordance with these criteria, several typical experiments are distinguished:

1. EBA - measurement of characteristics in an experimental group before and after exposure to a factor (for example, measurements of sales volumes in an experimental group of retail outlets before and after an advertising campaign in the press). The most significant problem that arises when organizing an experiment in this way is the difficulty of unambiguously interpreting the results. The course of the experiment can be influenced by various effects (actions of past activities, the influence of extraneous factors, a preliminary measurement may itself affect the results, etc.).

2. EA-SA – measurement of the studied characteristics in the control and experimental groups after exposure to the factor. With this type of experimental design, the influence of the effects listed above is reduced, but problems arise due to the possible presence of differences between groups before the experiment. To eliminate this problem, groups are formed randomly.

3. EVA - SVA - measurement of characteristics before and after exposure to a factor using a control group. Such experiments are often used in trade research to determine the impact of sales promotion activities on consumer preferences. To ensure the reliability of the results, it is necessary to eliminate the learning effect that appears during preliminary measurements.

4. EA - EVA - SVA - measurements are carried out in three groups. Both the accuracy of the results and the costs of the experiment increase.

Before using experimental results in analytical work, it is necessary to ensure that their interpretation is unambiguous and representative (suitable for other conditions).

3.5. Collection of primary information using

research panels

Most of the primary information obtained through surveys, observations and experiments is constantly changing under the influence of market factors. In this regard, there is often a need for constant or periodic updating of data - market monitoring. To organize monitoring, special research panels are used.

Research panels represent samples of wholesale and retail trade networks, various groups consumers who are surveyed at certain intervals according to a pre-developed scheme in order to constantly replenish and clarify primary information about the market for goods of interest. The panel has the following main features:

the subject and topic of research are constant;

data collection is repeated at predetermined intervals;

a constant (with certain reservations) set of research objects - households, trade enterprises, industrial consumers.

In practice, various types of panels are used (Fig. 6). To all

Rice. 7. Types of research panels

Some of them have fairly stringent requirements. The panel must be representative and include typical sellers or consumers of the products being analyzed so that the conclusions obtained from the results of the panel survey can be generalized to the entire population under study using special procedures. In addition, it is important that the panel elements reflect the structure of the market according to its most important parameters: geographical location, demographic factors, socio-economic characteristics, customs and traditions of consumers, etc.

Consumer panel based on the survey method. Panel participants (households, individuals) receive questionnaires from the organization conducting the study and periodically fill them out, indicating information of interest to the researcher (for example, type of product, packaging, manufacturer, date, cost, quantity and place of purchase). Using the consumer dashboard, you can get information about:

the quantity of goods purchased by the family, the structure of its expenses;

market share of major manufacturers and sellers;

preferred prices, types of packaging, forms retail;

differences in the behavior of consumers belonging to different social strata, living in different regions, cities of different sizes;

effectiveness of marketing campaigns, etc.

Among the varieties trading panels highest value for marketing has a retail panel. Research is carried out, as a rule, by employees of specialized companies, whose task is to collect data on inventories, purchases and prices of groups of goods of interest, that is, to inventory trading activities. Using the retail dashboard, you can get information about:

development of sales of certain product groups;

sales to end consumers in quantitative and cost terms;

average inventories, sales, purchases for each enterprise included in the panel;

sales speed.

This data can be divided by sales area, type and size of stores. For an entrepreneur, such information is useful , which allows us to draw a conclusion about the distribution paths of our own and competing products, and check how new products (our own and competitors’) are approved on the market. In addition, based on the panel data, one can judge the efficiency of sales services, the routes of goods entering the retail network and the degree of mobility of various trading enterprises.

Due to the fact that organizing panel research requires large financial costs, panel surveys are usually carried out by large firms specializing in marketing research. Foreign marketing companies “Tekhnomic”, “GIRA”, “LADL”, “BAKH”, “AGB Atwood”, “Nielsen BV” have extensive experience in conducting panel research.

Organization of a panel of retailers and a panel of consumers.

The panel of the well-known marketing firm Nielsen B.V. is a regular sample of retailers that gives a reliable picture of all retailers of certain products (groceries, perfumes and pharmaceuticals, tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, electrical goods, etc.). Nielsen evaluates the sales status of various retail stores at 2-month intervals. Moreover, inventory is measured only once every 2 months, since the ending inventory of one period is the beginning inventory of the next. Based on average data on sales volumes per one retail store, and the total number of stores selling these products, the total demand for the analyzed goods is calculated, price ranges, the degree of consumer loyalty to the brand and other market parameters are determined.

The marketing company AGB Attwood forms a panel of consumers rather than sellers. The Atwood panel is a regular sample large number shoppers (approximately 5,000 families each) who record their daily purchases in special books sent to them once a week. They record data on purchased goods, their brands, prices, number of product units in packages, place and time of purchases. This makes it possible to calculate with great accuracy the average volume of purchases per typical consumer.

The panel as a method of collecting primary information has methodological and practical problems. The most significant of them are related to the difficulty of ensuring representativeness (for more details, see Chapter 4), since each panel has a certain instability and a specific “panel effect”.

The instability of the consumer panel is determined by the number of direct refusals of participants to cooperate, changing their place of residence, moving to another consumer category, etc. To reduce the negative impact of these factors, respondents usually receive a small reward for participating in panel surveys. Another problem—the “panel effect”—is that respondents, feeling in control, consciously or unconsciously change their habitual behavior. Housewives are better prepared for purchases, and the share of spontaneous purchases is decreasing.

In addition, at the stage of information collection, the problem of completeness of market coverage often appears. Foreigners are usually poorly represented in the consumer panel due to language problems. The Retailer Panel does not account for purchases that end consumers make at wholesalers and directly from manufacturers. Not all retailers agree to participate in the panel. Thus, entire trade groups are excluded from the scope of research.

When collecting data, the researcher must take into account a number of other factors that affect the accuracy of the information (not typical for a trading panel):

with long-term cooperation, negligence in filling out questionnaires appears;

prestige problems: members not buying for a long time a product that is purchased by members of their social group feel embarrassed and give information about purchases that did not actually occur;

problems when providing information about the purchase of “taboo”, intimate items (for example, the purchase of cigarettes by a 15-year-old daughter will most likely not be indicated in the questionnaire).

The question of which type of panel is preferable for a researcher cannot be given a definite answer. A consumer panel is more suitable for collecting data on the structure and preferences of consumers, while a trade panel is better suited for studying distribution networks. Large enterprises receive information, as a rule, from both sources.

3.6. Sources of secondary information

Secondary information on the state of the market includes data external and internal to the organization that has undergone preliminary analytical processing, the goals of which, as a rule, do not coincide with the goals of the analysis being carried out. In this regard, this information requires additional selection, ranking and compilation procedures to bring it into the required form. To main sources external secondary information relate:

1) reference publications on market conditions, trends and problems of its development;

2) state regulations (documents) directly or indirectly affecting the state of the market (standards for products, technology, protection environment; special regulations on quotas, licensing, customs duties, etc.);

3) reports on the production and economic activities of competing organizations (for open joint-stock companies);

4) analytical articles on market development, presented in periodicals, in special newspapers and magazines;

5) information that allows one to assess the attitude of heads of public services to the development trends of the analyzed market;

7) data on registration of patents, licenses and other exclusive rights of competitors;

8) announcements of competitors about hiring personnel, sales (sales), purchases, etc.;

9) published interviews (speeches, reports) of management personnel and leadership of competing organizations;

10) consumer opinions on product characteristics, published in the press of consumer associations (unions);

11) materials from arbitration chronicles, etc.

In Fig. Table 7 shows the most popular sources of external secondary information used by Russian marketing agencies.

Rice. 7. The sources of external influence most frequently used in Russian marketing research practice

secondary information

Table 7

Secondary information about goods and services in specialized advertising publications (average number of advertisements)

Explanation for the table: 1 -real estate; 2 -motor transport, auto parts; 3 -food, drinks and tobacco products; 4 -cloth; 5 -building materials and structures; 6 -work, education; 7 -services; 8 -electrical appliances and electronics; 9 -household goods; 10 – computer and office equipment, stationery; 11 -leisure, entertainment; 12 -goods offered by barter; 13 -proposals for cooperation; 14 -furniture, interior items; 15 -retail store equipment; 16 -perfumes, cosmetics; 17 -machines, industrial and construction equipment, instruments; 18 -raw materials and materials for industrial use; 19 -tourism, recreation, sports; 20 -medicine; 21 -shoes; 22 -haberdashery; 23 -household chemicals; 24 -Products for children; 25 -textile products.

In the course of marketing research, we also use internal secondary information: accounting data, customer lists, seller reports, list of consumer complaints and complaints, annual reports, marketing plans and other documents.

Disadvantages of secondary information - incompleteness of the data presented, lack of guarantees of reliability, delay necessary information– reduce its information value. However, in situations where a preliminary (clarifying) analysis is required, secondary information is irreplaceable, since its collection does not require serious financial costs and a lot of time. It comes from various sources, which increases the objectivity of the results obtained. In addition, the quality of secondary information can be improved as a result of its refinement. To do this you need to find out:

What was the purpose of the study,

Who collected the information

What information was collected

How was it received?

How does it relate to what we already know about the market.

After clarification of this information, it is possible to refine the information.

3.7. Special types secondary marketing information

External secondary information also includes information from the virtual environment. The volume of telecommunications services in this area is increasing every year. Most Popular Russian business servers of the INTERNET network are presented in table. 8.

Table 8

Secondary information on the INTERNET (fragment of Russian resources)

A large file of secondary information can also be obtained from marketing firms that specialize in collecting market data. Unfortunately, in Russia services in the field of providing special secondary marketing information They are just beginning to develop and therefore one cannot count on significant information resources here. In this sense, the US information marketing industry is the most developed. It is represented by a large number of companies that publish information on various areas of firms’ marketing activities, consumer behavior, the state of product sales networks, etc. (Table 9).

Table 9

Special secondary information about the US market,

published by specialized firms and agencies

I. Assessing consumer position

Social structure of society Yankelovich Monitor n/a

and its influence on behavior

consumers

Public opinion Gallup Poll standard panel – 1300 people.

Consumer attitude towards DDB Needham, n/a

changes in economics and politics ABC News/Harris Survey

Cont. table 9

Pharmacy index Nielsen Nielsen 550 pharmacies and rose-

(Nielsen Drug Index - NDI) - retail store volumes

sales of the main groups selling medicines

medicines

Nielsen index for broad goods Nielsen 125 retail

consumption (Nielsen Mass stores

Merchandiser Index - NMMI)

Ehrhart-Babic's National Retail Index 2498 Supermarket

(National Retail Tracking Index - NRTI) comrade, 1836 pharmacies,

849 department stores

new, 1904 farms.

shops, 123

warehouse located

married in 54 geogr.

V.Monitoringmass media

Television Index Nielsen Nielsen 2000 households

(Nielsen Television Index - NTI),

determining the size of the audience

various channels and programs and

published twice a year

Television index Arbitron Arbitron 14 central

(Arbitron Television Index - ATI) US cities

Radio index Arbitron Arbitron n/a

(Arbitron Radio Index - ARI)