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.

Collection of information about internal and external environment organization must be ongoing. 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 a modern system for collecting and analyzing marketing information in industries and regions, throughout the country, and 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 glasnost did it become possible to access even such information of a very general nature, such as the exact number of people employed in the national economy (taking into account defense industries), inflation indicators, unmet demand, etc. But as before, manufacturers could not, on the basis of official data (for example , directory of enterprise passport data) to form a picture of the potential market for the means of production they produce. 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 such trends as an increase in the share of the elderly category, 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, all greater spread of the “dormitory” type of residence, etc. 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. .

Once the subject of marketing research is clearly defined, the researcher needs to focus his efforts on collecting information. Under marketing research methods understand the approaches used to obtain solution data for all or part of the problem being studied. Data - these are facts and figures related to the problem being studied.

The choice of one or another research method is determined by the following factors:

1) resources available to the researcher (material, financial, personnel)

2) the requirements of the research customer;

3) time restrictions on conducting the study (schedule);

4) characteristics of the research object;

5) by the nature of the information that needs to be obtained;

6) qualifications and experience of people, I! Perform research.

Research methods are divided into quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative research is aimed at obtaining answers to the question “how much?” (sold, produced, imported, etc.). With their help, problems of determining the volume of markets, the capacity of individual segments, and the distribution of market shares between individual companies are solved. Guilt will require a certain degree of precision to support conclusions. Quantitative methods of marketing research include:

Questionnaire survey (postal, telephone, Internet);

Store checks

Desk research, clipping

Testing (at home, in the Auditor, laboratories.

Questionnaire survey (questionnaire) - is a table with a list of questions to which the respondent (the person from whom you need to obtain information) must answer. The survey can be conducted orally (expedition vehicle) or written form (self-registration). The questionnaire can be distributed through personal contact or by mail (Internet).

A survey using a questionnaire allows the interviewer not to forget about individual questions, ask them in the required sequence, attract new, temporary workers, students to the research, and attract the attention of respondents to the joint solution of problems in society and business. An important advantage of questionnaires is the ability to automate the process of processing and analyzing the collected information using computer programs and economic and mathematical methods. Also, questionnaires, like other survey methods, allow you to create databases of potential clients, business partners, and make adjustments to target markets. The disadvantage of this research method is the large percentage of errors when filling out questionnaires. The questionnaire method is also used in conducting panel studies.

The classic questionnaire consists of 3 parts.

1. Introduction(the organization conducting the research, the purpose and the communication bridge are indicated; you can give brief instructions on how to fill out the questionnaire).

2. Main part.

When developing it, it is necessary to decide on the order of placement of questions and their number. Determining the correct logic for asking questions is the most difficult stage of developing a questionnaire. Since the researcher seeks help from respondents, the questionnaire should begin with questions that address the interests of the respondents. These kinds of questions, as a rule, are not subject to statistical processing and do not directly provide the researcher with the information for which he conducts marketing research. their purpose is to establish contact with the respondent, facilitate his entry into the problem and help him focus on it. In general, questions should proceed from general to specific, from simpler to more complex.

3. Information about the respondent.

When studying the end-consumer market, information about the respondent most often includes personal questions such as age, income level, social status, etc. In the industrial market there may still be questions reflecting the financial condition of the enterprise, the number of employees, production volume, etc. General rule should be like this - if most personal questions can be avoided, then this should be done, especially if they are not necessary.

A rear disadvantage characteristic of the practice of marketing research in Ukraine is the presence in the questionnaire of questions that do not directly meet the goals of marketing research and the search question. So, for example, if marketing research is aimed at determining short-term demand for mini-mills, it is not at all worth including in the questionnaire a question about from which media the consumer receives information about equipment of this kind. This question will not help determine the level of demand; it relates to the study of the most effective channels for promoting a product.

Types of questions in the questionnaire

In questionnaires (questionnaire letters) two types of questions are used: closed (when the respondent chooses one of the proposed answers) and open questions, to which the respondent answers in his own words.

Depending on what kind of information should be obtained after processing the survey data, various options for questions are used, from questions like “yes” - “no” (the answer “I don’t know” may also be provided) and to multiple-choice questions when you need to choose two or more answers to questions that are used in projection research methods.

Open questions do not require a list of answers (see Figure 4.8).

Rice. 4.8. Open questions in questionnaires

The number of open questions depends on the degree of involvement in the problem. As a rule, this type of question is used in questionnaires for experts precisely for the purpose of a more in-depth study of the problem. In end-user questionnaires, it is typical to use open questions to follow up closed ones (the first half is a closed alternative question, the second half is an open question).

Closed questions (they have a given structure and provide a limited list of answers.

Examples of closed questions

Alternative question is a question that allows you to choose an answer from two options.

Does your company offer wholesale discounts to customers?

Multiple Choice Question (of three or more statements). Please indicate what are the main problems that hinder the work of your bank?

1. shortcomings of the legislative framework;

2. non-repayment of the loan;

3. personnel problems;

4. difficulties in finding clients;

5. others (specify what exactly).

"You've run out toothpaste and you came to buy a new tube, but it turned out that this paste is not on sale. Check each pair

"Rank the toothpastes depending on their effectiveness ("1" is the most effective)":

Interval nag has a distance characteristic and allows you to compare objects based on the difference between individual scale gradations. The type of questions used here are Likert scale and semantic differential.

Likert nag allows you to study the degree of agreement or disagreement of the respondent with certain statements.

For example, to study consumer opinions regarding a certain brand of toothpaste, a number of statements are proposed:

Semantic differential - a scale that has a series of bipolar (opposite) definitions characterizing the properties of an object (product, service, distribution channel).

Silca toothpaste

Using a semantic differential in questionnaires allows you to determine the image of a company, brand, store, etc.

Ratio scale (relative nag and starting point) - a scale that has a zero point and allows for quantitative comparison of the results obtained.

"How often do you dine at a fast food restaurant?"

1) once a week or more often;

2) twice or thrice a month;

3) once a month or less.

Exist rules for formulating survey questions.

1. Must be used in simple words. Depending on the educational level of the respondents, one should strive to ensure that the questionnaire matches their vocabulary.

2. When composing questions, you must use clear words and terms. In many cases the same words: often, rarely, expensive, cheap, many, few, affordable prices, sometimes - have different meanings for different respondents. Therefore, it is always necessary to take specific indicators that unambiguously indicate frequency, degree, prices, etc. Instead of “often”, “rarely”, you need to accept acceptable indicators “once a week”, “once a month”, etc. If we are talking about prices, they must be indicated specifically or some kind of price limits “from - to” must be given.

3. When composing questions, you must avoid having a hint. This common mistake results in the researcher receiving the information he wants, rather than the information that corresponds to the actual views of the respondents.

4. When compiling a questionnaire, you should avoid questions that include references to authoritative persons or well-known companies. For example: “Do you agree with the position of the Ukrainian Marketing Association that...?” There is a group of respondents on whom questions of this type exert positive pressure, and in some groups, on the contrary, such references cause protest against the imposition of an assessment.

5. It is not recommended to use alternative answer options, which were specially selected by the researcher and also provide for obtaining the desired answers. Moreover, this may also apply to the order of questions. If the list of alternative options is too long and they are quite complex, then those given at the end have a better chance of being selected by respondents.

6. Problems associated with memory errors arise when the respondent is asked to calculate a specific figure over a sufficiently long period of time. For example: “How many packs of washing powder

Do you buy throughout the year? ". The researcher should use simpler questions or a series of questions that will help him make his own calculations.

7. In the questionnaire, you should avoid combining several questions into one. For example: “Are you satisfied with the quality and price of the services?” It is clear that the answer to the first half of the question may not coincide with the answer to the other.

Store checks (page-check, store-check) - This is a type of marketing research, the essence of which is to register the assortment, prices, facing and advertising activity of sellers for each product item in retail outlets. In essence, this is a system of measures aimed at checking the efficiency of places of sale of goods, assessing the competitiveness of a business and searching for new factors for creating competitive advantages in the field of trade.

Facing - This is a unit of product that can be seen by a customer in self-service stores.

Clipping ) is a selection of media materials about an enterprise, trademarks, individuals (information is usually provided in the form of copies of printed materials or sent in electronic resources.

Marketing testing is a method of researching innovative products or solutions in the implementation of the marketing mix. Essentially, it can combine surveys, observations and experiments. Let's consider its individual varieties.

Hall test (survey with dental location) - one of the most common methods of collecting quantitative data. During a Hall test, respondents test a specific product and/or its individual elements (packaging, advertising video, etc.) in a special room and then answer questions (usually in the form of a questionnaire).

Hall testing is carried out in two stages. At the first stage, each respondent who belongs to the target group, in the absence of strangers, is given the opportunity to use this product (several products) or watch several options for advertising videos and choose the option that he liked best. At the second stage, respondents answer survey questions that allow them to determine selection criteria, frequency and volumes of consumption of certain types of goods and reasons for choosing one or another variation of advertising message. A characteristic feature of Hall tests is the direct contact of the respondent with the test object (for example, a taste test).

Advantages of the Hall test:

1) the possibility of conducting long interviews (up to 40 minutes);

2) the ability to study the impact of different types of information (visual, tactile, auditory) on consumers of various groups and obtain reactions to different tastes, smells, shapes and colors;

3) ease of work for interviewers;

4) the ability to observe the buyer’s behavior in a purchasing situation;

5) explore the argumentation of the reasons for this or that choice of the respondent.

Disadvantages of the Hall test:

1) high cost;

2) the difficulty of selecting the required “quality” of respondents to ensure the “purity of the experiment.”

Wear test (home test) or home testing is a research method in which a group of consumers use a product at home, use it for its intended purpose and answer the proposed answers (fill out a questionnaire). Of course, respondents are offered goods for personal use (perfumes, cosmetics, etc.) or household goods (detergents, household chemicals, technology, etc.). Methods for collecting and processing information from home testing are similar to hall testing.

The Home Test method helps solve the following problems:

1) improve new product positioning procedures;

2) check the perception of its consumer properties;

3) identify the disadvantages and advantages of products compared to competitors’ products;

4) determine the optimal price of the product.

Quality types of research seek information to clarify the other side of the problem - "why?" (the consumer chooses this or that product, what consumer properties of the product are most important for different groups of buyers, etc.). Most of these studies are related to the study of consumers, their behavior, motivation, expectations and attitudes.

The most common qualitative research methods include:

1) interview (expert, personal, telephone, mail)

2) method of business contacts;

3) observation;

4) focus groups.

Expert interview.

The collection of primary information most often begins with expert interviews. This method has a number of advantages. Interviews with experts require little time, money or labor. A survey of experts allows you to determine the essence of the problem, find as many options as possible for its solution, and find out the feasibility of conducting larger-scale research. An important step working with experts is their choice. The reliability of the results obtained depends on this. The general criteria for selecting experts are their level of education, position, and work experience in the field under study. Experts can be managers at various levels who influence the solution of the problem under study, representatives of the scientific community, etc.

The problem of working with experts is their workload, frequent business trips, etc. Interviews with experts need to be planned in advance to avoid possible refusals.

Personal interview.

Personal interviews involve obtaining information from respondents during a face-to-face conversation. This method of communication with the respondent is the most flexible and manageable. Practice shows that when conducting personal interviews, the lowest percentage of refusals is observed, since the interviewer has the opportunity to convince the respondent.

Telephone interview.

A telephone interview is a less flexible form of interviewing than a face-to-face interview. It is not suitable for cases where answers to questions require a significant amount of time to write down. Most people give short answers over the phone, so it's difficult to keep them interested in the survey while the interviewer pauses to record the answer. Therefore, they ask questions over the phone that do not require long answers.

Postal interview.

A postal interview involves sending questionnaires by mail, fax or publishing them in the media. The main difference between this survey method! from the previous ones is that the interviewer does not have the opportunity to personally communicate with respondents, and, accordingly, explain to them the goals of the study, ask and clarify answers, and establish trusting relationships. This form of survey is less flexible and manageable than previous ones.

A more difficult problem with mail surveys is the return of questionnaires. The average return rate for questionnaires in countries with developed market economies is 40-60%, and sometimes higher. The practice of conducting a postal survey in Ukraine shows that in our country this figure is much lower and amounts to only 10-20%.

Errors that arise during “field work” are divided into errors in selective observation and errors associated with conducting interviews. Errors associated with conducting sample observations often arise as a result of the fact that interviewers interview not those respondents who were selected for this, but those who are more convenient to interview. The result of this is that interviewers are probing the views of people who are not the company's target market.

Sampling errors may also arise due to the problem of the inability to interview planned respondents due to their absence on site or refusal to participate in the interview. Errors can also be associated with the interview process itself: the inability of the interviewer to establish contact with the respondent in such a way that a feeling of trust and sympathy arises; inability to accurately ask a question; mistakes by the interviewer when recording answers.

Business contact method represents meetings, conferences, seminars with representatives of other companies or consumers at fairs, exhibitions, open days, friendly meetings.

"Mystery shopper" (mystery buyer, from English. Mystery Shopper/Secret Shopper) - a research method that is used both as part of marketing research aimed at assessing the consumer experience gained by the client in the process of purchasing a product or service, and for the purpose of solving organizational problems, for example, determining the level of compliance with standards. It emerged as an independent area of ​​research in the forties of the last century in the USA. The use of the “mystery shopping” methodology is primarily associated with checking the honesty of employees. Within the program, management retail chains found out:

Sellers issue a receipt upon purchase;

The price of the product corresponds to the officially established price;

Sellers do not bully buyers and the like.

The second wave took place in the seventies in Europe and the USA. The emergence of a large number of complex electronic goods (TVs, stereos, etc.) has caused problems in the ability of retail sales assistants to adequately present the product and advise clients.

Development of Mystery Shopping in its modern form coincided with the development of the Internet in Western countries, especially in the USA. Large chain companies such as Wal-mart, Citibank, Macdonald's, Shell finally have the opportunity, at an affordable price and every day via the Internet, to receive operational information about the level of customer service in each of their thousands of branches, stores, restaurants or gas stations.

According to the international association of MSPA providers, the total volume of the Mystery Shopping services market in Europe was about 400 million dollars, in the USA - 800 million, in Russia about 10 million dollars, and this figure is growing every year. Mystery shoppers rate:

Meeting service quality standards;

Compliance with sales techniques;

Personnel competence;

Visual design and cleanliness of the location;

Placement of POS materials;

Cash desk operation;

Promotion of special promotions by staff.

The long-term Mystery Shopping program leads to measurable results in the work of retail chains:

Increase in the ratio of buyers to visitors (conversion rate)

Growth of the average check;

Increase in sales of additional goods/services;

Increase in sales per unit of sales personnel;

Increase in repeat sales (customer behavioral loyalty);

Improvement financial indicators, profit growth.

Observation - this is a method of collecting primary information by passively recording by the researcher certain processes, actions, actions of people, events.

Depending on the nature of the environment, observation can be “field”, carried out in a real life situation; laboratory, in artificially created conditions. The form of observation can be open or hidden. According to the regularity, observations are divided into systematic, continuous, episodic and random. According to the use of information processing technologies, “observations can be formalized or informal.

Observation is not used as often as interviewing. They, as a rule, serve to determine the research goal or generalize judgments. Compared to a survey, the advantages of observations are their independence from the desire or reluctance of the object to cooperate, the possibility of perceiving unconscious behavior, as well as taking into account the influence of environmental factors. The disadvantages of observations are that it is often difficult to ensure the representativeness of the sample, the subjectivity of the observer, and the unnatural behavior of the object of observation (if he knows that he is being observed). Observations take the following forms:

1) according to the nature of the environment - field (in a store, near a display case) and laboratory (in specially created conditions);

2) at the observer’s place - with or without the direct participation of the researcher (observation from the outside)

3) according to the form of information perception - direct or non-personal (through devices or recorders)

4) according to the degree of standardization - standardized or free;

5) in terms of completeness of coverage - continuous or non-solid (selective)

6) by frequency: one-time, periodic, current.

Focus group, How usually includes 6-12 experts or consumers who gather in one place to discuss the problem being studied. Some consulting firms have specially equipped premises for conducting FOC groups with appropriate audio and video equipment, as well as a room from which you can observe the progress of the discussion.

The purpose of focus groups is not a quantitative measurement, but a qualitative assessment of the experts’ attitude towards the subject being studied. This could be observation of the reaction to a product or advertisement, emotional perception, analysis of subconscious motives. Once the focus group is formed, then the researcher explains the subject and purpose of the discussion. Typically, the discussion begins with an analysis of the general product category and those brands of goods used and gradually moves on to the product that is the subject of research. The researcher (moderator) must organize the discussion in such a way as to minimize his participation in it and allow focus group participants to express their thoughts. Focus group discussions provide an opportunity to get a feel for the respondent's position. But we must keep in mind that the main purpose of focus group discussions is to generate ideas for developing or testing hypotheses, and not to accurately measure views, segment sizes, and the like. The effect of a focus group depends, on the one hand, on the correct selection of experts or participants, and on the other hand, on the level of training of the instructor. The latter must be well informed in the field of psychology, sociology, marketing, have discussion management skills, and know the product that is the object of study. This is the problem with implementing this method of collecting primary marketing information.

In-depth interviews - This is a variation of the method of collecting primary qualitative information discussed above, which leads to the presence of almost similar disadvantages and advantages. This method differs from focus groups in that during its use an unstructured interview of a specially trained psychologist is carried out directly with one respondent. The topic of the in-depth interview also concerns questions of emotions, beliefs, attitudes of respondents, as well as their hidden problems. It is obvious that, like the previous method, in-depth interviews are used in exploratory marketing research. They are used much less frequently than focus groups, but in-depth interviews are particularly useful for specific research tasks that are closely related to certain psychological aspects:

Detailed psychological probing of the respondent, as well as in-depth study of complex behavioral situations;

Discussion of confidential problems or situations, as well as situations where the respondent's answers may be significantly influenced by the opinions of others;

Expert surveys among a limited circle of professionals (including competitors)

A study of the sensory experience associated with the consumption of a specific banking product or service.

Projection methods are indirect forms of questioning in which respondents are asked to explain the behavior of other people, thus revealing their own hidden or subconscious motives, attitudes and beliefs regarding the problem under study, using special psychological techniques. They provide an opportunity to reveal people's inner feelings on the topic under study.

Such techniques are generally divided into several groups:

Associative methods, the purpose of which is to identify a person’s associations in relation to a certain object or word;

Situation completion methods, during which respondents are asked to come up with the ending of a certain sentence or situation;

Methods for constructing a situation - when respondents give answers in the form of a certain story or description of the situation, for example, based on drawings or special animation tests;

Expressive methods that require the respondent to determine how other people feel or act in a specific situation proposed for consideration (for example, role-play).

The following types of marketing research are also used.

Test sales method - pilot studies - used when there is insufficient information or the impossibility of collecting or summarizing it, combining specific marketing actions and trial-and-error research. There is a high risk of loss.

Panel studies - regular communication with the same group of consumers (clients).

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution

higher professional education

"Russian Economic University named after. G.V. Plekhanov"

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND SOCIOLOGY

TEST

METHODS OF INFORMATION COLLECTION IN MARKETING RESEARCH

Performed:

Student of group 22 D 2nd year FPP

Yu.N. Kurilina

Checked by: N.A. Mukhin

Associate Professor of the Department of Political Science and Sociology,

Candidate of Philosophy

Moscow 2013

ANNOTATION

Marketing research and the development of marketing strategies based on it are inextricably linked with the collection, processing and analysis of information. The necessary information is most often missing from in the right form. It must be found, processed and interpreted correctly. The problem is that the marketer applies to everyone specific case must not only determine the sources of information, but also independently develop a methodology for its analysis. Information gathering methods in marketing research include primary research and desk methods of information gathering.

INTRODUCTION

In sociology, marketing research is of considerable importance. Since the current market situation directly affects public life, people need to receive information related to this topic. In market conditions, those firms and companies that know these needs better than others and produce goods that can satisfy them receive advantages. But the market is constantly changing, people's needs are influenced various factors also change, so firms must constantly monitor market conditions to make a profit.

It is with the help of marketing research that firms can track changes in customer needs. Marketing research is a marketing tool, or its information and analytical support, which is an integral part of marketing activities. Marketing research allows managers to concentrate efforts on short-, medium-, and long-term decisions. Research results can serve as a reliable basis for planning, solving management and control problems.

The implementation of marketing research involves the use of a wide variety of information collection methods. Which methods are the most effective in which cases, the advantages and disadvantages of the methods, how to correctly structure the interaction of methods with each other to achieve the highest quality research results.

The purpose of the work is to study the main methods of collecting information in marketing research.

1.PRIMARY (FIELD) RESEARCH

Primary (field) research is based on market information collected for the first time for a specific purpose. They are carried out in cases where high costs are compensated by the significance of the tasks being solved. There are two types of primary research in marketing.

A complete (continuous) study covers all respondents. It is usually used to study a small number of them, for example, large consumers or counterparties. Continuous studies are distinguished by accuracy, as well as low costs of resources and time to conduct.

A partial (sample) study covers a certain percentage or target group of respondents. Usually it is an ordinary sociological study conducted on the basis of a sample from a statistical population of respondents in accordance with its structure. The more accurate the sample, the more accurate the result obtained.

Field research methods in marketing can be divided into three groups.

Surveys of consumers and counterparties. There are two approaches to organizing surveys: questionnaires and interviews. The difference between these methods is insignificant, but still exists. The difference is who fills out the questionnaire. When conducting a survey, this is done by the respondent, and when conducting an interview, this is done by the interviewer.

Questioning is a written form of survey carried out outside of direct contact with the respondent. Carrying out anctification, in my opinion, is simpler, cheaper and faster. However, it gives a very high percentage of defects due to the respondent’s lack of understanding of the question, inattention when filling out, not taking the questions seriously, etc. The most simplified questionnaires with a minimum number of questions will give the best result in terms of accuracy.

Interviewing is a written form of questioning carried out in the process of direct contact with the respondent. An interview requires attentiveness, the greatest accuracy, time and effort. In addition, special training for interviewers is required. Sometimes it is necessary to draw up special instructions for conducting interviews. A significant advantage of this form of survey is the ability to use complex questionnaires with a large number of questions.

Survey technology provides many options.

Personal conversation through direct contact with the respondent is divided into three types:

standardized survey - based on the use of standard answer options (for example: 1. You sing. 2. You do not sing). This method is often used in self-administered surveys;

non-standardized survey - based on the use in surveys, in addition to standard answer options, of so-called open-ended answers to questions (for example: 1. You sing. 2. You don’t sing. 3. Other (name)). This method is used both in questionnaires and in interviewing respondents. The main disadvantage of this method is the high labor intensity of processing questionnaires with a large number of open answers;

An expert survey does not imply the use of questionnaires at all. Usually the conversation is conducted while recording on a voice recorder, after which the recording is transcribed and analyzed.

Telephone survey - this method of conducting a survey is indispensable in the case of conducting preliminary research. In addition, it is often used in cases of strong geographical dispersion of research objects.

The computer survey includes three options: direct mailing, interactive survey on websites, and emailing questionnaires to contractors and potential partners. In the first case, the response rate is less than 1%. In the second case, it is not known who is responsible. And only the third option gives a significant effect due to time savings and high information content.

A postal survey reduces the labor intensity of the study, especially when covering large areas. Its disadvantages: increased time consumption, low call efficiency (usually 3-5%) and problems with sample control. A postal survey is most effective when combined with the provision of gifts, lotteries, various promotions, etc.

Group interviews are a very effective form of market research. A type of group interview are consumer conferences at which new products are presented and the characteristics of demand are identified.

A focus group is an unstructured interview that a specially trained facilitator casually conducts with a small group of respondents. The facilitator directs the discussion. The main purpose of conducting focus groups is to get an idea of ​​what a group of people representing a specific target market thinks about the problems of interest to the researcher. The value of this method is that the free nature of the conversation often allows you to obtain unexpected information.

Group II.

Observation of respondents is research that does not involve personal contact between the marketer and respondents.

Observation with the participation of a researcher - when a marketer is present at the point of sale and independently records information about customer behavior. Information may relate to staff behavior, size of purchases, product quality, efficiency of product display, etc.

The indifference of the researcher is that the marketer delegates the collection of information to employees of other departments of the company or uses technical means. Then the received materials are summarized and used for further analysis of the marketing situation.

This also includes the method of momentary observations, when an object is studied not dynamically (over a period of time), but statically (at a specific moment). For example, in the most typical of a company's many retail outlets, the size of the purchase and the number of visitors during rush hour and off period, on a weekday and on a weekend, are recorded.

Group III.

Test marketing. Involves learning how to change parameters trade offer influences sales figures. There are two types of this kind of research in marketing.

An experiment is a local change in the parameters of a product (price, quality, design, advertising, etc.) before a final decision is made on them. For example, at the most typical of many retail outlets, product parameters (price, appearance, assortment, etc.) are changed in order to identify consumer reaction to planned innovations. If the experiment produces a financial result (additional profit), the innovation is distributed to all retail outlets.

Market testing involves selling trial quantities of a new product in the market to study consumer reactions. This method is equally suitable for both manufacturers and trade organizations. Manufacturers often provide trial quantities of goods to wholesalers free of charge to study consumer demand in the market. If the product is not sold, it is returned to the supplier, and if it is sold, the seller makes full or partial payment and enters into a contract with the supplier for the sale of the product.

2.DESK METHODS FOR COLLECTING INFORMATION

There are a number of advantages of conducting desk research: it is carried out quickly and inexpensively, it allows you to get acquainted with the industry, track the main market trends, obtain data that the company is not able to collect on its own, it often uses several sources, which allows you to compare data, and identify several approaches to solving a problem.

There are also negative aspects of desk research. They are associated with deficiencies in the quality of the information used. Desk methods of collecting information use sources of secondary information. What are sources of secondary information? These are subjects who provide information about other objects in processed form or from other sources intended for other purposes of studying the object. As a rule, it is difficult to verify the accuracy and reliability of secondary information; it may be out of date.

Information from different sources may be contradictory, since different sources of secondary information use different object classification systems and measurement techniques. Not all study results may be published, so the information may not be complete.

In order to ensure the quality of secondary information, the following techniques are used:

1.To ensure comparability of information, the used indicator measurement units, data classification, value intervals, indicator measurement methods, and publication dates are compared.

2.To ensure the reliability of the information, the purpose is assessed
publication, source of the message (reputation of the author, his qualifications and his ability to collect necessary information), methods of collecting information and their correctness, consistency of information with data from other sources, degree of primacy of the source. The degree of primacy of the source of secondary information means proximity to the original source, the source of origin of the data. The primary source of secondary information, as a rule, reveals the research methodology on the basis of which primary information was collected and summarized, indicators were calculated, and contains the necessary links and comments.

Secondary sources provide information based on publications from other sources; they are not direct collectors of information. At the same time, the accuracy of the information provided is reduced, since there may be inaccuracies and errors when quoting, abbreviations, and the method of collecting information is not indicated. Desk research can be used to study sources such as newspapers, magazines and other printed publications, radio and television programs, films, questionnaires, focus groups and free interviews, instructions and other documents.

Obtaining information from secondary sources is carried out using various methods - methods of document analysis. Obtaining quantitative information already in the document does not require special knowledge and techniques. This is the simplest and most obvious way. Therefore, document analysis methods are understood mainly as methods for studying qualitative information, which, as a rule, is “blurred” within large amounts of text. Identifying this information and processing it into a form convenient for use in marketing, preferably in quantitative form on some scale of measuring information, is the task of document analysis methods.

The set of methods for document analysis can be divided into two large groups:

traditional analysis,

formalized analysis.

The first group of methods is based on the assumption that the expert studying the document is able to process information arrays of documents and can determine the content of the main information.

The second group of methods is based on the premise that the intuition and experience of an expert cannot be trusted and it is necessary to formalize the search and identification of information to the maximum extent possible.

Let's look at each of these methods in more detail.

Traditional document analysis

Traditional document analysis is carried out by a highly qualified expert who gives his own interpretation of the studied material. This method is based on the researcher's intuition and is therefore subject to the danger of subjective biases in the perception and interpretation of materials. In addition, different experts can interpret the same information contained in the text differently and give it different degrees of significance.

At the same time, no formalized analysis will allow one to obtain the information contained “between the lines.” This is the prerogative of traditional document analysis only.

For maximum objectivity of the results of traditional document analysis, they try to formalize it as much as possible. For this purpose, a strict procedure for document analysis has been developed.

There are two stages of document research: external analysis and internal analysis of the document.

It should be noted that in the practice of marketing research, in the vast majority of cases, marketers immediately begin internal analysis of the document. The fallacy of this approach should be pointed out.

External analysis is necessary in order to study the reason for the publication of the document, the reliability of the material presented, the qualifications of the author of the publication, and, therefore, the validity of the conclusions and information contained in the document. It is this part of traditional document analysis that makes it possible to determine the need for further analysis of the document and the possibility of using document materials for the purposes of the intended marketing research.

Internal analysis constitutes the main part of the study. It is difficult to formalize, but there are still some recommendations that should be followed. In First, it is necessary to briefly and clearly formulate the purpose of document analysis, that is, to determine what exactly interests the researcher in it, and write down the resulting formulation before starting document analysis. When analyzing a document, a written statement of purpose should be constantly in front of the researcher’s eyes so that he can always check the criterion for assessing the content of the document.

In secondly, before studying the text, it is marked by an expert in such a way that, using text identification symbols, the researcher can easily find any segment of the text. Most often, paragraph numbering is used for this. In this case, two numbering methods are possible - continuous numbering and page numbering. The first method is used when analyzing small texts.

IN Third, when studying a document, it is necessary to highlight paragraphs that contain information relevant to the formulated goal. It is assumed that correctly composed text is arranged so that each individual paragraph contains a complete thought, or self-sufficient information. Therefore, the expert, after reading a paragraph of text, having identified its meaningful meaning, makes a decision about whether its content corresponds to the purpose of the study. If doubts arise, the expert returns to the research goal previously formulated in writing and checks his opinion about the content of the paragraph with the selection criterion, which consists in the formulated goal.

IN fourth, after highlighting the paragraphs that contain information relevant to the formulated goal, the expert must formulate their summary in terms of the research goal. This formulation is obviously carried out in writing. In this case, the expert indicates the paragraph number.

A brief summary of the essence of the information contained in the highlighted paragraph allows you to compress the content of the information to the limits that are amenable to more thorough analysis.

IN fifth, after studying the text and recording brief information on the selected paragraphs of this text, the essence of the marketing information obtained in a condensed form is analyzed and a final document is prepared on the results of the analysis of the document.

As a result of such formalization of the results of the analysis of the content of documents, their conclusions become as objective as possible. In addition, both the documents themselves and the results of the examination can easily be subjected to re-examination. To do this, you can set some control points in the text of the report, for example, highlighted and numbered paragraphs of the document and subject these paragraphs to re-examination with the help of another specialist. If the results coincide, we should talk about the high objectivity of the document analysis. In another case, the document is sent for re-examination. However, despite the significant formalization of the text, it is still not possible to achieve an objective examination of the text. This is due to the fact that the information contained in the document is studied and assessed by an expert whose psychology is very individual. Therefore, the perception of the text and its content by each expert is different, just as the emotions that the text evokes are different. Subjective and poorly controllable factors such as the expert’s well-being and his mood have a significant impact on the objectivity of the analysis results. In addition, the expert must carefully and completely read the text, so the speed of information processing is low, and the costs of obtaining marketing information from the text are very high. At the same time, it is impossible to require an expert to read the text “diagonally”, since the main advantage of traditional document analysis is the expert’s ability to identify not only the information clearly contained in the text of the document, but also the information that is “between the lines” of the document.

Methods for formalized document analysis

The essence of formal analysis methods is to find easily recognizable features and properties of a document that reflect a piece of information related to the purpose of the study. The most common method of formalized document analysis is “content analysis.”

The term “content analysis” itself, as well as the first attempts to carry out statistically accurate measurements of the content of mass media materials, originate from research in the field of American journalism in late XIX and the beginning of the 20th century. One of the first works in this area was carried out by J. Speed ​​in 1893. He analyzed Sunday editions of New York newspapers for the years 1881 - 1883. By comparing the content of materials from these two years, he found out what changes had occurred in the New York press during this time. J. Speed ​​classified the content of materials by topic (literature, politics, religion, gossip, scandals, business, etc.) and measured the length of newspaper columns allocated to cover these topics. After comparing the data over the years, he came to a number of conclusions. Thus, the New York Times newspaper began to publish much more materials containing retellings of various scandalous stories, gossip and rumors. This was the reason that the readership of the newspaper expanded, its circulation increased, and the newspaper was able to reduce the price for each issue by a third (from three cents to two cents), while increasing its total volume.

The success of the study marked the beginning of a rapid growth in the number of works devoted to the practice and theory of content analysis. Already by the beginning of 30 s of the twentieth century, the basic principles of content theory were formulated analysis. In the Soviet Union content analysis began to be applied in practice and developed only at the end of the 60s x years. There are three important elements in the procedure for carrying it out.

The first element of the procedure is the development of categories of analysis. Categories of analysis are understood as concepts in accordance with which the selection and sorting of units of analysis will be carried out. These categories, in turn, can be the subject of analysis (decomposition into component parts). Such categories may include, for example, income. The system of analysis categories should be built in such a way as to make it possible to make comparisons between various sources containing the required information, that is, the analysis categories are subject to the requirement of universal comparability, high standardization of categories, which allows the use of statistical methods of document analysis.

When formulating categories of analysis, care should be taken to ensure that they fully describe the information identified as a result of the analysis and the information required, and also do not leave room for unclear gradation. The system of analysis categories should provide maximum accuracy and reduce the element of subjectivity to a minimum.

The second element of the procedure is the selection of units of analysis. From a methodological point of view, the question of the unit of analysis is the starting point when constructing a methodology for any specific content study. Each selected category of analysis is divided according to some criterion into indivisible units of analysis. It is these units of analysis that are identified in the process of studying the document. Here it is necessary to remember that they act as a kind of score indicators, which means they must be clearly formalized and easily defined. So, if income was chosen as the category of analysis, then the units of analysis can be: low income, low income, average income, high income and ultra-high income.

In the text, the unit of analysis can be designated by a word, phrase; in the most complex case, it may not have a terminological expression; its presence is determined by hidden meaning. Typically the units of analysis include:

concept expressed by a single word or phrase,

topic expressed in individual judgments, paragraphs, pieces of text,

common nouns or names of events.

Third element of the procedure allocation of units of account. Counting units can be the number of occurrences of units of analysis, the number of lines with these units, the number of paragraphs, square centimeters of area, columns in printed texts and so on.

Once all the specified elements have been selected, the document can be analyzed. As a result of isolating and counting content elements, a model of text content is created, which can serve as an object of analysis. When models of all analyzed texts are obtained, they can be compared with each other and trends in changes or preservation of the content of texts over time, in various sources of information, etc. can be traced. A comparative analysis of such models allows us to identify the most characteristic trends in the movement of information.

Sometimes other ways of processing the results of document analysis are more informative; for example, a very important indicator may be the ratio between the volume of information of interest to a marketer contained in the text of the document and the volume of the text itself, and some other statistical indicators.

General content structure analysis can be modified in several different ways. American sociologist R. Merton identifies six types of content analysis.

First type of content analysis is based on the elementary selection and study of units of analysis contained in the document. This is certainly very important information, which characterizes, for example, the importance of the analyzed information for the compilers of the analyzed document. You can highlight other properties of the document (for example, by comparative analysis). This type of content

analysis is very simple in practical application during marketing research, but its results are far from complete comprehensive knowledge about the object of analysis.

Second type of content analysis is a complicated modification of the first type. It is sometimes called “classification by relation.” Units of analysis reflect not just the presence of the required information, but also the attitude towards it - they are classified in a favorable and unfavorable aspect in relation to the object of study.

The third type of analysis is analysis by units of analysis. When using this type of analysis, the main and minor units of analysis are identified from the perspective of the research being conducted. Units of analysis can be classified not just into major and minor, but a complex system of hierarchy of importance of units of analysis can be built for the purposes of marketing research. Thus, the document model turns out to be richer in its research properties.

When there is a need to determine the total value of a number of parts of the analyzed document, the fourth type of content is used analysis - thematic analysis. To a certain extent, it allows us to identify the explicit and hidden purposes of publishing a document and give a complete picture of the content of the document. To do this, the set of categories of analysis is expanded in such a way as to cover the entire set of topics related to a given subject of study. Each category of analysis is fully described by units of analysis. The resulting set of data most broadly represents the content of the text, and it is easy to trace its thematic content, changes in topics, their relationship and interdependence.

Fifth type of content analysis - structural analysis is general in nature and its name is associated not with the method of obtaining information, but with the purpose of the study. Since it main goal is the analysis of the relationships between various topics and relationships in the analyzed text, that is, the analysis of the structure of the document, it received the appropriate name.

The sixth type of analysis is associated with the study of a set of documents prepared by one source or several related sources. This type of content analysis is called propaganda analysis, since a set of documents devoted to one topic pursues what or a goal, and this goal can be fully disclosed only in the case of a meaningful analysis of the entire set of documents. At the same time, a model of each document is built, and the general orientation of the documents, the system of causal investigative connections between documents and document topics, trends and methods of presenting information in the identified direction.

The high degree of formalization of the procedure allows the widespread use of computer technology for its implementation. This leads to the fact that the amount of content processed using document analysis and the volumes of secondary information studied are several orders of magnitude greater than the number of documents and volumes of information studied using traditional document analysis. A marketer can use special software for these purposes, but can also use other software.

The disadvantages of formalized analysis include, first of all, the fact that the content of a document can be revealed by expressions that are not among the easily recognizable properties. For example, a document written in good literary style contains a significant number of synonyms, some of which may be missed. The second fundamental drawback is the fact that very important, but isolated messages about the object of research may not be covered as a result of the content analysis or simply ignored in a large array of information. Eliminate this disadvantage can use traditional document analysis.

CONCLUSION

In my work, I reviewed all the main methods of collecting information in marketing research. Since the current market situation directly affects public life, people need to receive information related to this topic.

It should be noted that it is with the help of marketing research that firms can monitor changes in customer needs. A marketing tool, or its information and analytical support, is marketing research - an integral part of marketing activities. Marketing research allows managers to concentrate efforts on short-, medium-, and long-term solutions. Research results can serve as a reliable basis for planning, solving management and control problems.

The implementation of marketing research involves the use of a wide variety of methods for collecting information. Which methods are the most effective in which cases, the advantages and disadvantages of the methods, how to correctly structure the interaction of methods with each other to achieve the highest quality research results.

The purpose of my work was to study the main methods of collecting information in marketing research. The goal was successfully achieved.

During the research work I performed the following tasks:

Identify the main methods of collecting information.

Consider each method separately and characterize it.

Explore the features and effectiveness of methods.

In each chapter of the essay, I tried to describe in detail the process of solving the problems I set at the beginning of the work.

List of used literature

1.Golubkov E. P. Marketing research: theory, practice and methodology. M. Finpress, 2009.

2.Neresh K. Marketing research. URL:<#"center">collecting information marketing survey

Glossary

.Method is a set of techniques and operations of cognition and practical activity; a way to achieve certain results in knowledge and practice.

.Research is the study, analysis of a phenomenon or object.

.Marketing is a set of all types of business activities that ensure the promotion of goods and services from producers to consumers, as well as the study of the position, preferences and attitudes of consumers and the systematic use of this information to create new consumer goods and services.

.Marketing research is a form of business research and branch of applied sociology that focuses on understanding the behavior, desires and preferences of consumers, competitors and markets in a market-driven economy.

.Questioning is a written form of survey carried out outside of direct contact with the respondent.

.Interviewing is a written form of questioning carried out in the process of direct contact with the respondent.

.Standardized survey - a survey based on the use of standard answer options.

.Non-standardized survey - based on the use in surveys, in addition to standard answer options, of so-called open-ended answers to questions.

9. Expert survey - a type of survey , during which the respondents are experts - highly qualified specialists in a specific field of activity.

Information - information, data.

A respondent is a person being surveyed, a subject answering questions.

A survey is a method of collecting primary information by finding out subjective opinions, preferences, and attitudes of people regarding an object.

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Collection of marketing information

Marketing research
G. Churchill, T. Brown

Learning objectives:

• Find out the difference between project and systemic research methods.
• Explain what is called a marketing information system (MIS) and a decision support system (DSS).
• Define the network implementation of modern information systems.
• List the elements that make up a decision support system.
• Determine what trends are developing in the field of collecting marketing information.

In the previous chapter, it was noted that the main objective of marketing research is to help managers make better decisions on current issues in all areas of their multifaceted activities.

Responsible for the company's activities in the market, marketers are in dire need of information, or marketing intelligence data. They may need information about expected changes in purchasing behavior, which product designs are likely to be most successful, the firm's demand curve, and other aspects that may affect how they solve problems or evaluate and monitor the firm's efforts in areas of marketing.

Marketing research has traditionally been responsible for this information function. As a means of communication with the external environment, marketing research creates feedback, transmit and interpret information regarding the success of the company's marketing plans, as well as regarding the strategy and tactics used in implementing these plans.

There are two main methods by which marketing research can satisfy marketing information needs:

• Project - development and implementation of projects to solve a specific problem.
• Systemic - the organization of systems that will provide marketing information and guide the decision-making process on an ongoing basis.

Much of this book is devoted to the first method, which is called the "project" method. Thus, the next chapter will outline the steps that are necessary when research is used to solve a specific problem.

Each step will be discussed in detail throughout the rest of the book. However, this chapter, on the contrary, is devoted to the second method, which is usually called the “systemic” method. At the beginning of the chapter, the difference between the system method and the design method is described. The following describes what systems marketers use to obtain information and make decisions.

Project method and system method

Although most of works devoted to marketing research concentrate on the project method, both methods are important. Both provide information, but in different ways. Robert J. Williams ( Robert J. Williams), creator of the first known marketing information system in the division Mead Johnson companies Edward Dalton Company, explains this difference using the following analogy: Both of these sources of marketing information are sources of light, but the project method can be compared to a flash lamp, and the system method can be compared to a candle.

Marketing research in the form of a project can shed light on a particular issue at a particular point in time. In contrast, the systematic method, based on a marketing information system, rarely shows all the details of a given situation, but provides light constantly, even when conditions change.

As the analogy shows, one of the problems of projects is their “impermanent” nature. Often projects are developed during crises and rushed through, which in turn leads to a focus on data collection and analysis rather than developing appropriate information monitoring on a regular basis.

One way to solve this problem is to view management as a continuous decision-making process that requires information to flow regularly, and not just during a crisis situation. Today this is achieved using certain means of marketing information systems and/or decision support systems.

The first attempts to provide a continuous flow of information (i.e., candlelight) were associated with the development marketing information systems (MIS), which have been defined as “a set of procedures and methods designed for the regular, pre-planned collection, analysis and distribution of information for the preparation and adoption of marketing decisions.”

The key word in this definition is “regular”, since marketing information systems are designed to collect information continuously, rather than one-time, as during a research project.

Marketing information system (MIS)— a set of procedures and methods designed for regular, pre-planned collection, analysis and distribution of information for the preparation and adoption of marketing decisions.

Decision support system (DSS)- a set of data, systems, tools and techniques with appropriate software and hardware, with the help of which an organization collects the necessary information from inside and outside, interprets it and uses it to make marketing decisions.

In contrast to MIS, which are more likely to be designed for the preparation of a large number of reports, decision support systems (DSS) are programs that help managers more fully use available information when making certain decisions. The formal definition of a management system is as follows: “A set of data, systems, tools and techniques with associated software and hardware, with the help of which an organization collects the necessary information from inside and outside, interprets it and uses it to make marketing decisions.”

Thus, in addition to storing information, the DSS provides models for analyzing this information - for example, to create tables or graphs of key data that will allow you to see how the forecast results will change if certain parameters are changed. Both DSS and MIS tools are used to improve the quality of information processing to make better marketing decisions. SPR, however, differs from MIS:

• DSSs are typically used to solve less defined, less understood problems that managers face, rather than those that can be solved through a relatively standard set of procedures and comparisons.
• DSS combines the use of models and analytical techniques and procedures with the more traditional data access functions of MIS.
• DSSs include features that make them easy to use interactively for people whose background is not directly related to computers. These tools include the use of menu systems to conduct analysis and display results graphically. Regardless of how exactly the interaction between the user and the computer is organized, these systems can respond to user requests in real time, that is, within the time that allows direct decision making.
• SPR is characterized by flexibility and adaptability. They can be used by various persons with different style work. They can also be used in conditions of a changing external environment.

Ideally, a marketing information system regularly provides the information that a marketing manager needs to make decisions. Developers of such MIS begin the process with a detailed study of the needs of each decision maker who may use the system. They strive to make an accurate, objective assessment of each manager's decision-making authority, abilities and style.

They also study what kind of decisions a manager typically makes, what kind of information is needed to make those decisions, what kind of information that person receives periodically, and what specialized research he needs to conduct from time to time. The analysis also takes into account what kind of improvements decision makers would like to make to the existing information system, not only regarding the content of the information they receive, but also regarding the form in which they receive it.

Having received the “specification” for the information, MIS developers begin to define, approve and compile the forms and content of reports, which will then be provided to decision makers. To cope with this task, system developers must determine what data will be fed into the system, how to ensure the security and storage of this data, how to provide access to the data, and also how the reports will look.

Only then the analysis and development stages are considered completed, after which you can begin directly to create the system. Programmers write and document software, making data access as efficient as possible in terms of computer time and memory. Once all software components have been checked for errors, the system is put into operation so that managers with authorized access can request the necessary report from it.

Limitations of Marketing Information Systems

At first, MIS were viewed as an “information panacea”—as a solution to all information problems in a company. However, reality is often far from promises. In fact, effective implementation of both MIS and DSS is a complex task. People tend to resist change, and with the introduction of MIS, the change will be significant.

In addition, many decision makers demonstrate a reluctance to explain to others what factors they use and how they analyze them together when making decisions on certain issues. Without disclosure of this information, it is impossible to develop reports that will provide them with the information they need in a form that is useful to them.

And even if managers are willing to reveal their decision-making algorithms and information needs, problems still remain. Different managers tend to consider different things more important, so their information needs vary. Few report formats will be optimal for all users. Developers will either have to develop "compromise" reports that are acceptable to a number of users, although not ideal for any of them, or they will have to undertake the very labor-intensive task of developing software to suit the needs of each user - one at a time.

In addition, the time and costs required to implement such systems are often underestimated. This is due to an underestimation of the scale of the task, changes in the organizational structure, changes in people occupying key positions, as well as an underestimation of the power of electronic data processing systems that will be required for such systems.

Often, by the time such a system is developed, the people for whom it is designed have different job responsibilities or have changed competitive and economic conditions, with which it was developed. Therefore, the system becomes obsolete already at the implementation stage, and the entire process of analysis, development, implementation and implementation must be carried out anew.

Another fundamental problem with MIS is that these systems are not suitable for solving some of the problems that managers often face. Many functions that managers perform cannot be implemented either programmatically or delegated, since they involve personal, subjective choice. Because a manager's decision-making process is often specific and involves choices in situations that cannot be foreseen, standard reporting systems lack the flexibility and scope to be applicable.

Also, managers cannot - even if they wanted to - determine in advance what they will want from programmers and modelers, since the decision-making and planning process is often exploratory. As decision makers and their staff learn more about an issue, their information needs and analysis methods evolve. In addition, the decision-making process often involves the formation of assumptions and consideration of qualitative factors, which are quite difficult to formalize for software implementation.

The final disadvantage of both MIS and DSS is that their effectiveness is limited by the amount of data that was entered into them. If the necessary data has not been collected, the system will not be able to effectively support relevant marketing decisions. To some extent, this problem is inevitable, since managers are constantly learning new things and using them in their work.

And it is unlikely that any information will be included in our databases unless we have determined that the information is important. In some cases, however, the lack of information in a system will indicate that those responsible for its development and maintenance have neglected their responsibility to identify the data elements used by managers to make decisions.

Network information systems

When the use of MIS first began, managers obtained reports by requesting them from the company's central computer or its information systems department. Department staff would print out the report and bring it to the manager. Modern computer systems enable users to obtain information independently through the existing computer network.

This allows decision makers to get the information they need, when they need it—even if they are unexpectedly faced with new situations and new information needs.

In old computer networks, terminals—or personal computers—were connected to a database that resided on a mainframe (a large central computer). Such networks still exist in some companies, especially those with large databases. Today's computer networks can connect multiple personal computers and provide Internet access.

Internet is a large-scale global network that connects computers in government organizations, universities, commercial firms and companies providing Internet access. At one time, this network could only be used by government and scientific institutions to share technological information. Today the Internet connects more than 440 million people from different countries. Part of its popularity is due to the fact that to access it you only need a personal computer and an account with an Internet provider.

Many Internet users use the World Wide Web ( World Wide Web), a hypertext system that allows users to receive text, graphics, video and sound. Hypertext allows you to “jump” to other areas of text or graphics by clicking on highlighted areas of text or graphics. Hypertext links on the web can switch users from documents of one organization to documents of another, perhaps located in another hemisphere of the Earth. There are more than 8 million websites on the World Wide Web—and that number continues to grow.

The accessibility and capabilities of the Internet have encouraged many organizations to use its tools in their own computer networks. An increasing number of organizations are implementing intranets—using web-based tools such as hypertext on their internal networks. Similarly, an extranet allows you to connect authorized users within an organization, its suppliers and customers, allowing them to exchange information as easily as using the World Wide Web.

With both an intranet and an extranet, users can access information of all kinds, from last week's sales to inventory levels to order status. Search engines, which were developed for finding information on the Internet, have proven so useful that many companies have started using them on their intranets and extranets. Companies use programs called “firewalls” to prevent unauthorized users from accessing sensitive information online. In this case, intranet or extranet users can use links that lead outside the " fire wall”—to the rest of the Internet.

The Internet, as well as its “offspring” intranet and extranet, have given a completely new meaning to the concept of “information system”. Today, computer users can not only view information stored in companies' own systems, but also download huge amounts of free information from government and (usually paid) commercial industrial and trade databases, publications and many other sources. In ch. 7 discusses some of these sources of information in more detail.

Decision support systems

As the shortcomings of traditional MISs became more apparent, the emphasis in developing systems that routinely deliver marketing information has shifted from systems that provide predefined reports to decision support systems (DSS).

The decision support system includes a data system, a model system and a dialogue system that allows the manager to use the DSS interactively (Fig. 2.1).

Data system

Data system DSS combines the processes of collecting and storing data from the fields of marketing, finance and production, as well as information coming from all external or internal sources. Standard system data consists of modules containing information about consumers, economic and demographic situations, competitors, industry, including market trends.

Where does the data in the DSS come from? One recent study of Fortune 500 companies found that 62% of the data was internal accounting data and the rest was market research and marketing intelligence data.

In table 2.1 shows how many companies with MIS use certain sources of information. The table also shows how many companies store certain data electronically. In particular, 82% of companies with MIS collected information related to federal authorities. Moreover, 63% of these companies maintained this information in electronic form (in computer databases). The most “popular” data elements were information about existing and potential customers, competitors and suppliers.

The exponential growth of computing power and the emergence of increasingly extensive data processing capabilities have led to an increase in database volumes. While company databases originally contained current information, many now also contain historical data. Compared to these “data warehouses,” those databases that were available just a few years ago literally look like dwarfs.

Data system

A component of a decision support system that integrates the collection processes and methods of storing data from the areas of marketing, finance and production, as well as information coming from all external or internal sources.

For example, Wal-Mart has a database of transactions for more than 4 thousand company stores in nine countries. Wal-Mart uses it to determine which product stocks need to be replenished, to analyze seasonality and other characteristics of consumer behavior, determine the size of discounts, and to respond in a timely manner to changes in sales volumes of a particular product.

In addition to company data, the system can also provide information from other online databases. Today, with a computer, you can access thousands of databases—compared with fewer than 900 in 1980. Managers can glean a tremendous amount of information from commercial databases—even though the capabilities that were available 6 years ago seem just insignificant.

* Percentage of companies that stated that they support MIS/DS.

As the number of databases has increased, so has the public's concern about information security and how people's privacy rights are being violated by the creation and distribution of these databases. Much of this controversy arises from people being asked to enter their personal data without providing them with full information about how it will be used.

For example, Yahoo! recently angered its customers by informing them that unless they explicitly informed the company otherwise, the company would assume that they had expressed a desire to receive promotional communications by email, postal mail, and telephone. As a result of such actions, legislative efforts are being made in various countries to ensure the protection of individual interests on the Internet.

The problem of information security is not exclusively a consumer problem. Companies that are part of a particular network or participate in other agreements involving the exchange of information periodically disclose detailed information about themselves. Like consumers, they may not always know exactly how the data will be used.

Company Newbury Comics, which is based in Boston, depends on its knowledge of future music trends to keep its 20 record stores competitive with retail giants. Mike Dreese, co-owner of the business, was shocked to learn that he had unwittingly shared his knowledge. He submitted weekly sales reports, which included the names of the companies producing the products and the names of the singers, companies SoundScan, which specializes in collecting such information from most music retailers in the United States.

Driz knew that SoundScan uses this information to prepare reports for record companies, promoters and managers. However, he was unpleasantly surprised when one of the intermediaries began to brag to him that his company was buying detailed information from SoundScan in order to supply retail giants such as Wal-Mart And Kmart, the most actively selling albums in a particular region.

Considering the fact that the company Newbury Comics A trend setter of sorts, she apparently provided information that helped her most dangerous competitors. After carefully considering the consequences, Driz decided that Newbury Comics will no longer provide information SoundScan.

In addition to privacy concerns, another question to consider when deciding whether to include data in a database is whether it is useful in making marketing decisions. The main task of the DSS is to collect, in a reasonable degree of detail, the marketing information that is necessary for decision-making (relevant), and then present it in a truly user-friendly form. It is especially important that the database management techniques built into the system allow data to be organized logically, much like a manager would.

Model system

An integral part of a decision support system that includes all the procedures that allow the user to manipulate data in order to perform the required analysis.

Model system

IN system of models, which is an integral part of the DSS, includes all procedures that allow the user to manipulate data in order to perform the required analysis. Every time a manager examines data, he or she already has an opinion about how a particular system or process works and, therefore, what valuable information may be contained in the database. Such ideas are called models. In addition, almost all managers want to be able to process data, which will allow them to better understand the marketing issue they are interested in.

Such data processing methods are called procedures. Data processing procedures can range in complexity from simply adding a few numbers to complex statistical analysis to find an optimization strategy using, for example, nonlinear programming. At the same time, “the most common procedures are considered simple operations, such as grouping numbers into appropriate groups, summing them, calculating coefficients, ranking, looking for deviations ("pop-up" cases, or exceptions), plotting graphs and compiling tables."

BayCare Health System, An association of not-for-profit health care providers in western Florida, developed the DSS to provide decision makers (both in management and in health care delivery) with key information needed to make decisions regarding specific health care programs for the communities they serve ( territorial entities). The system monitors a number of indicators, ranging from the socio-economic characteristics of territorial entities to behavioral risk factors.

This is intended to identify specific problems that are present in a particular territorial entity. For example, several areas have been identified with unexpectedly high mortality rates due to stroke. The following research revealed the problem of transport shortages in the low-income segments of the population, the elderly and national minorities in these localities. As a result, a “Mobile Medical Service Unit” was organized, whose functions included preventive and educational work in these groups.

Increasingly complex data processing models are constantly being developed, often to solve very narrow problems. For example, DSS have been developed to allow brand managers to make better decisions regarding the elements of the marketing mix of managed brands, to help managers make decisions about the development of new products, and to evaluate alternative marketing plans for films before their release.

The explosion in the number of databases and the size of some of them in recent years has created an increased need for methods for efficiently analyzing them. For example, in-store scanning systems provide enormous amounts of data to marketing managers at consumer packaged goods companies. Due to such large volumes of data, even an experienced analyst requires enormous amounts of effort and time to process it in order to obtain basic conclusions about key trends.

Expert system

Computerized system artificial intelligence, designed to simulate the actions of experts in information processing in order to resolve a particular problem.

In response, a number of firms have begun developing expert systems—computerized artificial intelligence systems designed to simulate the actions of information processing experts in order to solve a particular problem.

Dialogue system

Dialogue system, which is also called the language system, is the element of the DSS that makes up the main difference between the DSS and the MIS. Dialogue systems allow company employees, without being programmers, to work with databases using model systems in order to obtain reporting information that satisfies their specific information needs. Reporting information can be displayed in the form of tables or graphs, and the format is set by the manager himself. The dialogue system can be passive, when the analysis parameters are selected by the user through a menu through a few simple keystrokes or manipulations with the mouse or light pen, or active, when the user himself sets the conditions and tasks in command mode.

The main feature is that the manager independently, without the help of a programmer, performs the analysis, sitting at a computer terminal and using a dialogue system. The dialogue system provides only the requested information, and not the entire data array. The manager can ask a question, then, depending on the answer, ask another question, then another and another, and so on.

As the availability of online databases increases, so does the need for better dialogue systems. A conversational system is what displays data to the decision maker. While this sounds simple enough, the task is complex due to the volume of data available, the speed at which it flows into the company, and the fact that it comes from a variety of sources.

One way to solve this problem is distributed networked computer networks. Such systems use a common interface, or server. Through such a server, with the help of a few elementary commands, an analyst can enter and query data, analyze spreadsheets, build graphs, perform statistical analysis and prepare reports (Fig. 2.2). Capabilities like these are known by the technical term “data mining,” and businesses hope they will allow them to increase sales and profits by better understanding their customers.

A typical "data mining" method involves using a supercomputer that is connected to a number of personal computers.

Dialogue system

A part of a decision support system that allows users to manipulate databases using a model system to produce reports that meet their specific information needs. Another name is the language system.

Decision makers use their personal computers to ask questions to a supercomputer, which processes them in parallel—breaking them down into smaller computational tasks that run simultaneously. A computer using parallel computing can easily process trillions of data items, reducing the time required to solve a problem from weeks or months to days or hours.

For example, Fingerhut Companies, a catalog retailer based in Minnetoka, Minnesota, has used “data mining” to drive its promotional efforts. The company's computer crunched 6 trillion characters of data to figure out which of its 25 million customers had recently purchased outdoor furniture and might therefore be interested in purchasing a new gas grill.

Trends in the field of obtaining marketing information

There is no doubt that the increasing use of the Internet, computer databases and software for accessing databases is having an impact on the way companies collect marketing information. More and more companies are creating their own DSS; those who already have them are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their use to obtain routine business-related information, particularly information about competitors.

Head of information service and head of knowledge service

Decision support systems that are more complex in their structure and capabilities provide access to such large volumes of data that information management at the senior management level of an organization becomes critically important. The information manager can help ensure that information is used to support strategic decision making. Today, in many organizations, these tasks are assigned to the chief information officer (RIS).

The main function of the chief information officer is to manage the company's information and computer systems as a whole. He is the liaison between the company's senior management and its information systems division. His responsibilities include planning, coordinating and controlling the use of the firm's information resources, and he is more involved with advanced developments than with the day-to-day activities of the department.

Typically, he is more knowledgeable about the business as a whole than heads of information systems departments, who are often more technical specialists. In many cases, heads of information systems departments report directly to the head of the information service.

When falling sales reminded Levi Strauss the need to maintain closer ties with its customers, the company's efforts in this direction were spearheaded by RIS Linda Click. Her team began its work by evaluating the company's direct-to-consumer interface, the company's website, and its "Original Spin" service, which offers consumers measurements in stores to have jeans made specifically for them.

In addition, Glick considered it expedient to restructure the divisions information technologies in North America, Europe and Asia so that their staff work more closely with staff from other company departments, such as design and marketing. The purpose of the restructuring is to ensure that information technology personnel serve as consultants to other departments. This example demonstrates the increasing role of both information management tasks in companies and those who manage the processes of collecting and distributing information.

More and more companies are expanding the concept of information systems management to include knowledge management in the heads of their employees. Perhaps one of a company's most important assets is the knowledge its employees have about the company's customers, its products, and its market. However, few firms have the ability to make this information widely available to those who could use it. Knowledge Management is an attempt to collect such information and make it available to others.

Knowledge Management

Systematic collection of employee knowledge about customers, products and services, and the market.

Oil giant BP Amoco has saved hundreds of millions of dollars through the use of knowledge management, which is documented. His method is as follows. Before launching a project, the company calls a meeting in which those who have previously completed a similar project share the knowledge they have acquired. After the project is completed, there is both a brief and in-depth analysis of what happened and what knowledge was gained.

A company that adopts knowledge management may delegate responsibility for this area to a knowledge manager (KCH). Typically, the KSO is responsible for how the organization manages and disseminates knowledge, not only knowledge that is “explicitly available”, but also knowledge that experienced professionals can use without thinking too much about it.

In order for such knowledge to be disseminated in an organization, it is necessary for the organization's employees to realize what knowledge they possess and share it with others. Thus, it is not surprising that a study conducted London Business School, showed that for RIS, technological skills are less important than for conventional RIS, and people skills are more important.

Linking marketing information with other information needed to make business decisions

Another component of the influence of powerful information systems on the methods of collecting marketing information is the blurring of the boundaries between different types of information management. When computers in organizations could store enough data to support the decision support system of one functional division of the company, each functional area of ​​the company required its own system with its own database. However, today more and more companies are taking advantage of combining information from different departments and levels of the organization.

For example, an enterprise resource planning system ( enterprise resource planning, ERP) allows you to monitor and control all the organization's resource needs, such as inventory, human resources and production capacity. This sophisticated software package allows you to track financial data, production schedules, inventory levels, etc. - everything that is needed to ensure that the organization has exactly the amount of resources required to meet target levels of market demand as efficiently as possible. , as much as possible.

Collecting marketing information can help ERP, as it will allow managers to prepare accurate forecasts of sales levels. In addition, a promotional event or new product launch can have a significant impact on all functional areas of the organization and its resource requirements. ERP can assist in marketing efforts by providing information about the impact of marketing decisions on the organization as a whole.

Gathering information in the organization of the future

It may seem strange to some, but the growth in the number of databases and the creation of DSS have not eliminated the need to carry out traditional marketing research projects to collect marketing information, nor the need to understand their strengths and weaknesses. This is explained by the fact that these two types of activities are rather not competing, but complementary. On the one hand, many of the project-based research techniques discussed in this book provide a means of obtaining information that feeds into the databases used by DSS companies. Thus, the value of the market insight that these databases can provide depends directly on the quality of the information they provide.

On the other hand, despite the fact that the DSS provides enough information for making strategic decisions, allowing managers to keep abreast of events in the external environment, and is a preventive system, this information is sometimes not enough for making decisions in special situations - such as the release of a new product to the market product, changing distribution channels, evaluating a promotional campaign, etc. If information is required that determines all subsequent actions in solving specific marketing problems, research projects come first.

In conclusion, it should be noted that one should not expect a decrease in the importance of both the traditional, or project, method of obtaining marketing information, and the method based on MIS and DSS. In an increasingly competitive world, information is vital, and a company's ability to crawl and analyze information largely determines its future. Light from both a flash lamp and a candle is required.

Summary

Learning Objective 1

What is the difference between design and systems research methods?

The difference between research in the form of projects and research using a marketing information system (MIS) or a decision support system (DSS) is that the latter two are designed for continuous monitoring of the firm’s performance, the behavior of competitors and changes in the external environment, while the former are intended for in-depth but non-permanent study of some specific problems and environmental conditions.

Learning Objective 2

What is called a marketing information system (MIS) and a decision support system (DSS)

A marketing information system is a set of procedures and methods designed for the regular, systematic collection, analysis and distribution of information for the preparation and adoption of marketing decisions. A decision support system enhances the capabilities of MIS, including tools that simplify the decision-making process. A decision support system is a collection of data, systems, tools and techniques with associated software and hardware, with the help of which an organization collects the necessary information from inside and outside, interprets it and uses it to make marketing decisions. DSS includes data systems, model systems and dialogue systems.

Learning Objective 3

What is the network implementation of modern information systems

Modern information systems are usually networked, which allows decision makers on their personal computers to independently obtain information without making a request through the information systems department. The data may be located on a central computer, on personal computers, or on the Internet. Many networks allow you to use Internet-based search tools and access data via an intranet (for internal use) or via an extranet (for internal users and for authorized external ones - such as customers or suppliers).

Learning Objective 4

What elements does a decision support system consist of?

A decision support system consists of three main components. The data system collects information from internal and external sources and provides its storage. Model system contains procedures that allow the user to manipulate data in order to analyze it in the way he wishes. The software of the model system may include an expert system that makes decisions based on the results of information processing, based on modeling the process of making a similar decision by experts. Finally, dialogue system allows marketers to use a system of models to create reports based on criteria that they themselves define.

Learning Objective 5

What trends are developing in the field of collecting marketing information?

Modern marketing information and decision support systems provide so much information that managing it becomes a strategic task. Many organizations have introduced the position of Chief Information Officer (CIS), whose responsibilities include organizing the process of collecting information and making it available for use in decision making. Other organizations view this role more broadly, including the collection and management of all knowledge within the organization. Often the leadership of this area is entrusted to the head of the knowledge service (KSO).

In addition, many organizations create information and decision support systems that serve the entire organization, linking its various functional areas. Systems such as enterprise resource planning systems ( ERP), show decision makers how these decisions affect the organization's resource levels and resource needs. ERP, thus, can provide the marketer with information about how his decisions will affect the organization's operations as a whole.

Fundamentals of competitiveness management Elena Ivanovna Mazilkina

7.4. Methods for collecting marketing information

Methods for collecting marketing information can be divided into two groups: quantitative and qualitative. The main difference between these methods is the information obtained during the study, as well as the methods for obtaining and processing it. It should be noted that there is no clear sequence in the use of these methods, so competent marketers use various combinations of quantitative and qualitative methods in order to obtain relevant information (Table 5.).

Quantitative methods collection of information is based on various types of surveys. More often quantitative methods are used to survey a large number of respondents and obtain, in most cases, information that is quantitative in nature.

Features of the method– high degree of standardization of data collection and processing forms.

Table 5.

Comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of quantitative and qualitative information

The main advantages of the method:

– possibility of statistical analysis;

– reliability of the collected information (with proper organization of control over data collection and processing);

– speed and ease of data analysis;

– relatively inexpensive method;

The main disadvantages of the method:

– the inadequacy of the information received due to the quantitative nature of the data;

– the method requires special technical support (data processing and analysis programs, the presence of qualified operators, etc.).

Types of surveys:

1. Personal interview (face – to-face):

– a survey carried out at the respondent’s home;

– survey in stores;

– survey in offices.

2. Telephone survey.

3. Panel survey.

4. Survey by mail.

Target qualitative research– obtaining data that explains the observed phenomenon.

Peculiarity qualitative research is that the data obtained are not expressed in specific figures and therefore cannot be analyzed statistically. Types of qualitative research are as follows:

1) group focused interview or focus group;

2) in-depth interview;

3) method of expert assessments;

4) observation;

5) protocol analysis;

6) projection methods.

Through qualitative research, consumer motivations can be determined.

Depending on the conditions under which information is collected, desk research and field research are distinguished.

The purpose of desk research is to collect and synthesize secondary data, that is, data that already exists and the appearance of which may not even be initially related to research purposes.

Desk research is carried out in two stages.

1. The problem formulation stage includes the following elements:

– formation of a solvable marketing problem;

– setting information tasks related to solving a marketing problem;

– ranking of information tasks (priorities and their solutions);

– formation of a working group and distribution of powers;

– clarification of possible sources of obtaining information for each information task;

– determination of the information search budget.

2. The working stage is implemented through the following actions:

– searching for information about existing secondary sources;

– collection of information in identified secondary documents;

– preliminary analysis and synthesis of information from secondary sources and documents on the problem under study;

– clarification of directions of information search based on the results of preliminary analysis;

– analysis of the collected information on the problem under study;

– preparation of an information report on the problem under study.

Sources of secondary information can be internal And external.

TO internal sources should include: accounting and sales statistics, collections of professional magazines, the availability of booklets, leaflets and price lists of competing companies. Obtaining such information is not particularly difficult. The main problem in this case, even if there is a special collection system and procedures, is usually to create sufficient motivation for the relevant services and personnel to submit information in a timely manner.

An important source of data is information circulating in the public media, obtained as a result of marketing research and scientific developments.

Field research involves collecting information in real-world settings. The main methods of field research include survey, observation and experiment.

Observation- a method of collecting primary data in which the researcher directly observes people and situations.

Experiment– a method of collecting data, the purpose of which is to reveal cause-and-effect relationships by eliminating conflicting explanations for observation results.

Survey– one of the most common research methods. When conducting a survey, the interviewer contacts the respondent in order to find out facts and opinions through direct or telephone communication, or by mailing questionnaires (Table 6.).

Table 6.

Types of survey methods

Questionnaire. The procedure for such a survey coincides with the general principles of organizing any research and involves the following stages:

– defining the purpose of the survey;

– coordination of financing issues;

– development of working hypotheses;

– development of a questionnaire form and its testing (pilot survey);

– determining the method of selecting respondents;

– selection and training of personnel to conduct the survey;

– conducting a survey;

– processing of survey results and its analysis;

- compilation of a report.

Individual interview – a survey of experts in a particular field, which is mainly unstructured.

Simple interview – a survey of respondents according to a pre-compiled scenario and does not provide for any analytical conclusions directly during the conversation with the respondent.

In-depth interview involves more active participation of the interviewer in the conversation. As answers emerge, the interviewer may ask additional (clarifying) questions.

Group discussion involves discussion of marketing problems by a group of consumers.

When conducting a survey, open and closed questions can be used.

Open questions get their name from the absence of any form of expected answer. The respondent answers such questions in any form. However, such answers are difficult to structure (Table 7).

Table 7.

Types of open questions

Closed questions have a clearly defined answer structure. Their main advantage is the ability to quickly process the material (Table 8).

Table 8.

Types of closed questions

The disadvantage of closed questions is the imposition of ready-made answers or misunderstanding of the proposed answers.

Control questions:

1. Why is marketing research carried out?

2. What is the structure of the marketing research process?

3. List the types of marketing research.

4. What are the features of working with quantitative information?

5. Describe qualitative methods collecting information.

6. How is information collected when conducting desk marketing research?

7. What types of questions are used when conducting field marketing research?

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