Marketing Research in Nonprofit Organizations

Professor Muris ii

Marketing research in nonprofit

organizations

Nonprofit organizations usually carry out less

marketing research due to:
Limited budgets
Newness in the marketing field
Limited research expertise

Marketing research in nonprofit

organizations

It is shown that marketing research increases

marketing effectiveness
Managers dont need more information, they
need better information

Marketing research in nonprofit

organizations
Seven myths that keep nonprofit managers from
engaging in a more effective marketing
research:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

The big decision myth

The survey myopia myth
The focus group myth
The big bucks myth
The we cant wait myth
The sophisticated researcher myth
The most-research-is-not-read myth
4

Organizational knowledge management

Thinking about marketing research:

The Marketing Information

System
Marketing
Marketing Managers
Managers

Analysis
Analysis Planning
Planning Implementation
Implementation Organization
Organization Control
Control
Marketing
MarketingInformation
Information
System
System
Assessing
AssessingInformation
InformationNeeds
Needs

Distributing
DistributingInformation
Information

Developing
DevelopingInformation
Information

Internal
Records

Information
Analysis

Marketing
Intelligence

Marketing
Research

Marketing
Marketing Environment
Environment

Targets
Targets Channels
Channels Competitors
Competitors Publics
Publics Macroenvironment
Macroenvironment

Assessing Marketing Information Needs

Marketing information system (MIS) consists

of people, equipment, and procedures to
gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and
distribute needed, timely, and accurate
information to marketing decision makers
Assess the information needs
Develop needed information
Analyze information
Distribute information
4-4

Functions of a MIS: Developing

Information
Information Needed by Managers Can be
Obtained From:
Internal
Internal Data
Data

Computerized
Computerized Collection
Collection of
of Information
Information from
from
Data
Data Sources
Sources (i.e.
(i.e. Accounting)
Accounting) Within
Within the
the
Company
Company

Marketing
Marketing
Intelligence
Intelligence

Collection
Collectionand
andAnalysis
Analysis of
ofPublicly
PubliclyAvailable
Available
Information
about
Competitors
and
Information about Competitors andthe
the
Marketing
MarketingEnvironment
Environment(i.e.
(i.e.Technological)
Technological)

Marketing
Marketing
Research
Research

Design,
Design, Collection,
Collection, Analysis,
Analysis, and
and Reporting
Reporting
of
of Data
Data about
about aa Specific
Specific Marketing
Marketing Situation
Situation
Facing
Facing the
the Organization
Organization
8

Developing Marketing Information

Internal Data
Internal databases are electronic collections of
consumer and market information obtained
from data sources within the company network,
including accounting, marketing, customer
service, and sales departments

4-8

Developing Marketing Information

Advantages and Disadvantage of Internal Databases

Advantages:
Can be accessed more
quickly
Less expensive

Disadvantages:
Incomplete information
Wrong form for
decision making
Timeliness of
information
Amount of information
Need for sophisticated
equipment and
techniques
4-9

Developing Marketing Information

Marketing Intelligence
Marketing intelligence is the systematic collection and
analysis of publicly available information about
competitors and developments in the marketplace
The goal of marketing intelligence is to improve strategic
decision making, assess and track competitors actions,
and provide early warning of opportunities and threats

4-10

Marketing Research

Marketing research is the systematic design,

collection, analysis, and reporting of data
relevant to a specific marketing situation facing
an organization

4-11

Who Uses Marketing Research?

Large companies have separate departments to
conduct marketing research; smaller companies
(usually doing less than $5 million in annual
sales) do not have separate research
departments
both size companies often contract the work with
professional market research companies
non-profit organizations and government also use
market research

13

Kinds of Marketing Research

Depend on the problem a company is trying to solve;

four significant areas of marketing research
1. Attitude or opinion research
research conducted to discover how consumers feel about
certain products, ideas or companies
example:

knowing what people who wear glasses think of corrective laser

eye surgery would be important to a company wanting to plan a
marketing strategy in this product market

The Gallup Organization often gathers peoples opinion on

political issues. The data is randomly collected and the results
are generalized for the entire country. Do you think this method
is successful? Why or why not?
14

Kinds of Marketing Research

2. Market research

systematically conducting research, gathering records

and analyzing information related to marketing products
generally using market analyses to find data

market analyses

goal is to investigate potential markets for a product and help define

aspects of the target market

sales forecasting

15

necessary aspect of a products life cycle, from the beginning and

throughout the cycle
also used to answer questions about market segment and pricing

try to estimate the future sales of a product

total market estimate calculated; then, an individual share predicted
for company

Kinds of Marketing Research

3.

Media Research

research focusing on issues around

media frequency and selection
measures the effectiveness of
advertisements and media
placement
research conducted to determine
what form of media or media
mix to use

16

request information from the

medium of interest to them
(e.g., print, broadcast, online)
subscribe to a publication called
Standard Rate and Data Services,
which provides rates and information
for the advertising industry

You are the marketing

director at General Mills and
helped develop the marketing
mix for a popular healthconscious breakfast cereal.
However, the mix has been
the same for four years. You
want to conduct research to
determine whether the mix is
still successful or needs
updating. What resources
would you use to do this?

Kinds of Marketing Research

4.

Product Research

research focusing on product design, package design and

product usage
also conducted to collect research on competitive products
helps to measure new product acceptance

test marketing

placing a sample of the new product in selected geographic areas

people receive test packets of cereal or bars of soap generally
accompanied with a product coupon
helps to gauge consumer response

research on existing products

17

have consumers try a new product and give their opinion;

sometimes used to compare two products

satisfaction surveys gather information on consumer response to

existing products

Marketing Research
Marketing Research
Advantages:

Speed

Cost

Provides data
that a company
cannot collect on
its own

Disadvantages:
Availability
Relevance
Accuracy
Impartial

4-18

Marketing Research
Developing the Research Plan
Research plan is a written proposal that includes:

Management problem

Research objectives

Information needed

How the results will help management decisions

Budget

4-16

Marketing Research
Implementing the Research Plan

Collecting the information

Processing the information
Analyzing the information

4-34

Conducting specific studies

Almir Petek, PhD

21

Marketing Research
Developing the Research Plan
Secondary data consists of information that
already exists somewhere, having been
collected for another purpose
Primary data consists of information gathered for
the special research plan

4-17

The Marketing Research Process

Define the problem
Develop research plan
Collect information
Analyze information
Present findings

Make
decision

Conducting specific studies

Managerially useful research:

Description
Explanation and
Prediction

Almir Petek, PhD

24

Conducting specific studies

Managerially useful research:
Description
What is the environment like
Monitoring performance to indicate whether
strategy changes are needed
Describing consumer for segmentation decisions
Serving as the basis for more sophisticated
analysis

Almir Petek, PhD

25

Conducting specific studies

Managerially useful research:

Explanation
Association
Causation
Reasons why

Almir Petek, PhD

26

Conducting specific studies

Managerially useful research:

Prediction
the future
Marketing decisions play out in periods in advance

Almir Petek, PhD

27

Marketing Research
Defining the Problem and Research Objectives
Exploratory research is the gathering of preliminary
information that will help to define the problem and
suggest hypotheses
Descriptive research is to describe things such as market
potential for a product or the demographics and
attitudes of consumers who buy the product
Causal research is to test hypotheses about cause-andeffect relationships

4-14

Marketing Research
Primary Data Collection

Research approaches
Contact methods
Sampling plan
Research instruments

4-19

Marketing Research
Research Approaches
Observational research involves gathering
primary data by observing relevant people,
actions, and situations
Ethnographic research involves sending trained
observers to watch and interact with
consumers in their natural environment

4-20

Making research useful the backward

reserach process
Empirical Research Alternatives

Qualitative Research
Experimentation
Snowball sampling
Piggybacking
Volunteer Researchers
Secondary Sources
Almir Petek, PhD

31

Marketing Research
Research Approaches
Survey research is the most widely used method
and is best for descriptive information
knowledge, attitudes, preferences, and buying
behavior
Flexible
People can be unable or unwilling to answer
Gives misleading or pleasing answers
Privacy concerns
4-21

Marketing Research
Research Approaches
Experimental research is best for gathering
causal informationcause-and-effect
relationships

4-22

Marketing Research
Contact Methods

Mail questionnaires

Collect large amounts of information

Low cost
Less bias with no interviewer present
Lack of flexibility
Low response rate
Lack of control of sample

4-23

Marketing Research
Contact Methods

Telephone interviewing

Collects information quickly

More flexible than mail questionnaires
Interviewers can explain difficult questions
Higher response rates than mail questionnaires
Interviewers communicate directly with respondents
Higher cost than mail questionnaires
Potential interviewer bias

4-24

Marketing Research
Contact Methods
Mail, telephone, and personal interviewing
Personal interviewing

Individual interviewing
Group interviewing

4-25

Marketing Research
Contact Methods

Personal interviewing

Individual interviewing

Involves talking with people at home or the office, on the street, or

in shopping malls
Flexible
More expensive than telephone interviews

Group interviewing or focus group interviewing

Involves inviting six to 10 people to talk with a trained moderator

4-26

Marketing Research
Contact Methods
Online marketing research
Internet surveys
Online panels
Online experiments
Online focus groups

4-27

Marketing Research
Contact Methods
Online marketing research

Low cost

Speed to administer

Fast results

Good for hard-to-reach groups

Hard to control whos in the sample

Lack of interaction

Privacy concerns

4-28

Marketing Research
Sampling Plan
Sample is a segment of the population selected
for marketing research to represent the
population as a whole
Who is to be surveyed?
How many people should be surveyed?
How should the people be chosen?

4-29

Marketing Research
Sampling Plan
Probability samples: Each population member
has a known chance of being included in the
sample
Non-probability samples: Used when probability
sampling costs too much or takes too much
time

4-30

Marketing Research
Research Instruments

Questionnaires
Mechanical devices

4-31

Marketing Research
Research Instruments
Questionnaires
Most common
Administered in person, by phone, or online
Flexible

4-32

Marketing Research
Research Instruments
Closed-end questions include all possible answers, and
subjects make choices among them

Provide answers that are easier to interpret and

tabulate
Open-end questions allow respondents to answer in their
own words

Useful in exploratory research

4-33

Marketing Research
Implementing the Research Plan

Collecting the information

Processing the information
Analyzing the information

4-34

Other Marketing Information

Considerations
Marketing Research in Small Businesses and
Nonprofit Organizations
Need information about their industry, competitors,
potential customers, and reactions to new
offers
Must track changes in customer needs and wants,
reactions to new products, and changes in the
competitive environment

4-39

Other Marketing Information

Considerations

Marketing Research in Small Businesses and

Nonprofit Organizations

Sources of marketing information:

Observing their environment

Monitoring competitor advertising

Evaluating customer mix

Visiting competitors

Conducting informal surveys

Conducting simple experiments

4-40

Other Marketing Information

Considerations

Marketing Research in Small Businesses and

Nonprofit Organizations

Sources of marketing information:

Secondary data

Trade associations

Chambers of Commerce

Government agencies

Media

4-41

Other Marketing Information

Considerations

International Marketing Research

Additional and different challenges

Level of economic development

Culture

Customs

Buying patterns

Difficulty in collecting secondary data

Hard-to-reach respondents

4-42

Other Marketing Information

Considerations
Public Policy and Ethics in Marketing Research

Intrusions on consumer privacy

Consumer resentment
Misuse of research findings

4-43