This box describes one of the first
UK banks to establish a formal market research department; in the present day many teams of people provide insight and research data.
The bank employs 155,000 peo- ple across 50 countries and serves more than 48 million customers.
In the UK alone around 14 mil- lion people have accounts with the bank. These segment down in various ways and two particularly interesting sectors are 580,000 small businesses and 280,000 afflu- ent customers. Not to forget 180 medium and large sized businesses.
With this impressive set of numbers it is inevitable that the bank takes research seriously. Research
is used to help the bank to assess client satisfaction, to test new products and to test promotion. It
is also used to help customers and clients in their own decision-making, particularly with regard
to money matters.
Employees benefit directly from research. The three main clusters are Investment Banking, Commercial Banking and Group Centre, employee surveys are carried out with people working in these three areas. In the 2008 survey, 91 per cent of employees expressed their views.
Compiled by Nigel Bradley 2012.
© istockphoto.com/kelvinjay
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Research for the company
One defi nition of market research comes from the UK Market Research Society: ‘... one of the
most useful tools in business, any business. It is the way in which organisations fi nd out what their
customers and potential customers need, want and care about’.
It is because of research that some lawnmowers are orange and it is the reason that most
food we eat is not blue. For a member of the general public, research is the reason why adverts
are memorable. Research is the reason why the battery manufacturer Duracell uses a dancing
rabbit toy in promotions. It is why Ford named their motor car the Focus. It is the reason why
milk is placed well inside supermarkets. Research helps to develop products, promotions,
prices, and even the places used to distribute product.
Power in organisations comes from the control of knowledge and, in turn, this knowledge stems
from information. Marketing research therefore equates to power. In most corporate management
structures there is a hierarchy, and decision-making directly corresponds to this structure. We can
envisage this as a pyramid, at the apex of which are board members, commonly known as ‘top
management’. This level includes the so-called C-Level executives: individuals who have the word
‘chief’ in their job title, these are highly infl uential. Below the board there are numerous individuals,
known as ‘middle management’ and then ‘lower management’ (see Figure 1.1).
Important decisions about the company’s future are made at board level by members of the
C-Suite. These are the big decisions; they give direction to the corporate mission. The overall
business objective-setting takes place here. Decisions on new locations, new products, and
new markets are made at this level, not least because they have major fi nancial implications.
Therefore, we can say that board members make strategic decisions.
On the other hand, ‘middle’ managers make operational decisions. These are decisions
concerning marketing, including how to promote, choice of media, where to distribute
and who to target. They are decisions on the ‘marketing mix’. They help in setting marketing
objectives and also in setting communications or campaign objectives. Strategic decisions
often deal with the next fi ve, 10, or 20 years; operational decisions will usually deal with the
next year, or the next few years (see Figure 1.2).
When Kellogg’s decided to extend their breakfast cereal range from cornfl akes to sugar-
coated fl akes, this was a strategic decision. When the decision was made to promote the
product using a character called Tony the Tiger™, this was an operational decision.
Top
Middle management
Board members make
strategic decisions
Middle managers make
operational decisions
Figure 1.1 The management hierarchy
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Market research helps both strategic and operational decision-makers. Decision-making
is a risky business and new investments can divert funds from other areas of a business. It is therefore wise to minimise risks by ensuring that the decisions are well informed. We can guess that the decision to launch a chocolate-covered cereal was made after feasibility research found that production was possible. It is also reasonable to think that market estimates were made to make sure there would be a substantial market.
Stores selling cornfl akes will have had a view on the likelihood of uptake; consumer panels may have been asked about the concept. These are examples of research carried out
to support strategic decisions. Once a decision was made, some sugar-coated fl akes were probably produced and placed in homes to discover the best taste and dummy packages were probably shown at focus groups to establish reactions. Packs may have been set beside competing boxes to identify their likely impact. These are examples of research studies that can
be carried out to support operational decisions.
Social research
Although marketing research has traditionally served the interests of corporations, social researchers are concerned with the interests of the respondents themselves; social welfare is of prime importance. From the respondent’s viewpoint, there are great challenges in attempting
to provide answers about societal issues to which they may previously have given very little consideration.
Specialisations in social research can be far more numerous than in marketing research and many disciplines are pertinent to socioeconomic research. These include: industrial relations, education, demography, statistics, economics, geography, political science, psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Social researchers benefi t from having skills and a background in the particular area for which the research is being carried out, but it is important that this does not bias them in any way.
Top
Middle management
Strategic decisions for next 5–10 years
• Decisions on the corporate mission
• Business objective setting
• Decisions on new locations, new products, new markets
Operational decisions for next 1–5 years
• Decisions on marketing
• Marketing objective-setting
• How to promote, choice of media, where to distribute, who to target
• Applying the marketing mix
Figure 1.2 Strategic and operational decisions
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In social research, the clients are government departments or non-governmental
organisations (NGOs). The latter are defi ned by the World Bank as ‘private organisations that
pursue activities to relieve suff ering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment,
provide basic social services, or undertake community development’. NGOs include: social welfare
agencies, charities (the defi nition may be stretched as far as consumer groups), pressure
groups, and management of the mass media. Their research work results in tangible reports
such as crime surveys, expenditure surveys, transport surveys, opinion polls, political polls,
and other ‘barometers’ of opinion. In the UK, much government research goes through an
organisation called the Central Offi ce of Information (COI). As Fiona Wood, COI research
director says: ‘Nobody is obliged to use us. From my point of view the more departments that
use us, the better, but we don’t have a monopoly over research’ (Brenner 2005). To indicate the
enormous amount of research that takes place, we see that the COI has a team of over 30
people working regularly with over 70 research suppliers.
Most social researchers operate on behalf of ‘not for profi t’ (NFP) organisations. The major
diff erences between these and entities that exist for profi t revolve around diff erences in their
objectives, target audiences, marketing mixes, and promotional activities. Although their work
is not based on profi t, it may be based on revenue, support, increased awareness, or non-
monetary donations. For example, charities seek support, raise awareness of specifi c issues, or
seek donations. This extends to appeals for blood or organ donation.
There are various areas in which government-supported social services act—family welfare,
child welfare, youth welfare, group welfare, disaster relief, medical and psychiatric services,
vocational counselling, and probation counselling services. Clearly, the objectives for research
in these sectors shift from the maximisation of profi t to the question of effi cient provision
of services, or in some cases, a changing of behaviour that may, in fact, result in a lack of
consumption or a minimisation of certain behaviours. Family welfare includes such things
as: marriage counselling, care before giving birth, family planning, family life, education for
domestic situations, and the provision of services for older people. The area of child welfare
is one of the largest areas served by the social services; it includes child health and protection,
daycare, and foster care.
Many of the social services are a direct result of government policy; there are other
organisations that off er similar or alternative services, and these include charities that may be
permanent or may have been created temporarily, perhaps to deal with a particular disaster.
They also include organisations that lobby against specifi c movements: for example, the
political parties that are opposed to government policy. All of these organisations are potential
clients for social research. Other examples are the Red Cross organisations, which exist in
diff erent countries, youth welfare institutions such as the Scouts, and similar organisations for
youth welfare.
Public sector research is intended to connect policymakers with citizens; it provides those
policymakers with indications of those policies that may be popular and those that are in
the public interest. Citizens have several expectations from their policymakers: they expect
improved service, they expect to pay a minimal cost for the services, and they expect continual
cost-cutting; they also expect their opinion to be sought. From the viewpoint of the voter,
research off ers an opportunity to express a view outside the ballot box. This is something that
we have seen in more recent years. It has been described as the ‘customer-centric approach’.
As an example, research with impoverished consumers often concerns an evaluation of the
social welfare system. Research may examine quality of life, discrimination, access to services,
Chapter 1 Introduction to marketing research
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issues of justice, socioeconomic well-being, equal employment rights for disabled people, prejudice, mobility, and access to services.
Public information campaigns are those that give citizens information about activities that are important for their welfare. In the past, these have included health issues (such as AIDS), conserving resources (such as saving water), and information on rights (the importance
of voting). In the same way that advertising for FMCG benefi ts from research results, public information campaigns can benefi t from carefully designed studies.
Managing knowledge
Market intelligence
The right information does not automatically come to the person who needs it, so it is useful
to look at how knowledge is managed. In the military world, sources of data are classifi ed as
‘HUMINT’, ‘TECHINT’, and ‘SIGINT’. These, respectively, refer to intelligence derived from humans, intelligence derived from technical sources, and that derived from intercepting signals. Collecting these involves questioning, using devices, and observing communications between people. Market researchers use exactly the same techniques.
A term that is commonly used in this fi eld is ‘market intelligence’. The big diff erence between military procedures and marketing intelligence procedures is that of transparency: the former thrives in secrecy; the latter is expected to show transparency.
Although the military defi nitions are subdivided further, we shall distinguish just three diff erent types of intelligence. Montgomery and Weinberg (1979) make a valuable distinction using the terms ‘defensive’, ‘passive’, and ‘off ensive’. Defensive intelligence monitors the environment to avoid surprises. Passive intelligence provides benchmark data to compare with the company’s own performance. Off ensive intelligence identifi es opportunities that would not otherwise be discovered. This is summarised in Table 1.2.
Types of intelligence
Type Description
Defensive intelligence To avoid surprises, to monitor the environment and support
any hunches of what may be happening. An alert of major changes
Passive intelligence To provide benchmark data to compare the company’s own
performance and use it to evaluate objectives
Off ensive intelligence To identify opportunities that would not otherwise be
discovered
Source: Reprinted with permission from Journal of Marketing, published by the American Marketing Association, Montgomery and Weinberg, 1979/43, pp. 41–52
Table
1.2
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On the subject of collecting intelligence, Montgomery and Weinberg use the term ‘scanning’
and further subdivide this into ‘surveillance’ and ‘searching’. They say surveillance is viewing and
monitoring many aspects of the environment to detect changes. In contrast, they see search as
deliberate inquiry. So, for example, a ‘signal detected by the surveillance function of scanning can lead
to questions which require search to answer’. There is empirical evidence indicating that scanning can
be benefi cial. It is probable that strong fi rms tend to use more scanning than those that are weaker.
The MKIS and the MDSS
In the 1960s, the management information system (MIS) concept was formed and this was
adapted and applied to marketing; it was called the marketing information system. The
abbreviation MKIS was used to make the distinction from the MIS; confusingly, many texts use
the abbreviation MIS for marketing information systems.
Essentially, the MKIS is a set of procedures that have been linked to deliver information
from diff erent sources to decision-makers. It takes information from inside and outside the
company. The MKIS is the link between the outside world (the marketing environment) and
the decision-makers (the marketing managers) within an organisation. It is frequently shown as
a diagram, as in Figure 1.3.
The elements of the MKIS are:
• Internal records
• Marketing intelligence system
• Marketing research system
• Analysis system
• Reporting system.
In the 1970s, marketing decision support systems (MDSS) were introduced to allow
individual decision-makers to manipulate data. These systems give users reports that are
appropriate, and relevant, to their specifi c needs. The MDSS should be easy to use, adaptable
for diff erent purposes, and allow the user to answer queries instantly. The user can therefore
Marketing managers Marketing Information System (MKIS) Marketing environment
Plan Implement Control
Market research
Internal records Intelligence
Publics Competitors
Channels Users
Figure 1.3 The marketing information system (MKIS)
Chapter 1 Introduction to marketing research
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access databases and other resources available. The MDSS can make evaluations of sales, promotions, product trends, and customer profi les, and will permit forecasts in all of these areas. The advanced MDSS incorporates a library of mathematical models and so the user must
be trained in the use of software for database mining, in spreadsheet use, and so on. In large companies, it is usual for executives to use some form of MDSS; indeed, recent developments
in information technology mean that such information can be accessed from hand-held terminals in remote locations for even the smallest company.
Examples of MDSS models include Brandaid, Callplan, Geoline, and Mediac. Kotler (2003) describes Brandaid as ‘a fl exible marketing-mix model focused on consumer packaged
goods’; he describes Callplan as ‘a model to help salespeople determine the number of calls to make per period’; Geoline is ‘for designing sales and service territories’; and Mediac is ‘a model
to help an advertiser buy media for a year’. A more recent software solution, which is directly
applicable to the market research sector, is Research Reporter, from Australia (see http://www. researchreporter.com). This allows research buyers to create a catalogue of all research within
an organisation. The tool then allows searches and retrievals to take place.
The advantages of the MDSS are cost savings in identifying waste and avoiding it, better decision-making through the availability of information and, fi nally, understanding customers better because the information is current and available widely. The disadvantages are that the diff erent systems within an organisation need to be linked in some way. This can be costly and, initially, it can be disruptive. Somebody needs to analyse systems to make such links.
Academics debate whether the MDSS is part of the MIS or is a separate entity. An MIS does provide support for decision-making, but it might be argued that the MDSS is diff erent because it incorporates decision-making models that can predict consequences and thereby minimise risk when choosing a certain solution. Another distinction is that the information system provides regular reports in an ongoing fashion, whereas the decision support system provides irregular reports, delivered when requested, but specifi c to the needs of the user.
In a study of over 400 UK businesses in 1991, Hirst (1994, p. 232) subdivided decision support systems into four categories:
1. Simple query application A data-oriented, simple query application, which extracts data from a file or a database and produces a list or report, without performing calculations on the data
2. Report generation application A data-oriented, report generation application, which is similar to a simple query application except that basic calculations are made on the extracted data
3. Alternative assessment application A model-oriented, alternative assessment application, in which the user inputs possible decisions and the system estimates the consequences of these decisions by using a simulation model
4. Analytically assisted search application A model-oriented, analytically assisted search application, in which the system searches the set of feasible decision alternatives and proposes the best decision.
These distinctions are useful in understanding the nature of such a system. It might be argued that the fi rst two types are the MKIS. In the past 10 years we have seen the emergence
of the Marketing Dashboard, which brings such data to the desk of marketing managers (see Chapter 15 for more on dashboards).
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