COMMERCIAL AND MARKET RESEARCH
Business research concept.
Companies try to market their products in markets where there are more and more suppliers, markets with increasing competition and where consumer tastes change. Therefore, commercial research plays a very important role within this framework, since it is responsible for systematically collecting, recording and analyzing all data related to problems in the commercialization of goods and services. It is therefore a process of taking information to capture reality in a clear and simplified way, so as to facilitate the analysis of it to decision makers. Furthermore, this task is given a temporary and punctual character, appearing the moment a problem is detected and disappearing once an acceptable solution has been found.However, a constant research effort is required in the company in order to try to solve those marketing problems that appear in daily management, therefore the definition of commercial research is extended to any marketing problem and does not refer only to the product. For them, both the product with the rest of the marketing-mix variables such as the price, its distribution and the means of promotion and positioning in the market are investigated.For them, both the product with the rest of the marketing-mix variables such as the price, its distribution and the means of promotion and positioning in the market are investigated.For them, both the product with the rest of the marketing-mix variables such as the price, its distribution and the means of promotion and positioning in the market are investigated.
Today the tastes of consumers, their attitudes towards products and companies, and the reasons that lead them to make purchasing decisions do not occur in a single moment of time, and they change continuously, so It is mandatory for the company to have information on a continuous basis, therefore it is necessary to organize the way to collect the information, process it and store it in order to be used at the time it is needed, this entails the creation of an information system of marketing.
The marketing information system.
A marketing information system is a set of people, teams and procedures designed to collect, classify, analyze, assess and distribute all the information necessary for Marketing Management on time.
We see how the content is broad. On the one hand, do not only talk about methods of collecting information, which gives it a character of continuous action. On the other hand, it is not only dedicated to the collection and analysis, but it also focuses on the aspects of classification, assessment and distribution of information, that is, it collects the information, processes it, catalogs it and archives it, leaving it in conditions to be recovered in the shortest possible time every time you need it; For this reason, it must have a department or organization within the company, to obtain information from both internal and external sources of the company.
To carry out the functions described in the definition of the marketing information system, it has the following subsystems:
Internal data subsystem
It is in charge of collecting and storing the information that is produced within the organization. As a result of its daily activity, the organization generates a large amount of information, often due to legal imperatives, which is rarely used and exploited. We can also see the different reports and statuses provided by analytical accounting. All this information will help us to predict what the demand will be at later times and to facilitate the proper functioning of the organization, not only in the achievement of sales, but also in the delivery or provision of services to clients.
Marketing intelligence subsystem
Its mission is to collect continuously and in the shortest possible time the relevant information about the events around our organization. This subsystem collects information both through the company's own personnel and external agents related to the organization (wholesalers, retailers, commission agents…) with whom there may be a commercial relationship.
Some of the information provided by this subsystem is usually relevant to competition issues such as price changes, promotions, launching of new products, consumer reactions to our products at the point of sale, etc.
Marketing Research Subsystem
This subsystem would collect the functions discussed in the definition of commercial research, that is, design, collection and analysis of information to solve specific problems of the Marketing Department.
The actions developed by this subsystem can be carried out both inside and outside the company. Small-sized companies may use mixed formulas, using personnel from outside the organization, or they may go to specialized organizations. Larger companies, for reasons of size, may have their own Commercial Research Departments, although for certain types of research, due to their highly specialized nature, it is advisable to go to market research institutes or other specialized organizations.
Marketing decision support subsystem
It provides tools and statistical models that allow the use and maximum use of the information provided by the other subsystems. On the one hand, it has a Statistical Bank in which there are different types of statistics that allow the information to be better understood, simplified or analyzed. On the other hand, it has a Bank of Models, which is a set of models applicable to marketing where you can find models on the product life cycle, on the purchase decision, demand reactions to price changes, advertising planning models, etc. These models use as input data the information captured by the other subsystems and allow projections, predictions and controls of the achievements obtained through marketing actions.
Differences between Marketing Information System and Commercial Research
| SIM | COMMERCIAL INVESTIGATION |
|
Use both internal and external data Seek solution and prevention of problems You need IT processes Act continuously It has several subsystems |
It mainly uses external information Find the solution to problems Focuses on information from the past It acts at specific times for specific problems such as cross sections. It is a subsystem of the SIM |
Application of commercial research.
The fields of application of commercial research can be very extensive, but they mainly apply in:
Study of consumer behavior
- Study of attitudes Studies of tastes and preferences Studies of lifestyles Study of consumption patterns Study of shopping links
Product analysis
- Possibilities of new products Perceptions of own products and competitors Study of current products, attributes, characteristics, uses and deficiencies Studies on packaging Studies on the brand
Market research
- Market potential Market share Geographical and temporal distribution of sales Demand forecast Market characteristics Location of new markets and points of sale Distribution studies
Communication studies
- Measurement of advertising efficiency Media research Preparation and control of sales promotions § Studies on creativity and advertising message.
The commercial investigation process.
Commercial research can be defined as a process that consists of several stages:
- Definition of objectives. Setting the objectives before starting the investigation is very important, usually because it is a task carried out by the manager of the company and entrusted to a commercial researcher, so he must understand well the information needs and define what Questions must be investigated, since this first phase is essential for the process to start well, since the researcher's answers will guide the decision of one or the other alternative to the decision maker. Research plan design. This plan for carrying out the study must necessarily explain in detail how the research will be carried out, what kind of data will need to be collected, and also how and where it will be obtained. It will also be necessary to assess the cost of the research process and its effectiveness as far as possible. For this, a good situation analysis must have been previously carried out and the researcher will recover the necessary information to make sure that the project should or should not be started. In the event that the information we have is not enough or we know that the benefits that we will obtain from obtaining additional information will be greater than the search costs, we will start in a research development phase, having to clarify the objectives again. Information sources. The researcher, when designing the research plan, must determine what sources of information he will use. This information will be classified into two criteria:
First criterion
- Primary data: collected specifically for the current project Qualitative: group meetings, in-depth interviews, observations Quantitative: surveys, experiments, observation Secondary data: already exists because they have been previously prepared and can be: External: statistics or previous studies in addition to publications and journals Internal: sales, margins, financial statements.
Second criterion (according to the origin of the sources)
- Internal: comes from inside the company External: comes from outside
The information must meet the following characteristics:
- Reliable: source quality and method of obtaining Homogeneous: always based on the same variables Current: up-to-date or recent data
Researchers, provided they have information of these characteristics, should exhaust secondary sources of information before beginning to obtain primary data. It must be said that secondary data may sometimes not be useful, either because, as the information is found, a previous treatment is necessary or because it is insufficient to solve the problems that arise in the research plans.
- Obtaining data. One of the information gathering supports is questionnaires. The design of the questionnaire has many drawbacks. Sampling plan. Sampling is used to obtain information on a set of individuals with the advantage of avoiding having to ask each one of them, since this would entail a cost above the benefit of obtaining said information. Therefore, there is the alternative of collecting information from a reduced group of individuals that is representative of the total population, this is what sampling consists of. There are several ways to do it:
- Based on random, using statistical methods:
♦ Simple random sampling: from the possession of information from a set of the population to be investigated, make a selection from a set of individuals chosen at random, that is, it gives the same probability of being chosen in the sample to all members of the population.
♦ Systematic random sampling: only the first individual from the population that is extracted for the sample is established at random, the rest are obtained in a proportion from the first, systematically.
♦ Stratified sampling. We divide the population to be studied into different strata or groups and on each one of them we carry out a simple random sampling.
♦ Cluster sampling. We need the creation of the necessary units for sampling, conglomerates, which replace individuals in simple random sampling to streamline information management. These can be: towns, neighborhoods, cities… The simple random sampling is subsequently carried out on these clusters.
♦ Stage sampling. Samples are carried out in successive phases. One over the other.
♦ Sampling by random route.
♦ Quota sampling. It is used when the sample is required to meet a certain amount (quota) of individuals with a certain characteristic.
- Analysis and interpretation of the data. Once we have collected the information through the chosen procedure, we must make this information usable, we must process it. This will be carried out mainly through tabulation, which is the count of the number of responses obtained in each of the questions in the questionnaire, in order to group them homogeneously to be able to work with them.
Presentation of results. You must go to a correct presentation of the data so that the recipient of the information has no difficulty in handling and understanding it. An execution report must always be presented, in which all the processes and types of analysis, incidents and other types of technical data carried out to obtain the information are described. A summary of the results obtained should also be presented, which should be brief and as graphic as possible, so as to allow a clear understanding.
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