Welcome to International

Market Research and Entry

Strategies
Name: MAHI Last Name TYAGI
[email protected]
Week #1 – Winter, Jan 2024
Agenda
 Course Learning Objectives

 Overview

 Weekly content – as per TLP

 In-class Activity

 Assignment #1

 Next Steps
Learning Objectives
• Marketing Research in Global Environment
• Complexity of international marketing
• Importance for research in international marketing decisions
• Issues in International Marketing Research
• Assess the implications of globalization for countries, industries,
firms, and communities.
• Review the major trends in global and regional integration.
• Market Entry Methods
The Growing Complexity of Marketing Research

• Databases or data warehouses store big data.

• Many companies use a customer relationship management (CRM) system to
manage important customer information.
• Along with established tools and traditional data collection methods, digital
advances provide new data collection opportunities.
• Companies increasingly choose hybrid research techniques with multiple
methods to overcome weaknesses in using one methodology.

• Marketing research tasks include:

• Marketing research is
the function that links an • Designing methods for collecting information.
organization to its • Managing the information collection process.
market through the • Analyzing and interpreting results.
gathering of information.
• Communicating findings to decision makers.
The Role and Value of Marketing Research

• Managerial decisions may involve new contexts where experience may be absent
or even misleading.
• Marketing research draws on the social sciences for methods and theory.
• Recently, the size of the toolbox has grown with “big data.”

• Marketers first must understand the questions or business problems that

need to be addressed, then use the appropriate tool and technique.

• Marketing research applies to problems involving the four Ps.

• Theoretical research helps marketers understand questions applicable to a broad
variety of marketing contexts.
Marketing Mix Variables – Product

• Branding.
• New product development • Even established brands undertake research
and introduction. for early detection of changes in meaning
• Concept and product and attitudes toward a brand.
testing or test marketing • Positioning.
answers two questions. • A process of understanding how current or
• How does a product
perform for the customer?
possible products are perceived by
• How can a product be
consumers.
improved or exceed • Perceptual mapping fixes the position of
customer expectations? products on two or more dimensions
impacting consumers’ choice to purchase.
Exhibit 1.1: Perceptual Map of the Fast Food Market

• Access the text alternative for this image.

Marketing Mix Variables – Place/Distribution

• Market research peculiar to retailers include: trade area analysis, store

image studies, in-store traffic patterns, and location analysis.
• Much retailing research focuses on database development through optical
scanning at the point of purchase.
• Online retailers face unique challenges and data-gathering opportunities.
• In behavioral targeting, online retailers work with content sites to display
ads based on data collected about user behaviors.

• Shopper marketing gives manufacturers and retailers an understanding of a customer’s

purchase journey and addresses the following:
• Product category management.
• Displays, sales, packaging, promotion, and marketing.
Marketing Mix Variables – Promotion

• It is essential that companies know

how to obtain good returns from
their promotional budgets. • The three most common research
• Traditional and digital media tasks in integrated marketing
present special challenges to communications are:
businesses who require reliable • Advertising effectiveness studies.
metrics to accurately gauge
advertising return. • Attitudinal research.
• Market researchers must develop • Sales tracking.
meaningful metrics and then
collect the data for those metrics.
Marketing Mix Variables – Price

• Pricing decisions involve pricing new products, establishing price levels in

test marketing, and modifying prices for existing products.

• Marketing research provides answers to the following questions.

• How large is the demand potential within the target market at various price
levels?
• What are the sales forecasts at various price levels?
• How sensitive is demand to changes in price levels?
• Are there identifiable segments that have different price sensitivities?
• Are there opportunities to offer different price lines for different target markets?
Consumers and Markets – Segmentation Studies

• Marketing decisions involving all four Ps

are more successful when target market
demographics, attitudes, and lifestyles are
• While useful, more detailed
clear.
information may be needed.
• A major component of market
segmentation research is benefit and • Ethnography requires
lifestyle studies examining consumers’ extended observation of
needs. consumers in context.
• The objective is to collect customer • It highlights problems and
characteristics, product benefits, and brand opportunities based on
consumer behavior.
preferences.
• Combined with other demographics, it
provides segmentation profiles.
Marketing Theory

• The purpose of theory is to generalize relationships between concepts in a

way applicable to a wide variety of business, and other settings.

• Adoption and diffusion theory helps marketers understand how new products are adopted
and spread through the market.
• In services marketing research, marketers found five characteristics important to consumers
– reliability, empathy, responsiveness, assurance, and tangibles.
• Information overload theory explains why consumers are more likely to purchase from a
sample of 6 versus 24.
• In sales research, likability, similarity, and trustworthiness are characteristics linked to a
salespersons’ success.
 The Marketing Research Industry

• This industry has experienced record growth in recent years, due to:
• Post-sale customer satisfaction studies – a third of research company
revenues.
• Retail-driven product scanning systems – also a third of revenues.
• Database development for long-term brand management.
• International research studies.
Types of Marketing Research Firms

• Internal or external - a unit within the company, or hiring a firm on a fee

basis.

• Custom or standardized.
• Customized research firms provide tailored
services to the client, while standardized
research firms provide general services.
• Brokers/
• Many standardized research firms provide facilitators.
syndicated business services.
• A prime example is the AC Nielsen database tracking
the retail sales of thousands of brand-name products.
Changing Skills for a Changing Industry

• As marketing research firms

expand their geographic scope, it • Top five skills candidates need for
will require a unique skill base that open marketing positions today:
is more comprehensive than ever. • The ability to understand and
• These business skills are interpret secondary data.
considered critical in job aptitude: • Presentation skills.
• Communication skills – verbal • Foreign language competency.
and written. • Negotiation skills.
• Interpersonal skills – ability to
• Information technology
work with others.
proficiency.
• Statistical skills.
 Ethical Questions in General Business Practices

• Pricing issues.
• “Soft” costs are used to pad the total project cost.
• Selling nonessential services is unethical.
• Client confidentiality issues.
• When firms specialize, it is tempting to reuse research results from one client
to another.
• Use of “black-box” methodologies.
• Research firms sell branded “black-box” methodologies.
• Methodologies are called black-box when they are proprietary, and research
firms will not fully disclose how the methodology works.
• A methodology is not a black-box just because it is branded.
Conducting Research Not Up To Professional Standards

• Due to client pressure, research providers may conduct research that does not meet
professional standards.
• Another client pressure is to prove a predetermined conclusion.
• The client may not provide a sufficient budget, leading to cost cuts.

• Interviewers working for research firms may engage in unethical behavior.

• Curbstoning occurs when interviewers complete interviews themselves or make
up “observed” respondents’ behaviors.
• Other data falsification includes:
• Having friends and relatives fill out surveys.
• Not using the designated sample of respondents but rather anyone who is conveniently
available.
• Not following up on the established callback procedures.
Abuse of Respondents

• Research firms may neglect promised • The Marketing Research

incentives, they may misrepresent Association provides guidelines.
time needed to complete the survey, • They prohibit researchers from
they may use fake sponsors. deanonymizing data.
• If deception is necessary, “debrief”
• It is possible to “deanonymize”
subjects afterwards.
information on the Internet by
• Research used for the purpose of combining publicly available
collecting names is completely records from social networks.
unethical
• As with other public behavior,
• Sugging or frugging. online actions may be observed but
• Market researchers should not invade any identifying information must
customer privacy. be removed from the data file.
 Unethical Activities of the Client/Research User

• “Clients” may request research proposals from several companies with no

intention of hiring any of them.
• Instead using the information obtained to perform the research themselves.
• Another common behavior is to promise a research provider a long-term
relationship or additional projects to obtain a low price.
• Then providing no further business to the research firm.
• Clients may also be tempted to overstate results of a marketing research
project.
Unethical Activities by the Respondent

• The primary unethical practice is • If there is the prospect of earning

to provide dishonest answers or money by participating in research
fake behavior. surveys and focus groups –
respondents lie to match the
• Respondents frequently provide
characteristics the screeners are
untrue answers to questions
seeking.
related to income or to their
indulgence in sensitive behaviors. • This undermines the validity of
the research.
Marketing Research Codes of Ethics

• The Statement of Ethics for the American Marketing Association says:

• Researchers will conform to all relevant laws.

• Researchers will behave ethically.
• Use special care when conducting research among children.
• Respondents’ cooperation is voluntary.
• Rights of respondents as private individuals is respected.
• Never allow personal data to be used for any other purpose.
• Ensure projects are accurate, transparent, objective, and appropriate.
• Researchers will conform to principles of fair competition.
 Emerging Trends

• Five major trends are becoming evident.

• Increased emphasis on secondary data collection methods.
• Movement toward technology-related data management.
• Expanded use of digital technology for information acquisition and
retrieval.
• A broader international client base.
• Movement beyond data analysis toward a data interpretation / information
management environment.
Assignment #1
Next Steps

 Get the course texts

 See Canvas for lecture slides
 See Canvas for course readings
 Begin team work on the upcoming Graded
Assignment
ANY QUESTIONS?
Thank you!

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