Collection of primary marketing information.

To make marketing decisions at any level of a company, information is needed. The necessary information can be obtained through market (marketing) research. Companies operating on the principles of marketing regularly conduct such studies. They can be carried out either independently - by the company’s marketing department, or with the help of third-party companies specializing in carrying out marketing research. And if in the early 90s. XX century To succeed in the market, observation and common sense were enough, since the market was almost empty, but now the situation is different. Markets have become more saturated, and for successful development, it is not enough for managers and management of companies to rely on intuition - they need objective marketing data that can be obtained as a result of marketing research.

Marketing research is the collection, processing and analysis of information for making marketing decisions.

Reasons for conducting marketing research: introducing a new product to the market, searching for new markets for existing products, determining the motives of consumer behavior, tracking the activities of competitors, developing an advertising campaign.

Main types of marketing research (Fig. 2):

• * permanent and one-time;
• * panel;
• * qualitative and quantitative;
• * exploratory, descriptive and causal;
• * office and field.

Fig.2

Constant (regular) research - collection and analysis of data occurs regularly on the same range of issues. This questionnaire is offered to a group of respondents, the composition of which can be either constant or changing.

One-time studies are studies that are carried out when a problem arises; such a study is planned anew each time.

Panel studies are conducted on the basis of a panel - a group of individual consumers or companies that retains all the properties of a larger population and whose members regularly supply information. The most famous panel research firms in the world are Attwood and Nielsen.

Qualitative research is research that aims to explain observed phenomena. Qualitative research can help determine what motivates consumers, how they make decisions, and based on what considerations. As a result of such studies, hypotheses are put forward, which are then tested using quantitative methods of analysis. Examples of qualitative research are individual interviews, group discussions (focus groups), expert assessments(Delphi method).

Quantitative research is carried out to obtain and analyze reliable statistical data. These studies provide an opportunity to test the accuracy of hypotheses developed during qualitative research.

Exploratory (probing) research is aimed at searching for preliminary hypotheses, explanations of the problem (situation) that has arisen, or searching for ideas. They are carried out using qualitative analysis techniques, such as personal interviews with individuals related to the issue and with experts.

Descriptive (discrete) research is a characterization of a situation based on the collection and recording of data. An example is the research conducted by Goskomstat.

Causal research aims to find a cause-and-effect relationship between variables and thereby allows one to find the optimal solution to a problem.

Desk research is carried out based on secondary data analysis. Secondary data is data from official sources, publications, statistical reference books, i.e. information that was collected by someone for their own purposes, and it can be useful for solving this specific marketing problem. The purpose of such research is to obtain information about the main trends and processes taking place in the market.

Sources of secondary data (Fig. 3)

Rice. 3

Field research - collection and analysis of primary information.

Primary information is information that is collected during the research process to solve a specific marketing problem using certain methods.

Methods for collecting primary information (Fig. 4)

Fig.4

Observation is a method whose main purpose is to study consumer behavior without coming into direct contact with them. There is only a recording of events without explaining the reasons for what is happening.

An experiment is used in cases where the result is influenced by several variables. Its purpose is to determine the extent to which one variable influences an outcome by changing it while holding other variables constant. You can also study the influence of advertising on the effectiveness of sales promotion activities, prices on the sales volume of a product, brand on the perception of product quality, etc.

Survey (questioning) is a special procedure that allows you to obtain data by asking individuals (respondents) about their intentions, attitudes, awareness, consumption habits, etc. A survey can be complete or selective - when not all consumers of the general market participate in it totality. A sample is a certain number of representatives of the general population participating in the survey, and their composition should reflect all the main characteristics of the general population. The following survey methods are distinguished:

• * personal interviews - oral surveys, usually conducted using questionnaires at pre-prepared addresses. This method is characterized by a low failure rate. Disadvantages include the significant cost of personal interviews, as well as the risk that the respondent will fall under the influence of the interviewer;
• * a mail survey is a fairly cheap way to obtain information that allows you to reach a fairly large number of respondents, and there is no influence of the interviewer. However, the percentage of questionnaires returned is very low (does not exceed 10-15%). This method also includes the registration of returned coupons placed in advertisements, on leaflets, on packaging and on instructions for using the product;
• * telephone survey is an inexpensive and quick way to conduct surveys. This method is characterized by a low failure rate (about 10-20%). Its disadvantage is that the interviewer can only ask a small number of questions, which should be direct and simple. In addition, a telephone sample may not be representative enough (it may be dominated by certain population groups), which will distort the survey results.

Market Research Process

The research includes the following stages:

Formulation of the problem. At this stage, the problem to be solved by the research is formulated and the objectives of the research are established. The goal is to define as clearly as possible what information is needed to solve a marketing problem.

Drawing up a research plan. The research plan must specify methods, procedures for collecting and analyzing information. The plan must contain the goals and objectives of the study, sources of information, research tools, sampling methodology, research schedule and cost estimate.

Collection of information. Once the research plan is approved, information collection begins. The company can do this on its own or outsource it to a specialized research firm. This stage may contain two stages: at the first, the correctness of the selected data collection methods is checked on a small sample, at the second, information is collected from the entire sample.

Data processing and reporting. The data obtained during the study is processed and analyzed. The result of this analysis is the writing of a research report in which conclusions and recommendations are made to enable management decisions to be made.

Principles of conducting marketing research (Fig. 5):

• 1 Objectivity - consists of the need to take into account all factors and the inadmissibility of adopting a certain point of view before the analysis of all collected information has been completed.
• 2 Accuracy - implies clarity in setting the tasks to which the research is subject, unambiguity in their understanding and interpretation, as well as the choice of research tools that ensure the necessary reliability of the research results.
• 3 Thoroughness is a principle consisting of detailed planning of each stage of the study, high quality execution of all research operations, which is achieved due to the high level of professionalism and responsibility of the research team, as well as an effective system for monitoring its work.

Fig.5

The marketing research system systematically determines the range of data required in connection with the marketing task facing the company, collects it, analyzes it, and reports the results.

The scope of marketing research is constantly expanding and covers the following areas:

study of market capacity, distribution of its shares between competing firms;

income level of the population;

consumer behavior and motivations;

studying price policy and pricing;

analysis of business activity.

Marketing research also includes the main trends in socio-economic development, the study of competitors' products, the study of advertising and its effectiveness, etc. Currently, up to 100 possible areas of marketing research are named.

The very definition of a “marketing research system” emphasizes its systematic, rather than random or unrelated nature, including a set of activities for collecting data, recording it and analyzing it. Data can come from a variety of sources: from the company itself; independent organizations or research professionals working both within and outside the firm.

Collection stages marketing information.

Typically, managers who resort to marketing research must be well aware of the technology for conducting such research. In its most general form, marketing research includes four main stages:

Identifying problems and formulating goals. This is a very important stage for all marketing research. Firstly, the market can be studied using hundreds of different parameters, and therefore it is necessary to clearly define their number in order to limit ourselves to the actual scope of work. Secondly, collecting information is quite an expensive task, and inaccurate formulation of the problem will lead to large unproductive costs. Thirdly, a vaguely formulated problem will not allow you to correctly determine the goals of the study.

The objectives of marketing research (Fig. 6) can be divided into three groups:

search - involve the collection of any preliminary data that helps clarify the problem and develop a number of working hypotheses;

descriptive - provide a description of individual phenomena and facts;

experimental - involve testing working hypotheses, for example, about the presence and forms of cause-and-effect relationships between the demand for goods, the characteristics of the product and the consumer himself.

Fig.6

Selection of information sources. All marketing information can be divided into primary and secondary.

Primary information is information obtained for the first time to solve a specific problem.

Secondary information is information that has already been collected by someone for other purposes and which may be useful for solving a given problem.

Any marketing research should begin with the selection of secondary information. It often turns out that much of the necessary information is already available to the researcher. According to some estimates, in 17 out of 20 cases, secondary information is quite enough to make a qualified decision. Naturally, the selection of secondary information is much cheaper.

Collection of primary information. This stage occurs when secondary information is insufficient. Obtaining primary information is a kind of aerobatics in marketing. This especially applies to the conditions in our country, where it is extremely difficult to gain access to company and industry information, there is no developed marketing infrastructure, a marketing culture has not been instilled, and the vast majority of manufacturing and commercial enterprises have not accumulated experience in using marketing.

Having decided on the research methods, it is necessary to select the appropriate research instrument. There are two types of tools: mechanical devices (various kinds of fixing devices) and questionnaires.

One of the most effective research tools is a questionnaire. This is not just a list of questions, but a very subtle and flexible tool that requires careful study, during which it is necessary to determine:

• - what information needs to be obtained;
• - type of questionnaire and method of action;
• - content of each question;
• - sequence of questions.

Typically, drawing up a questionnaire requires a fairly high level of qualifications. The most common mistakes found in questionnaires are the formulation of questions that are difficult to answer or one does not want to answer, or the absence of questions that should definitely be answered. The questionnaire writer should use simple, unambiguous words that do not contain leading elements. It is very important to correctly sequence the questions. The first question should arouse the interest of the interviewee. Difficult or personal questions should be asked at the end of the questionnaire.

The text of the questionnaire should consist of four blocks: preamble, passport, “fish” and detector.

The preamble states the purpose of the study and who is conducting it, emphasizes the anonymity of the survey and, if necessary, provides instructions for filling out the questionnaire. When conducting a personal survey, the preamble is removed; in this case, the interviewer must voice it personally.

The passport consists of questions designed to characterize the person being interviewed. Usually this includes questions about age, gender, marital status, education, profession, income, etc. The passport is placed either at the beginning of the questionnaire (after the preamble) or at the very end.

The fish is the main part of the questionnaire, which includes the questions for which the research is being conducted.

The detector includes questions designed to check the attentiveness of filling out the questionnaire, the frankness of the respondents, as well as the integrity and professionalism of the interviewers.

If there is complete trust between customers, researchers and interviewers, you can do without a detector.

The great variety of questions asked in questionnaires can be divided into two large classes: closed and open.

Closed questions include all possible answers or clues, from which the respondent must choose the one that most closely matches his opinion on the issue under consideration. In turn, closed questions can be presented in the form of three types: alternative, scale, semantic.

Alternative questions are very easy to use, their interpretation is quite unambiguous and requires an answer of the “yes” or “no” type or the “underline as appropriate” type.

Scale questions presuppose the presence of some kind of rating scale.

A typical example of a semantic question is a semantic differential, the essence of which is to place a scale of one’s assessment between two extreme semantic values ​​in a certain place.

Generalization and interpretation of results. When all the data is collected, it needs to be explained and interpreted. The result of this procedure is a report. A report is a coherent presentation of the research results, which includes an introduction (formulation of hypotheses, goals, objectives, methods), the main part (description of the results obtained and their connection with the hypotheses) and conclusion ( brief conclusions, which can be done based on the data obtained).

Today it's really too easy: you can walk up to a computer and, with little to no knowledge of what you're doing, create intelligence and nonsense with truly astonishing speed. (J. Box)

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 success marketing plans the company, 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 different individuals with different work styles. 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 compile documentation for 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, the effective implementation of both MIS and DSS is difficult 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 explained by underestimation of the scale of the task, changes in the organizational structure, changes in persons occupying key positions, as well as underestimation of power electronic systems processing of data that will be required for such systems.

Often, by the time such a system is developed, the people for whom it was designed have different job responsibilities, or the competitive and economic conditions for which it was designed have changed. 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 one fundamental problem The 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 unites computers in government organizations, universities, commercial firms and in 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. All larger number organizations are implementing intranets - using web tools such as hypertext on 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 ranging from sales data to last week and according to the stocks of a particular product up to the state of a particular order. 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 access to confidential information on the network from unauthorized users. In this case, users of the intranet or extranet can use links that lead beyond the “wall of fire” - 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. A standard data system 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 the giants retail. 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 at 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, association of non-profit medical institutions in western Florida, developed the DSS to provide decision makers (both management and health care delivery) with key information needed to make decisions regarding specific health programs for the communities they serve. 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 made it possible to identify the problem of transport shortages in the low-income segments of the population, the elderly and national minorities in these populated areas. 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

A computerized artificial intelligence system designed to simulate the actions of information processing experts 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 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). Such capabilities are referred to by the technical term “data mining”, and commercial organizations hope it 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 found it prudent to restructure the information technology divisions in North America, Europe, and Asia so that their personnel worked more closely with personnel in other departments of the company, 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 a management system have not eliminated the need to carry out traditional marketing research projects for the purpose of collecting 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, although the DSS provides enough information for making strategic decisions, allowing managers to keep abreast of developments in external environment, and is a preventive system, this information is sometimes not enough to make decisions in special situations - such as launching a new product on the market, changing distribution channels, evaluating a promotion campaign, etc. If information is required that determines all subsequent actions when deciding on special marketing tasks, 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 the use of Internet-based search tools and access to data through an intranet (for internal use only) or an extranet (for internal users and authorized external users 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.

Chapter 3. Collection of marketing information

Collecting the necessary information is one of the most time-consuming stages of marketing research, since most of the required information is of a commercial nature and does not relate to published data. Practice shows that about 70% of all research costs are spent on collecting information. In this regard, it is important to constantly compare the cost and significance of the information received. In other words, the researcher must determine his position regarding objective, but rather “expensive” results, and “cheap”, but not sufficiently accurate. To do this, during preliminary work it is necessary to evaluate:

1) what is the potential cost of making the wrong decision?

2) what is the probability of making a wrong decision based on existing information?

3) how appropriate is it to collect additional information?

4) how and what will additional information help during the analysis?

5) How urgently is additional information needed?

6) what level of accuracy is required to perform the analysis?

By answering the questions posed, the analytical service staff determines the composition of the analyzed data. They can be broadly classified into two groups: primary and secondary information about the state of the market.

3.1. Sources and methods of collecting primary information

Data specifically obtained for analysis and not subjected to any pre-processing, i.e. primary information about the facts of interest is of particular interest to the analyst. With its help, you can answer questions of interest quite accurately and with the necessary degree of reliability. Despite the fact that collecting primary information requires relatively large financial costs and significant time reserves, its use is a prerequisite for the specific focus of analytical procedures.

Main sources of primary information are:

1) consumers of products;

2) product distribution channels, including wholesale and retail networks;

3) suppliers of raw materials, materials, parts, units, units, spare parts;

5) engineering, sales and management personnel of competing organizations;

6) special analytical services and agents.

Methods for collecting primary information include: surveys, observations and experiments. During the development of the concept of collecting primary information, it is especially important to use these methods correctly, since the possibility of using statistical processing methods will depend on the nature of the initial information; the quality of the measurement determines the reliability of the conclusions formulated.

3.2 Survey technique

A survey is the most common and most important form of collecting primary information, during which the position and/or preferences of respondents are clarified. All the variety of survey types can be classified according to:

circle of respondents (private individuals, experts, entrepreneurs, etc.);

the number of respondents simultaneously (single or group interview);

the number of topics included in the survey (single- and multi-topic, omnibus);

level of standardization (free scheme or structured, fully standardized);

by frequency (single or multiple polling);

by the form of information transfer (telephone, postal, virtual, face-to-face).

In the practice of marketing research, face-to-face interviews, telephone surveys, and mail surveys are most often used (Fig. 4, 5).

In a written survey, respondents receive questionnaires that must be filled out and sent back to their intended destination. In this case, mostly closed questions are used, the answers to which consist in choosing one of the presented options:

Rice. 4 Using various types of surveys when collecting primary information

Sources: 1. Churchill G. Marketing Research: Methodological Foundations / Sixth Edition. – The Dryden Press. – 1995, 361 p. 2.Fomicheva Yu.V., Kudrya R.V. Marketing services in Russia (information and analytical directory). – M.:USAID, 1996.- C.9.

Rice. 5. Approximate scheme for conducting a telephone survey

“yes-no” questions (sometimes the answer “I don’t know” or “neither yes nor no” is provided);

alternative questions, in which you need to choose one answer (sometimes several) from a number of possible ones;

ranking comparison objects, such as cars, based on perceived benefits;

scaling questions that provide a differentiated assessment of the similarity or difference of the objects being studied.

Different types of questions ask different levels of scales, which can be used in the future to measure the value of the characteristic being studied (Table 5).

Table 5

Examples of question types and levels of measurement

When developing questionnaires, one must take into account the need for information and the ability of respondents to give the correct answer. If the researcher is only interested in agreement or disagreement, then a yes-no question is sufficient. If you need to make a conclusion about the preferences of the respondents, scaling questions are used. In addition to questions on the merits of the matter, questions are needed that help establish contact with the respondent, control the correctness and authenticity of the answers, and statistical questions relating to the personality of the respondent.

Questions should not cause unpleasant feelings, for example, shame, dissatisfaction, or a desire to embellish reality. If they are necessary, it is better to put them not in a direct, but in an indirect form, for example: instead of the question “Do you have a car?” You can ask the question “Who in your family has a car?”

When exploring real motives and opinions, methods of projection and association are often used. In the first case, the respondent is asked to describe a situation or express a possible reaction of a third party to this situation. As a rule, people attribute to others those character traits that they themselves possess, their opinions and ideas. A test is based on the principle of association, finding out what a particular word reminds a subject, for example: what is associated with the word “service”. The same basis is found in the sentence completion test, during which the respondent is asked to complete an incomplete sentence, for example: “A sports car is owned by people who...”. The response time in both cases must be limited in order to obtain spontaneous judgments.

In field research, oral interviews are more often used. If the survey follows a strictly defined pattern, then we speak of a standardized interview. The representativeness of this form of information collection largely depends on the person conducting the interview. Good preparation helps to reduce the proportion of respondents who refuse to participate in the work. At the same time, the excessive zeal of the interviewer sometimes distorts the results of the survey.

In this sense, a free survey is more preferable (there is only a topic and a goal, there is no specific scheme). Its advantages lie in the possibility of an individual approach to each of the interviewees, which helps maintain an atmosphere of trust. In addition, free questioning facilitates obtaining additional information. At the same time, in this case, respondents’ answers are difficult to record and compare, and the costs of processing them are high. In practice, free interviews are used during a preliminary study of a problem, when interviewing experts and enterprise managers. The standardized form is widely used in mass research. Criterias of choice various forms surveys are given in table. 6.

Table 6

Criteria for selecting different survey forms

Note.“+” advantages; "-" - flaws; gap - the absence of both special advantages and disadvantages. For example, a written survey is associated with relatively low costs, but does not exclude the influence of outsiders on the formulation of answers.

To improve the quality of questionnaires and successfully collect information, it is advisable to adhere to a number of recommendations.

2. Construction of questionnaires. Order of questions: from simple to complex, from general to specific, from non-binding to sensitive; trust questions first, then substantive questions, then perhaps control questions, and finally personality questions.

3. Means for increasing return rates for written surveys:

material incentives for respondents (costs must be taken into account, as well as possible embellishment of answers out of gratitude);

presence of a cover letter (awakening interest, guaranteeing anonymity);

telephone warning about sending questionnaires;

presence of a marked envelope for the answer;

attractive design, small volume.

3.3. Features of observations

Observation as a method of obtaining primary information, it is used in marketing research much less frequently than a survey. It serves to display real events and phenomena without explaining the reasons for what is happening.

Using a survey, you can identify people’s opinions, perceptions, and knowledge. All these subjective circumstances are closed to observation. However, objects such as products included in the assortment, consumer behavior, and the consequences of behavior can be captured through observation. The advantages of this method of collecting primary information (compared to a survey) include:

the possibility of collecting data does not depend on the desire of the respondent, on his ability to verbally express the essence of the matter;

higher objectivity is ensured due to the lack of influence on the respondent;

unconscious behavior is assessed (choosing a product on the shelves in a store);

the surrounding situation is taken into account, especially when observing with instruments.

Observation also has disadvantages:

it is difficult to ensure representativeness, since observation usually requires special conditions(for example, when observing the behavior of customers in a store, only those who came to the store can be observed; the randomness of the sample is violated);

subjectivity of perception of the observer, selective observation (no longer necessary when observing with the help of instruments);

the behavior of objects may differ from natural if observation is open (observation effect).

The following forms of observation are distinguished:

according to the nature of the environment - field (in a natural setting: in a store, near a display window), laboratory (in an artificially created situation). The advantage of the first form is the naturalness of the observed behavior. The second form allows you to maintain more stable observation conditions and makes it possible to use a number of technical means (for example, tachistoscopes);

at the observer’s place – with the direct participation of the researcher and observation from the outside;

according to the form of perception of the object - personal observation (directly by the observer) and indirect - through instruments or by recording the “consequences” of behavior;

according to the degree of standardization - standardized and free observation. Standardization usually involves specifying certain categories of behavior and patterns of action. For example, to monitor the effectiveness of window advertising, the following standard behavior patterns of passers-by can be identified and recorded:

entered the store, first looking at the advertisement;

saw the window, did not enter the store;

passed without looking at the window display.

3.4. Forms of conducting experiments

Decisions in marketing can be defined as the evaluation and selection of behavioral alternatives in terms of their contribution to achieving goals. To make decisions, it is necessary to have information about the expected success of individual alternatives. This information can be obtained using an experiment that establishes cause-and-effect relationships, the influence of independent variables on the characteristic being studied(for example, the influence of color, shape and volume of packaging on the sale of goods).

According to the form of conducting experiments, they are divided into laboratory, taking place in an artificial environment (product test), and field, taking place in real conditions (market test). From the point of view of the technique of conducting them, they are classified according to two criteria: 1) according to the nature of the groups of respondents used: experimental group (E - experimental group), control group (C - control group) ]; 2) according to the time of exposure to the factor under study: A - after exposure (after), B - before exposure (befoge). In accordance with these criteria, several typical experiments are distinguished:

1. EBA - measurement of characteristics in an experimental group before and after exposure to a factor (for example, measurements of sales volumes in an experimental group of retail outlets before and after an advertising campaign in the press). The most significant problem that arises when organizing an experiment in this way is the difficulty of unambiguously interpreting the results. The course of the experiment can be influenced by various effects (actions of past activities, the influence of extraneous factors, a preliminary measurement may itself affect the results, etc.).

2. EA-SA – measurement of the studied characteristics in the control and experimental groups after exposure to the factor. With this type of experimental design, the influence of the effects listed above is reduced, but problems arise due to the possible presence of differences between groups before the experiment. To eliminate this problem, groups are formed randomly.

3. EVA - SVA - measurement of characteristics before and after exposure to a factor using a control group. Such experiments are often used in trade research to determine the impact of sales promotion activities on consumer preferences. To ensure the reliability of the results, it is necessary to eliminate the learning effect that appears during preliminary measurements.

4. EA - EVA - SVA - measurements are carried out in three groups. Both the accuracy of the results and the costs of the experiment increase.

Before using experimental results in analytical work, it is necessary to ensure that their interpretation is unambiguous and representative (suitable for other conditions).

3.5. Collection of primary information using

research panels

Most of the primary information obtained through surveys, observations and experiments is constantly changing under the influence of market factors. In this regard, there is often a need for constant or periodic updating of data - market monitoring. To organize monitoring, special research panels are used.

Research panels are samples of wholesale, retail retail chains, various groups consumers who are surveyed at certain intervals according to a pre-developed scheme in order to constantly replenish and clarify primary information about the market for goods of interest. The panel has the following main features:

the subject and topic of research are constant;

data collection is repeated at predetermined intervals;

a constant (with certain reservations) set of research objects - households, trade enterprises, industrial consumers.

In practice it is used different kinds panels (Fig. 6). To all

Rice. 7. Types of research panels

Some of them have fairly stringent requirements. The panel must be representative and include typical sellers or consumers of the products being analyzed so that the conclusions obtained from the results of the panel survey can be generalized to the entire population under study using special procedures. In addition, it is important that the panel elements reflect the structure of the market according to its most important parameters: geographical location, demographic factors, socio-economic characteristics, customs and traditions of consumers, etc.

Consumer panel based on the survey method. Panel participants (households, individuals) receive questionnaires from the organization conducting the study and periodically fill them out, indicating information of interest to the researcher (for example, type of product, packaging, manufacturer, date, cost, quantity and place of purchase). Using the consumer dashboard, you can get information about:

the quantity of goods purchased by the family, the structure of its expenses;

market share of major manufacturers and sellers;

preferred prices, types of packaging, forms of retail trade;

differences in the behavior of consumers belonging to different social strata, living in different regions, cities of different sizes;

effectiveness of marketing campaigns, etc.

Among the varieties trading panels The retail panel is of greatest importance for marketing. Research is carried out, as a rule, by employees of specialized companies, whose task is to collect data on inventories, purchases and prices of groups of goods of interest, that is, to inventory trading activities. Using the retail dashboard, you can get information about:

development of sales of certain product groups;

sales to end consumers in quantitative and cost terms;

average inventories, sales, purchases for each enterprise included in the panel;

sales speed.

This data can be divided by sales area, type and size of stores. For an entrepreneur, such information is useful , which allows us to draw a conclusion about the distribution paths of our own and competing products, and check how new products (our own and competitors’) are established on the market. In addition, based on the panel data, one can judge the efficiency of sales services, the routes of goods entering the retail network and the degree of mobility of various trading enterprises.

Due to the fact that organizing panel research requires large financial costs, panel surveys are usually carried out by large firms specializing in marketing research. Foreign marketing companies “Tekhnomic”, “GIRA”, “LADL”, “BAKH”, “AGB Atwood”, “Nielsen BV” have extensive experience in conducting panel research.

Organization of a panel of retailers and a panel of consumers.

The panel of the well-known marketing firm Nielsen B.V. is a regular sample of retailers that gives a reliable picture of all retailers of certain products (groceries, perfumes and pharmaceuticals, tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, electrical goods, etc.). Nielsen evaluates the sales status of various retail stores at 2-month intervals. Moreover, inventory is measured only once every 2 months, since the ending inventory of one period is the beginning inventory of the next. Based on average sales volumes per retail store and total number stores selling these products, the total demand for the analyzed goods is calculated, price ranges, the degree of consumer loyalty to the brand and other market parameters are determined.

The marketing company AGB Attwood forms a panel of consumers rather than sellers. The Atwood panel is a regular sample of a large number of shoppers (approximately 5,000 households) who record their daily purchases in special books sent to them once a week. They record data on purchased goods, their brands, prices, number of product units in packages, place and time of purchases. This makes it possible to calculate with great accuracy the average volume of purchases per typical consumer.

The panel as a method of collecting primary information has methodological and practical problems. The most significant of them are related to the difficulty of ensuring representativeness (for more details, see Chapter 4), since each panel has a certain instability and a specific “panel effect”.

The instability of the consumer panel is determined by the number of direct refusals of participants to cooperate, changing their place of residence, moving to another consumer category, etc. To reduce the negative impact of these factors, respondents usually receive a small reward for participating in panel surveys. Another problem—the “panel effect”—is that respondents, feeling in control, consciously or unconsciously change their habitual behavior. Housewives are better prepared for purchases, and the share of spontaneous purchases is decreasing.

In addition, at the stage of information collection, the problem of completeness of market coverage often appears. Foreigners are usually poorly represented in the consumer panel due to language problems. The Retailer Panel does not account for purchases that end consumers make at wholesalers and directly from manufacturers. Not all retailers agree to participate in the panel. Thus, entire trade groups are excluded from the scope of research.

When collecting data, the researcher must take into account a number of other factors that affect the accuracy of the information (not typical for a trading panel):

with long-term cooperation, negligence in filling out questionnaires appears;

prestige problems: members not buying for a long time a product that is purchased by members of their social group feel embarrassed and give information about purchases that did not actually occur;

problems when providing information about the purchase of “taboo”, intimate items (for example, the purchase of cigarettes by a 15-year-old daughter will most likely not be indicated in the questionnaire).

The question of which type of panel is preferable for a researcher cannot be given a definite answer. A consumer panel is more suitable for collecting data on the structure and preferences of consumers, while a trade panel is better suited for studying distribution networks. Large enterprises receive information, as a rule, from both sources.

3.6. Sources of secondary information

Secondary information on the state of the market includes data external and internal to the organization that has undergone preliminary analytical processing, the goals of which, as a rule, do not coincide with the goals of the analysis being carried out. In this regard, this information requires additional selection, ranking and compilation procedures to bring it into the required form. To main sources external secondary information relate:

1) reference publications on market conditions, trends and problems of its development;

2) state regulations (documents) directly or indirectly affecting the state of the market (standards for products, technology, protection environment; special regulations on quotas, licensing, customs duties, etc.);

3) reports on the production and economic activities of competing organizations (for open joint-stock companies);

4) analytical articles on market development, presented in periodicals, in special newspapers and magazines;

5) information that allows one to assess the attitude of heads of public services to the development trends of the analyzed market;

7) data on registration of patents, licenses and other exclusive rights of competitors;

8) announcements of competitors about hiring personnel, sales (sales), purchases, etc.;

9) published interviews (speeches, reports) of management personnel and leadership of competing organizations;

10) consumer opinions on product characteristics, published in the press of consumer associations (unions);

11) materials from arbitration chronicles, etc.

In Fig. Table 7 shows the most popular sources of external secondary information used by Russian marketing agencies.

Rice. 7. The sources of external influence most frequently used in Russian marketing research practice

secondary information

Table 7

Secondary information about goods and services in specialized advertising publications (average number of advertisements)

Explanation for the table: 1 -real estate; 2 -motor transport, auto parts; 3 -food, drinks and tobacco products; 4 -cloth; 5 -building materials and structures; 6 -work, education; 7 -services; 8 -electrical appliances and electronics; 9 -household goods; 10 – computer and office equipment, stationery; 11 -leisure, entertainment; 12 -goods offered by barter; 13 -proposals for cooperation; 14 -furniture, interior items; 15 -retail store equipment; 16 -perfumes, cosmetics; 17 -machines, industrial and construction equipment, instruments; 18 -raw materials and materials for industrial use; 19 -tourism, recreation, sports; 20 -medicine; 21 -shoes; 22 -haberdashery; 23 -household chemicals; 24 -Products for children; 25 -textile products.

In the course of marketing research, we also use internal secondary information: accounting data, customer lists, seller reports, list of consumer complaints and complaints, annual reports, marketing plans and other documents.

Disadvantages of secondary information - incompleteness of the data presented, lack of guarantees of reliability, delay of necessary information - reduce its information value. However, in situations where a preliminary (clarifying) analysis is required, secondary information is irreplaceable, since its collection does not require serious financial costs and a lot of time. It comes from various sources, which increases the objectivity of the results obtained. In addition, the quality of secondary information can be improved as a result of its refinement. To do this you need to find out:

What was the purpose of the study,

Who collected the information

What information was collected

How was it received?

How does it relate to what we already know about the market.

After clarification of this information, it is possible to refine the information.

3.7. Special Types of Secondary Marketing Information

External secondary information also includes information from the virtual environment. The volume of telecommunications services in this area is increasing every year. Most Popular Russian business servers of the INTERNET network are presented in table. 8.

Table 8

Secondary information on the INTERNET (fragment of Russian resources)

A large file of secondary information can also be obtained from marketing firms that specialize in collecting market data. Unfortunately, in Russia services in the field of providing special secondary marketing information are just beginning to develop and therefore count on significant informational resources not necessary here. In this sense, the US information marketing industry is the most developed. She is presented big amount companies publishing information on various areas of firms’ marketing activities, consumer behavior, the state of product sales networks, etc. (Table 9).

Table 9

Special secondary information about the US market,

published by specialized firms and agencies

I. Assessing consumer position

Social structure of society Yankelovich Monitor n/a

and its influence on behavior

consumers

Public opinion Gallup Poll standard panel – 1300 people.

Consumer attitude towards DDB Needham, n/a

changes in economics and politics ABC News/Harris Survey

Cont. table 9

Pharmacy index Nielsen Nielsen 550 pharmacies and rose-

(Nielsen Drug Index - NDI) - retail store volumes

sales of the main groups selling medicines

medicines

Nielsen index for broad goods Nielsen 125 retail

consumption (Nielsen Mass stores

Merchandiser Index - NMMI)

Ehrhart-Babic's National Retail Index 2498 Supermarket

(National Retail Tracking Index - NRTI) comrade, 1836 pharmacies,

849 department stores

new, 1904 farms.

shops, 123

warehouse located

married in 54 geogr.

V.Monitoringmass media

Television Index Nielsen Nielsen 2000 households

(Nielsen Television Index - NTI),

determining the size of the audience

various channels and programs and

published twice a year

Television index Arbitron Arbitron 14 central

(Arbitron Television Index - ATI) US cities

Radio index Arbitron Arbitron n/a

(Arbitron Radio Index - ARI)

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, in relation to each specific case, a marketer 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 social life, then people need to receive information regarding 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 also change under the influence of various factors, so firms must constantly monitor market conditions in order 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 a normal sociological research 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 spreads 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 traits 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 systems classifications of objects 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 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.

Summary 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 make statistically accurate measurements of the content of mass media materials, originate from research in the field of American journalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 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 categories of analysis 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 categories of analysis are subject to the requirement of universal comparability, high standardization of categories, which allows the use statistical methods 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 a text, a unit of analysis can be designated by a word or phrase; in the most complex case, it may not have a terminological expression; its presence is determined by its 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 area, columns in printed texts, etc.

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 select other document properties (for example, 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 its main goal is to analyze the relationships between various topics and relationships in the analyzed text, that is, to analyze 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. This drawback can be eliminated by using 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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