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Chapter 2

The Marketing Research Process

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1. establish need for information define precisely at

the outset to facilitate management decisions

Manager decides whether to request research

recognition of a decision situation

Marketing researcher has received request forinformation

identify decision-maker

identify objectives of the decision-maker

statement of problems and opportunities identify courses of action

Overview of the Research Process

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Overview of the Research Process (cont.)

2. detail research objectives and information needs Why is

this project being conducted? and "What specific informationis required to attain the objectives?"

3. design research and data sources information to collect,

sources of data, and plan guiding data collection and analysis

4. design data-collection procedure e.g., questionnaire5. design sample define population, sample-selection

method, and the sample size

6. collect data

7. process and code data8. analyze data

9. present results oral presentation and/or written report

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Models

An analytical model is a set of variables and

their interrelationships designed to represent, in

whole or in part, some real system or process.

In verbal models, the variables and their

relationships are stated in prose form. Such models

may be mere restatements of the main tenets of a

theory.

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Mathematical Models

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10

aa i,0

Mathematical modelsexplicitly specify therelationships among variables, usually in

equation form.

Where

y = degree of preference

= model parameters to be estimated

statistically

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Development of Research

Questions and HypothesesFig. 2.4

Components of the

Research Questions

Hypotheses

Objective/TheoreticalFramewor

kAnalyticalModel

Marketing Research Problem

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Research Questions and Hypotheses

Research questions(RQs) are refinedstatements of the specific components of the

problem.

Ahypothesis(H) is an unproven statementor proposition about a factor or phenomenon

that is of interest to the researcher. Often, a

hypothesis is a possible answer to the researchquestion.

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At United, Food Is Uniting the

Airline with Travelers

United Airlines, as other major airlines, had to

deal withpassenger loyalty(managementdecision problem: how to attract more and moreloyal passengers). The broadmarketing researchproblemwas to identify the factors that

influence loyalty of airline travelers.

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The basic answer is toimprove service.Exploratory research, theoretical framework, andempirical evidence revealed that the consumerschoice of an airline is influenced by:safety, priceof the ticket, frequent-flyer program,convenience of scheduling, and brand name.

At United, Food Is Uniting the

Airline with Travelers

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A graphical model stipulated thatconsumers evaluate competingairlines based on factors of the

choice criteria to select a preferredairline. The problem was thatmajor airlines were quite similar onthese factors. Indeed, "airlines offerthe same schedules, the sameservice, and the same fares.Consequently, United Airlines hadto find a way to differentiate itself.Food turned out to be the solution.

,Airlinewith Travelers

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Secondary data, like the J. D Power &Associates' survey on "current and futuretrends in the airline food industry," indicatedthat "food service is a major contributor tocustomers loyalty." This survey also

emphasized the importance of food brands.

At United, Food Is Uniting theAirline with Travelers

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The airline's Marketrak survey told United Airlinesthat "customers wanted more varied and up-to-datefood.

The following research questions and hypothesesmay be posed.

RQ1 How important is food for airline customers?

H1: Food is an important factor for airline

travelers.

H2: Travelers value branded food.

H3: Travelers prefer larger food portions, but with

consistent quality.

Airlinewith Travelers

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Characteristics that influence the researchdesign included the identification of competingairlines (Delta, American, etc.), factors of thechoice criteria (already identified),

measurement of airline travel, and loyalty.

Airlinewith Travelers

Ai li

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This kind of research helped United Airlines define their

marketing research problem and develop the approach.Focus groups and surveys were conducted to checkcustomers' perceptions of food in United Airlines' aircraft.

The results provided support for all the hypotheses (H1 toH4). United Airlines then made a few changes: new

"culinary menus," larger portions of food, new coffee, andbranded products (e.g., Godiva chocolates). This resulted inbetter service, increasing customer satisfaction andfostering loyalty.

Airlinewith Travelers