Examples of methods for collecting marketing information. The main methods of collecting marketing information in market research

1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………..3

2. System marketing information………………………………..4

3. Methods of collecting information:……………………………………………..7

Interview;

observation;

experiment;

imitation;

panel study.

4. Conclusion………………………………………………………………… 13

5. References…………………………………………………….14

INTRODUCTION

To take the best managerial decision In the face of fierce competition, the company needs to have huge amounts of information. A serious analysis of the markets for manufactured and planned products, raw materials, capital and labor is needed, which is absolutely impossible without marketing research.

Meanwhile, an incorrect assessment of the economic situation or an incorrect interpretation of economic news are often associated with an erroneous choice of the source of information. Often, the most advertised information providers are not the best, because most of their efforts are focused on the organization of promotional activities, and the problems of the quality of the supplied products remain in the background.

Therefore, any research is preceded by a detailed analysis of the marketing information market in order to search for data sources of high reliability and completeness of reflection of real market processes.

The formation of high-quality information funds of an enterprise is a complex process. When compiling information funds, it is especially important to take into account the needs of the enterprise. Based on the needs, determine what services are needed. Then the required information resources are divided into sectors of the information market, and in each sector, possible options for databases and information systems are selected. A comprehensive study of the information services market involves an analysis of the commodity situation, tracking the level of prices for information services, identifying potential producers of the required information, etc.

In marketing research, along with the importance of choosing methods for collecting information, it is no less important to choose adequate methods for analyzing the collected information, and this largely determines not only the correctness of the conclusions drawn, but also their accuracy and certainty.

SYSTEM OF MARKETING INFORMATION.

In successful organizations, marketing information is collected, analyzed and distributed within the marketing information system (MIS), which is part of the organization's management information system.

MIS is a set (single complex) of personnel, equipment, procedures and methods designed to collect, process, analyze and distribute reliable information at a specified time, necessary for the preparation and adoption of marketing decisions. It is sometimes said that MIS is a way of thinking through decisions to find the marketing information that managers need. It is generally recognized that managers and marketers have a need for specific information and methods for obtaining it.

Thus, MIS is a conceptual system that helps to solve both marketing and strategic planning tasks.

MIS transforms data obtained from internal and external sources into information necessary for managers and specialists of marketing services.

MIS distributes information among managers and specialists of marketing services who make appropriate decisions. In addition, MIS, interacting with other automated systems of the organization, supplies the necessary information to the heads of other services (production, R&D, etc.).

Internal information contains data on product orders, sales volumes, product shipments, inventory levels, payment for shipped products, etc.

Data from external sources is obtained on the basis of marketing intelligence (from the subsystem of current external information) and marketing research.

Sources for obtaining current external information can be of a very different nature; formal and informal procedures are used to collect it.

Such information is obtained by studying books, newspapers, trade publications, reports of competing firms; as a result of conversations with customers, suppliers, distributors and other persons external to the organization, who should be effectively motivated to collect and provide the necessary information; based on conversations with other managers and employees, for example, employees of the sales departments of this organization; by conducting industrial and commercial espionage (although foreign books write a lot about the ethical problems of marketing research).

The MIS also includes a subsystem of marketing research - a systematic determination of the range of data needed by the company in connection with the marketing situation facing it (their collection, analysis and preparation of a report on the results necessary to study the market potential, consumer preferences, the attitude of the target market to this company and etc.).

Different companies organize the performance of the marketing research function in different ways. Some have a dedicated market research department, others have only one person responsible for market research. There are organizations whose structure does not formally reflect the function of marketing research.

Marketing research can be carried out independently, by the organization's own resources, or the organization can use the services of specialized consulting organizations. When choosing between the first and second options for conducting marketing research, many factors are taken into account:

1. Research cost. Many organizations find it cheaper to conduct marketing research on their own. (For reference: the cost of conducting marketing research on the basis of expert evaluation of foreign specialists is on average less than 0.2 of each percent of the product cost).

2. Experience in conducting research, specialists with the necessary qualifications. This is especially important to consider when using complex methods of conducting marketing research and processing the results.

3. Deep knowledge of the technical features of the product. Usually, the specialists of the organization know them better, and this knowledge can not be easily and quickly transferred to the specialists of other organizations.

4. Objectivity. Specialists of specialized organizations are usually more objective in their assessments.

5. Availability of special equipment: computers and special programs for them, equipment for testing. Such equipment, as a rule, is more fully possessed by specialized organizations.

6. Confidentiality is better preserved when marketing research is carried out by employees of this organization. Sometimes an organization conducts one part of marketing research with its own employees, and the other with the help of specialized marketing agencies. After solving organizational issues, they begin to conduct marketing research. The content of the individual stages of marketing research is considered sequentially below.

METHODS OF COLLECTING INFORMATION.

Researchers usually start by collecting secondary data. Secondary data can usually be obtained faster and cheaper than primary data. The work of collecting primary data can take weeks or even months and be expensive. However, secondary data is a good starting point for research and often helps to clarify the problem and define the goals of the research.

Qualitative Research (qualitative research). Exploratory research conducted to identify the motives, reactions, and behaviors of consumers. Conducting focus groups and interviews - methods used during this study

Quantitative research (quantitative research). A study that involves obtaining information from a large number of buyers by mail or during personal interviews for statistical analysis.

All types of research can be divided into field and desk.

Field study - a method of collecting and evaluating information directly about the object of study, recorded through a survey, experiment and observation at the time of their occurrence. Sources of primary information - this is directly the object of study itself, creates information in accordance with the goals of its collection.

desk research - a method of collecting and evaluating existing marketing information contained in sources (statistics or reports) prepared for other purposes. Desk methods for collecting information include the traditional (classical) method of document analysis, informative-target analysis, content analysis of documents.

To obtain information in marketing, the following methods are used: survey, observation, experiment, panel. The choice of a specific method depends on the purpose of the trait under study (person, object).

Under poll refers to the method of collecting information by establishing contacts with the objects of study. As a research tool, the survey method uses a questionnaire, which is a questionnaire that provides for fixing answers.

Surveys are the most common and most important form of data collection in marketing. Oral and telephone surveys are usually called interviews.

Polls are divided:

According to the circle of respondents (individuals, experts, entrepreneurs, etc.);

By the number of simultaneously interviewed persons (single or group interview);

By the number of topics included in the survey (one or several (omnibus));

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

By polling frequency (single or multiple polling).

During a written survey, participants receive questionnaires, which they must fill out and send to the destination.

The advantage of this method lies, first of all, in the practically unlimited area of ​​its possible application. So, this method allows you to get data not only about the current behavior of the object, but also about its behavior in the past and intentions in the future.

Surveys have practically no alternative in those cases when a company needs information about the knowledge, beliefs and preferences of consumers, the degree of their satisfaction, the image of the company, etc.

Observation as a method of obtaining information is used in market research much less frequently than a survey.

Observation is a method of collecting information by fixing the functioning of the objects under study without the researchers establishing contacts with them and in the absence of control over the factors influencing their behavior.

Surveillance can be carried out both openly and covertly. Since the subject's awareness of being under observation can affect his behavior and distort the data. In practice, as a rule, covert observations are carried out.

Scientific observation is understood as a process that:

serves a specific research purpose;

proceeds systematically and systematically;

serves for generalizing judgments, does not represent only the collection of interesting facts;

subject to constant monitoring, in terms of reliability and accuracy.

The advantages of this method include, firstly, its simplicity and relative cheapness, and secondly, the exclusion of distortions caused by the contacts of objects with researchers (which, for example, cannot be completely eliminated during a survey).

The main drawback of this method is that it does not allow one to unambiguously establish the internal motives of the behavior of the objects of observation and the processes of their decision-making, and, therefore, they can be misinterpreted by observers. Therefore, observation is mainly used in conducting exploratory studies, i.e., of a preliminary nature, aimed at concretizing the problems facing researchers.

The following can be distinguished forms observations:

By the nature of the environment observation can be field - which means that the processes take place in a natural setting (shop, at the window) or laboratory, that is, carried out in an artificially created situation. The advantage of the first form lies in the naturalness of the observed behavior. The second form makes it possible to maintain more stable observation conditions and makes it possible to use a number of technical means;

By observer's place distinguish between a process with the direct participation of the researcher and observation from the outside;

By form of perception the object can be distinguished by personal observation (directly by the observer) and non-personal - through devices or by registering traces of behavior;

By degree of standardization distinguish between standardized and free observation.

Experiment is a method of collecting information about the behavior of the objects under study, which provides for the establishment by researchers of control over all factors that affect the functioning of these objects.

aim research conducted with the help of an experiment is, as a rule, the establishment of causal relationships between marketing factors and the behavior of the objects under study.

Essential signs experiment:

Isolate changes (individual values ​​vary by the researcher, others should be as constant as possible);

The researcher actively intervenes in the process of data generation;

To ensure the reliability of the results of the experiment, the values ​​of all factors, except for the one under study, must remain unchanged. If several factors need to be investigated, a series of experiments may be required.

To virtues This method includes, first of all, its objective nature and the possibility of establishing causal relationships between marketing factors and the behavior of the objects under study.

Flaws Such a method lies in the difficulty of controlling all marketing factors in natural conditions, on the one hand, and the difficulty of reproducing the normal behavior of a socio-economic object in laboratory conditions, on the other hand. In addition, conducting an experiment is usually more expensive than observation, and especially when it is necessary to study several marketing factors. Therefore, in practice, this method is used relatively rarely and, above all, in cases where it is required to establish with a high degree of certainty the nature of causal relationships between marketing factors and the behavior of the object under study.

Imitation is a method of collecting data generated by a computer using a pre-developed mathematical model that adequately reproduces the behavior of the object of study.

Dignity This method consists in the ability to quickly analyze a variety of options for marketing actions and choose the best one on this basis.

To shortcomings This method includes, first of all, the complexity and laboriousness of creating the model itself, which requires in-depth study and formalization of cause-and-effect relationships between all marketing factors, its external environment and factors that determine purchasing behavior.

Panel Study - re-examination of the same object after a while.

The panel has the following main features:

The subject and topic of research are constant;

Data collection is repeated at regular intervals;

A constant set of objects of study - housewives, trade enterprises, industrial consumers.

In practice, a number of panel types have been formed (Fig. 1).

Rice. one. Panel types.

Some data, such as data on the consumption of various consumer products or data on consumer media preferences, are better obtained diary panel method . Household Panel on Food Consumption is a record of families who use standard diary forms to record their monthly purchases for different food categories. At the beginning of the study, households are selected in accordance with the sample, where all family members - participants in the study are instructed in filling out standard forms of questionnaires. At certain intervals, all data from all households are collected and processed. As a result, from the research reports it is possible to obtain an assessment of such important indicators as:

the size of the market, the proportion of families that are regular customers, and the number of purchases per customer;

share of the manufacturer's brand in the market; loyalty to the brand or the transition from manufacturer to manufacturer;

how often purchases are made and the size of a single purchase;

the impact of prices and discounts on buyers;

the impact of the emergence of new brands on the purchase of existing brands;

Conclusion.

Currently, marketing research and its proper organization is becoming a tool by which the risk of entrepreneurship is significantly reduced. By conducting research in advance, we can identify all possible problems that may arise in the course of business activities at an early stage, and the quality of solving consumer problems increases.

The main purpose (result) of marketing research is the generation of marketing information for making decisions in the field of interaction (communications) of the subjects of the marketing system, such decisions that would provide the quantity and quality of product and service transactions required by the market, observing the requirements of the main environmental factors and the consumer.

The main goal of marketing research is to develop a concept of a general idea of ​​the structure and patterns of market dynamics and substantiate the need and capabilities of a particular company to more effectively adapt its production, technologies and structure, as well as products or services brought to the market to the demand and requirements of the end consumer.

In accordance with the goals and objectives of the course work, the following conclusions can be drawn:

Analysis of marketing information is the most important and basic tool for obtaining sufficiently reliable data on the state of all components of the marketing environment. Moreover, the choice of methods of analysis must necessarily be selected in accordance with the goals and objectives of the study, the effectiveness and reliability of the study, its final results will fully depend on this. Well-organized, thoughtful research is the key to success in the market.

Bibliography:

Bagiev G.L., Tarasevich V.M., Ann H. Marketing. – M.; Economy, 2002.

Berezin I. S. Marketing and market research. - M .: Russian business literature, - 2001.

Golubkov E.P. Theory and methodology of marketing: present and future. – M.: Business and Service, - 2008.

Kotler F. Fundamentals of marketing. – M.: Progress, 2004.

Chapter 3 Gathering 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 apply 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 accurate enough. To do this, in the course of 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 the wrong decision based on the information already available?

3) how useful is the collection of additional information?

4) how and what will additional information help in the course of the analysis?

5) How urgent is additional information needed?

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

Answering the questions posed, the staff of the analytical service 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 specially obtained for analysis and not subjected to any pre-processing, i.e. primary information about facts of interest is of particular interest to the analyst. With its help, it is possible to answer the questions of interest quite accurately and with the necessary degree of reliability. Despite the fact that the collection of primary information requires relatively large financial costs and significant time reserves, its use is prerequisite 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, assemblies, assemblies, 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. In the course of developing 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; on the quality of measurement - the reliability of the formulated conclusions.

3.2 Interview 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.. The whole variety of types of surveys can be classified according to:

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

the number of simultaneously interviewed (single or group interviews);

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);

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

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

During a written survey, respondents receive questionnaires that must be filled out and sent to the destination. AT this case mostly closed questions are used, the answers to which are to choose one of the options presented:

Rice. 4 Use of 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 reference book). – M.:USAID, 1996.- C.9.

Rice. 5. An approximate scheme for conducting a telephone survey

questions "yes - no" (sometimes the answer is "don't know" or "neither yes nor no");

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

ranking objects of comparison, such as cars, based on subjectively perceived advantages;

scaling questions that give a differentiated assessment of the similarity or difference of the objects under study.

Different types of questions ask different levels of scales that can be used in the future to measure the magnitude of the trait under study (Table 5).

Table 5

Examples of question types and measurement levels

	Possible answers	Question type	Scale type
Do you love music?			nominal
I love listening to music because I can…	…to relax …work better …dream	alternative	nominal
What kind of music do you like the most? Give each species a rank (1 - highest)	…classic …entertaining …experimental	ranging	ordinal
Classical music…	pleasant, unpleasant	scaling (semantic differential)	interval
How old are you?		scaling	ratio scale

When developing questionnaires, one should proceed from the need for information and the ability of the 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, use scaling questions. In addition to questions on the merits of the case, questions are needed to help establish contact with the respondent, control the correctness and authenticity of the answers, and statistical questions regarding the identity of the respondent.

Questions should not cause unpleasant feelings, such as 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?".

In the study of 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 to express the possible reaction of a third person 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, which finds out what reminds the subject of a particular word, for example: what is associated with the word "service". The sentence completion test has the same basis, in which the respondent is asked to complete an incomplete sentence, for example: “People who own a sports car are ...”. The response time in both cases must be limited in order to obtain spontaneous judgments.

In field research, oral interviews are more commonly used. If the survey follows a strictly defined pattern, then they 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 interviewer's excessive zeal 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 individual approach to each of the interviewees, which helps to maintain an atmosphere of trust. In addition, a free survey contributes to obtaining additional information. At the same time, in this case, the answers of the respondents are difficult to record, compare, and the costs of their processing are high. In practice, free interviews are used in the course of a preliminary study of the problem, when interviewing experts and business leaders. The standardized form is widely used in mass research. The criteria for choosing various forms of survey are given in Table. 6.

Table 6

Criteria for selecting different survey forms

Criterion	Written survey	Personal interview	Phone interview
Response rate
Interviewer Influence
Survey volume
Keeping the order of questions
Influence of outsiders
Rapidity
Misinterpreting questions
Complexity of information
Anonymity guarantees
Accounting for non-verbal response

Note."+" benefits; "-" - limitations; 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 the questionnaires and to successfully collect information, it is advisable to follow a number of recommendations.

2. Building questionnaires. The order of questions: from simple to complex, from general to special, from non-binding to sensitive; first trust-building questions, then substantive questions, then perhaps test questions and finally questions about personality.

3. Means to improve return rates for written surveys:

financial incentives for respondents (at the same time, costs should be taken into account, as well as possible embellishment of answers out of a sense of gratitude);

Availability cover letter(awakening of interest, guarantees of anonymity);

telephone warning about the sending of questionnaires;

the presence of a marked envelope for the answer;

attractive design, small volume.

3.3. Features of observations

Observation as a way of obtaining primary information 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.

With the help of a survey, you can identify the opinions, ideas, knowledge of people. All these subjective circumstances are closed to observation. However, objects such as products included in the assortment, consumer behavior, consequences of behavior can be captured by 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 (selection of goods on the shelves in the 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, as a rule, requires special conditions (for example, when observing the behavior of customers in a store, only those who came to the store can be observed; random sampling is violated);

subjectivity of perception of the observer, selective observation (disappears when observing with the help of instruments);

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

The following forms of observation are distinguished:

according to the nature of the environment - field (in a natural setting: in a store, near a shop window), laboratory (in an artificially created situation). The advantage of the first form lies in 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 place of the observer - 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 devices or by registering the "consequences" of behavior;

according to the degree of standardization - standardized and free observation. Standardization usually implies the assignment of certain categories of behavior, schemes of actions. For example, to observe the effectiveness of window advertising, the following standard behaviors of passers-by can be identified and recorded:

entered the store, having previously looked at the advertisement;

saw the shop window, did not enter the store;

passed without looking at the window.

3.4. Experiment Forms

Decisions in marketing can be defined as the evaluation and selection of alternative behaviors in terms of their contribution to the achievement of 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 causal relationships, the influence of independent variables on the characteristic under study(for example, the impact 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 technical point of view, 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) by the time of exposure to the factor under study: A - after exposure (after), B - before exposure (before). In accordance with these criteria, several typical experiments are distinguished:

1. EVA - measurement of characteristics in the experimental group before and after the influence of the factor (for example, measurements of sales volumes in the experimental group of retail outlets before and after an advertising campaign in the press). The most significant problem that arises with such an organization of the experiment lies in the difficulties of unambiguous interpretation of the results. Various effects can affect the course of an experiment (the actions of past events, the impact of extraneous factors, a preliminary measurement may itself affect the results, etc.).

2. EA-CA - measurement of the studied characteristics in the control and experimental groups after exposure to the factor. With such an organization of the experiment, the influence of the effects listed above decreases, but problems arise due to the possible presence of differences between groups already before the experiment. To eliminate this problem, groups are formed randomly.

3. EBA - CBA - measurement of characteristics before and after exposure to a factor with the involvement of a control group. Such experiments are often used in trade research to determine the effect of sales promotion interventions 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 - CBA - measurements are carried out in three groups. Both the accuracy of the results and the cost of the experiment increase.

Before using the results of experiments in analytical work, it is necessary to make sure 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 data updates - market monitoring. To organize monitoring, special research panels are used.

Research panels are samples of wholesale, retail trade networks, various consumer groups, which are polled at certain intervals according to a pre-designed scheme in order to constantly replenish and clarify primary information about the market of goods of interest. The panel has the following main features:

the subject and topic of research are constant;

data collection is repeated at predetermined time intervals;

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

In practice, various types of panels are used (Fig. 6). To all

Rice. 7. Types of research panels

of which are quite stringent. The panel should be representative and include typical sellers or consumers of the analyzed products, so that the conclusions drawn from the results of the panel survey, using special procedures, can be generalized to the entire study population. In addition, it is important that the panel elements reflect the structure of the market in terms of its most important parameters: geographical location, demographic factors, socio-economic characteristics, consumer customs and traditions, 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 the information of interest to the researcher (for example, type of product, packaging, manufacturer, date, cost, quantity and place of purchase). Using the consumer panel, you can get information about:

the amount of goods bought 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 various sizes;

effectiveness of marketing campaigns, etc.

Among the varieties trading panels highest value for marketing has a retail panel. Research is carried out, as a rule, by employees of specialized firms, whose task is to collect data on stocks, purchases and prices of interest groups of goods, that is, in the inventory of trading activities. Using the retail panel, you can get information about:

development of sales of certain groups of goods;

sales to end consumers in quantitative and value terms;

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

sales speed.

This data can be subdivided by sales areas, by types and sizes of stores. For an entrepreneur, this information is useful for , which allows us to draw a conclusion about the ways of distributing our own and competing products, to check how new products (own and competitors) are approved on the market. In addition, on the basis of the panel data, one can judge the efficiency of the sales services, the ways in which goods enter the retail network and the degree of mobility of various trade enterprises.

Due to the fact that the organization of panel research requires large financial costs, panel surveys are usually carried out by large firms specializing in marketing research. Foreign marketing companies Tekhnomik, GIRA, LADL, BAH, AGB Atwood, Nielsen BV have extensive experience in conducting panel studies.

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

The well-known marketing firm Nielsen B.V.'s panel is a regular sample of retailers that provides a reliable view of all retailers of a particular product (grocery, perfumes, and pharmaceuticals, tobacco, liquor, electrical goods, etc.). Nielsen evaluates the sales status of various retail stores at 2-month intervals. Moreover, commodity stocks are measured only once every 2 months, since the ending stocks of one period are the opening stocks of the next. Based on the average data on sales volumes per one retail store and the total number of stores selling this product, 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.

Marketing company - "Atwood" (AGB Attwood) forms a panel not of sellers, but of consumers. The Atwood Panel is a regular sample of a large number of shoppers (approximately 5,000 families) who record their daily purchases in special books sent to them once a week. They record data on purchased goods, their brands, prices, the number of items in packages, the place and time of purchases. This allows us 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 these are related to the difficulty of ensuring representativeness (see Chapter 4 for more details), 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, the change of their place of residence, the transition to another consumer category, etc. For decreasing 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 under control, consciously or unconsciously change their habitual behavior. Housewives are better prepared for purchases, the share of spontaneous purchases is decreasing.

In addition, at the stage of information gathering, the problem of completeness of market coverage often manifests itself. Foreigners are usually poorly represented in the consumer panel due to language problems. The retailer panel does not take into account the purchases that end consumers make in wholesale trade and directly from manufacturers. Not all retailers agree to participate in the panel. Thus, entire trade groups fall out of the scope of research.

When collecting data, the researcher must take into account a number of other factors that affect the accuracy of information (for trading panel uncharacteristic):

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

prestige issues: participants who do not buy a product that is bought by members of their social group for a long time feel embarrassed and give information about purchases that did not actually occur;

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

It is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to the question which type of panel is preferable for the researcher. The consumer panel is more suitable for collecting data on the structure and preferences of consumers, while the trade panel is better suited for researching 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 have undergone preliminary analytical processing, the purposes of which, as a rule, do not coincide with the goals of the analysis being carried out. For this reason, this information requires additional procedures selection, ranking and compilation, bringing it into the required form. To the main sources external secondary information relate:

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

2) state regulations (documents) that directly or indirectly affect the state of the market (standards for products, technology, protection environment; special resolutions 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 the development of the market, presented in periodicals, special newspapers and magazines;

5) information that allows assessing the attitude of the 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 for work, about sales (sales), purchases, etc.;

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

10) opinions of consumers about the characteristics of products, published in the print media of associations (unions) of consumers;

11) materials of the arbitration chronicle, etc.

On fig. 7 shows the most popular sources of external secondary information used by Russian marketing agencies.

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

secondary information

Table 7

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

Name of publication

Products and prices

Services and prices

Tourism and rest

Repair and construction

From hand to hand

Auto (from hand to hand)

Everything is for you

There is work!

We invite you to work

roam

Explanation to the table: 1 -real estate; 2 - vehicles, auto parts; 3 - food, drinks and tobacco products; 4 -clothes; 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 -shop equipment; 16 - perfumery, cosmetics; 17 - machine tools, industrial and construction equipment, devices; 18 - raw materials and materials for industrial use; 19 -tourism, recreation, sports; 20 -the medicine; 21 -shoes; 22 -haberdashery; 23 -household chemicals; 24 -Products for children; 25 -textile products.

Marketing research uses internal secondary information: Accounting data, customer lists, vendor reports, list of consumer complaints and reclamations, annual reports, marketing plans and other documents.

Shortcomings of secondary information - the incompleteness of the data presented, the lack of guarantees of reliability, the delay in the necessary information - reduce its informational value. However, in situations where a preliminary (clarifying) analysis is required, secondary information is indispensable, 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. 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 information

What information was collected

How it was 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 telecommunication services in this area is increasing every year. Most Popular Russian business INTERNET servers are presented in table. eight.

Table 8

Secondary information in INTERNET (fragment of Russian resources)

Server name	Email address	Information
Emerging Markets Navigator	http://www.emn.ru	Data on the largest banks and financial activities of large companies in the Russian Federation
Mega Pro and Contra	http://www.newman.ru	Prices of Moscow firms for computers, peripherals, components, consumer electronics, audio and video equipment, household electrical appliances
Database "Interactive calendar of events"	http://www.cbi.co.ru:8080/ows-bin/owa/event_title	The main events of business life and business in the Russian Federation
Database of enterprises, goods and services (St. Petersburg)	http://www.infopro.spb.su:8002/peterlink/db.html	Information about services, goods and firms (23 thousand) of St. Petersburg and region.
Banks and exchanges today	http://www.relis.ru:8080/relis/papers.html	Analytical review 5 times a week
Business in Samara	http://www.info.samara.ru	Business information on the enterprises of the Samara region
Business of the Baltic States	http://www.binet.lv/english/windows/database	Information catalog for 32 thousand companies in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Kaliningrad region
Business activity in the Russian Federation	http://raider.mgmt.purdue.edu/-parinovs/	Product groups in the greatest demand, regional differences in business activity
	http://www.online.ru/sp/iet	Analytical materials on trends and prospects of the Russian economy
Exhibition calendar in Russia	http://www.relis.ru:8080/MEDIA/exporu.html	Calendar and characteristics of international commercial exhibitions-fairs and virtual exhibitions in INTERNET
Foodstuffs	http://www.ropnet.ru	Producers and suppliers of food products, trade in food products, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products
"Price Pulse"	http://www.mplik.ru:81/commerce/demo/puls/spuls.html	Offers and prices for goods and services in Yekaterinburg and the Ural region
	http://madein.ru
Russian commercial information on INTERNET	http://www.relis.ru:8080/datum/partner/partner-koi8.html	Server data containing commercial offers with prices for goods and services in the cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk, Rostov-on-Don, Saratov, Tolyatti
"SPIDER" system	http://spider/raser/ru	Information retrieval system in INTERNET (sections: "Business", "World of Computers", "Industry", etc.)
"List-monster" of Russian WWW-servers	http://www.newa.ru/monster.list/	Over 1900 Russian HTTP servers

A large secondary information file can also be obtained from marketing firms specializing in market data collection. Unfortunately, in Russia services in the field of providing special secondary marketing information are just beginning to develop and therefore it is not necessary to count on significant information resources here. In this sense, the US information marketing industry is the most developed. It is represented by a large number of companies publishing information on various areas of marketing activities of firms, consumer behavior, the state of product distribution networks, etc. (Table 9).

Table 9

Special secondary information about the US market,

published by specialized firms and agencies

I. Evaluation of the position of consumers

Social structure of society Yankelovich Monitor n/a

and its effect on behavior

consumers

Public opinion Gallup Poll standard panel - 1300 people.

Consumer attitude towards DDB Needham, n/a

economic and political changes ABC News/Harris Survey

Continued tab. 9

Pharmacy index Nielsen Nielsen 550 pharmacies and retail outlets

(Nielsen Drug Index - NDI) - retail store volumes

sales of the main groups of drug dealers

medicinal products

Nielsen index for broad goods Nielsen 125 retailers

consumption (Nielsen Mass stores

Merchandiser Index - NMMI)

Ehrhart-Babic's National Retail Index 2498 supermarket-

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

849 department stores

new, 1904 farms.

shops, 123

warehouse, located

women in 54 geogr.

v.Monitoringmass media

Television Nielsen index Nielsen 2000 families

(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)

After the subject of marketing research is clearly defined, the researcher needs to focus his efforts on collecting information. Under marketing research methods understand the approaches used to obtain data on the solution of all or part of the problem being investigated. Data - these are facts and figures relating to the problem under study.

The choice of one or another research method is determined by the following factors:

1) resources with which the researcher (material, financial, personnel)

2) the requirements of the research customer;

3) time restrictions on the conduct of the study (schedule);

4) features of the object of study;

5) by the nature of the information to be obtained;

6) the qualifications and experience of people I am! Perform research.

Research methods are divided into quantitative and qualitative. quantitative research is aimed at obtaining answers to the question "how much?" (sold, produced, imported, etc.). With their help, the tasks of determining the volume of markets, the capacity of individual segments, and the distribution of market shares between individual companies are solved. Guilt will require a certain degree of precision to substantiate the conclusions. The quantitative methods of marketing research include:

Questionnaire survey (postal, telephone, Internet);

Store checks

Desk research, clipping

Testing (at home, in the Auditor, laboratories.

Questionnaire survey (questionnaire) - is a table with a list of questions to be answered by the respondent (the person from whom information is to be obtained). Questionnaires can be conducted orally (forwarding means) or in writing (self-registration). The questionnaire can be distributed by personal contact or by mail. (Internet).

A survey using a questionnaire allows the interviewer not to forget about individual questions, ask them in the required sequence, involve new, temporary workers, students in research, draw the attention of respondents to the joint solution of problems in society and business. An important advantage of questioning is the ability to automate the process of processing and analyzing the collected information using computer programs and economic and mathematical methods. Also, questioning, like other survey methods, allows you to create databases of potential customers, business partners, and make adjustments to target markets. The disadvantage of this research method is a large percentage of errors when filling out questionnaires. The questionnaire method is also used in conducting panel studies.

The classic questionnaire consists of 3 parts.

1. Introduction(indicate the organization conducting the research, the purpose and the communication bridge; you can give brief instructions for filling out the questionnaire).

2. The main part.

When developing it, it is necessary to determine the order in which questions are placed and their number. Determining the correct logic for following questions is the most difficult step in developing a questionnaire. Since the researcher seeks the help of the respondents, the questionnaire should begin with questions that affect the interests of the respondents. Such questions are not subject, as a rule, to statistical processing and do not directly give the researcher the information for which he conducts marketing research. their purpose is to establish contact with the respondent, facilitate his entry into the problem and help focus on it. In general, questions should follow from the general to the particular, from the simpler to the more complex.

3. Information about the respondent.

When studying the end-user market, information about the respondent most often includes such personal issues as age, income level, social status, etc. In the industrial market, there may still be questions reflecting the financial condition of the enterprise, the number of employees, production volume, etc. General rule should be like this - if most personal questions can be avoided, then it should be done, especially if they are not necessary.

The rear disadvantage, typical for the practice of marketing research in Ukraine, is the presence in the questionnaire of questions that do not directly correspond to the goals of marketing research and the search question. So, for example, if a market research is aimed at determining the short-term demand for mini-mills, it is not at all worthwhile to include in the questionnaire the question from which media the consumer receives information about this kind of technology. This question does not help determine the level of demand, it refers to the study of the most effective channels for promoting a product.

Types of questions in the questionnaire

The questionnaires (questionnaire letters) use two types of questions: closed (when the respondent chooses one of the proposed answers) and open questions, to which the respondent answers in his own words.

Depending on what kind of information should be obtained after processing the survey data, various types of questions are used, from questions like "yes" - "no" (the answer "I don't know" can also be provided) and up to multiple questions when you need to choose two or more answers to questions that are used in projection research methods.

Open questions do not require a list of answers (see Figure 4.8).

Rice. 4.8. Open questions in questionnaires

The number of open questions depends on the degree of involvement in the problem. As a rule, this type of questions is used in questionnaires for experts precisely for the purpose of a deeper study of the problem. In questionnaires for end users, it is typical to use open questions to continue closed ones (the first half is a closed alternative question, the second half is an open question).

Closed questions (have a given structure and provide a limited list of answers.

Examples of closed questions

Alternative question - This is a question that allows you to choose an answer from two options.

Does your firm offer bulk discounts to customers?

Multiple Choice Question (from three or more statements). Please indicate what are the main problems hindering the work of your bank?

1. shortcomings of the legislative framework;

2. loan default;

3. personnel problems;

4. difficulties in finding clients;

5. others (please specify).

"You ran out of toothpaste and came to buy a new tube, but it turned out that this paste was not on sale. Mark in each pair

"Rank toothpastes according to their effectiveness ("1" - the most effective)":

interval nag has a distance characteristic and allows you to compare objects based on the difference between individual scale gradations. The type of questions that are used in this case are the Likert scale and the semantic differential.

Naked Likert allows you to study the degree of agreement or disagreement of the respondent with certain statements.

For example, to explore the opinion of consumers regarding a particular brand of toothpaste, a series of statements are proposed:

semantic differential - a scale that has a series of bipolar (opposite) definitions that characterize the properties of an object (product, service, distribution channel).

Silca toothpaste

Has an unpleasant taste		Has a pleasant taste

The use of a semantic differential in questionnaires allows you to determine the image of a company, brand, store, etc.

Relationship scale (relative nag and starting point) - a scale that has a zero point and allows for a quantitative comparison of the results obtained.

"How often do you eat at a fast food restaurant?"

1) once a week or more often;

2) twice or thrice a month;

3) once a month or less.

Exist rules for formulating questions in the questionnaire.

1. It is necessary to use simple words. Depending on the level of education of the respondents, it is necessary to strive to ensure that the questionnaire matches their vocabulary.

2. When compiling questions, you need to use unambiguous words and terms. In many cases, the same words: often, rarely, expensive, cheap, many, few, affordable prices, sometimes have different meanings for different respondents. Therefore, it is necessary to always take specific indicators that clearly indicate the frequency, degree, prices, etc. Instead of "often", "rarely" you need to accept acceptable indicators "once a week", "once a month", etc. If we are talking about prices, they must be specified specifically or some price limits "from - to" should be given.

3. When composing questions, it is necessary to avoid that they have a hint. This typical mistake leads to the fact that the researcher receives the information he wants, and not the one that corresponds to the real views of the respondents.

4. When compiling the questionnaire, questions should be avoided that include references to authorities or well-known firms. For example: "Do you agree with the position of the Ukrainian Marketing Association that...?" There is a group of respondents on whom questions of this type exert positive pressure, and in some groups, on the contrary, such references cause a protest against the imposition of an assessment.

5. It is also not recommended to use alternative answers specially selected by the researcher and also provide for obtaining the desired answers. Moreover, this may also apply to the order of the questions. If the list of alternatives is too long and they are quite complex, then those given at the end are more likely to be chosen by the respondents.

6. Problems associated with memory errors arise when the respondent is asked to calculate a specific figure for enough a long period time. For example: "How many packs of washing powder

Do you buy during the year? ". The researcher should use more simple questions or a series of questions to help him do his own calculations.

7. The questionnaire should avoid combining several questions at once in one. For example: "Are you satisfied with the quality and price of services?". It is clear that the answer to the first half of the question may not coincide with the answer to the other.

Storcheki (str-check, store-check) - this is a type of marketing research, the essence of which is to register the assortment, prices, facing and advertising activity of sellers for each heading at retail outlets. In fact, this is a system of measures aimed at checking the efficiency of the places of sale of goods, assessing the competitiveness of a business and searching for new factors for creating competitive advantages in the field of trade.

Facing - is a unit of product that a customer can see in self-service stores.

Clipping ) is a selection of media materials about an enterprise, trademarks, individuals (information is usually provided in the form of copies of printed materials or sent in electronic resources.

Marketing testing is a method of researching innovative products or solutions in the implementation of the marketing mix. In fact, it can combine surveys, observations and experiments. Consider its individual varieties.

Hall test (survey with dental location) is one of the most common methods for collecting quantitative data. During the Hall test, respondents in a special room test a certain product and / or its individual elements (packaging, commercial, etc.), and then answer questions (usually in the form of a questionnaire).

Hall testing is carried out in two stages. At the first stage, each respondent belonging to the target group, in the absence of unauthorized persons, is given the opportunity to use this product (several products) or watch several versions of commercials and choose the option that they liked the most. At the second stage, respondents answer survey questions that allow them to determine the selection criteria, the frequency and volume of consumption of certain types of goods and the reasons for choosing one or another version of the advertising message. characteristic feature Conducting Hall-tests is the direct contact of the respondent with the object of testing (for example, a taste test).

Benefits of the Hall test:

1) the possibility of conducting lengthy interviews (up to 40 minutes);

2) the possibility of studying the impact on consumers of various groups various types information (visual, tactile, auditory) and get a reaction to different tastes, smells, shapes and colors;

3) ease of interviewers' work;

4) the possibility of observing the behavior of the buyer in the situation of making a purchase;

5) explore the reasoning of the reasons for this or that choice of the respondent.

Disadvantages of the Hall test:

1) high cost;

2) the difficulty of selecting the necessary "quality" of respondents, to ensure the "purity of the experiment."

Noshe-test (home-test) or home testing is a research method in which a group of consumers use a product at home, use it for its intended purpose and respond to the proposed answers (fill out a questionnaire). Of course, respondents are offered goods for personal use (perfumes, cosmetics, etc.) or home use (detergents, household chemicals, appliances, etc.). Methods for collecting and processing home-testing information are similar to hall-testing.

The Home-test method helps to solve the following tasks:

1) improve procedures for positioning a new product;

2) check the perception of its consumer properties;

3) identify the disadvantages and advantages of goods in comparison with the products of competitors;

4) determine the optimal price of the goods.

quality types of research are looking for information to clarify the other side of the problem - "why?" (the consumer chooses a particular product, what consumer properties of the product for different groups buyers the most important, etc.). Most of these studies are related to the study of consumers, their behavior, motivation, expectations and attitudes.

The most common qualitative research methods include:

1) interview (expert, personal, telephone, mail)

2) method of business contacts;

3) observation;

4) focus groups.

Expert interview.

The collection of primary information most often begins with expert interviews. This method has a number of advantages. Interviews with experts require little time, money and labor costs. A survey of experts allows you to determine the essence of the problem, find as many options for its solution as possible, and find out the feasibility of conducting more extensive research. An important milestone working with experts is their choice. The reliability of the results obtained depends on this. The general criteria for selecting experts are the level of education, position, work experience in the field under study. Experts can be leaders of various levels who influence the solution of the problem under study, representatives of the scientific community, etc.

The problem of working with experts is their workload, frequent business trips, etc. Interviews with experts should be planned in advance to avoid possible rejections.

Personal interview.

Face-to-face interviews involve obtaining information from respondents in the course of a face-to-face conversation. This method of communication with the respondent is the most flexible and manageable. Practice shows that when conducting personal interviews, the lowest percentage of refusals is observed, since the interviewer has the opportunity to convince the respondent.

Telephone interview.

The telephone interview is less flexible than the face-to-face interview. It is not suitable for cases where the answers to the questions require a significant amount of time to write down. Most people give brief answers over the phone, so it is difficult to keep them interested in the survey while the interviewer pauses to record the response. Therefore, they ask a question on the phone that does not require long answers.

Postal interview.

Mail interview provides for the distribution of questionnaires by mail, fax or their publication in the media. The main difference of this survey method! from the previous ones lies in the fact that the interviewer does not have the opportunity to personally communicate with the respondents, and, accordingly, to explain to them the objectives of the study, to ask and clarify the recording of answers, to establish trusting relationships. This form of survey is less flexible and manageable than the previous ones.

A more difficult problem in conducting a mail survey is related to the return of questionnaires. The average return rate of questionnaires in developed countries market economy is 40-60%, and sometimes even higher. The practice of conducting a mail survey in Ukraine shows that this figure is much lower in our country and amounts to only 10-20%.

Errors that occur in the course of "field work" are divided into sampling errors and errors associated with interviewing. Errors associated with the conduct of selective observation often arise as a result of the fact that interviewers do not interview those respondents who were selected for this, but those who are more convenient to interview. The result of this is that interviewers explore the views of people, which is not the target market for the company.

There may also be sampling errors associated with the problem of the inability to interview the planned respondents due to their absence from the place or refusal to participate in the interview. Errors can also be related to the interview process itself: the inability of the interviewer to establish contact with the respondent in such a way that a sense of trust and sympathy arises; inability to accurately ask a question; Interviewer errors in recording responses.

Business contact method represents meetings, conferences, seminars with representatives of other companies or consumers at fairs, exhibitions, days open doors, friendly meetings.

"Mystery shopper" (mystery shopper, from English. Mystery Shopper / Secret Shopper) - a research method that is used both as part of a marketing research aimed at assessing the consumer experience received by a client in the process of purchasing a product or service, and in order to solve organizational problems, for example, determining the level of compliance with standards. It emerged as an independent line of research in the 1940s in the United States. The use of the "mystery shopper" methodology is primarily associated with checking the honesty of employees. As part of the program, the management of retail chains found out:

Sellers issue a check upon purchase;

Corresponds to the price of the goods officially established;

Sellers do not overweight buyers and the like.

The second wave took place in the seventies in Europe and the USA. The emergence of a large number of complex electronic goods (TVs, music centers, etc.) has caused problems in the ability of retail sales assistants to adequately present the product and advise customers.

The development of Mystery Shopping in its modern form coincided with the development of the Internet in Western countries, especially in the USA. In large network companies such as Wal-mart, Citibank, Macdonald's, Shell, it finally appeared possible at an affordable price and every day using the Internet to receive operational information about the level of customer service in each of its thousands of branches, stores, restaurants or filling stations.

According to the international association of providers MSPA, the total market volume of Mystery Shopping services in Europe amounted to about 400 million dollars, in the USA - 800 million dollars, in Russia about 10 million dollars, and this figure is growing every year. Mystery shoppers rate:

Implementation of service quality standards;

Compliance with sales techniques;

Competence of personnel;

Visual design and cleanliness of the location;

Placement of pos-materials;

Checkout work;

Promotion of special promotions by staff.

The long-term Mystery Shopping program leads to measurable results in the work of retail chains:

Growth in the ratio of buyers to visitors (conversion rate)

Growth of the average check;

Growth in sales of additional goods / services;

Growth in sales per unit of sales force;

Growth of repeat sales (behavioral customer loyalty);

Improvement in financial performance, profit growth.

Observation - this is a method of collecting primary information by passively registering by the researcher certain processes, actions, actions of people, events.

According to the nature of the environment, observation can be "field", carried out in a real life situation; laboratory, in artificially created conditions. According to the form of observation can be open and hidden. By regularity, observations are divided into systematic, continuous, episodic and random. According to the use of information processing technologies, "observations can be formalized or non-formalized.

Observation is not used as often as a survey. They, as a rule, serve to determine the research goal or generalize judgments. Compared with the survey, the advantages of observations are their independence from the desire or unwillingness of the object to cooperate, the ability to perceive unconscious behavior, and also take into account the impact of environmental factors. The disadvantages of observations are that it is quite often difficult to ensure the representativeness of the sample, the subjectivity of the observer, the unnatural behavior of the object of observation (if he knows that he is being observed). Observations take the following forms:

1) by the nature of the environment - field (in the store, at the window) and laboratory (in specially created conditions);

2) at the place of the observer - with the direct participation of the researcher or without his participation (observation from the outside)

3) according to the form of perception of information - direct or non-personal (through devices or registrars)

4) according to the degree of standardization - standardized or free;

5) in terms of completeness of coverage - continuous or whole (selective)

6) by frequency: one-time, periodic, current.

Focus group, how usually includes 6-12 experts or consumers, gather in one place to discuss the problem under study. Some consulting firms have specially equipped rooms with the appropriate audio and video equipment, as well as a room from which you can watch the discussion progress, for conducting FCA groups.

The purpose of the work of focus groups is not a quantitative measurement, but a qualitative assessment of the attitude of experts towards the subject being studied. This can be observation of the reaction to a product or advertising, emotional perception, analysis of subconscious motives. When the focus group is formed, then the researcher explains the subject and goals of the discussion. Usually the discussion begins with an analysis of the general product category and those brands of goods used to present and gradually moves to the product that is the subject of research. At the same time, the researcher (moderator) should organize the discussion in such a way as to minimize his participation in it and allow the focus group participants to express their thoughts by themselves. Focus group discussion provides an opportunity to feel the position of the respondent. But it must be kept in mind that the main purpose of focus group discussions is to generate ideas for developing or testing hypotheses, and not to accurately measure views, segment sizes, and the like. The effect of the focus group depends, on the one hand, on the correct selection of experts or participants, and on the other hand, on the level of training of the instructor. The latter should be well informed in the field of psychology, sociology, marketing, have discussion management skills, know the product that is the object of study. This is the problem of implementing this method of collecting primary marketing information.

In-Depth Interviews - this is a variation of the above method of collecting primary information of a qualitative nature, which leads to the presence of almost similar disadvantages and advantages. This method differs from focus groups in that in the process of its use, an unstructured interview of a specially trained psychologist is carried out directly with one respondent. The topic of in-depth interviews is also in the plane of questions of emotions, beliefs, attitudes of respondents, as well as their hidden problems. It is obvious that, like the previous method, in-depth interviews are used in search-based marketing research. they are used much less than focus groups, but in-depth interviews are especially useful for such specific research tasks that are closely related to certain psychological aspects:

Detailed psychological probing of the respondent, as well as an in-depth study of complex behavioral situations;

Discussing confidential issues or situations, as well as situations where the responses of the respondent can be significantly influenced by the opinions of others;

Expert surveys among a limited circle of professionals (including among competitors)

The study of the sensory experience associated with the consumption of a particular banking product or service.

Projection Methods - these are indirect forms of survey, during which respondents are asked to explain the behavior of other people, thus revealing their own hidden or subconscious motives, attitudes and beliefs regarding the problem under study, using special psychological techniques. They provide an opportunity to reveal the inner feelings of people on the topic under study.

Such methods are generally divided into several groups:

Associative methods, the purpose of which is to identify a person's associations with respect to a particular object or word;

Methods for completing a situation, during the application of which respondents are asked to come up with an ending to a certain sentence or situation;

Methods of constructing a situation - when respondents give answers in the form of a specific story or description of the situation, for example, according to the figures presented or special animation tests;

Expressive methods that require the respondent to determine how other people feel or act in a particular situation proposed for consideration (for example, role-playing).

The following types of marketing research are also used.

Trial sales method - pilot studies - are used when information is insufficient or it is impossible to collect or generalize it, combining specific marketing activities and trial and error studies. There is a big risk of loss.

Panel studies - regular communication with the same group of consumers (customers).

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

federal state budgetary educational institution

higher vocational education

Russian University of Economics. G.V. Plekhanov"

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND SOCIOLOGY

TEST

METHODS OF COLLECTING INFORMATION IN MARKETING RESEARCH

Performed:

Student of group 22 D 2nd year FPP

Yu.N. Kurilina

Checked by: N.A. Mukhin

Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology,

PhD in Philosophy

Moscow 2013

ANNOTATION

Marketing research and the development of marketing strategies based on them are inextricably linked with the collection, processing and analysis of information. The necessary information is often missing in the right form. It should be found, processed and correctly interpreted. 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 research methods.

INTRODUCTION

In sociology, marketing research is of considerable importance. Since the current market situation directly affects public life, people need to receive information related to 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, the needs of people under the influence of various factors are also changing, so firms must constantly monitor market conditions in order to make a profit.

It is with the help of market 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 focus on short-, medium-, long-term solutions. The results of research can serve as a reliable basis for planning, solving problems of management and control.

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 build the interaction of methods with each other to achieve the highest quality research results.

The aim of the work is to study the main methods of collecting information in marketing research.

1.PRIMARY (FIELD) STUDIES

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 offset by the importance of the tasks being solved. There are two types of primary research in marketing.

A full (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 resource and time costs for conducting.

Partial (selective) research covers a certain percentage or target group of respondents. Usually they are the usual sociological research conducted on the basis of a sample from the statistical population of respondents in accordance with its structure. The more accurate the sample, the more accurate the result.

Methods of field research in marketing can be conditionally divided into three groups.

Surveys of consumers and contractors. There are two approaches to organizing surveys: questionnaires and interviews. The difference between these methods is not significant, 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, by the interviewer.

Questioning is a written form of a survey carried out without direct contact with the respondent. In my opinion, it is easier, cheaper and faster to carry out an anncitation. However, it gives a very high percentage of marriage due to the respondent's misunderstanding of the question, inattention when filling out, frivolous attitude to questions, etc. The most simplified questionnaires, the minimum number of questions, will give the best result in terms of accuracy.

Interviewing is a written form of a survey carried out in the process of direct contact with the respondent. The interview requires attentiveness, the greatest accuracy, time and effort. In addition, special training of interviewers is required. Sometimes it is necessary to draw up special memos for conducting interviews. A significant advantage of this form of survey is the ability to use complex questionnaires with a large number of questions.

The technology of conducting surveys provides for many options.

Personal conversation through direct contact with the respondent is divided into three types:

standardized survey - based on usage standard options answers (for example: 1. You sing. 2. You don't sing). This method is often used in self-completion surveys;

non-standardized survey - based on the use in surveys, in addition to the standard answer options, of the so-called open answers to questions (for example: 1. You sing. 2. You do not sing. 3. Other (name)). This method is used both in questionnaires and in interviewing respondents. The main disadvantage of this method is the high complexity of processing questionnaires with a large number of open answers;

expert survey - does not imply the use of questionnaires at all. Usually the conversation is conducted under the recording on a dictaphone, after which the transcription of the recording and analysis takes place.

Telephone survey - this method of conducting a survey is indispensable in the case of conducting installation research. In addition, it is often used in the case of a strong geographical fragmentation of the objects of study.

A computer survey includes three options: direct mailing, interactive survey on websites and mailing questionnaires to contractors and potential partners by e-mail. In the first case, the number of responses 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 saving time and high information content.

Postal survey reduces the complexity of the study, especially when covering large areas. Its disadvantages are: increased time consumption, low call efficiency (usually 3-5%), and problems with sample control. Email surveys are most effective when combined with gifts, sweepstakes, promotions, etc.

Group interviews are a very effective form of market research. A variety of group interviews are consumer conferences, at which new products are presented and features of demand are revealed.

A focus group is an unstructured interview that a specially trained facilitator takes at ease from 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 lies in the fact that the free nature of the conversation often allows you to get unexpected information.

Group II.

Respondent observation is research that does not imply personal contact between the marketer and the respondents.

Supervision with the participation of a researcher - when a marketer is present at the point of sale and independently captures information about the behavior of buyers. The information may relate to the behavior of staff, the size of purchases, product quality, product display efficiency, etc.

The indifference of the researcher lies in the fact that the marketer entrusts 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 the object is studied not in dynamics (over a period of time), but in statics (at a specific moment). For example, in the most typical of the firm's many outlets, the size of the purchase and the number of visitors during "rush hour" and "dead time", on a weekday and on weekends, are recorded.

Group III.

Trial marketing. It involves studying how changing the parameters of a sales offer affects sales performance. There are two types of this kind of research in marketing.

An experiment is a local change in product parameters (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.) to identify consumer reactions to planned innovations. If the experiment gives a financial result (additional profit), the innovation applies to all outlets.

Market testing involves selling test runs of a new product on the market to study consumer reaction. This method is equally suitable for both manufacturers and retailers. It is not uncommon for manufacturers to provide trial lots to wholesalers free of charge to study consumer demand in the market. If the goods are not sold, they are returned to the supplier, and if they are sold, the seller makes full or partial payment and concludes a contract with the supplier for the sale of goods.

2.OFFICE METHODS OF COLLECTING INFORMATION

There are a number of advantages of conducting desk research: it is fast and inexpensive, it allows you to get acquainted with the industry, to track the main market trends, to obtain data that the company is not able to collect on its own, it often uses several sources, which allows you to compare data, identify several approaches to solving a problem.

There are also disadvantages of desk research. They are associated with shortcomings 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 that provide information about other objects in a processed form or from other sources, intended for other purposes of studying the object. As a rule, it is difficult to check the accuracy and reliability of secondary information, it may be outdated.

Information from different sources can be contradictory, since different sources of secondary information use different object classification systems and measurement techniques. Not all study results may be published, so the information will be incomplete.

In order to ensure the quality of secondary information, the following techniques are used:

1.To ensure comparability of information, the used units of measurement of the indicator, classification of data, ranges of values, methods of measuring the indicator, publication dates are compared.

2.To ensure the reliability of information, the goal is evaluated
publications, the source of the message (the reputation of the author, his qualifications and his ability to collect the necessary information), methods of collecting information and their correctness, consistency of information with data from other sources, the degree of primary 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, discloses the research methodology on the basis of which the collection of primary information and its generalization, the calculation of indicators, contains the necessary references 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 inaccuracies and errors in quoting, abbreviations are possible, 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 broadcasts, movies, 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 most simple and the obvious way. Therefore, document analysis methods are mainly understood as methods for studying qualitative information, which, as a rule, is “blurred” inside large text arrays. The identification of this information and its processing into a form convenient for use in marketing, preferably in a quantitative form on a certain scale for measuring information, is the task of document analysis methods.

The set of document analysis methods 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 the information arrays of documents and can determine the content of the main information.

The second group of methods proceeds from the position 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.

Let's take a closer look at each of these methods.

Traditional document analysis

The traditional analysis of the document is carried out by a highly qualified expert who gives his interpretation of the studied material. This method is based on the intuition of the researcher 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 in different ways and give it different degrees of significance.

At the same time, no formalized analysis will make it possible to obtain the information contained "between the lines". This is the prerogative of traditional document analysis only.

For maximum objectivity of the results of the traditional analysis of documents, they try to formalize it as much as possible. To this end, a strict procedure for reviewing the document 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 proceed to the internal analysis of the document. The fallacy of this approach should be pointed out.

An 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 the traditional analysis of documents that allows you to determine the need for further analysis of the document, the possibility of using document materials for the purposes of the marketing research.

Internal analysis is main part research. It is hard to formalize and yet there are some recommendations that should be followed. In first, it is necessary to briefly and clearly formulate the purpose of the analysis of the document, that is, to determine what exactly the researcher is interested in, and write down the resulting wording before starting the analysis of the document. When analyzing a document, the written statement of the goal should be constantly in front of the researcher's eyes so that he can always check with the criterion for evaluating the content of the document.

In secondly, before studying the text, it is marked by an expert in such a way that the researcher can easily find any segment of the text with the help of text identification symbols. Most often, paragraph numbers are used for this. In this case, two ways of numbering are possible - continuous numbering and page numbering. The first method is used when analyzing small texts.

AT thirdly, when studying a document, it is necessary to highlight the paragraphs that contain information related to the formulated goal. It is assumed that the correctly arranged text is arranged so that each individual paragraph contains a complete thought, or self-sufficient information. Therefore, the expert, after reading a paragraph of the text, having identified its meaningful meaning, decides whether its content corresponds to the purpose of the study. If doubts arise, the expert returns to the goal of the study formulated earlier in writing and checks his opinion on the content of the paragraph with the selection criterion, which consists in the formulated goal.

AT 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 carried out, obviously, in writing. In this case, the expert indicates the number of the paragraph.

A brief summary of the essence of the information contained in the selected paragraph allows you to compress the content of the information to the limits that lend themselves to a more thorough analysis.

AT fifthly, after studying the text and recording brief information on the selected paragraphs of this text, the essence of the marketing information received in a concise form is analyzed and a final document is prepared on the results of the analysis of the document.

As a result of such a 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 re-examined. 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 a second examination with the help of another specialist. If the results matched, we should talk about the high objectivity of the analysis of the document. Otherwise, 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 evaluated 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. A significant influence on the objectivity of the analysis results is exerted by such subjective and poorly controlled factors as the expert's well-being and mood. In addition, the expert must carefully and completely read the text, so the speed of information processing is low, and the cost of obtaining marketing information from the text is 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 ability of an expert to identify not only the information that is clearly contained in the text of the document, but also the information that is “between the lines” of the document.

Methods of formalized document analysis

The essence of formalized 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 among the methods of formalized analysis of documents is "content analysis".

The term "content analysis" itself, as well as the first attempts to make statistically accurate measurements of the content of materials mass media, trace their origins to research in American journalism in late XIX and the beginning of the 20th century. One of the first works in this area was carried out by J. Speed ​​in 1893. He analyzed the Sunday editions of the New York newspapers for 1881-1883. Comparing the contents of the materials of these two years, he found out what changes had taken place 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. Comparing the data over the years, he came to a number of conclusions. So, the New York Times newspaper began to publish much more materials containing a retelling of various scandalous stories, gossip and rumors. This was the reason why 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 conducted research marked the beginning of a rapid growth in the number of works devoted to the practice and theory of content. analysis. By the beginning of 30 1990s, 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 60 x years. There are three important elements in the process.

The first element of the procedure is the development of categories of analysis. The categories of analysis are the concepts according to which the units of analysis will be selected and sorted. 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 different 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 of statistical methods for analyzing documents.

When formulating the categories of analysis, care should be taken to ensure that they fully describe the information identified as a result of the analysis and the required information, and also leave no room for fuzzy gradation. The system of categories of analysis should give maximum accuracy and reduce the element of subjectivity to a minimum.

The second element of the procedure is the allocation of units of analysis. The question of the unit of analysis is, from a methodological point of view, the initial one in constructing the methodology of any particular study of the content. 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 indicators of the account, which means that they must be clearly formalized and easily determined. So, if income was chosen as the category of analysis, then the units of analysis can be: low incomes, small incomes, average incomes, high incomes and ultra-high incomes.

In the text, the unit of analysis can be indicated by a word, a phrase, in the most difficult case it may not have a terminological expression, its presence is determined by a hidden meaning. Typically, the units of analysis include:

a concept expressed by a single word or phrase,

a theme expressed in separate judgments, paragraphs, pieces of text,

common nouns or event names.

The third element of the procedure allocation of units of account. The 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 of area, columns in printed texts, etc.

After all the specified elements are selected, the analysis of the document can be carried out. As a result of the selection and counting of content elements, a model of the content of the text 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 of change or preservation of the content of texts over time, in various sources of information, etc. can be traced. Comparative analysis of such models makes it possible 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 the 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 by 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 examination of the units of analysis contained in the document. This, of course, is very important information that characterizes, for example, the importance of the analyzed information for the compilers of the analyzed document. You can select other properties of the document (for example, by comparative analysis). This type of content

analysis is very simple in practical application in the course of 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". The units of analysis reflect not only 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 secondary units of analysis are distinguished from the standpoint of the study being conducted. Units of analysis can be classified not just into major and minor, but to build complex system hierarchies of the importance of units of analysis for the purposes of marketing research. Thus, the document model turns out to be richer in its research properties.

When it becomes necessary to determine the cumulative 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 you to identify the explicit and hidden goals of the publication of the document, to 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 this subject research. Each category of analysis is fully described by units of analysis. The resulting set of data most widely represents the content of the text, and it is easy to trace its thematic content, changes in topics, their interconnection and interdependence.

Fifth type of content analysis - structural analysis is of a general nature and its name is associated not with the method of obtaining information, but with the purpose of the study. Since his main goal is the analysis of the relationship of various topics and relationships in the analyzed text, that is, the analysis of the structure of the document, and he 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 the totality 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 documents is revealed, the system of causal investigative links between documents and topics of documents, trends and ways of presenting information in the identified direction.

The high degree of formalization of the procedure makes it possible to widely use computer technology for its implementation. This leads to the fact that the amount of content processed with the help of analysis of documents and the amount of secondary information studied are several orders of magnitude higher than the number of documents and the amount of information studied using traditional document analysis. A marketer can use a special software, but may use other software tools.

The disadvantages of formalized analysis should primarily include the fact that the content of the document can be revealed by expressions that are not included in the number of easily recognizable properties. For example, a document written in a 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 single messages about the object of study 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 have considered 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 track changes in customer needs. Marketing tool, or its information and analytical support is marketing research - an integral part of marketing activities. Marketing research allows managers to focus on short-, medium-, long-term solutions. The results of research can serve as a reliable basis for planning, solving problems of management and control.

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 build 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 has been successfully achieved.

During 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 abstract, I tried to describe in detail the process of solving the tasks I set at the beginning of the work.

List of used literature

1.Golubkov EP Marketing research: theory, practice and methodology. M. Finpress, 2009.

2.Neresh K. Marketing research. URL:<#"center">gathering information marketing survey

Glossary

.Method - a set of techniques and operations of knowledge and practical activities; a way to achieve certain results in knowledge and practice.

.Research - the study, analysis of a phenomenon or object.

.Marketing is a set of all types of entrepreneurial activities that promote 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 a 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 a survey carried out without direct contact with the respondent.

.Interviewing is a written form of a survey carried out in the process of direct contact with the respondent.

.Standardized survey - a survey based on the use of standard response options.

.Non-standardized survey - based on the use in surveys, in addition to standard answer options, of the 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 certain field of activity.

Information - information, data.

The respondent is the person being examined, the subject answering the questions.

A survey is a method of collecting primary information by ascertaining subjective opinions, preferences, attitudes of people in relation to any object.

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Method	Definition	Forms	Economic example	Benefits and problems
Primary Research	Collection of data as it occurs
Observation	Systematic coverage of circumstances perceived by the senses without affecting the object of observation	Field and laboratory, personal, with the participation of the observer and without his participation	Observation of consumer behavior in the store or in front of the window	Often more objective and accurate than a survey. Many factors are unobservable. High costs.
Interview (poll)	Survey of market participants and experts	Written, verbal, telephone	Collecting data on consumer habits, researching image, brands and firms, researching motivation	Exploration of imperceptible circumstances (e.g. motives), interview reliability. The influence of the interviewer, the representativeness of the sample.
Panel	Repetitive collection of data from the same group at regular intervals	Trade, consumer	Constant monitoring of sales stock in a group of stores	Detection of development over time
Experiment	Study of the influence of one factor on another while controlling other factors	Field, laboratory	Market Test, Product Research, Advertising Research	Possibility of separate observation of the influence of variables. Control of the situation, realism of conditions. Waste of time and money.
Secondary Research	Processing existing data		Market share analysis using accounting data and external statistics	Low cost, fast. Incomplete and outdated data

After processing the received data, they must be submitted in the form of a report of the appropriate form. Depending on the nature of the study, the report may take the form of a summary or other textual material that helps to evaluate the result. In all cases, it is necessary to indicate by what method the information was obtained.

The collection of information about the internal and external environment of the organization should be carried out continuously. For this purpose, marketing information and marketing decision support systems should be established. Marketing Information system is a permanent system that includes personnel, equipment, procedures and methods for collecting, processing, analyzing, evaluating and distributing relevant and reliable information necessary for preparing and making marketing decisions. The marketing information system transforms data obtained from external and internal sources into information that is required by the management of the enterprise. The system allows you to determine the need for information for making marketing decisions, get it and provide it to managers in a timely manner.

The purpose of the study, which follows from the strategic guidelines of the marketing activity of the enterprise, depends on the general setting of tasks and the actual market situation. A full program of market research is optional in all cases, especially in the field of small and medium-sized businesses. When developing it, one should proceed from the degree of need for information, the costs of obtaining it and the value for achieving the goals set.

Marketing research is the collection, processing and analysis of data in order to reduce the uncertainty associated with the adoption of marketing decisions and, consequently, to increase their economic sustainability. The market, competitors, consumers, prices, internal potential of enterprises are subject to research.

Information support for marketing research consists of desk and external research and various sources of information available to the enterprise (see Table 2). As the results of marketing research are summarized, it is necessary to carry out a number of measures for the creation and operational maintenance of the information base.

Table 2.

Directions and content of market research

Direction of research	Purpose of research	Methods
Market Size	Show the limits of expansion of the enterprise in the market. The limiting possibilities of the value of the growth of the market potential are determined.	Desk research based on statistical data and press publications. Analysis of consumer shopping habits. Determining the size of competition. Conducting interviews with competitors or other people in order to obtain complete information about the market.
Market share	Determine your competitive position.	Summarizing customer survey data. Studying the turnover data of each campaign operating in a specific area. The use of some other indirect measures of the value of turnover, such as the number of employees engaged in certain types of activities. Conversations with key "players" of a certain market.
Market Dynamics	To determine the marketing policy in the market.	Review of statistical data, to some extent characterizing this market. Analysis of changes in the turnover of competing campaigns. Interviewing users, distributors and suppliers of this market. Interviews with industry experts who have information about the market.
Merchandise channels	To identify the most effective means of bringing the product to market.	Interviewing users/customers to determine where they buy products and why they chose this distribution channel.
Buying decisions	Find out how the decision to purchase this product was made. To understand who to direct marketing activities to.	Interviewing distributors in order to determine the degree of their awareness of this brand and attitude towards it, as well as to determine the priority of their attitude to price, quality, degree of availability of the product and promotion of the product by the volume of its sales.
Prices	Determination of competitive prices. This information is necessary to determine the level of profitability of this market.	Get list prices. Interviewing end users to determine if they were offered price discounts. Interviewing distributors and suppliers. Obtaining information about prices in demonstration rooms, at the counters in stores, in advertising agencies.
Product promotion	Establish how products are promoted in a given market by various suppliers and how well known the products themselves are to the market.	Viewing magazines, television, advertising posters, visiting exhibitions, etc. Finding out from buyers and intermediaries where they got information about the product. Find out how much other campaigns are spending on product promotion, either by surveying them, or by calculations, or by publishing.

An adequate assessment of the importance of marketing in small and medium-sized enterprises is hampered by the widespread opinion among Russian entrepreneurs that marketing, due to its complexity, is possible only at large enterprises. Indeed, serious marketing research, monitoring of the market environment, development of forecasts and market experiments require large financial and human resources. But leaving marketing out of the reach of all small and medium-sized enterprises is to deprive prospects of a key link in any normal economy. It is possible to make marketing accessible to small and medium-sized businesses on the basis of partnership, development of an associative type, with the effective support of the Federation and the regions. However, the state did not make any efforts in this direction for a long time, since there was a widespread point of view on marketing as an “intra-company management system”. Such a one-sided understanding of marketing forces us to abandon in marketing all the tools that help the company to influence other market actors external to it: competitors, intermediaries, and even the buyers themselves. This stereotype easily justifies the inaction of the authorities in the field of marketing development support. In this case, the biggest losers are, first of all, small and medium-sized businesses, and, ultimately, the consumer and society.

In close connection with this, it is necessary to consider the problems of creating modern system collection and analysis of marketing information in industries and regions, throughout the country, a network of marketing consulting services. Without accessible marketing, market information, the market itself is unthinkable, at least in its mature forms. Meanwhile, the problem of information support for internal marketing was (and in many ways still remains) essentially unsolvable for small and medium-sized businesses.

It was only under the conditions of glasnost that access became possible even to such information of a very general nature, such as the exact number of people employed in national economy(taking into account the defense industries), indicators of inflation, unsatisfied demand, etc. But, as before, manufacturers could not, on the basis of official data (for example, a directory of enterprise passport data), form a picture of the potential market for the means of production they produce. Only gradually, on the basis of sample surveys, the parameters of demand for consumer goods and services began to be revealed, information about their supply and its correlation with demand became more reliable.

For effective marketing, there is clearly not enough data on the characteristics of the population that could be extracted from the published results of the population census. The lack of information about its development trends remained very high, which did not allow predicting changes in demand. In this sense, marketing is essential for data not only about absolute dimensions population and its geographical distribution, but also about density, mobility, regional indicators of age and sex distribution, birth and death rates, marriage and divorce, racial, ethnic, religious structures. It is important to be aware of the pace at which trends such as rising specific gravity categories of older people, the proliferation of small, one- and two-generation families, increasingly late marriages, an increase in the number of divorces, an increase in the proportion of unemployed women, unmarried citizens, families with one adult member, the increasing spread of the “hostel” type of residence, etc. P. Traditionally, it was easier for us to find out such information about the peoples of other countries than about ourselves.

Increasingly important for internal marketing began to acquire operational information about geographic trends in the development and dynamics of population, especially in connection with the growing regional independence, a number of complex and contradictory phenomena caused by ethnic, racial, religious reasons, which our society is increasingly faced with. .