GARTNER MARKET RESEARCH PRIMER

GARTNER MARKET RESEARCH PRIMER

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Contents
I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1
Why a primer? ..................................................................................................................... 2
Why do research? ................................................................................................................ 3
Four true success stories...................................................................................................... 3
What do we mean by “market research”? Two fundamental divisions............................... 7
II. QUESTIONS MARKET RESEARCH ANSWERS ................................................. 9
Five key questions. Nineteen types of research................................................................. 10
How are we doing?............................................................................................................ 12
Positioning/image/awareness. ........................................................................................... 12
Customer satisfaction/loyalty. ........................................................................................... 13
Communications effectiveness.......................................................................................... 13
Monitoring/tracking. ......................................................................................................... 14
Brand equity. ..................................................................................................................... 14
What do they need? How big? How many? How can we divide them up? ...................... 15
Market sizing..................................................................................................................... 15
Price/volume...................................................................................................................... 15
What are they thinking? How are they acting? How are they using it? ............................ 16
Customer/user behaviors and attitudes.............................................................................. 16
Media research. ................................................................................................................. 16
Channel research. .............................................................................................................. 17
Influentials/opinion leaders. .............................................................................................. 17
Ethnographic studies. ........................................................................................................ 18
Who are they?.................................................................................................................... 18
Customer profiles. ............................................................................................................. 18
Segmentation..................................................................................................................... 19
Product concept. ................................................................................................................ 20
Market simulation. ............................................................................................................ 21
Communications development.......................................................................................... 21
Packaging design............................................................................................................... 22
Naming. ............................................................................................................................. 22
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III. HOW TO GET THE ANSWERS ........................................................................... 23
Qualitative vs. quantitative................................................................................................ 24
Basic methods. .................................................................................................................. 25
Mail surveys. ..................................................................................................................... 26
In-person interviews. ......................................................................................................... 27
Phone interviews. .............................................................................................................. 28
Web-based (Internet) interviews. ...................................................................................... 30
Disk-by-mail...................................................................................................................... 32
Central location tests. ........................................................................................................ 33
Intercepts. .......................................................................................................................... 34
Panels. ............................................................................................................................... 35
Focus groups. .................................................................................................................... 36
Store audits and mystery shops. ........................................................................................ 38
Who you research.............................................................................................................. 39
Defining the target............................................................................................................. 39
How many to interview? ................................................................................................... 40
How you ask...................................................................................................................... 41
Creating the questions. ...................................................................................................... 41
Ways to ask—seven fundamental categories of questions................................................ 42
Skip patterns and logic flow.............................................................................................. 44
Showing products and presenting concepts....................................................................... 44
Putting it all together. ........................................................................................................ 45
Pretesting. Making sure the questionnaire does the job. ................................................... 46
Other rules of thumb. ........................................................................................................ 46
IV. CRUNCHING THE DATA: AN INTRODUCTION TO ANALYSIS AND
STATISTICS ................................................................................................................... 49
Analyzing the research. ..................................................................................................... 50
Practical statistics. ............................................................................................................. 51
Descriptive statistics.......................................................................................................... 52
Advanced techniques......................................................................................................... 54
Regression analysis. .......................................................................................................... 55
Discriminant analysis. ....................................................................................................... 56
Cluster analysis.................................................................................................................. 57
Factor analysis................................................................................................................... 58
Perceptual mapping. .......................................................................................................... 60
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Conjoint analysis. .............................................................................................................. 61
V. GETTING STARTED ............................................................................................... 65
Planning to win.................................................................................................................. 66
What to ask before you start.............................................................................................. 67
A typical research process. ................................................................................................ 68
If you’re thinking about international research. ................................................................ 69
Useful market research terms. ........................................................................................... 71
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I. INTRODUCTION
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Why a primer?
While the use of market research continues to grow, there are still two camps
regarding the value of research. Some critical comments we’ve heard include:
“Market research is a mystery to most, a bore to some and a bane to others.”
“…the first to go when budgets are cut.”
“A threat to the agency’s creative freedom.”
“Only tells you what you already know.”
“Wastes time and money to put a report on the shelf. We’re going to go
ahead anyway regardless of what the research says.”
“It doesn’t work for genuinely new or creative ideas.”
But, on the other hand, the advocates have said:
“We’d have never been able to create this winning product line without the
research.”
“Market research saved us from a $5 million mistake.”
“The research helped our ads gain the highest read and noted scores this
magazine has ever seen.”
“We’ve been able to use the research to focus and track our turnaround.”
“…our secret weapon.”
“The research projected our first year’s sales within a hundred units of actual
shipments.”
After more than 20 years of learning, doing and explaining market research, we
felt a thumbnail sketch of basics might help people access the value quicker,
easier and more often. This primer introduces the lingo, the mindset and the
goals of quality market research.
We intend to fulfill both of Webster’s definitions of a primer: “A textbook that
gives the first principles of any subject. Also, a work of elementary religious
instruction.”
Whether you are a doubter or a zealot, the Gartner Market Research Primer is a
handy reference for market research methods, terms, processes and cautions.
This is the updated PDF version of our acclaimed Plotting the Way primer,
created for downloading from the Web. We also have the original hardbound
version with all the pretty pictures. Call us if you would like a copy.
Best regards,
The Gartner Custom Research Team
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Why do research?
There are several issues to think about before doing research. These are
spelled out in a later section called “What to ask before you start.”
However, before you can effectively conduct a research project, you need
to have a clear understanding of what you are trying to accomplish. You
will need to set specific objectives. As a starting point, there are three
common and rather straightforward reasons why any organization should
consider custom primary market research:
To improve your business results, discover opportunities and expose risks.
Four true success stories.
Following are brief summaries of how four companies have realized a
return on their research investment. All are real, true stories (maybe a little
editorial license). For confidentiality, names and details are altered.
Revitalizing an old market.
Situation:
A firm manufacturing a type of instrument sold to
engineers and technicians was awash in choices—
probably more models and product families than it
would ever need. The market was dominated by two
strong players that were well-entrenched and respected.
Precision Measurement was a second-tier player barely
able to squeeze out any profits. The key question was,
“How do we make money in this old, stable and
saturated market?”
Research:
Most markets can be segmented or broken down into
clusters of needs. Using a combination of sophisticated
segmentation techniques, this instrument market was
pried apart to reveal two clusters of users who were
being overlooked by the large vendors focusing on the
high-volume, general purpose end of the business. Not
only were these segments’ specific product needs
identified, but one audience was also found to be
willing to pay a premium for a more specialized
solution.
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Results:
Product development focused on these niche needs.
While volumes are lower than in other parts of the
market, the higher value placed on well-targeted
instruments has created a successful and highly
profitable business for Precision. Instead of banging
heads with the entrenched leaders, Precision has
established a strong and defensible position with two
separate, loyal segments of the market.
Hitting the communications target.
Situation:
ZRS was ready to launch its new family of
microprocessors. These ICs were seen as an important
new generation, but everyone had a different idea of
how to introduce them. There were at least three camps
within ZRS—each with its own strong opinion. And
the ad agency had its own, different approach. What
would work?
Research:
Target customers for the new chips were shown a set
of concepts that addressed each idea. One was so
powerful that a designer described it as drawing his
attention “like the fins on a ‘57 Chevy.” Another
generated automatic skepticism and lacked credibility.
This feedback defined a clear set of parameters for the
introduction.
Results:
Introductory ads were developed based on the research.
The new marketing campaign generated record
awareness and sales for ZRS.
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Fixing a fatal flaw.
Situation:
Soft Solutions prided itself on its home-office-oriented
product’s technical superiority. The problem was that
most of its customers were not technically inclined.
The dry, institutional packaging didn’t cut it and the
marketing copy made the developers feel great but did
not speak to the buyer. The result was less than stellar
performance against technically inferior competitors.
Research:
Home computer users were questioned at length about
their images of competing brands. One element that
emerged was the growing impact of packaging on the
brand’s image—particularly to younger shoppers who
cruise the store shelves. While many had read that Soft
Solutions’ programs were superior, the packaging was
seen as old-fashioned and second rate—and definitely
out of step with a premium price.
Several versions of new packaging were developed and
reviewed by shoppers. An approach was found that fit
Soft Solutions’ market image—not second rate, and
clearly conveying the best “buy messages.”
Results:
Sales took off. The brand achieved its potential as the
leader in its niche.
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A complete program succeeds.
Situation:
Hillside Computers had run out of ideas. Its old
product was in decline and a new approach was badly
needed—so badly that the parent company was
threatening budget cuts and layoffs.
Research:
While the need was urgent, rather than go for a quick
fix, Hillside made the effort to develop a
well-orchestrated, integrated research plan. Within the
plan, exploratory research was used to understand the
market’s underlying trends and future needs.
Large-scale surveys were launched to size and
characterize these new product needs. Then, product
ideas were tested and refined. Market simulations
(more later on this technique) were conducted and
advertising positions investigated. Finally, a series of
tracking studies were used to diagnose and fine-tune
the product’s launch and life cycle.
Results:
The research found, refined, projected, positioned and
tracked a whole new family of successful computers.
The research actually accelerated product development.
The company’s CEO ended up on the cover of Time,
and new production facilities had to be built to keep up
with demand. This new type of computer continues to
gain market share while producing a healthy profit.
“All impossible without the research.”
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Document Outline

• Contents
• I. INTRODUCTION 1
• I. INTRODUCTION
  • Why a primer?
  • Why do research?
  • Four true success stories.
  • What do we mean by ?market research?? Two fundamental divisions.
• I
• II. QUESTIONS MARKET RESEARCH ANSWERS
  • Five key questions. Nineteen types of research.
  • How are we doing?
  • Positioning/image/awareness.
  • Customer satisfaction/loyalty.
  • Communications effectiveness.
  • Monitoring/tracking.
  • Brand equity.
  • What do they need? How big? How many? How can we divide them up?
  • Market sizing.
  • Price/volume.
  • What are they thinking? How are they acting? How are they using it?
  • Customer/user behaviors and attitudes.
  • Media research.
  • Channel research.
  • Influentials/opinion leaders.
  • Ethnographic studies.
  • Who are they?
  • Customer profiles.
  • Segmentation.
  • Product concept.
  • Market simulation.
  • Communications development.
  • Packaging design.
  • Naming.
• III. HOW TO GET THE ANSWERS
  • Qualitative vs. quantitative.
  • Basic methods.
  • Mail surveys.
  • Inperson interviews.
  • Phone interviews.
  • Webbased (Internet) interviews.
  • Diskbymail.
  • Central location tests.
  • Intercepts.
  • Panels.
  • Focus groups.
  • Store audits and mystery shops.
  • Who you research.
  • Defining the target.
  • How many to interview?
  • How you ask.
  • Creating the questions.
  • Ways to ask?seven fundamental categories of questions.
  • Skip patterns and logic flow.
  • Showing products and presenting concepts.
  • Putting it all together.
  • Pretesting. Making sure the questionnaire does the job.
  • Other rules of thumb.
• IV. CRUNCHING THE DATA: AN INTRODUCTION TO ANALYSIS AND STATISTICS
  • Analyzing the research.
  • Practical statistics.
  • Descriptive statistics.
  • Advanced techniques.
  • Regression analysis.
  • Discriminant analysis.
  • Cluster analysis.
  • Factor analysis.
  • Perceptual mapping.
  • Conjoint analysis.
• V. GETTING STARTED
  • Planning to win.
  • What to ask before you start.
  • A typical research process.
  • If you?re thinking about international research.
  • Useful market research terms.

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