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Techniques Of International Marketing Research
The techniques of conducting international marketing research can be divided into two broad categories, which are complementary in practice. These are: [1] Desk Research and [2] Survey Research [ which is also called field research ].
Desk Research
Desk research basically involves collection of information from documentary sources or other published and unpublished sources. In other words, information and data already exist in published or unpublished form. Through desk research the sources of such data are searched and relevant documents, publications etc. are collected. This stage of searching for sources of published or what is also called secondary data, is also referred to as bibliography research or library research. Search for the sources of secondary data or the collection of documents etc. is only the preliminary part of desk research. The actual desk research involves compilation, processing and analysis of secondary data in accordance with the objectives of research.
In international marketing research, desk research plays a very important role. In respect of most of the countries, a good amount of general economic, political and market information is available from secondary sources. Information on the countries’ industrial and economic profile, government policies and regulations, size, composition and destination of foreign trade and host of other general information is often available for desk research. Very often only desk research may serve the purpose when limited and general types of information is required. Desk research also provides background information for selection of the most promising foreign markets for in-depth investigation. It can also point out specific factors that should be carefully looked into. Desk research therefore could be used for general and limited information on foreign markets as well as the preliminary step for effective planning and conduct of survey research in foreign countries.
Source Of Data
The key to successful desk research is the knowledge of how to find out relevant sources of required data and how to collect and make use of them. There could be numerous specific sources of information but it is neither possible nor necessary to tap all such sources. It is therefore necessary to classify sources according to their relative importance. The principal sources of information can be classified under specific categories like:
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- Government sources
- Semi-government sources
- Private sources, and
- International sources
Government Source
Governments in all countries generate a wide variety of information and data that are useful and relevant to marketing. Information provided by governments covers wide areas like population, economy, policies, programs, industries, institutions, rules and regulations etc. and are published in the forms of reports, documents, journals, notifications etc. The governments in different countries are the largest generators of information and data useful for international marketing.
Semi-Government Source
In many countries there are specialized semi-government agencies or institutions charged with specific tasks such as monitoring of consumption trends, foreign trade, industrial development, income distribution, purchasing power of people, health, education etc. These institutions usually carry out regular studies primarily to help and guide government policy-making. The reports and publications of these institutions contain valuable information relevant for marketing.
Private Source
There are research institutions, publishing houses, banking and financial institutions, chambers of commerce, trade associations and a host of others similar organizations which collect, process and disseminate different kinds of information in their respective areas of concern which could be relevant to international marketing.
International Source
International organizations within and outside the UN system publish a wealth of statistical data and information relating to markets. The important ones among these organizations are: Food and Agricultural Organizations (FAO), International Labor Organization (ILO), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UN Economic Commission; International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), International Trade Centre (ITC), and number of others.
Many developed countries have set up ‘Import Promotion Office’ (IPO) to assist developing countries to export their goods to the developed country markets. Valuable information on foreign markets is available from the IPOs of different countries.
The diplomatic missions located in the exporter’s country can often provide a great deal of information about their respective countries and guide the researcher on other sources of information. A plethora of individual sources of secondary information as described above, are available at the national and international levels for desk research. A desk researcher has to be selective in choosing the appropriate material for research-otherwise he might get lost in the wilderness of irrelevant data which he does not really need. It is there fore important that the researcher evaluates the sources in terms of his particular need. The following criteria could be used for evaluating sources of secondary data.
Coverage: Is the source likely to cover the subject of research comprehensively and precisely?
Level: Is the level of information too high, too low or just right for the purpose of research?
Emphasis: Does the material focus on the most relevant aspects of the subject?
Timeliness: Is the material up-to-date or outdated for the purpose of research?
Accuracy: How accurate and reliable the information is? Who originally collected it and for what purpose?
Websites
A lot of information is available on websites of the above mentioned sources. For example ESOMAR, a leading international association for marketing and opinion research has very useful information on its website www.esomar.org ESOMAR unites 4000 members spread over 100 countries. It offers a wide scope of publications.
Also most of the leading newspapers and magazines are available in some form on the internet. These can be used as an invaluable resource on companies and markets. Internet can also give you access to libraries, government statistic, company information, product design and much more.
There are number of other Indian and foreign websites which provide a rich data on international marketing like review of sociocultural, political, technological environments foreign exchange information [ balance of payments, interest rates, etc. ], resource information, market potential, prescriptive information [ Laws, regulations etc. ] etc. You may also use general search engines like Yahoo, Google, Excite etc., for searching relevant information on the internet.
Limitations Of Desk Research
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- The data may have been collected and manipulated for a specific use, therefore it may be incomplete, ambiguous or out of context.
- Data maybe compiled in different ways in different countries making comparability difficult.
- Data may be corrupted by methodological and interpretive problems, for example, definitional error, sampling error, section error, non response error, language, social organizations, trained workers, etc.
- Data may be nonexistent, unreliable or incomplete thus making inter country comparisons very difficult.
- Data may be inflated or deflated for political purposes.
Survey Research
The main difference between desk research and survey research is that is case of desk research the data are already available to research whereas in case of survey research data are generated in course of doing the research. Most of the desk research on foreign market can be done in the exporter’s country itself but survey research has to be carried out with the potential markets abroad through direct contact with people there. Often desk research provides the general background or framework for planning and conducting survey research for collection of primary information specific to exporter’s needs.
Survey Research
Conducting survey research or field research involves the following points.
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- The scope of research
- Definition of universe
- Methods of Sample selection
- Techniques of interviewing
- Analysis of field data
- Preparation of research report
Scope Of Research
To begin with, the scope of research has to be clearly described covering the purpose of research, information to be collected and from whom, geographic areas to be covered and the like. The scope provides the frame-work within which research will be conducted in the foreign market.
The research can be descriptive, experimental, observational or simulation. Generally international research is of a descriptive nature or observational. The ability to conduct simulations or experiments depends on the sophistication of the market and the research facilities available.
Definition Of Universe
It spells out the ‘universe’ or ‘population’ selected for the survey. For example survey may be carried out among the end-users/consumers, importers, distributors, retailers, industrial buyers, representatives of chambers, trade associations, government departments and agencies or any other groups of people concerned with the subject-matter of research or who might provide information, opinions or views that would be useful for the purpose of research. The ‘universe’ is the total of a particular group of people or organizations from which sample is taken for survey.
Methods Of Sample Selection
When doing survey research, it is usually not possible to interview every user or importer, distributor etc. of a company’s product. There must therefore be some methods of selecting respondents. This is done by sampling. The usual practice is to draw smaller samples from the relevant ‘universe’ selected for the survey. The samples should be representative of the entire ‘universe’ chosen for research, both in terms of their characteristics as well as geographic locations.
There are different types of samples. The three basic types normally used in market research are:
Random Sampling methods ensures that every ‘unit’ or ‘member’ the universe has an equal chance of being included in the sample. If properly drawn, the random sample provides most accurate statistical results.
Quota Sampling is based on selection of ‘unit’ in the same proportions of characteristics as they exist in the universe. The characteristics used as ‘quota’ are pre-determined and their proportions in the ‘universe’ must be known in-advance for drawing quota sample.
Cluster Sampling involves dividing a geographies area [ say a town or district ] into smaller areas [ wards or blocks ]. From these smaller areas, a sample of areas is drawn at random and then every relevant ‘unit’ within the sample areas are surveyed.
In international marketing research it often becomes necessary to modify sampling techniques to suit varying field conditions. However, it should be ensured that the survey findings do not get unduly biased or distorted due to wrong application of sampling techniques.
Technique Of Interviewing
A variety of techniques are used for gathering first-hand information in the field. Different techniques are useful for different kinds of investigations-some of them are quite complicated, costly and time-consuming, such as psychological and projective techniques or techniques of product testing: However, there are four basic techniques which are most commonly used in international market surveys. These are:
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- Personal Interview
- Telephone Interview
- Mail Or Postal Survey
- Online Survey
Personal Interview
The face-to-face personal interview is the most effective and reliable method of collecting information at the consumer as well as industrial levels of market research.
The interview may be conducted either in a structured, semi-structured or unstructured manner. The structured interview is conducted strictly in accordance with the structured questionnaire mostly using close-ended questions. The questions are asked in the same language and the same sequence and appropriate answers are marked/ticked as pre-coded on the questionnaire or recorded verbatim in case of open-ended questions. Unstructured interview allows for a more free exchange between the interviewer and the respondent, without sticking to a set list of questions as in the case of structured interview. The semi-structured interview is a combination of the two types mentioned above.
Telephone Interview
The telephone interview serves limited but very useful purpose. It is limited to only those who could be contacted over the telephone and is more suitable for asking a few short and simple questions. It is quick and less time consuming. It is often used to identify the right kind of respondents for subsequent personal interviews or to contact busy executives for quick interviews.
Mail Survey
The mail or postal survey can be conducted in a foreign market from the researcher’s home country. The mailing list of respondents [ like importers ] can be prepared and questionnaires sent by mail for filling in and returning by the respondents. Although the method is least expensive, it is most unreliable and the response is usually very low.
Online Survey
There are number of similarities between online and mail surveys, arising out of common methodology of self administered questionnaires. However, they differ in the means through which they are carried out. Online survey can either be conducted through e-mail or they can be posted on the web and the URL provided to respondents. A study conducted by Ray et-al in 2001 shows the following discipline wise demographic of use of online surveys: Marketing (70%), information system (27%) management (2%) and economics (1%).
Online Survey Advantage And Limitations:
Advantage: [1] Short response time. [2] Low financial resource implications. [3] Researchers’ control of the sample. [4] Save time and resources associated with data entry process as data are directly loaded in the data analysis software.
Limitations: [1] Everyone doesn’t have an electronic address. [2] Time necessary to download pages. [3] Limited access to interest. [4] Technology required, which still suffers being insufficiently user oriented.
Analysis Of Field Data
After the field survey is completed, the researcher faces a mass of data and information. In the raw or unprocessed form, these data do not give a clear picture of the market. It is therefore necessary for the researcher to sort out the field data and organize them in an orderly and systematic fashion, in the context of research objectives. The following processes are involved in preparing data for analysis.
1- Editing involves selecting data which are relevant and putting them into consistent form. It is also necessary to check the data for accuracy and reliability to check that the information is free from bias.
2- Organizing of research data is to arrange them according to the areas of interest and putting them into workable format.
3- Classifying involves dividing the information into meaningful categories.
4- Tabulating involves counting of responses/replies to survey questions according to the categories selected or by characteristics of the respondents or making cross tabulations to establish correlation between responses to two or more questions. New information can be ‘generated’ by analysis of interconnected questions.
Various statistical techniques are used for analysis of tabulated data in accordance with the research objectives as well as to focus on information need for specific decision-making purpose.
Besides the usual descriptive data analysis methods, there are a number of other techniques which can be used. Usual methods include univariate methods [ mean, median, mode, standard deviation ], bivariate methods [ regression, correlation, cross tabulations ], and multi variate methods [ including multiple regression, cluster analysis, multiple factor indices and multidimensional scaling ].
Preparation Of Research Report
The final stage of survey research in international markets is to write the report for the ‘user’ of the survey findings. The content, quality and presentation of the report determine its effectiveness in practical use. A poorly written report can cancel out even the best research. A research report is usually written for use of the management of exporting companies, who are often non-technical people. One should therefore avoid technical language in presenting the findings of research. The language of the report should be clear, unambiguous and to the point. Apart from the style of writing, the report should be presented in a proper sequence for facilitating reading and comprehension. The general format and layout may consist of the following sections.
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- The title page
- The table of contents
- Introduction
- Technical note [ describing the research methodologies etc. ]
- An executive summary of findings
- Conclusions and recommendations
- List of statistical tables, charts etc. [ summary of tables may appear in the main body of the report ]
- Appendices [ including copies of the questionnaires forms etc. used for survey ]
- References
The following checklist provides guidelines for writing of research report.
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- Write the report keeping the reader in mind, his need for information, his knowledge and experience.
- Keep the report short and concise as far as possible and avoid irrelevant information.
- Present the facts in a simple and easily understandable style, avoiding technical jargon.
- Use summarized tables/charts in the body of the report and the detailed statistical data in the annexures.
- Put the different aspects of the research in appropriate sequence to facilitate easy reading and comprehension.
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