Stop hoarding data and start hunting the right questions!
This paper is divided into four parts: The first part describes the increasing relevance of the East Asian markets: between 1990 and 1993 the gross national product of Taiwan grew by 27%; and by 44% in the Peoples Republic of China. This region currently makes up 25% of the gross world product. In the second part, we illustrate a strategic marketing research project we designed and conducted in this region from the point of view of the pharmaceutical manufacturer and marketing research institute. This project was based on a multiple source survey, and was designed to enable continuing observation of various trends in selected Asian pharmaceutical markets. The results of this study were compiled in a "handbook" which contains qualitative as well as quantitive data on more than 300 various aspects. The handbook was arranged in a "loose leaf" format in order to allow continuous updating and interpretation. The third section illustrates several unique features of the East Asian pharmaceutical markets, with particular emphasis on the attitudes of consumers toward health, the role of self-medication and consumer demands regarding products and information. In the final section, we make conclusions from experiences drawn from our almost 10 years of pharmaceutical marketing research in East Asia.
This paper considers the role of business information systems in affecting this change. Not driven by technology but driven by business requirements. We demonstrate how, at Bayer UK, the effective integration of data from multiple sources is rapidly disseminating information to where decisions are being made across the organisation. This, in turn, is starting to cause a paradigm shift in the role of market research. Freedom from time- consuming market analysis encourages a more forward looking pro-active consultancy role: exploring new ways of doing business and ensuring flexibility in a climate of change. The conclusion reached is that the successful implementation of 'decision support' business information systems can be a fundamental component in the transformation of the culture of the corporation: making the organisation more flexible, more adaptable and more responsive to customer needs.
It's our intention to outline in this paper some thoughts on the role research can, and should take in the development of a succesful brand strategy. In particular, we wish to expand on the central theme of the seminar, the primary objective is to demonstrate that qualitative research is a critical stage required in the decision making process in any marketing problem a company is facing. These can go from trivial issues (eg- type of gadget for promotions) to fundamental decisions (eg: implementation a price decrease strategy). More specially, and as the title of the paper suggests, we will be focussing our attention on the concrete contribution qualitative research can provide in the creation, development and managment of a suitable integrated communication support plan for a brand. Based on different inputs such as overall company policy, legislation, profitability objectives, and previous market research findings, the marketing manager develops a number of working hypotheses that could eventually influence marketing decisions. Thruogh qualitative research these working hypotheses are or can be tested and verified before any final decision is taken. As many marketing decisions have an impact on various elements of the company's structure (sales force, senior management, the trade and in some cases the A+SP agency) it is vital that these elements also are involved in the qualitative research. As such, qualitative research becomes a consensus builder that guarantees the commitment and adherence of all these elements to any decision taken by the marketing staff.
This paper shows how the NSS PRICE SENSITIVITY METER, developed by one of the authors was applied to a multi-country agricultural research problem. It demonstrates how, by combining the price perception data with other types of data accurate predictions could be made of the reactions of farmers to intended changes in the pricing of agrochemicals.
Economic environment and C.A.P makes the marketing of agricultural products more and more challenging. As any marketing company, MONSANTO in the context of its culture and its multinational and multi business dimension has gone trough the normal experience curve. This has resulted in a precise definition of function and responsibilities of both Product Management and Market Research department. I will describe functions where Market Research and Product Management have to be partners and the way we operate to make sure that synergy happens. The overall objective of the paper is to stress two points : 1) The importance of the communication between Product Management and Market Research 2) The self imposed discipline that every investment project in Market Research should produce a predictable return.