This paper describes how the market research function at Ford Motor Company has successfully transformed itself to help meet the corporate objectives set forth by senior management. The company became committed to âDelivering on the promise ⦠to become the worldâs leading consumer-focused companyâ. This required an effort to understand the value of the department in its traditional role and, more importantly, a vision and implementation plan for making it more integral to the pursuit of the company mission. Several initiatives have been put in place, including leveraging research suppliers to help implement this transformation. Some of the specific research areas most effective in supporting this evolution will be described. The department has moved from a traditional market research organization to one that is a proactive function that provides global consumer insights.
Collaborative and ongoing work between The Dow Chemical Company and Total Research Corporation over a number of years has explored how organisations who measure customer perceptions can convert this information into influencing how customers ultimately behave. The aim of this paper is to show how understanding what drives customer loyalty (rather than simply what satisfies customers), allied to effective market planning and deployment tools, can lead to successful business performance. The main themes covered include the definition and importance of customer loyalty; the establishment of a Loyalty Chain linking business activities to customer loyalty and financial performance; the measurement of customer loyalty and its drivers at Dow; customer information as the basis for action at macro and micro levels; the linkage between loyalty and purchase behaviour and its impact on selecting action priorities; and the importance of needs-based segmentation and Six Sigma tools for successful deployment.
This paper shows the possibilities of business-to-business-research to outline the business travel market. The Business Travel Monitor, a yearly research project, covering 4000 business-establishments, creates additional ways for market segmentation for suppliers in the business travel market. It offers new entries for marketing-auditing and marketing-planning. Finally an upgrading of the reliability of the data is attained by interviewing two persons per establishment, the business traveller himself and the booker of the business trip.
According to Kotler planning means "to decide at the present time what needs to be done in the future." Marketing planning forms part of the overall planning of an enterprise. The marketing-mix being a combination of various kinds of marketing activities, such as product design, sales system, price strategy, advertising, and selling efforts. The application of the individual instruments of the marketing-mix package necessitates future oriented decisions. The glimpse of the future cannot be achieved merely by looking at past processes and results extrapolating these into the future. The thinking in 'feed back' terms will have to be replaced by a 'feed forward' orientation. This is characterised by forecasts or by short and medium-term prognostics. Long-term studies and their results constitute a way to projecting future developments into the present.
In this paper I will attempt to do two things. First, I will tell you a little bit about strategic planning and how we have approached this extremely difficult subject. Second, I will attempt to position Marketing Research within the context of the strategic planning process and the consequences this has for enhancing the importance and thus the status of the research process.
The papers themselves will be of interest and value to delegates. The scene will be set by a careful positioning of research within strategic marketing planning - a paper from an experienced international researcher corporate planner in an American multinational. This will be followed by a paper on the profitability which can result from research in marketing - using research to develop and launch a successful new brand Into a European market. There are three papers on profitability from research within the company and again, we have two speakers here from the user side. Profitability from research for researchers is covered with a thoughtful paper on the value of thinking by a researcher from New York. Research to improve the profitability of government and social policies will be covered in a joint ESOMAR/WAPOR session, which will include papers from Germany, France and the United States. Profitability from research in advertising will be covered both from the technique side with a paper from Holland and by looking at a major corporate advertising research project for a multinational British-based oil company - again a paper which involves two people from the user side of research. The penultimate paper looks at our investment in research and casts an eye on what we should be doing - this is a paper from an agency researcher, a statistician - but a statistician who thinks about the implications of the way research is, and should be, approached.
A major and well-known "tool of our trade" is the collection of information through observation. The major applications of observation as an information-collection method may be classified into the categories of the audit, coincidental recording devices, and a general classification, direct observation. In this study we evaluate data which are obtained by audits which are performed on both distributors and consumers. The evaluation is performed from the point of view of a user of research. When we compare audit data with actual data, we will find a data bias. In this study the sources of data bias which may occur when audit data are used are carefully investigated. Empirical data are used to pinpoint the effects of a nonresponse bias in audit data. An informal analysis shows that the non-response bias is correlated with the factor price.
Marketing people need a flexible computerized tool to analyze, plan, model and forecast changing marketing situations. They need to constantly ask those countless, hypothetical "what-if" questions across many variables. But they also need an easy-to-use software tool which doesn't require that the marketing specialist also be a computer programming specialist. Where, among all of the available packages, is that flexible software for marketing applications which allows for growth and development in both new directions and dimensions? Where is that system which allows learning, or trial-and error process to take place, and then provides the opportunity to incorporate these building-block experiences into further development of more refined, pinpointed marketing objectives? TYMCOM SERVICE is the timesharing service of the international Tymshare Group available world wide through an international data communications network. Application and consulting services are available through offices in major cities.
The highly important but complicated channel of distribution - the vending machine, has not yet been covered by a market research institute as to the flow of products through it. Of course, we do have distribution data, but no information about turnover or other important and interesting aspects are available. Based on this, the A. C. Nielsen Company has worked on this subject and has developed an instrument with the aid of which it is possible to offer exact and multiple data for this special market. An innovation can be presented in the auditing technique as well as to exactly measure the effect of promotional activities. The first approach in covering this market was made in the field of cigarettes.
Summing up it can be stated that on the basis of the experience gained in co-operation FEKON could usefully be experimenting to appear on the domestic market which was aided by the carefully prepared marketing programme, and the proper evaluation of consumers' opinion. The lesson which can be drawn: if the decision is carefully prepared one can appear on an unknown market even with perfectly new articles. Another lesson: that a company virtually in a monopolistic position can be obliged by the changing economic circumstances that market possibilities should be recognised and innovations, novelties should be introduced.
The aim of this paper is to examine the role of marketing research in the formulation of marketing plans for Lisdoonvarna. The objectives of the study and the approach adopted are initially discussed. The results of the research and the implications of the findings for the marketing strategies adopted are examined in some detail.
There is no difference between international marketing and domestic marketing. International (and multinational) marketing is only more complicated: the variables of the environment in many countries differ still from the variables in the home-market, but the commercial boundaries within Europe fade away. The countries of the EEC are forming the new home-market of the European firm. The European firm can only survive if they change their management vision from "traditional exporting" to export marketing or international marketing in the EEC. Besides is international marketing research indispensable. The activities in the export or international marketing planning: a. to analyse the environment and to distinguish the possibilities in the EEC (international marketing research; international market segmentation) b. to formulate the marketing strategy, among which the entry strategy c. to control and to evaluate the marketing strategy.