The purpose of this communication is to expose the basic principles of causal modelling, and to examine its conditions of application to marketing research. It will be showed that these models are part of a "second generation" of multivariate analysis. The switch from an exploratory approach to a confirmatory one contributes to fill the gap, and reinforce the links, between data analysis and model building.
The strategic planning process has changed very significant since the early 1970s. Planning has changed in terms of scope (it needs to encompass a mere diverse range of publics) in terms of time span (the need fox' greater flexibility dictates shorter time spans), and in terms of priorities (evaluative elements have taken precedence over statistical procedures). The paper's main emphasis is on the changes in planning since 1974 why they came about, what they are, why they nearly led to a rejection of the whole concept of planning, and bow management is now coping with them. In conclusion, the paper draws inferences about the contribution to be made by marketing research.
The role of marketing research within larger companies varies widely. The aim of this paper is to evoke a discussion on ways to improve the status of the company researcher in the decision making process. The paper describes the place of marketing research in the organisational structure and gives critical description of its functioning within that organisation schedule in four large companies, without the claim of presenting optimal solutions. The paper was written on the basis of an exchange of experience among marketing researchers of a number of prominent German companies (or subsidiaries of international companies), large public services and advertising agencies.
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.
Marketing Managers all over the world are overloaded with an abundance of information data. This information "overkill" has its source not only in the computer department of an enterprise. A very large part of it is produced and distributed by Marketing Research Agencies themselves. In particular Panel Research Agencies produce at regular intervals volumes of computer data, crowding not only their own archives and desks but unfortunately also the heads of their clients. Instead of the lack of information known in the earlier stages of our history, high-volume data sources have been evolved today. Marketing Managers are desperately demanding assistance: it is not quantity, but quality of information that is needed. But out of the mass of information supplied Marketing Management wants the few crucial questions pinpointing and analysing. For this reason data analysis is becoming increasingly more important in Marketing Research than the problems encountered in the early days, those of data collection. Some new solutions to that old problem in Marketing Research are shown and illustrated by applying time-series-analysis and Marketing Information systems (MIS) by Marketing Research Agencies.
The paper outlines various reasons for the increasing interest shown by the pharmaceutical industry in the 'developing' countries. Their population growth, coupled with substantial resources and disposable income, have caused many countries to represent an overall opportunity for the industry to expand. Further stimuli have been provided by the tendency in 'developed' countries for the industry increasingly to be subjected to external pressure, represented by the influence of socio-political bodies and consequent legislation. In addition, internal pressures have simultaneously been evident in the form of increasing competition, market fragmentation and high developmental and promotional costs. Interest in the developing countries, therefore, will be a prominent feature of the industry's activities in future. The demand for information about such areas will undoubtedly increase and will extend to marketing research.
In this paper we want to point out a number of characteristics of the marketing-research-machinery one has to take into consideration when applying this kind of research to another field. On the other hand we try to make an inventory and a comparison of the demands that are made on research and researchers in the social field.
The paper discusses five aspects of the authors' experience in agricultural marketing research, dealing with: 1) The farmer as a customer; 2) The farmer as a supplier; 3) The farmer as a marketer; 4) The development of agricultural marketing policy; 5) The development of agricultural export markets. While it deals with some of the purely technical problems of conducting market research in agriculture, its main concern is with the relationships between production and marketing in agriculture and the consequential implication for the role of the researcher.
The paper starts with a description of the developments leading to an increasing spread of staff functions in the multi- national corporations and hence of marketing research and consultancy services. The Philips training activities in marketing research started 6 years after those in the field of marketing. A brief description is given of the corresponding course developed since 1974 concerning a basic training in marketing research. After that some considerations are given concerning the idea to enlarge the activity to a system providing elementary up to and including advanced training in marketing planning, business economic research, and marketing research.
As an integral part of Marketing Management, Marketing Research must certainly service the needs of the user, once these have been clearly defined. It would, in my view, be quite wrong, however, to let Market Research play a passive role in the analytical process on what additional information Marketing Management needs in order to be able to take well founded decisions. Marketing Research must also share in deciding what Management, the user, ought to need and in deciding what policies to follow on the basis of the available information.
The paper defines marketing research for financial institutions and services and indicates how research should be employed in support of marketing planning. A brief history of the development of marketing as a concept and market research as a service function for the clearing banks in Great Britain is then outlined, together with a discussion of some of the peculiar problems involved in financial research work. The paper goes on to indicate the difference between "strategic" and "tactical" research. The former is designed to measure and evaluate longer term shifts in behaviour and attitudes that will effect management decision-making in the medium and longer term or which will alter basic methods or ways of doing things. The latter, tactical marketing research, is defined as research to help design short term projects or campaigns, answer immediate questions about the market or assess the effectiveness of specific projects. A number of examples of specific strategic and tactical research studies are given as illustrations and other types of research that financial institutions' market researchers might be called on to undertake are also examined.