Data

Examples of Data in the following topics:

• Analyzing Data

  • Data Analysis is an important step in the Marketing Research process where data is organized, reviewed, verified, and interpreted.
  • Data mining is a particular data analysis technique that focuses on modeling and knowledge discovery for predictive rather than purely descriptive purposes.
  • In statistical applications, some people divide data analysis into descriptive statistics, exploratory data analysis (EDA), and confirmatory data analysis (CDA).
  • All are varieties of data analysis.
  • Summarize the characteristics of data preparation and methodology of data analysis

• Collecting Data

  • In marketing research, an example of data collection is when a consumer goods company hires a market research company to conduct in-home ethnographies and in-store shop-alongs in an effort to collect primary research data.
  • This is especially important in the data collection phase.
  • The data collected will be analysed and used to make marketing decisions.
  • Hence, it is vital that the data collection process be free of as much bias as possible.
  • There are many sources of information a marketer can use when collecting data.

• Plan the Research Design

  • This process is guided by discussions with management and industry experts , case studies and simulations, analysis of secondary data, qualitative research, and pragmatic considerations.
  • Decisions are also made regarding what data should be obtained from the respondents (e,g,, by conducting a survey or an experiment).
  • The research plan outlines sources of existing data and spells out the specific research approaches, contact methods, sampling plans, and instruments that researchers will use to gather data.
  • Secondary data analysis is one of the steps involved in formulating a Research Design

• Developing Insights and an Action Plan

  • An example of a presentation is a PowerPoint document supported by graphs, media, or visual elements that showcase the research objectives, data collection, insights, and conclusions/recommendations.
  • During the Report Preparation & Presentation step, the entire project should be documented in a written report that addresses the specific research questions identified; describes the approach, the research design, data collection, and data analysis procedures adopted; and presents the results and the major findings.
  • Final conclusions (based on the insights gathered from data collected) that effectively meet the initial objectives of the research

• Methods for Evaluating Marketing Performance

  • Companies using formalized methodologies continually gather and monitor marketing data to understand where the marketing plan is strong and where it needs improvement.
  • Long-term observation also brings true insight about unanticipated changes and "red flags" in the data.
  • All measurement systems should take into account accuracy, repeatability, reproducibility, bias, data shifts, and data drifts.
  • Independent organizations such as the Advertising Research Foundation evaluate the validity of commonly used measurement systems to produce standards and best practices for evaluating marketing and advertising data.

• Defining Objectives and Formulating Problems

  • An example of problem definition is reviewing secondary data about a recently launched product and identifying that there seem to be more unmet needs that should be further explored to enhance advertising communication and better connect with the target consumer.
  • Marketing research uses the scientific method in that data are collected and analyzed to test prior notions or hypotheses.
  • This stage involves discussion with the decision makers, interviews with industry experts, analysis of secondary data, and, perhaps, some qualitative research, such as focus groups.

• Researching Using Digital Media

  • Digital media technologies are enabling researchers to use increasingly sophisticated tools to collect data via the Internet.
  • Online research methods enable researchers to use increasingly sophisticated digital tools to collect data via the Internet.
  • To supply targeted and relevant product offerings, the data is further segmented using in-house or third-party databases; personalization techniques; or opt-ins from consumers themselves.

• Social Behavior of Consumers

  • The data helps sales and marketing professionals improve segmentation to target prospects and customers.
  • To implement a viable integrated marketing communications strategy that incorporates these data, companies employ techniques such as behavioral targeting for understanding, collecting and analyzing online and offline consumer information.
  • Brands increase the effectiveness of their campaigns by capturing data on web visitors who visit their website landing pages.
  • However, when behavioral targeting is done without the knowledge of users, it may be considered a breach of browser security and even illegal depending on country privacy, data protection and consumer protection laws.
  • Again, this behavioral data can be combined with known demographic data and a visitor's past purchase history in order to produce a greater degree of data points that can be used for targeting.

• Databases

  • A database is an organized collection of data that is typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality (for example, the availability of rooms in hotels) in a way that supports the processes that require this information (for example, finding a hotel with vacancies).
  • Researchers keep consumer databases up-to-date with as much available data as possible regarding consumer behavior and product consumption.
  • This customer information oftentimes includes, but is not limited to, a variety of data, including name and address, history of shopping and purchases, demographics, and brand and product consumption.
  • Companies may also acquire prospect data directly through the use of sweepstakes, contests, online registrations, and other lead generation activities.
  • Database research provides the raw data that has already been contributed by the purchaser when they complete brief surveys that ask for their contact and demographic information during or after a product purchase .

• Consumer Privacy Issues

  • Consumer privacy issues revolve around the legal (and illegal) use and extraction of user data on websites and social media platforms.
  • Commercial companies and organizations institute customer privacy measures to ensure that confidential customer data is not stolen or abused.
  • While the web provides a collaborative platform for consumers to perform searches and share and post content, it also exposes them to privacy issues including spam, data tracking, malware, identify theft, and defamation.
  • Nevertheless, consumer privacy issues abound over both legal and illegal data collection practices on the web.
  • Malware also makes users vulnerable to the theft of sensitive information including social security numbers and credit card data.