Measuring Brand Equity

Market research during global recession

Recession is defined in the marketing literature as a “process of decreasing demand for raw materials, products and services, including labor” (Shama 1978) or as a “state in which the demand for a product is less than its former level” (Kotler 1973). Recession calls for marketing managers to use strategies to stimulate consumer demand. Such strategies often require a redefinition of the target customers and the marketing mix. This may include narrowing the product line, offering cheaper products and quantity discounts, lowering prices, increasing promotion, and offering products directly to consumers.

In order to know which direction to take, marketing managers will need to be guided by market research. This is very important as marketing budgets are becoming tighter due to constrained resources. The concept of marketing is defined as a process that is intended to find, satisfy and retain customers in order for the business to make a profit. However, it is important to note that central to all these definitions is the role of the customer and his relationship to the product (i.e. whether he considers the product or service to meet a need or want). Market research is imperative for a company to know what type of products or services would be profitable to introduce in the market. Also with respect to its existing products in the market, good market research enables a company to know if it has been able to satisfy customer needs and whether any changes need to be made in the packaging, delivery or the product itself. This enables a company to formulate a viable marketing plan or measure the success of its existing plan.

As the global recession takes a toll on businesses worldwide, market research is key in helping managers sustain their brands. Research will assist managers to create blue occeans in order to sustain their businesses. 

Role of Market research in business

The task of marketing research is to provide management with relevant, accurate, reliable, valid, and current information. Competitive marketing environment and the ever-increasing costs attributed to poor decision making require that marketing research provide sound information. Sound decisions are not based on gut feeling, intuition, or even pure judgment.

Marketing managers make numerous strategic and tactical decisions in the process of identifying and satisfying customer needs. They make decisions about potential opportunities, target market selection, market segmentation, planning and implementing marketing programs, marketing performance, and control. These decisions are complicated by interactions between the controllable marketing variables of product, pricing, promotion, and distribution. Further complications are added by uncontrollable environmental factors such as general economic conditions, technology, public policies and laws, political environment, competition, and social and cultural changes. Another factor in this mix is the complexity of consumers. Marketing research helps the marketing manager link the marketing variables with the environment and the consumers. It helps remove some of the uncertainty by providing relevant information about the marketing variables, environment, and consumers. In the absence of relevant information, consumers’ response to marketing programs cannot be predicted reliably or accurately. Ongoing marketing research programs provide information on controllable and non-controllable factors and consumers; this information enhances the effectiveness of decisions made by marketing managers

Traditionally, marketing researchers were responsible for providing the relevant information and marketing decisions were made by the managers. However, the roles are changing and marketing researchers are becoming more involved in decision making, whereas marketing managers are becoming more involved with research. The role of marketing research in managerial decision making is explained further using the framework of the DECIDE model:

D’ —- Define the marketing problem

E’ —- Enumerate the controllable and uncontrollable decision factors

C’ —- Collect relevant information

I’ —- Identify the best alternative

D’ —- Develop and implement a marketing plan

E’ —- Evaluate the decision and the decision process

The DECIDE model conceptualizes managerial decision making as a series of six steps. The decision process begins by precisely defining the problem or opportunity, along with the objectives and constraints. Next, the possible decision factors that make up the alternative courses of action (controllable factors) and uncertainties (uncontrollable factors) are enumerated. Then, relevant information on the alternatives and possible outcomes is collected. The next step is to select the best alternative based on chosen criteria or measures of success. Then a detailed plan to implement the alternative selected is developed and put into effect. Last, the outcome of the decision and the decision process itself are evaluated.

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