Exploratory, Descriptive and Causal Research – Part I

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From the course by IE Business School

Market Research and Consumer Behavior

630 ratings

IE Business School

Market Research and Consumer Behavior

630 ratings

Course 1 of 5 in the Specialization Marketing Strategy

Your marketing quest begins here! The first course in this specialization lays the neccessary groundwork for an overall successful marketing strategy. It is separated into two sections: Market Research and Consumer Behavior. Gain the tools and techniques to translate a decision problem into a research question in the Market Research module. Learn how to design a research plan, analyze the data gathered and accurately interpret and communicate survey reports, translating the results into practical recommendations. You will then focus in on the consumer decision-making process, highlighting the key moments from identifying a need to buying and consuming a product. Adopt a true “consumer focus” in your managerial decisions by analyzing how consumers make decisions, what happens (in their hearts and minds) at different stages of the decision making process, and the variables that influence those decisions. This course will equip you with the knowledge required to understand the state of your product before approaching the market strategy. There’s no better place to build the foundations of your marketing journey!

From the lesson

Marketing Research Fundamentals

In the second half of this course, you will explore the world of marketing research. In Module 3, Professor Sinha will share with you the importance of market research and how to acquire data. Later, you will delve into the different types of experimental research and design.

Types of Market Research7:36

Exploratory, Descriptive and Causal Research – Part I5:43

Exploratory, Descriptive and Causal Research – Part II3:46

Meet the Instructors

Shameek Sinha
Professor
Marketing

[MUSIC]

So I believe you remember Tiffany from our videos on consumer behavior,

where we followed her through the entire purchase process,

how a consumer would go through the different stages of the purchase

sequence under three different product categories.

So the three different product categories,

first of all we are considering durable goods.

And in that, we are looking at how she is going to make a purchase of computers,

specifically laptop.

The second category which you're going to consider is milk,

which is a consumer packaged goods category.

And the third one we are going to look at, it's somewhere intermediate, like a dress.

Here now we are going to consider how Tiffany went through the process of

looking at different marketing research information before she actually went to

the stores and made her purchases across the three different categories.

Let's start with the category of laptops.

Remember, laptop, given that it's a durable category, as a consumer, Tiffany

has to go through different stages and a lot of marketing research information.

So we are going to look at three different types of marketing research information

which Tiffany is going to consider when she is going and purchasing a laptop.

The first set of marketing research information, or

the type of marketing data she is going to look at, is called exploratory research.

Under exploratory research, Tiffany is going to look at things

like consumer reports from the company which are available, or

maybe their brochures, opinions from experts or reviews from consumers.

Or maybe she is going to look at focus group reports.

So these are the main different types of exploratory research

which Tiffany is going to consider when she goes ahead and buys a laptop.

The second type of marketing research which Tiffany is going to consider

when making the purchase of a laptop is under descriptive research.

Here the information she's going to acquire are much more detailed.

Some things like survey reports, which has maybe some descriptive statistics or maybe

some graphs or tables which are going to give her more additional information about

the product or about here, of course, the laptop which she is going to purchase.

The third type of research which Tiffany is going to consider

is called causal research.

Here, of course,

the information is even more detailed than what we saw under descriptive research.

Why? Because under causal research,

Tiffany is going to search for information on more professional reports,

or maybe academic publications in journals,

which are going to give her even more detailed in-depth information about

the possible options she has when she is going to purchase a laptop.

Now this is a category of laptops which is durable.

Of course, it requires much in-depth information before Tiffany goes and

purchases a product.

However, let's think about the category which is milk.

In this category, because it's a consumer packaged goods and

probably Tiffany buys it much more frequently than, for

example, a laptop, she is not going to look for any information.

Maybe a little bit of knowledge about where she could get her brand or

maybe the size of milk carton, that's the only information she will need.

So the entire decision process, though it still involves descriptive research,

exploratory research, and

causal research, the information she will actually need is probably much less.

Now let's think about a third category,

which is somewhat intermediate between the extreme durable goods category and

the other end, the consumer packaged goods, something like a dress.

When Tiffany goes ahead and tries to buy a dress,

probably she needs definitely more information than milk.

Because when you are purchasing a dress,

that's much more involved because it's some based on personal

preferences or how you like your dress based on fashion trends and so on.

So in this case, maybe Tiffany goes a little bit in depth looking at different

exploratory research sources or maybe even the descriptive research sources.

So we have so far looked at a category like laptops which involves

a lot of detailed marketing research, because it's something which

Tiffany clearly buys much less frequently, and it's a big ticket item.

So of course, as a consumer, she needs more information from both descriptive

research, exploratory research, and as well maybe from causal research.

However, under dresses, when she is looking to purchase a dress,

she doesn't necessarily need information from causal research.

Because as I mentioned earlier, causal research involves looking through

professional publications or economic publications,

which maybe is not required when you go ahead and purchase a dress.

Because that's somewhere intermediate between a consumer packaged

goods like milk and a more durable good like laptops.

So here, Tiffany's entire marketing research will involve mainly descriptive

research and exploratory research.

[MUSIC]

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