Microsoft Market Research
Microsoft Market Research
Market Research
Microsoft needs information if they are to make good decisions. They need information about their target market to help them create a successful marketing mix. One way of gaining that information is by carrying out market research. Market research is a cost-effective way of finding out what people believe, think, want, need or do. There are various types of market research. Microsoft needs to decide what market research methods are most likely to give them the information they need.
Businesses, which are mainly product, orientated risk spending a large amount of resources launching a product, which proves to be a failure. Researching the market helps reduce the risk. Microsoft should focus research and design effort onto products, which have a chance of success in the market place. When the product is launched a carefully researched product stands less chance of failing.
Stages of Market Research
Market research will help Microsoft to find answers to questions about the market.
* What is the target market for the X Box?
* How can Microsoft use the X Box to increase market share?
* What is the right price to set that will maximise profits and be affordable to as many people as possible?
* What are the right promotions to use that will appeal to Microsoft's target market?
* Where's the best place to sell the X Box?
* What do customers want and need?
* What is the demand for the X Box?
* What are existing patterns of sales for other games consoles?
I then need to decide what information might help answer the questions, then I need to decide how best to collect this information. The information is then collected and analysed. Finally Microsoft has to make a decision about what to do in the light of the information gained.
Desk Research
Desk research involves the use of secondary data. This is information that is already available both within and outside the business.
Information within the business
Microsoft collects information routinely. Invoices for instance will tell them how much they sell and who they are selling to.
Information outside the business
Businesses can also collect information, which is available from sources outside the business such as:
* Internal sources - such as sales invoices, reports and accounts.
* Government - published statistics such as consumer spending figures, reports such as monopolies and mergers commission reports.
* The Media - reports in newspapers, magazines on radio and on TV.
* Trade associations - statistics or ...
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Information within the business
Microsoft collects information routinely. Invoices for instance will tell them how much they sell and who they are selling to.
Information outside the business
Businesses can also collect information, which is available from sources outside the business such as:
* Internal sources - such as sales invoices, reports and accounts.
* Government - published statistics such as consumer spending figures, reports such as monopolies and mergers commission reports.
* The Media - reports in newspapers, magazines on radio and on TV.
* Trade associations - statistics or reports published by national organisations such as the TUC, the CBI or chambers of commerce or industry associations such as the Engineering Employers Federation.
* Research organisations - reports prepared by specialist market research organisations such as Mintel or Mori; articles published in academic journals such as university journals.
Field Research
Field research involves the collection of primary data, information that no one has yet collected. It is collected specially for the particular piece of research. Primary data is collected through direct investigation, usually through observation, survey or experiment.
To help me create my marketing mix I used both secondary and primary research. I collected primary data in the form of a questionnaire that I asked 50 people. I used secondary data from the Internet. I used the Internet to find out about Video Game sales and I found a report by PC Data about home Internet users planing to purchase console or PC games during the 2000 holiday season, and that PC and console gaming is no longer a male-dominated domain. This was very useful research and it helped me a lot when putting together my marketing plan. I didn't find any information from the media or the government because of lack of time.
Quantitative and Qualitative Research
There are two main types of survey data - quantitative, and qualitative.
Quantitative
Quantitative research provides numerical data.
At the completion of a quantitative project it is possible to say (for example) what proportion or percentage of the population fall into different groups - those that want something, those that would be likely to buy something, those that are in favour of a particular policy or plan, etc.
The essence of quantitative research is that every respondent is asked the same series of questions.
Quantitative research can be done in various ways:
By face-to-face interviewing, either in the street or, for more complex projects, in people's homes. This was the traditional approach to data collection, and remains important. In-home work is particularly suitable for lengthy interviews, or for some sensitive subjects. The understanding that can be established between the interviewer and the person being interviewed (the respondent) can help to ensure that detailed and thorough information is obtained.
By telephone.
This is a fast-growing form of data collection, is somewhat less expensive per interview than face-to-face, and can provide data more quickly - in some cases, overnight.
Telephone research would rarely be suitable for lengthy interviews, but it can be ideal for smaller-scale, fast turn-round projects both amongst the public and for business research.
Both face-to-face and telephone research involve the most basic form of data gathering, talking to people. There is one other form of quantitative data collection that should be mentioned - postal and self-completion research, which is the cheapest form of quantitative research, though it can take a relatively long time to gather data by post. Self-completion questionnaires can be handed out, for example, at exhibitions, on aircraft, or in town centres, to get people¹s views.
Self-completion questionnaires must be kept simple and the researcher has little control over whom, or how many people, return the form.
Another form of quantitative research is omnibus surveys. These are useful for those with small budgets and relatively few questions to ask.
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research, though it cannot provide numerical data, provides understanding of how or why things are as they are. It can be used on its own or to help in the development of a questionnaire for a quantitative study.
There is no fixed set of questions and therefore no assumptions about what is, or is not, important. Instead there is a list of topics, problems, or possibilities to be explored. The form and nature of the discussion is heavily influenced by the informants' own concerns or assumptions.
Qualitative research is the way in which typical or relevant peoples' attitudes and beliefs can be explored, and ideas can be generated. It can be used for everything from testing reaction to a potential new advertising campaign, to exploring staff attitudes to a new management structure or procedure.
There are various sorts of qualitative research, including the following.
* Unstructured interviews with a single informant, based on a framework of themes and topics. The interview is adapted to the individual, and the interviewer feeds off and responds to the respondents' replies.
* Focus groups (or group discussions) involve a similar approach but bring together a number of relevant people - typically about eight - and therefore benefit from the interaction between the different personalities and experiences in the group.
I used quantitative research because I needed to find information quickly and easily, I think qualitative research would have been a lot more time consuming and will have used a lot of resources. I decided the best way to collect information about the market was to use a survey. A survey can't ask customers for their opinion. Only a fraction or sample of customers can be surveyed. To be useful, the sample chosen must be a representation of all consumers. In a random sample, every potential respondent has an equal chance of being chosen. Random numbers can be used to do this or it could be done by 'picking people out of a hat'. It is often quite difficult to construct a truly random sample. So a cheaper and quicker method is to use systematic sample. This is where every 100th or 1000th person on a list such as the telephone book is chosen. A systematic sample is not truly random though and therefore the results may be less reliable. In a quota sample, the sample is broken down or stratified. One problem with a quota sample is that any people who fit the description can be asked to complete the survey. So Microsoft wanting to find 50 people aged 13 - 30 to complete a survey could ask the first 50 13 - 30 year olds who came out of Electronics Boutique in Bedford. This may not be very representative of all 13 - 30 years olds nationally. A stratified random sample may get round this problem. It is a quota sample where all the respondents, the people being interviewed, must be chosen at random. Microsoft would have to find some way of selecting people aged 13 - 30 through pure chance.
I used a quota sample, I asked 50 people in Electronics Boutique my questionnaire. I used Electronics Boutique because a lot of people go in there to buy game consoles and other computer related products, and asking this people would give me a good idea of the target market. I think my data is quite reliable because the people I asked my questionnaire to are the people that are most likely to buy Microsoft's products.
