CIM Coursebook: Project Management in Marketing

Elwyn Cox, Matthew Housden, Lynn Parkinson, Frank McKee

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9781138440944
• eBook ISBN:
  9781136442100
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Butterworth-Heinemann's CIM Coursebooks have been designed to match the syllabus and learning outcomes of our new qualifications and should be useful aids in helping students understand the complexities of marketing. The discussion and practical application of theories and concepts, with relevant examples and case studies, should help readers make immediate use of their knowledge and skills gained from the qualifications.' Professor Keith Fletcher, Director of Education, The Chartered Institute of Marketing 'Here in Dubai, we have used the Butterworth-Heinemann Coursebooks in their various forms since the very beginning and have found them most useful as a source of recommended reading material as well as examination preparation.' Alun Epps, CIM Centre Co-ordinator, Dubai University College, United Arab Emirates Butterworth-Heinemann's official CIM Coursebooks are the definitive companions to the CIM professional marketing qualifications. The only study materials to be endorsed by The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), all content is carefully structured to match the syllabus and is written in collaboration with the CIM faculty. Each chapter is packed full of case studies, study tips and activities to test your learning and understanding as you go along. •The coursebooks are the only study guide reviewed and approved by CIM (The Chartered Institute of Marketing). •Each book is crammed with a range of learning objectives, cases, questions, activities, definitions, study tips and summaries to support and test your understanding of the theory. •Past examination papers and examiners' reports are available online to enable you to practise what has been learned and help prepare for the exam and pass first time. •Extensive online materials support students and tutors at every stage. Based on an understanding of student and tutor needs gained in extensive research, online materials have been designed specifically for CIM students and created exclusively for Butterworth-Heinemann. Check out exam dates on the Online Calendar, see syllabus links for each course, and access extra mini case studies to cement your understanding. Explore marketingonline.co.uk and access online versions of the coursebooks and further reading from Elsevier and Butterworth-Heinemann. INTERACTIVE, FLEXIBLE, ACCESSIBLE ANY TIME, ANY PLACE www.marketingonline.co.uk

SECTION 1

Using Marketing Information to Develop a Justified Case for Marketing Projects (Weighting 15%)

Shown below are the syllabus references and learning outcomes for this section. It is the first of the four that comprise the complete unit. The chapters that make up the section are also shown. This will be the same for all four sections to assist the student in understanding how individual themes build into the completed text and what the progression is from one to the next.

Syllabus References

1.1 Critically assess the scope and type of marketing information required to develop effective business cases using both primary and secondary data

1.2 Critically assess how organisations determine their marketing information requirements and the key elements of user specifications for the purposes of building a case

1.3 Critically assess the scope, structure and characteristics of MIS and MkIS as marketing management support systems and evaluate their importance to business cases for marketing projects

1.4 Develop a research brief to meet the requirements of an individually specific case for marketing

1.5 Critically evaluate a full research proposal to fulfil the brief supporting the information needs of the case and make recommendations for improvement

1.6 Identify and evaluate the most effective methods for presenting marketing information and making specific marketing recommendations relating to product/service development and implementation as part of the case

Chapter 1 – Marketing Information for Business Cases

Chapter 2 – Marketing Information Systems

Chapter 3 – Research Briefs and Proposals

Chapter 4 – Presentation of Findings

Senior Examiner’s Comments

Bibliography

Learning Outcomes

Identify the organisation’s information needs, scope of research projects and resource capability to underpin the development of a business case to support marketing projects.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Assess the scope and type of marketing information requirements
• Assess the structure and characteristics of marketing information systems
• Understand the relationship between brief and proposal
• Understand how to select from, and use, a range of primary research tools
• Select and adapt different report and presentation techniques

Marketing Information for Business Cases

Note: those who have started at this point are strongly recommended to go back and carefully read the Foreword. It explains not just the idea behind this new unit, but how the book is structured, central themes and how to get the most out of it.

Introduction

Peter Chisnall in his 2004 book Marketing Research calls information the raw material of management. Without information we cannot make informed decisions. There will always be risk attached to business decisions, but good information will help us measure, manage and assess the degree of risk involved in making business and marketing decisions.

Defining the Issues or Problem

Defining the problem, despite appearances, is not easy. Problems can generally be solved in many ways. The problem definition needs to reflect the organisation’s resources, or be expressed in a way that clearly identifies the opportunity that is being looked at.

Sometimes, a view of the problem for a pressured executive may not actually be the real issue. The research company that is asked to review marketing communications activity may find that there are particular political issues with the current agency or that the brand is poorly managed or that the pricing strategy is wrong. Very often we have to carry out informal or exploratory research to identify and define the research question we are trying to answer.

Poorly researched questions or problem definitions can lead to expensive and unnecessary work being carried out.

Clearly then, being able to define a problem and set objectives in an appropriate way is very important.

Often managers appear to want the answer to the meaning of life by 5.00 p.m. Understanding the business so as to be able to isolate and define a problem is a skill that comes with experience. For example, the illinformed manager may say set an objective to determine ‘why are our sales falling?’, while the experienced manager might say ‘what are the perceptions of our service standards against our key competitors?’ He has already limited the research to a narrow problem area and researchers have a much clearer idea of the purpose to which the research will be put. It may be that the researcher has to carry out this refining and defining process, but it can be helped by good communication and understanding at this stage.

Carry out Exploratory Research

This stage, as outlined above, is designed to clarify the research problem. It is largely informal and may involve a range of techniques. It should involve discussions with those who are involved with the problem and its solution. It may involve a review of the trade press and simple scanning of internal documents and resources. The aim is to inform the process and to become ‘immersed’ in the problem and its potential solutions.

Even at this stage, the researcher may be thinking ahead about methods that could be used to deliver the information required. The key thing is to uncover the real purpose of the research and, possibly, the constraints in terms of time and budget that may affect the process.

We also need, at this stage, to think about the value of the research. There is little point in spending more on research than will be gained by making the right decision as a result of it – it has to be cost-effective. Research cannot eliminate risk entirely, but tries to reduce it to acceptable levels within identifiable margins of error. An understanding of the commercial constraints of carrying out research may be gained through intuition or experience, but it can also be worked out more scientifically.

If research is required to justify packaging redesign, then we can estimate the improved sales of such a move and offset the cost of research against this. This objective-and-task approach to setting research budgets is the best way of managing research budgets. However, it is not always possible to carry out this process accurately.

If the cost of a research project to decide between two product flavours was £25,000, and the research-based launch generated incremental profits of £40,000, then clearly the research is worthwhile. It should always be possible to estimate the likely impact on a project, if it is done with or without research and this can help in determining whether the research should be done (in the first place) and the extent of what research is needed.

Previous Research

As part of this process, previously carried out research should be reviewed to see if the problem has been dealt with elsewhere. It may be that the solution lies in work that has been done in other departments. For example, work to improve the navigation of the website may have been done in the IT department. Access to previously commissioned work may be through the Intranet or the company library. Or it may be that individual managers have commissioned research which has not been distributed widely through the organisations.

Internal Research

Internal research will involve the use of the MkIS (Marketing Information System – a subset of Management Information System) and the database. It may be that the problem, as we said, can be solved at this stage. Normally it is worth spending time now on internal records to either solve the problem or at least help to define it.

For example, a problem that involves finding out the average age of a company’s existing customers may be solved through a simple interrogation of the customer database.

Redefine the Problem

The output of this stage is a clear statement of the research problem that is agreed by all parties. After this, a brief can be written based on the work to date.

Desk Research

Desk or secondary research is information that has already been gathered for some other purpose. It may be held within the organisation or by other organisations. It is called desk research because it is usually accessible from a desk via the Intranet or online or in hard copy. This is dealt with in detail in the next section. In the research plan, desk research is carried out before primary research. This is because it is generally cheaper. It may solve the problem without any need for expensive primary work.

Field Research

Field or primary research is research carried out to meet a specific objective. It is something new that adds to the body of world research. Primary research is the common currency of marketing research. It is what most of us have come across either through telephone research, or face-to-face interviews or increasingly through online research.

Primary research may be based on observation and may be qualitative or quantitative.

Observation research is data gathered by observing behaviour. No questions are asked of participants, whereas much research is based upon structured questionnaires designed to give a consistent quality of response to a range of predetermined questions as expanded upon below.

The Marketing Research Society (MRS) defines observational research as ‘A non-verbal means of obtaining primary...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• About The Authors
• Section 1: Using Marketing Information to Develop a Justified Case for Marketing Projects (Weighting 15%)
• Section 2: Building a Case for Marketing Projects(Weighting 20%)
• Section 3: Assessing, Managing and Mitigating Risk Associated with Marketing Projects (Weighting 25%)
• Section 4: Project Management for Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control (Weighting 40%)
• Feedback Section
• Index