Evaluation and Control of Marketing Research

The need for evaluation and control in marketing research is found at two levels:

• The individual project, and
• The total research activity within a firm

In respect of individual research projects, the management should determine what exactly is to be done and keep track of it on a weekly, fortnightly or a monthly basis. Below are listed certain tools for evaluating and controlling research projects:

Check List: To begin with, a checklist, which is a versatile and a useful tool, can be used. It can be short or long, consisting of a few or many questions, depending on the actual requirement of management. The list should contain specific questions on the objectives of projects and its research design. It serves as a reminder for the type of problems that are likely to come up during the course of the project and helps in resolving them.

Flow Chart: Another tool is the logical flow chart which indicates the sequence of a research project covering various activities. For example, library research, collection of data, analysis of data, and so on. Such a flow chart enables management to maintain on overall control over the project. One major limitation of this tool is that it does not give the time dimension for the total activity.

Gnatt Chart: A Gnatt chart is used in order to provide a time dimension for controlling marketing research. Such a chart enables the management to develop an overall research schedule by allocating a time period to each component of research. It is very helpful to the management in controlling the total research activity.

PERT Technique: Finally, the Programme evaluation and review technique can be used. Although PERT has been used in administrative and production problems, hardly any application in marketing research is available. It can however be used effectively in this field as well, especially when the project is neither a routine nor a small one.

Advisory Committee: As regards control of the total research activity, it is necessary to set up meaningful control procedures. An advisory committee, comprising representative from all functions served by marketing research, is probably the most effective way to evaluating and controlling the total marketing research activity. Its main task is to provide direction to the marketing research programme so that it is problem oriented and useful to the company.

Marketing Research Audit a marketing audit should provide an objective basis for answering three key questions:

• Is the research programme in tune with the character of the company as well as its need?
• How can the administration of research be made to set the pace for operating efficiency?
• Is the research staff sufficiently in touch with the realm of ideas which determine sales growth and future market position for the company?

To make marketing audit effective, it must be undertaken as the joint responsibility of the research group and all department having a direct interest in the use of marketing research. The audit study should have four distinct stages:

• Qualifying the company
• Establishing bench marks for analysis
• Auditing of internal research operations
• Preparing an audit report

In the first stage, auditor should develop a clear idea of the company’s position in the industry, the organisation of the marketing activities and its emphasis on sales or production. The second step involves the setting up of standards to which the marketing research staff should conform. The third stage involves the audit of marketing research operations against the standards set earlier. Finally, the audit report covering (1) a critical evaluation of the existing research programmes, (2) an appraisal of the research needs, and (3) the programme and organisation recommended for installation, should be prepared and submitted. The management audit of marketing research could be done either by the company’s own personnel under the direction of top management or by an outside consulting firm.

Budget Control: Budget is an important constraint not only for individual research projects but also for the research activity as a whole. There are various ways by which budget allocation to the marketing research function can be decided. A rough and ready measure is to spend a certain specified percentage of the total sales on marketing research. This percentage may be based on the prevailing average for firms of the same size in the same industry. Another method is that each department and functional area decides its budget on the basis of its on marketing research requirement. Yet another approach is that budget allocation is made on ad hoc basis, keeping in mind the requirements of a particular task.

Whatever may be the approach adopted for budget allocation, one thing must be made clear. A certain minimum budget must be available and there should not be any uncertainty and misunderstanding among researchers in this regard.