Editor’s note: Joseph Curry is a vice president of Sawtooth Software, a company that writes and markets microcomputer software for marketing research. Previously, he was research director at Future Computing, a marketing research company specializing in the personal computer industry. Since 1978, he has been involved in the development of microcomputer software systems for interactive interviewing and data analysis.

The corporate market research manager's job is analogous to that of a product manager: Providing products to different user markets within the corporation.

These products, as shown on the continuum in Chart 1, range from simple data to strategic marketing recommendations. They are characterized by increasing levels of support, personnel expertise, and added value provided by the department as one moves to the right.

Chart 1. Marketing research product line

--Data---Information---Analysis/Modeling---Strategic Direction--


Data reports

The most basic products provided by a corporate market research department are data reports. These are sales, demographic, competitive or other data, tabulated in report form or supplied in an electronic database. These products are most often used by operating managers to monitor market performance. The production of these reports is a routine task, requiring little added value from the department; data are the "commodity" product of the market research product line.

In addition to the data in its basic form, the market research department may provide information, that is, raw data that have been organized, summarized, or plotted for easy understanding of the content.

The types of information products offered by a market research department include reports, cross tabs, univariate statistical analysis and charts and graphs. Information products allow the department to add more value than do data products.

Analysis/modeling

Next on the continuum of market research products is analysis and modeling. Analysis involves inference, interpretation and forecasting - all based on the information product. Analysis (as used here) often employs multivariate techniques, time-series analysis and computer modeling.

Analysis products offer a greater challenge to the market research department. Their production require more effort, judgment, training and experience. As a result, they put a greater demand on the personnel and resources of the department.

The product in the market research product line with the most value added is strategic direction. For example, the department may provide advice on how to defend against a competitive move, prevent slippage in market share, or approach a new market segment.

Where analysis is descriptive, strategic direction is prescriptive; it concerns itself with the actions the company should take in order to meet its goals.

The strategic product requires a broader perspective; a sense of the company, its strengths and weaknesses relative to competition, customer knowledge and how these factors come together to form the decision making framework. It places the great demands on the department requiring the highest level of expertise.

PC-based software

As markets become more competitive, the company's requirements shift toward the right end of the product continuum. Unfortunately for most market research managers, time and expertise constrain the extent to which the department can deliver these products. Two common reactions to this problem have been to "purchase" these products from outside services, or simply to make decisions without them.

An alternative approach is offered in the form of a small, but growing, library of PC-based software. This software lowers both the cost and expertise required to move to the right along the market product line. Many companies use these tools to augment outside services, especially smaller or quick turn around projects.

For example, a company can do an impact analysis for a product that does not even generate enough revenue to justify an outside study. Or, a concept test can be quickly designed and analyzed for an upcoming trade show to satisfy an immediate need of a product manager.

The software developer makes these tools easier to use by offering manuals that provide technical background and helpful tips. In many cases, the developer has built in expert judgments needed to apply the technique. In addition, there are seminars and books that explain the theory and application of some of the more popular packages.

Here is some of the "value-added" software that is available for PCs:

Forecasting. This software can be used for projecting sales, estimating seasonality effects, and identifying key forecast variables. It is based on times series analysis and other econometric techniques. Some packages work with data supplied by econometric database services. A few of the forecasting packages are:

MACRO*WORLD, Black River Software (919/721-0928)
AUTOCaST, Core Analytic, Inc. (201/218-0900)
FUTURCAST MICRO: MANAGER I, Futurion Associates, Inc. (800/361-9601)
pcEXPRESS, Information Resources, Inc. (312/726-1221)
SAS/ETS Software, SAS Institute Inc. (919/467-8000)
IDA, SPSS, Inc. (312/329-3500)
SmartForecasts II, Smart Software Inc. (617/489-2743)
SYSTAT, Systat, Inc. (312/8645670)
Easy Caster, TMS Systems, Inc. (703/552-5685)
StatPac Gold, Walonick Associates (612/866-9022)
Wisard Forcaster, Wisard Software Co. (414/436-2341)

Conjoint Analysis. This software can be used to determine the tradeoffs the market is willing to make among competing products or services. It can be used for new product development, repositioning of existing products, competitive response analysis and pricing. Some packages come with simulation models that allow you to perform "what-if" analyses. Packages available for conjoint analysis include:

Conjoint Designer/Conjoint Analyzer, Bretton-Clark (212/575-1568)
ACA System, Sawtooth Software (208/726-7772)
Scott Smith (801/378-5569)
SPSS/PC +, SPSS, Inc. (312/329-3500).

Perceptual Mapping. This software can be used to assess a company's strengths and weaknesses relative to competition as viewed by the buyers in the market. It can be used to evaluate a corporate or product image and to visualize the structure of a market to identify new product opportunities. Until recently, perceptual mapping has produced only a static "map" of the market. Now "what-if" analyses are possible, allowing the researcher to estimate the effect of changing a product's position. Software packages that can be used for perceptual mapping are:

SAS/STAT, SAS Institute (919/467-8000)
APM System, Sawtooth Software (208/726-7772)
Scott Smith (801/378-5569)
SPSS/PC +, SPSS, Inc. (312/329-3500)
SYSTAT, Systat, Inc. (312/864-5670)
StatPac Gold, Walonick Associates (612/866-9022)

Correspondence Analysis. This form of analysis was developed in France several years ago and is gaining popularity in the U.S. It is an alternative form of perceptual mapping, offering some additional insights, especially when interpreting product clusters (see: Kudos for correspondence analysis, Quirk's Marketing Research Review, April, 1987). It differs in that it can be used on nominal and ordinal data and the analysis can be performed on data collected for other purposes. Correspondence analysis packages currently available are:

Correspondence Analysis, Research Services (603/643-8299)
Scott Smith (801/378-5569)
STRATMAP, Market Action, Inc. (309/677-3299)

Research managers often find themselves bogged down producing products that are at the left end of the product continuum. Although these products are vital for the everyday functioning of the company, those at the right can be more challenging and can have greater impact on the company. With PC-based software the marketing research manager can offer these valuable products over a wider range of projects, with significantly lower costs.