Introduction
The success of any business venture majorly depends on the accuracy of inferences made from pieces of information obtained as a result of carrying out an effective marketing research. Informed decision making on marketing issues hence depends on the objectivity of the research and the general information generating procedures.
This essay seeks to point out the suitability of certain research methods in relation to the areas or fields of specialization rather. With a sharp focus on two diverse educational institutions, I will be able to point out the specific data collection and analysis procedures then touch on their suitability with respect to achieving the desired results.
Full consideration of the prevailing factors such as data availability, the urgency with which the report is needed and the financial implications of the various methods of carrying out market research will also be taken into account.
Boasting of a twenty year experience in online education and various convenient academic programs which include evening classes, flexible scheduling, continuous enrolments and a university wide academic social networking just to mention a few, the university of Phoenix would seek to employ a totally different approach to marketing research compared to their counterparts at the university of Maryland who boast of a good track record in academic excellence and being one of the fastest growing universities in the world.
It is hence important to note that by virtue of the different student groups being targeted by the institutions, in a case where they were competing to boost their student population, the different circumstances which they find themselves in would force them to take different courses of action.
Since the University of Phoenix seeks to encourage adult education and has hence come up with flexible programs to enable the working population advance their education levels and careers respectively, this would hence define their market category.
After identifying and sampling this market category, to effectively reach out and attract the attention of this group of individuals, it is important that the exploratory research design method be put into play. To enable the institution witness a considerable increase in their student population, understanding the information on the available opportunities is quit essential and hence the exploratory design becomes quite handy (124).
The University of Phoenix would hence be left with no option but to carry out a pilot study so as to collect the required information. This is because the target population is often unavailable as a result of their busy work schedules.
A pilot study would hence enable them to obtain information on the subject matter from alternative sources like the internet, focus groups and by caring out small scale investigations on how their programs would have an impact on the lives of the expected participants.
In this case, secondary data obtained from a database or other files would be of significance since they would highlight the state of affairs in a better way by viewing it from a different point of view and eventually come up with quite reasonable pieces of information.
The analysis of a given set of data always depend on various factors which at times consist of financial implications and the urgency with which the data is required among others. In the case of Phoenix University, employing more friendly data analysis procedures like breaking down the information into easily identifiable forms like tabulations and graphic representations would be quite appropriate.
At this stage, the writing of a research report which contains the researcher’s results, conclusions, recommendations and suggestions is deemed necessary. This should be done considering the fact that the data is analyzed and represented in a form which enhances information understanding so as to enable the institutions make informed decisions.
On the other hand, the University of Maryland which is majorly driven by the pursuit of excellence with a vision of becoming an institution unmatched in its capacity to attract talent and address the most important issues of our time, a totally different approach to attract more students would be put in place.
Taking into account the fact that the institution majorly targets an audience consisting of top performers from high school, a more interactive marketing research approach would be required since its target group is not as difficult to access as those of the former.
The most objective marketing research method in this case would be the survey method since it seeks to derive information for the purposes of making informed choices by asking the research questions to the target correspondents. This procedure can be carried out in various mediums which include individual interrogation, online, via E-mail and even via telephone.
What makes this method the most appropriate is the fact that the targeted students are more likely to participate in the research as opposed to the former where non-interested parties may bow out on grounds of being busy. Another important issue worth noting is the fact that in cases where a one on one interaction is not possible, the correspondent’s contact details can be accessed with ease and hence the research is not prone to suffer from inadequate correspondents.
Data collection and representation in this case would be less complicated since survey results are always wrote down on paper and hence would be less tedious irrespective of the number of individuals taking part. Descriptive analysis comes in quite handy at this stage since it reorganizes the raw data into a format that is simple and quite easy for the marketer to understand and interpret (452).
This procedure entails the rearranging or rather manipulation of data to come up with observable features of the aspects of that data. These features may be in the form of charts and even graphic representations.
Observation would also come in handy to help obtain important information since given its nature that involves forming conclusions based on information derived from watching how people react to certain situations, very accurate conclusions can be reached.
Physical trace evidence, internet and television monitoring being some among the methods to carry out observation, the university can come up with various policies to enhance their student population based on the observable trends and general student behavior pattern.
The identification and acknowledgement of the difficulties and problems encountered during the research period is a very significant part of the documentation process since it enables the institution to devise accurate measures to counter these challenges.
For instance, if identifying the target audience proved to be quite tedious, a more decisive approach must first be improvised to see to it that this problem is corrected so as to forge ahead. The need to perfect on the sampling methods used during these marketing research procedures is of great importance too.
In conclusion, a wide rift is quite evident with respect to the methods that both Phoenix University and the University of Maryland would seek to employ so as to increase their student populations majorly because of the single fact that both institutions have a different target market with the former targeting on older working generation as the latter targets a younger and more energetic academically gifted population.
Works Cited
Czinkota, Michael R. and Ilkka, A. Ronkainen. Global Business: Positioning Ventures Ahead. New York: sage publications Inc, 2010. Print.
Peter, Paul J.and James, H. Donnelly. marketing Management. New York: (Saxton Inc), 2008. Print.
Zikmund, William G. and Barry, J. Barbin. Essentials of Marketing research. New York: harcourt brace college publishers, 2009. Print.