Marketing activity is a direct part of the organization of production and marketing of products that a certain part of society needs. Marketing is designed to save resources and the creation of consumer goods, and their implementation.
To effectively plan the activities of enterprises, firms and companies involved in the production and distribution of certain types of consumer goods, experts conduct a number of marketing research. They are time-consuming, but they allow you to get detailed and reliable information about product offers and the needs of society in them, expressed as a percentage.
Marketing strategies
The method of researching certain data corresponds to the chosen development strategy of a company. For modern large-scale production and marketing companies (distributors), an interesting option is a functional business development strategy. In other words, the ultimate goal of the production and sale of goods is to maximize the filling of market niches with a certain type of goods subject to high demand.
This type of company development implies the flow of supply from a real or existing demand. Demand begets supply. Another option is possible when there is a supply, but it is necessary to form a demand for a new turnover.
In the first case, panel studies allow to determine the quantitative output of goods and plan future production volumes.
The concept of panel research
Panel research in marketing is a method of studying the consumer market. The subject of research is a product with a set of quality characteristics; the result of the study is a set of opinions about the product and preferences of a potential group of consumers.
If we simplify the logic of panel research for understanding, it becomes clear that before launching new products into production, an enterprise should have an idea about:
- Does society need this product?
- what is the attitude of future consumers to a new type of product.
Thus, it is clear that a panel study is characterized by the so-called study of certain panels - public groups. To be more precise, their interests and needs.
Types of panels
The panel research method studies several types of panels, which allows you to determine the specifics of the release of goods. They are classified in this order:
- consumer - the study involves the study of those categories of persons with whom, perhaps, the goods will be consumed; often a part of a society is taken without a specific specificity — a division regarding belonging to a single factor;
- organizational - the study of large-scale consumers represented by enterprises and organizations, partners in the production or sale of goods;
- personality-industry - a study of the need for goods in certain segments of society, for example, allocated on the basis of a professional factor (teachers, doctors, workers).
Panel methodology for collecting information
Panel research is one of the types of laborious analysis of information obtained by marketers using special techniques for working with individuals. These include:
- interrogation activities (personal conversations, telephone offers, mail correspondence, electronic correspondence, focusing on the interests of the appointed group of persons);
- voluntary questionnaire;
- interviewing.
The panel data collection technique can be either short-term or long-term.
Panel research is the study of the opinions of not only certain groups of people of a certain category, but also regional affiliation (region, district, okrug, country).
Stages of forming a marketing panel
Panel marketing research is carried out in the following sequence:
- definition of a public group for the study of consumer interests;
- setting territorial restrictions for research;
- determination of the dimension of the panel - a sample regarding specific criteria, random survey, quota approach;
- direct contact with representatives of the panel group;
- maintaining a diary of performance regarding the subject of analysis;
- data set, calculations of certain indicators;
- conclusions on the effectiveness of the work done;
- determination of the strategic development of the company in the future.
The number of stages directly depends on the volume of panel research in marketing. Information collection can be performed by several performers, which increases the chain of sequential actions of the analysis group.
Panel research benefits
Panel research is an activity involving extensive data analysis. Specific information can be obtained regarding any intended subject of research. Moreover, these can be carried out both before the launch of a new production, and during the sale of already manufactured products.
The panel method is the most accurate and allows you to track:
- demand for goods;
- volatility of consumer demands;
- the emergence of new needs;
- end customer loyalty to a certain type of goods.
Thus, specialists are dealing with indicators of transparent turnover.
The disadvantages of the panel method of information processing
Panel research is often the work of a close-knit team of professionals with one specific goal. Remuneration of a whole group of workers is not always justified. In some cases, additional financial costs are required to attract outside specialists.
Panel studies are not always objective if the data is obtained through telephone conversations and correspondence.
The development of questionnaires and questionnaires, as well as their completion and processing requires a lot of time.
For personal contacts with representatives of the studied social group, the skills of professional psychologists are required.
Research results can have a high quality indicator only in the case of high professionalism of specialists performing this work.
Panel Study Example
For an illustrative example of the working scheme of panel data collection and processing, we give a specific example:
- the company for which the study is being performed is a baby food factory;
- subject of research - feeding foods for babies;
- study panel - parents of children aged 1-5 years;
- study region - a specific area of the country;
- panel dimension - questionnaire of visitors to points of sale of new products of the company, a personal survey of parents' preferences regarding a new product;
- keeping a diary of the results of the preferences of end consumers;
- data set regarding quality indicators, packaging reliability, weight criteria, taste preferences;
- processing positive and negative assessments of goods by consumers of the company's products;
- charting end-user preferences relative to feedback collected;
- conclusion regarding the real picture of product sales;
- changing the marketing strategy of the company - eliminating shortcomings, improving the recipe, expanding the ingredients.
Approximately this should be the organization of the work of a modern company, aimed at high performance indicators.
This painstaking work often falls on the specialists of marketing departments. If there are none in the organizational structure of the enterprise, then the research is carried out by managers of the departments of supply and sale of goods.
To summarize
Now you have an idea that panel research is a specific approach to finding and processing the necessary information at certain stages of production or sale of goods.
In order to get a complete picture of the company's performance, painstaking data collection can last more than one year. In research, from a few people to several dozen specialists can be involved - it all depends on the size of the studied territorial unit. The research panel can also be generalized or specified for a specific attribute.
An objective assessment of goods manufactured for specific consumer groups, reveals unaccounted for quality criteria. In order to increase production volumes and expand sales markets, a manufacturer can make timely adjustments, thereby improving not only the packaging of goods, but also directly the composition of products.
Despite all the advantages of the panel method of research, it is not always possible to obtain true information. Therefore, many experts use this method of information analysis along with other, more effective methods.
An objective result of marketing research is the key to the work of a close-knit team of specialists. Sometimes it takes several years to form one, so many companies value valuable personnel.