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 both in the creation of consumer goods and in their sale.
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 allow you to get detailed and reliable information about product offerings 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 particular company. For modern large-scale production and sales companies (distributors), the variant of a functional business development strategy is interesting. In other words, the ultimate goal of the production and sale of goods is the maximum filling of marketniches of a certain type of goods subject to high demand.
This type of company development implies the flow of supply from the actual possible or existing demand. Demand creates supply. Another option is also possible, when there is a supply, but it is necessary to create a demand for a new turnover.
In the first case, panel studies allow you to decide on the quantitative release of goods and plan future production volumes.
The concept of panel studies
Panel research in marketing is a method of studying the consumer market. The subject of research is a product with a set of qualitative characteristics; the result of the studies is a set of opinions about the product and the preferences of the potential consumer group.
If we simplify the logic of panel studies for understanding, it becomes clear that before launching new products into production, an enterprise should have an idea of:
- does society need this product;
- what is the attitude of future consumers to a new type of goods.
Thus, it is clear that the panel research is characterized by the so-called study of certain panels - social groups. To be more precise, their interests and needs.
Varieties of panels
The panel research method examines several types of panels, which allows you to determine the specifics of the release of goods. They are classified in this order:
- consumer - research involves the study of those categories of persons who may consume the product; often a part of society is taken without specific specifics - division regarding belonging to a single factor;
- organizational - the study of large-scale consumers in the face of enterprises and organizations, partners in the production or sale of goods;
- personal-industry - a study of the need for goods in certain segments of society, for example, those identified based on the professional factor (teachers, doctors, workers).
Panel method for collecting information
Panel research is one of the types of laborious analysis of information obtained by marketers using special methods of working with individuals. These include:
- questioning activities (personal conversations, telephone proposal, mail correspondence, e-mail correspondence, focusing the interests of a designated group of persons);
- voluntary survey;
- interviewing.
Panel data collection can be both short-term and long-term.
Panel research is the study of the opinions of not only certain groups of people of a certain category, but also of regional affiliation (region, district, district, country).
Stages of forming a marketing panel
Panel marketing research is performed in the following sequence:
- determining the social group to studyconsumer interests;
- setting territorial limits for research;
- determining the dimension of the panel - sampling according to specific criteria, random polling, quota approach;
- direct contact with representatives of the panel group;
- keeping a performance diary regarding the subject of analysis being studied;
- summary of data, calculations of certain indicators;
- conclusions on the effectiveness of the work done;
- determining 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 team.
Benefits of panel studies
Panel research is an activity that involves extensive data analysis. Specific information can be obtained regarding any intended subject of research. Moreover, they 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 requests;
- emergence of new needs;
- Loy alty of the end customer to a certain type of goods.
Thus, specialists deal with indicatorstransparent trade.
Disadvantages of the panel method of information processing
Often panel research is the work of a cohesive team of professionals with one specific goal. The remuneration of a whole group of workers is not always justified. In some cases, additional financial expenses 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, takes 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 index only if the specialists performing this work are highly professional.
Panel study example
For an illustrative example of the working scheme of the panel collection and processing of information, we will give a specific example:
- company for which research is being done is a baby food factory;
- subject of research - complementary foods for babies;
- study panel - parents of children aged 1-5;
- research region - a specific area of the country;
- panel dimension - a survey of visitors to the sales points of the company's new products, a personal survey about the preferences of parents relative to the new product;
- journalingthe effectiveness of end-user preferences;
- a summary of data regarding quality indicators, packaging reliability, weight criteria, taste preferences;
- processing of positive and negative ratings of goods by consumers of the company's products;
- charting end-consumer preferences regarding collected feedback;
- conclusion regarding the real picture of product sales;
- changing the company's marketing strategy - eliminating deficiencies, 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 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.
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 a company's performance, painstaking data collection can take more than one year. Research can involve from a few people to several dozen specialists - it all depends on the size of the territorial unit under study. The research panel can also be generalized or specific to a specificsign.
An objective assessment of goods produced for certain consumer groups allows us to identify unaccounted quality criteria. In order to increase production volumes and expand sales markets, the manufacturer can make timely adjustments, thereby improving not only the packaging of the goods, but also the composition of the products.
Despite all the advantages of the panel research method, it is not always possible to obtain truthful information. Therefore, many professionals use this method of information analysis along with other, more effective methods.
The 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.
