STEP 1 DEFINING THE PROBLEM STEP 2 ANALYSING

STEP 1 DEFINING THE PROBLEM STEP 2 ANALYSING THE SITUATION STEP 3 GETTING PROBLEM- SPECIFIC DATA STEP 4 ANALYSING AND INTERPRETING DATA STEP 5 REPORTING THE FINDINGS IIE, Marketing Student Manual, 2012

STEP 1 DEFINING THE PROBLEM: • The most difficult stage in the process • The specific cause may be unknown • Problems should not be confused with the symptoms. IIE, Marketing Student Manual, 2012

STEP 2 ANALYSING THE SITUATION: Situational analysisinformal study of what is already • known about the problem • Finds the relevant Secondary data. • Data found from internal and external sources • Advantages and disadvantages IIE, Marketing Student Manual, 2012

STEP 3 GETTING PROBLEM- SPECIFIC DATA: • A plan is devised to Ascertain what additional information is needed and how it is gathered. • Primary data – required to solve problem at hand. IIE, Marketing Student Manual, 2012

STEP 3 cont. . . GETTING PROBLEM- SPECIFIC DATA: Qualitative techniques These include: Interviews- face to face Focus groups Observational methods Experiments Telephone surveys Postal questionnaires Internet surveys Personal interview IIE, Marketing Student Manual, 2012

STEP 4 ANALYSING AND INTERPRETING DATA: • Computers process large amounts of information quickly and at lower cost. • The Marketer and Researcher must work closely IIE, Marketing Student Manual, 2012

STEP 5 REPORTING THE FINDINGS: • Communicating the information to the relevant decision maker • Report should be of high standard • Report must be: Understandable Relevant Clear Organized Accurate Comprehensive IIE, Marketing Student Manual, 2012