M.Com. (Marketing Management) / The marketing research industry is a highly competitive environment with over one hundred marketing research firms competing for business in the South African market. Literature suggests that one of the biggest challenges the industry faces is poor positioning. Marketing research firms are seen as data suppliers rather than business or strategic thought partners. This is mainly the result of marketing research firms traditionally providing masses of data with no or limited insights, practical use and strategic value (also known as actionability of research results). This state of affairs in the industry needs to be addressed, otherwise marketing research firms will become less profitable and effective data / research information suppliers. To warrant future business and increased revenues, marketing research firms need to position themselves as professionals who can deliver actionable research results that assist clients strategically. Literature suggests various methods in which marketing research firms can achieve this; amongst which data visualisation and storytelling are identified as two such methods to deliver actionable research results which impact clients’ business. Therefore, the primary research objective of this study was to uncover the strategic use of data visualisation and storytelling by marketing research firms in quantitative research reports. To address this objective, this study was conducted in two phases, first literature on the topic was presented, followed by an empirical study. The empirical study independently followed an exploratory and descriptive research design where two samples were used. The main study (qualitative phase) sampled individuals, working for South African marketing research firms, who oversee teams who create quantitative research reports by means of indepth interviews; and the small-scale complementary study (quantitative phase) sampled clients of marketing research firms who receive these quantitative reports by means of an computer-administered, Internet-based survey. The studies were conducted sequentially; the small-scale complementary study followed after the main study had been completed. The Morse and Field approach was used to analyse the empirical research results of the main study which indicated that marketing research firms do not claim to have a traditional approach to quantitative reporting; the focus is not on data supply, but rather on providing actionable research results to clients which adds value to their business decision-making. The results also indicate that marketing research firms use storytelling to deliver actionable research so as to increase the strategic value thereof, while data visualisation is not used strategically. The results of the small-scale complementary study indicated that although 62% of clients feel that current quantitative research reports (received from marketing research firms) can be used to make strategic decisions, clients also feel that quantitative research reports need improvement regarding the delivery of strategic and actionable research reports. The exploration of the current quantitative reporting landscape and the evaluation of whether South African marketing research firms strategically use data visualisation and storytelling, have helped in identifying barriers to adoption of these methods and recommended how these could be overcome; it also identified specific measures to bridge the gap between data supply and strategic (actionable) research. The study found that marketing research firms should continue and strengthen their focus on actionable research as client demand therefor will continue; this can be achieved through a number of ways such as by focusing on understanding the client’s business, demonstrating thought leadership, being future focused, strengthening storytelling capabilities and developing / possibly investing in data visualisation capabilities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:7615 |
| Date | 18 July 2013 |
| Creators | Maritz, Vanessa |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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