MKTG90004 · Marketing Management
Research and Metrics
Week 11 closes the planning loop: research feeds the front of the plan (the situation analysis) and metrics check the back (did it work). This chapter teaches research design first — exploratory to scope a vague problem, descriptive to size and profile it, causal to prove what drives what — then sources (secondary before primary), methods (qual for the “why,” quant for the “how many,” mixed for both), ethnography/netnography, and the 5-step research process. On the metrics side it covers the four families (customer, unit, cash-flow, brand) and the key formulas — ROMI, CLV, NPS, market share — the exam-grade vanity-vs-value distinction, brand-equity trackers, and SMART objectives as the target metrics measure against. It closes with the two contemporary themes the unit threads through every week and loves on the exam: AI (the double-edged sword) and sustainability/ethics (the SDGs, greenwashing, and the attitude–behaviour gap).
What this chapter covers
- 01Marketing research vs market research; what makes research "good"
- 02Research design — exploratory / descriptive / causal; the secondary-vs-primary sources tree
- 03Qual / quant / mixed methods; ethnography & netnography; the 5-step process
- 04The four metric families & the key formulas (ROMI, CLV, NPS, market share)
- 05Vanity vs value metrics; brand equity & power; SMART objectives
- 06Contemporary themes — AI (the double-edged sword) & sustainability/ethics
Worked example: compute ROMI and judge whether the campaign paid
- +1Find marketing-driven gross profit (return must be on margin, not revenue, when margin is stated): 200,000 × 0.40 = $80,000.
- +1State the formula: ROMI = (revenue from marketing − marketing expense) ÷ marketing expense × 100% — using the margin-based return here: (80,000 − 50,000) ÷ 50,000.
- +2Compute: 30,000 ÷ 50,000 × 100 = +60%.
- +1Interpret: each $1 of spend returned $1.60; a positive ROMI means the spend paid back — this is the number that wins the budget argument with the CFO.
Key terms
- Research design
- The three types matched to the question: exploratory ("what is going on?" — scope a vague problem), descriptive ("who / how many / how often?" — size and profile), and causal ("does X cause Y?" — controlled experiments / A/B tests). You usually move exploratory → descriptive → causal as the problem sharpens.
- ROMI
- Return on Marketing Investment = (revenue from marketing − marketing expense) ÷ marketing expense × 100%. It reframes marketing as an investment, not an expense; 0% breaks even, positive means the spend paid back.
- CLV
- Customer Lifetime Value — the net profit a customer generates across the whole relationship (margin per period × retention-adjusted periods − acquisition cost). It justifies how much you can spend to acquire and keep a customer.
- NPS
- Net Promoter Score — one question ("how likely are you to recommend us?", 0–10) netted as %Promoters (9–10) − %Detractors (0–6). A simple, comparable loyalty indicator.
- Vanity vs value metrics
- A vanity metric looks good but doesn't tie to a business outcome (impressions, likes, page views, raw engagement); a value metric links to revenue, profit or a real objective (conversion rate, CLV, CPA, ROMI). Always pair a metric to the objective it serves.
Research and Metrics FAQ
What's the difference between marketing research and market research?
Marketing research (Hunt 2013) is the broad discipline — the systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data to advance marketing knowledge. Market research is the narrower commercial slice: insight into a specific market, customer or competitor for a decision. All market research is marketing research; not all marketing research is market research.
Should I run a survey first?
No — the classic dropped mark is jumping to expensive primary research when the answer sits in the firm's own sales data or a free ABS table. Exhaust secondary data (internal records, CRM, web analytics; external census, industry reports) before commissioning primary. Secondary is cheaper, faster, and often enough.
What's the most testable metrics distinction?
Vanity vs value. Reach, impressions, likes, CTR, CPC and CPM are diagnostic, not outcomes — a campaign with huge reach and zero conversions failed. Always pair a metric to the objective it serves: awareness metrics for awareness goals, conversion/ROMI for sales goals. And every metric measures against a SMART objective.
How does AI come up on the exam?
Rarely as "define AI." It appears as evaluation: AI is the double-edged sword — powerful for personalisation, ad optimisation and GenAI content, but "sloppy" use draws backlash (AI ads branded "nightmare fuel"). Strong answers name the authenticity/disclosure issue, apply it to the brand, and propose a safeguard. The same applies to sustainability: name greenwashing or the attitude–behaviour gap and propose evidence-backed claims.
Exam move
This chapter is two skills: designing evidence and reading results. For research, match the design to the question — name the design (exploratory/descriptive/causal), the source (secondary before primary), the method (qual/quant/mixed), and one limitation; know the marketing-vs-market-research distinction and the 5-step process. For metrics, learn the four families and be able to compute ROMI, break-even-style CLV, NPS and market share, state your revenue-vs-margin assumption, and apply the vanity-vs-value test by tying every metric to a SMART objective. Finally, prepare the two contemporary themes (AI and sustainability/ethics) as evaluation questions: name the concept (sloppy AI, greenwashing, the attitude–behaviour gap), apply it to the brand, and propose a safeguard.
