- Data analysis and evaluation is an important aspect of marketing and market research
- It involves analyzing and interpreting data to make informed decisions
- There are different methods that can be used to analyze data, including measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion
Measures of central tendency:
- These are statistical measures that give an idea of where the centre of a dataset is located
- The three main measures of central tendency are the mean, median, and mode
- For example, a marketing research firm may calculate the mean income of a specific demographic in Zimbabwe to understand their purchasing power
Measures of dispersion:
- These are statistical measures that give an idea of how spread out a dataset is
- The most commonly used measures of dispersion are the range, variance, and standard deviation
- For example, a company conducting market research on a product may use the standard deviation of the responses to understand how varied the opinions are
Other common methods:
- Regression analysis: a statistical technique used to identify the relationship between two or more variables
- Correlation analysis: a statistical technique used to measure the strength of the relationship between two variables
- Factor analysis: a statistical technique used to identify underlying factors or dimensions that explain the variation in a dataset
- Data visualization: the use of graphs, charts, and other visual aids to represent data in a way that is easy to understand and interpret
Examples of data analysis:
- A retail chain in Zimbabwe may use regression analysis to determine the factors that influence sales in different regions of the country
- A food processing company may use correlation analysis to measure the relationship between the price of raw materials and the price of finished products
- A marketing research firm may use factor analysis to identify the factors that influence customer satisfaction with a product or service
- A bank may use data visualization to represent the demographics of its customer base in a way that is easy to understand and interpret.
