Published in Marketing Newspaper (UMA electronic edition)
Market
transformations in Ukraine that began in the 90's have led to the
following: Ukrainian entrepreneurs have heard word “marketing” for the
first time, they have started to make attempts to conduct market
economy, some foreign products and products of joint ventures have
appeared in the market. At the same time, in the beginning of the 90's
first research companies appeared the main clients of which were
foreign enterprises or some joint ventures. Being directed towards the
main client these research companies preferred to use English words in
their names, even though some of them were integrated branch agencies.
At first the biggest on the Ukrainian market, of course, were the
branch agencies. Among the first to enter the Ukrainian market were
such research companies as GfK, ACNielsen, Synovate, and SOCIS Gallup.
Each of them conducted different policy of moving up the research
market, that is why today their size and also the market segment they
posses differ a lot. Today more than 14 branch agencies operate in
Ukraine , including the Russian ones. At the same time some Ukrainian
research companies are being created, where marketing and sociological
research are both being conducted by the same personnel. By the way, at
first this was typical for all research companies operating in the
market in some or the other way. Nowadays among the biggest research
companies is a considerable amount of Ukrainian ones. Oftentimes the
company's staff included not more than 4 or 5 persons. For example,
these are such companies as Ukrainian Marketing Group. Today those are
the big companies, practically holdings that also unite several firms
specializing on different markets, which also use different methods in
their work.
According to UMA information, the
marketing research market in 2003 made up the total of $14 600 000.
Prognosis for the year 2004 was more than $17 500 000. Thus, the
prognosed growth rates of the market of marketing services were rather
high and they make up more than 20% a year. According to the
preliminary estimation of UMA in the year 2004 these growth rates of
the market took place. Marketing research has been conducted even
during the Orange Revolution, although, of course, the volumes of these
researches were not comparable to the sociological ones.
According to the latest estimates the
volume of marketing research market in 2004 was made up of
approximately $19.5 mln, thus in comparison with the previous year it
has grown almost 34%. $18.2 mln. had been made up by the 38
marketing agencies – UMA members, and their market share has grown up
to 93%. The last circumstance has to with the outstripping growth of
large companies in general, as with the new members that are
significant market participants joining UMA. In particular, in the year
2004 the last few marketing agencies—ESOMAR members became the members
of UMA as well.
An optimistic view on the market development in 2005 prevails among the leaders of marketing agencies – UMA members. The prognosis for growth in the current year is 25%, or nearly $24.4 mln.
These are more moderate rates of development than those reached in
2004, but they are still bigger in terms of last year's expectancies.
Viewing
the part of the Ukrainian market of marketing research, it takes up
less than 0.001% of the world market. According to the ESOMAR data the
volume of the marketing research market in 2003 made more than 18 bln.
Euro. The main operators of the market of marketing research have
already been defined in Ukraine . But structuring of the market is
still being conducted as according to the specialization of agencies on
servicing defined industrial or other markets, as well as according to
the methods they use, regions in which research is being conducted. And
thus branch agencies may be distinguished, as well as the all-Ukrainian
and small regional agencies. 14 network agencies are represented on the
market. The total amount of agencies operating on the market is 100.
Among the largest marketing research agencies the following may be named:
• GfK – Ukrainian surveys and research of the market (GfK- USM) (200 staff members and more than 500 interviewers)
• ACNielsen Ukraine (247 persons of personnel and more than 209 interviewers)
• TNS Ukraine (staff of 60 people and 800 interviewers)
• Ukrainian Marketing Group (50 members of staff and more than 900 interviewers)
• Kiev International Institute of Sociology (37 people in the staff and more than 500 interviewers).
• Company MASMI-Rating (47 staff members and more than 500 interviewers);
• InMind (20 staff members and more than 400 interviewers).
Monitoring
of Mass Media of Ukraine are rather active on the market too (85 people
of personnel), SC DOM (staff – 16, interviewers – 200),
Statinformconsulting (staff – 12, interviewers – 996), Ukrainian
Marketing Project (staff – 10, interviewers – 400), Synovate (15 staff
members and 400 interviewers).
It is
necessary to mention that the changes in the market occur due to the
big foreign companies' entering Ukrainian market. Today the marketing
research market becomes more and more attractive for such companies.
During the year 2004 three new large market operators have joined the
market, each of them using unique methods. Such companies as A/R/M/I –
Marketing is among them.
A supposition may be made that after the Orange Revolution this process will become more active.
As
for the field specialization, there still are some empty places as for
this day. It is easier to describe those markets, where specializing
agencies have already shown themselves to advantage. For example, the
pharmaceutical market is being explored by Comcon-Ukraine Ltd and
Medical Data Management; the information about the agricultural market
is being accumulated by the Market research center Ukragroconsult;
industrial market is being managed by the companies PrivatInform
(Krivoj Roh), Ukrpromzovnishekspertuza” (Kiev); beverages – Ukrainian
Marketing Project (Kiev); construction market – SPD «Kyshnir Nataljai
Victorovna” (Kiev) and ÄÔ Knauf Marketing (Kiev); baby products market
– agency Kids Marketing Consulting or Kidnapping etc.
The
companies may be distinguished by their methods and also by the range
of problems which they are able to solve using their methods. For
studying consumer needs and preferences we recommend to turn to company
TNS, for studying the brand power – to the company A/R/M/I – Marketing,
for studying the TV channels – to the GfK – USM, for acquiring
information for the right decision making of how to conduct the
advertising campaign on the billboards – to UMM, for studying the radio
stations – TNS and Syrex Marketing, published advertisements – Mass
Media Monitoring, Internet research – The Independent Marketing Group.
Full information about all these agencies may be acquired on the
web-page of UMA
or you may turn to the Ukrainian Marketing Association and get
“YEARBOOK UMA”, which contains information about firms-members of UMA
and is distributed free of charge. The information is given both in
Ukrainian and English.
There is a need to say
a word about informational sources. The State statistics may be
acquired in the companies, which have an official license of the State
Statistics Committee for distributing such information. In Ukraine
“Statinformconsulting” has such a license, there you may obtain
statistical data or order analytical research concerning a particular
matter, a market or field review.
Rather
accurate information about the market may be obtained with the help of
regular panel research. In Ukraine two companies conduct panel
research: GfK – USM (consumer panel) and ACNielsen (panel of commercial
spots or retailing). Consumer panel provides the information about how
many goods of some group of goods have been bought (who, where, what
the price was and how much of the good have been sold), and retail
panel – how much has been sold (what the price was, in what amount and
where exactly).
Panel data enables to define
the volume of a specific market, the main players and their share of
the market, price positioning and competitiveness of prices, the face
of buyer (consumer panel), the state of distribution (retail panel),
the most popular places of purchasing, tendencies of segments
developing etc.
More often marketing research
is ordered by the companies that work in the FMG markets, which is
actually characteristically for all countries. Besides that, also the
research of mass media charts. As well as in other countries a tender
is carried out for conducting the research of TV channels. The tender
is being carried out by the Industrial Television Committee and in 2002
it has been won by GfK – USM. Large industrial enterprises are the ones
that order the research, as a market's answer – there research
companies specializing in particular markets (pharmaceutical companies,
construction, metal etc.) But what is more important – there is a
tendency of change in the portrait of the customer. Today all large
companies operating within FMG market, no matter what they are –
Ukrainian or foreign, are the ones to order market research. Besides,
medium business has started to use market research more actively. This
has introduced certain peculiarities into the work of agencies.
Ukrainian medium business oftentimes does not have enough financial
means to pay for the services of large agencies, in most of the cases
enterprises only understand that the research is needed but is not
ready yet to pay a big sum of money for the research, often prefers to
deal with Ukrainian Research Company.
Our
Ukrainian Marketing Association has carried out a survey of directors
of research companies as for how they think the “ Orange revolution”
may influence the development of our country's marketing. Majority of
directors hope for the growth of research needed, they also mention
that in the short-term perspective a decline in conducting research is
possible, but in the long-term perspective there will be a process of
raising the level of competitiveness of their own business and so this
is supposed to lead to a larger demand for research.
Besides
that, the exit-polls results' falsification, intrigue with the election
polls has caused, as the UMA research show, antitrust of people to
those interviewers who conduct marketing research. Respondents act
inadequately when asked to “answer some questions”. Practically this
temporarily becomes an obstacle in conducting research as
confidentially, using interview methods, as well as conducting
“apartment survey”, -- summarizes Irina Lylyk, Director General of the
Ukrainian Marketing Association.
International cooperation of UMA
UMA is the member of ESOMAR
An
official translation of Codes & Guidelines ESOMAR into Ukrainian
has been done in 2003 (with the financial support of the embassy of the
Netherlands in Ukraine ) and these Codes are also placed within free
access on the UMA web-page
UMA is the member of EMC.
Collaboration of Ukraine and the UK in forming the market of marketing research.
For
the marketing research market of all countries effective relations
between the client and the performer are extremely important. The
problem of maintenance the rights of respondents is a very significant.
This has led the industry to realizing the necessity of forming the
rules of work in the field. Course towards implementing the
standardization of research procedures was taken in the UK in the
middle of the 70's when Marketing Research Society introduced a program
Interviewer Card Scheme, later “I.Q.C.S”- the Interviewer Quality
Control Scheme, MRQSA, EMRQS (the EFAMRO Market Research Quality
Standards).
In 2001 the Ukrainian Marketing
Association has turned with a request to prof. Bryan A. Bates –
Director General, EFAMRO (European Federation of Market Research
Organizations) asking him to promote further the implementation of
Quality Standards of Market Research to the Ukrainian research
companies. Prof. Bryan A. Bates' article QUALITY STANDARDS IN MARKET RESEARCH,
published in the magazine of UMA “Marketing in Ukraine ” has become
very important for popularization of English programs in this sphere
and has also explained to the young Ukrainian researchers the
philosophy of standards and the history of their appearance. EFAMRO has
also granted the Ukrainian Marketing Association the text of their
EMRQS Standards, which later have become a base of Quality standards of
marketing research of UMA. This document is obligatory for 48 agencies-
members of UMA and is registered in the State Agency of Standardization
of Ukraine .
In 2004 on the conference
“Marketing in Ukraine ” the report of prof. Philip Dover, Dean of the
Business School , The University of Buckingham, has caused a great
discussion. Its theme was “From Product and Services to Solutions: a
new Challenge for Marketing”.
