New technologies can be used very effectively to counter inflation and recession. New machines can reduce production costs. The increasing computing and processing capabilities of personal computers is increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of businesses. Advances in information technology has made it possible to plan truly global supply chains, in which manufacturing and warehousing are disbursed through out the world depending upon where these activities can be performed best.

Technologies for Nations:

Economies will need to excel in both basic and applied research. Basic research attempts to expand the frontiers of knowledge but is not aimed at a specific problem. Economies which are well off should concentrate more on basic research because they can remain ahead of other economies only by creating new businesses through inventing new technologies by basic research. Developed economies should be ready to relinquish businesses they are currently excelling in, because other economies will catch up with them and the developed economies will not be able to charge premium prices for their products and services.

Technologies for Products and Services:

New products and services are possible because of new technologies. These help to increase revenues and profits of companies. At different times in history, technologies have created new business like automobile, railways, telephones, computers, etc. Currently we are seeing new products and services being developed by emerging technologies like internet, mobile connectivity, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, etc. These technologies are likely to fuel growth in the near future.

Technologies for Business Models:

But companies also use new technologies to do business differently and more effectively. Dell computers are able to sell its product directly to business customers because internet enables it to be in contact with its customers without incurring much expense. It gleans valuable information about its customers from the interactions it has with them. Dell uses this information to segment its market further and then it focuses its attention on the most profitable customers. There are companies in fragrance and other business which have equipped their customers with design tools. The customers design their own products and services and the companies manufacture them.

One of the most important factors in the economic environment is the income of customers. This indicates their ability to spend on the products sold by the marketer. The marketer not only needs to estimate the income of customers, but he also has to decipher the products on which the customer would be willing to spend his money. The rise in the number of dual income families in several parts of the world, including urban India has led to a rise in the incomes for such families.

Inflation:

Inflation is an important economic indicator of an economy. Inflation refers to an increase in prices without a corresponding increase in wages, resulting in lower purchasing power of consumers. An economy should try to achieve low rate of inflation. The best way to achieve a low rate of inflation is to ensure that products and services area produced efficiently. When cost of production of products and services are low, they will be sold at lower prices and hence inflation will be low. An artificial way to reduce inflation is by restricting supply of money in the economy by raising the interest rates at which consumers and businesses can borrow money. There will be less demand and supply will be higher, forcing suppliers to reduce their prices. But this can only be a short-term approach because restricting the supply of money will reduce the outputs of businesses and level of economic activities.

Recession:

Recession is a period of economic activity when income, production, and employment tend to fall. Demand of products and services are reduced. Specific activities cause recession. Companies should improve existing products and introduce new ones. The idea is to reduce production hours, waste, and the cost of materials so that companies can offer products at lower prices. Recession increases the demand for products and services that offer good value at lower prices. Business buyers buy products that are economical and efficient, offer value, help them to streamline practices and procedures, and help them to improve their services to their customers. The idea should be to prompt consumers and business customers to buy more. The most potent way to end a recession cycle is to make it attractive for customers to buy more.

Three conditions are necessary to get a true response to a question-respondents must understand the question, they must be able to provide information, and must be willing to provide it. Questions need to be framed in the language that the respondent understands. Researcher must not ask about issues that respondents cannot remember or are outside their experience. Researchers need to consider the best way to elicit sensitive or personal information.

Take care in wording of questions:

Guard against ambiguity, leading questions, asking two questions in one and using unfamiliar words. Instructions should be printed in capital letters or underlined so that they are easily distinguished from questions.

Layout:

The questionnaire should not appear cluttered. In mail questionnaire it is a mistake to squeeze in too many questions on one page to reduce the number of pages. Response rate is likely to be lower if the questionnaire is heavy than if its page length is extended.

Scaling:

Attitudes and beliefs can be measured by means of scales for instance, a scale ranging from “Strongly agree” to “Strongly disagree”.

Probes and prompts:

They seek to explore or clarify what a respondent has said. Respondents may use vague words or phrases. ‘Probe’ is used to get clarifications ‘prompts’ are used to elicit responses to a question.

Pilot Stage:

Once the preliminary questionnaire has been designed it should be tested with a representative sub sample to test for faults. Piloting tests questionnaire design and helps to estimate costs. If the pilot proves satisfactory, the final questionnaire is administered to a chosen sample. Usually, the reliability and validity of the instrument is checked during this stage. If the first pilot study identifies some drawbacks in the instrument, the questionnaire, a second pilot may have to be conducted to rectify the errors and retest the new questionnaire that has been formulated. Basic marketing research analysis can be carried out using software analysis packages. Sophisticated analysis is conducted using packages such as SPSS. Analysis may be carried out to find means, standard deviation, and frequency tables, cross tabs and conduct other advanced statistical analysis. Several sophisticated statistical analysis may be sued to formulate decisions such as segmentation of the relevant target audience, identifying key factors in new product launches, tracking brand image etc.