4. Define the Variable Relationships
Marketing plans often focus on creating a sequence of behaviors that occur over time, as in the adoption of a new package design, or the introduction of a new product.
Such programs create a commitment to follow some behavioral pattern in the future.
Studying such a process involves:
Determining which variables affect the solution to the problem.
Determining the degree to which each variable can be controlled.
Determining the functional relationships between the variables and which variables are critical to the solution of the problem.