Step 1: Define the Problem, the Decision Alternatives,
and the Research Objectives
Marketing managers must be careful not to define the problem too broadly or too narrowly for the
marketing researcher. A marketing manager who says, “Find out everything you can about firstclass
air travelers’ needs,” will collect a lot of unnecessary information. One who says, “Find out
whether enough passengers aboard a B747 flying direct between Chicago and Tokyo would be willing
to pay $25 for an Internet connection for American Airlines to break even in one year on the
cost of offering this service,” is taking too narrow a view of the problem