These are the learning objectives for this chapter.
Ask students : How did McDonald’s conduct research and what did they learn? Students should realize that observation research was very important. With this they realized there were 3 segments of consumers based on how long they sat in the restaurant .
It appears from the message in the ad that research showed that consumers did not like to open the cans – it took an “easy” product and made it easier.
Consists of a set of techniques and principles for systematically collecting, recoding, analyzing and interpreting data that can aid decision makers involved in marketing goods, services or ideas The marketing research function links firms and organizations to their customers through data. By collecting data from customers, firms can better deliver products and services designed to meet their needs
Every day, consumers provide wide-ranging data that get stored in increasingly large databases. Ask students: How might firms and organizations collect information about you? Do you always know when you are providing such data? Who uses these data? In the United States, firms use opt-out programs, so when consumers fill out a registration form or application, the firm automatically has permission to market to that customer and share information with its partners, unless consumers explicitly revoke this permission. In contrast, the EU regulations state that customers must opt-in to such information uses.
Confidentiality is one of the first rules under the Code of Ethics. Aaron should not give information to the client unless the research respondents have consented to his doing so. Bottom Line: Marketing research should be used only to produce unbiased, factual information. This web link brings you to the Council of American Survey Research Organizations code of ethics
Answers to some research questions are readily accessible, as a simple data search would show.
To determine whether to conduct research, two questions must be addressed: What? How?
After answering why and how, researchers must determine where they can find the data. Discuss how the types of data required determine the methods used to collect them. If you can connect to your college library – look at some of the data sources at your own school. Dabases like mintel, tablebase, ABI inform and Business Source Premier are excellent sources of data. Group activity: As a group, tackle a problem for a company (e.g., local retailer who appears to be losing customers), For this problem, list several research questions that secondary data can answer. Then list several questions that require primary data.
Secondary data are plentiful and free, whereas syndicated data generally are more detailed but can be very costly . Ask students: Why might firms subscribe to a data service and collect their own primary and secondary data at the same time?
A summary of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of research.
Managers commonly use several exploratory research methods: observation, in-depth interviewing, focus group interviews, and projective techniques. If the firm is ready to move beyond preliminary insights, it likely is ready to engage in conclusive research, which provides the information needed to confirm those insights and which managers can use to pursue appropriate courses of action.
This YouTube video (always check before class) is a commercial that spoofs a focus group with caveman Example of observation: When a museum wanted to know which exhibits people visited most often, it conducted a unique study to determine the wear patterns in the floor. This “human trace” evidence allowed the museum to study flow patterns. Interviews provide extremely valuable information, because researchers can probe respondents to elicit more information about interesting topics. Focus groups similarly provide a snapshot of customers’ opinions and allow some follow-up but also are relatively fast and inexpensive to conduct. Group activity: In groups, one person serves as the moderator and another as the note taker. Each moderator determines a product/service to discuss with the rest of the group, which represents the focus group. The note taker keeps track of the discussion. At the end of class, each group reports on its findings. Potential focus group topics include any current campus situation. For example, should drinking be allowed on campus? Alternatively, the moderators could choose a common product, such as: What makes the best chocolate chip cookie ?
They might have observed how people tested the durability of bags – perhaps several turned them upside down. They may have conducted interviews about problems, and leaking was a very big issue. Finally, during a focus group, they might have had one participant mention leaking and another to discuss how you would test for leaking – turning the bag upside down.
Exploratory research offers firms the opportunity to narrow their questions and thus arrive at a better research strategy
Research can describe a phenomenon or determine a causal relationship. To help the students understand, give examples of two research questions. The first might be finding out how consumers feel about the Audi S4? The other would be finding out how likely the consumer would buy at different price points. The explain how the first is descriptive and the second is experimental.
Marketing research relies heavily on questionnaires, and questionnaire design is virtually an art form. Ask students the advantages and disadvantages of each type of question (unstructured and structured). Group activity : Create a questionnaire. First determine the form of the questions (i.e., structured versus unstructured). On the basis of these questions, what types of analysis will you be able to perform on your collected data?
Ask students: Do you fill out internet surveys? If so, were you honest in your responses. Ask students whether they took their time with the survey and gave quality responses.
The Internet offers researchers a new way to reach customers, but its use requires adaptations and new research methods.
Using an experiment, McDonald’s would “test” the price of a new menu item to determine which is the most profitable This web link is to a YouTube ad (always check before class) by Microsoft for Vista. It is called the Mojave experiment and is designed to show the relationship between the Vista name and “liking” of a computer system. An example of an experiment could involve two groups of subjects. One taste cookies with a national brand and the other with a store brand. Each group rates the cookie on a seven point scale from poor to great taste. The group with the branded name tends to rate the cookie as better tasting, demonstrating the power of a brand name. Group Activity: Ask students to design a taste test experiment for Coke vs. Pepsi.
Students may not remember a time before grocery stores used scanners, but highlight how the installation of scanners created a huge new data source for marketers . Ask students: What can researchers take from scanner data? Students might note that researchers can discover which consumers purchase what products together and how often. They also can immediately track the impact of any price or promotional adjustments. This web link brings you to IRI homepage – explore their many products with the students.
In recent years, response rates to marketing research surveys have declined, which has increased usage of research panels.
The problem today is not too little data but, in many instances, too much. Firms are drowning in data, and their challenge is to convert that data into information. For the cookie taste test example discussed earlier, suppose the average mean for the group who saw the national brand cookie was 5.4 (1=poor taste and 7=great taste) and the store brand cookie was (2.3. These two means are significantly different. It would be important for the students to realize that the data helps marketing managers make decisions – in this case – creating and cultivating that the brand is important .
A typical marketing research report would start with a two page executive summary. This would highlight the objectives of the study, methodology and key insights. The body of the report would go through the objectives of the study, issues examined, methodology, analysis and results, insights and managerial implications. We would end with conclusions and any limitations or caveats. Many consultants today, provide an executive summary, power point presentation of the report, questionnaire and tabulated study results
This clip demonstrates how McDonald’s used observational research to identify and understand their various target markets.
This video covers domestic eavesdropping…as companies and the government get more technical, they are able to collect much more information. The question in this video is whether the government has the right to eavesdrop on citizen’s communications.
Ans. E Explanation: Market research is a systematic design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data to assist with marketing management decision making. Market research begins with defining the objectives and research needs.
Ans. B Explanation: Primary data is new data collected to address the specific research needs. Primary data can be tailored to meet the specific questions and problems to be addressed.
Ans. B Explanation: Exploratory research including observation, in-depth interviews, and focus groups is appropriate when the researcher has not clearly defined the problem. Exploratory research may answer the problem but will likely help in clarifying the research question.
Ans. E Explanation: For any type of survey instrument, each of these guidelines is an important consideration.
Define objectives and research needs, designing the research project, deciding on the data collection process and collecting the data. analyze and interpret the data, prepare the findings for presentation. Secondary data are pieces of information that have been collected from other sources. Primary data are data collected to address specific research needs, usually through observation, focus groups, interviews, surveys, or experiments. exploratory research attempts to begin to understand the phenomenon of interest; it also provides initial information when the problem lacks any clear definition. Conclusive research provides the information needed to confirm exploratory research insights and which managers can use to pursue appropriate courses of action. attitudes, perceived quality, value, and willingness to buy, perceptions (e.g., quality, value), and loyalty (e.g., purchase intentions).