- To Understand the Importance of Consumer Research for Firms and Their Brands, as Well as Consumers.
-To Navigate Steps in the Consumer Research Process using Models & Frameworks.
- To Explain the Importance of Establishing Specific Research Objectives as the First Step in the Design of a Consumer Research Project.
2. Learning Objectives
1. To Understand the Importance of Consumer Research for
Firms and Their Brands, as Well as Consumers.
2. To Articulate the Steps in the Consumer Research Process.
3. To Explain the Importance of Establishing Specific Research
Objectives as the First Step in the Design of a Consumer
Research Project.
Note: Digital Marketing, Data & Analytics will be covered in a different section.
Hyperlinks are embedded in the picture. View in slideshow & CLICK!
Chapter Two Slide 2
4. Market research is often needed to ensure that we
produce what customers really want and not what
we think they want.
Photo: AOL
The primary goal of consumer research is to produce
knowledge about consumer behavior (Calder & Tybout, 1987).
6. The Consumer Value Framework (CVF) Babin & Harris
External and internal factors contribute to the formulation of self-concept and lifestyle, which
affects the consumer decision process. During this process, experiences and acquisitions update
the original external and internal influences.
7. Why Do Marketers Regularly Test Print Ads Like This
Before They Are Placed in the Media?
Chapter Two Slide 7
8. To Test the Impact of the Message Before Spending
Large Amounts of Money
Four out of every five new products will fail in the marketplace.
Chapter Two Slide 8
9. The Importance of the Consumer Research Process
• Marketers must understand customers
to design effective:
– marketing strategies
– products
– promotional messages
Chapter Two Slide 9
One of the biggest mistakes people make in
business is spending money on product
development BEFORE test marketing the idea.
Testing your product/service idea is your key
to success in marketing.
11. Developing Research Objectives
• It is extremely important that research objectives
are determined at the beginning of the process.
• Defining purposes and objectives helps ensure an
appropriate research design.
• A written statement of objectives helps to define the
type and level of information needed.
• Without this agreed-upon roadmap for the research,
money can easily be wasted and research objectives
not fulfilled.
Chapter Two Slide 11
12. Discussion Questions
• Assume you are planning to open a new pizza
restaurant near campus.
– What are three objectives of your research plan
for your new business?
– How would you gather the data?
Chapter Two Slide 12
13. The Consumer Research Process
MMaarrkkeettiinngg rreesseeaarrcchh:
– Market research methods fall into two categories –
Primary and Secondary Research
– Primary research is gathered to answer a specific
marketing question
- You are gathering the data
- Varies based on the problem you are solving
– Secondary research is already gathered for some other
purpose
Chapter Two Slide 13
14. Primary Research Techniques
What do customers think of a new version of a popular product?
• To collect primary data a business must carry out field research. The
main methods of field research are:
• Product Tests
• Ethnographic Tests (i.e. observational)
• Face-to-face interviews
• Telephone interviews
• Online surveys
• Questionnaires
• Focus groups and consumer panels – a small group of people meet
together with a “facilitator” who asks the panel to examine a product
and then asks in depth questions. This method is often used when a
business is planning to introduce a new product or brand name.
In most cases it is not possible to ask all existing or potential customers -
So primary research makes use of surveys and sampling to obtain valid
results.
15. What are some of the advantages of
using primary research?
What are the disadvantages?
16. Advantages and Disadvantages of Primary
Research
The main advantages of primary research and data are that it is:
• Up to date.
• Specific to the purpose – asks the questions the business wants answers to.
• Collects data which no other business will have access to (the results are
confidential).
• In the case of online surveys and telephone interviews, the data can be
obtained quite quickly (think about how quickly political opinion polls come
out).
The main disadvantages of primary research are that it:
• Can be difficult to collect and/or take a long time to collect.
• Is expensive to collect.
• May provide mis-leading results if the sample is not large enough or chosen
with care; or if the questionnaire questions are not worded properly.
17. What is the difference between qualitative
and quantitative market research?
18. Quantitative v. Qualitative Market Research
Quantitative Research:
• By definition, measurement must be objective, quantitative and statistically
valid. Simply put, it's about numbers, objective hard data.
– A scientifically calculated sample of people from a population is asked a set of
questions on a survey to determine the frequency and percentage of their
responses.
Qualitative Research:
• Qualitative research, is much more subjective than quantitative research
and uses very different methods of collecting information, mainly individual,
in-depth interviews and focus groups. The nature of this type of research is
exploratory and open-ended.
– Participants are asked to respond to general questions, and the interviewer or
group moderator probes and explores their responses to identify and define
peoples' perceptions, opinions and feelings.
19. Marketing Research - Qualitative and Quantitative
Approaches (Examples: focus groups and surveys)
What is a Focus Group?
• A qualitative research tool
• Focus groups are "small group discussions, addressing a
specific topic, which usually involve 6-12 participants, either
matched or varied on specific characteristics of interest to the
researcher". (Fern, 1982; Morgan & Spanish, 1984).
• Focus groups require skilled facilitators or moderators to guide
the discussion and maintain the focus. They are found to be
most effective for learning about opinions and attitudes, pilot
testing materials for assessments and generating
recommendations.
20. Focus Group For Advertisement
What did you think? Did it work well?
21. Focus Groups
ADVANTAGES:
▪ Relatively easy to assemble, inexpensive and flexible in terms of format,
▪ Open recording allows participants to confirm their contributions
▪ Provide rich data through direct interaction
▪ Spontaneous, participants not required to answer every question; able to build on one
another's responses;
LIMITATIONS:
▪ Findings may not represent the views of larger segments
▪ Requires good facilitation skills, including ability to handle various roles people may
play (“expert”, “quiet”, “outsider’, “friend”)
▪ Tough rich, data may be difficult to analyze because it is unstructured
▪ Possible conformance, censoring, conflict avoidance, or other unintended outcomes of
the group process need to be addressed as part of the data analysis (Carey, 1995)
22.
23. Marketing Research – Surveys
Quantitative Analytics
Surveys – descriptive.
• Why is consumption falling?
• Who are the consumers of our brand?
• What do they think about it?
• When do they use it?
• How do they use it?
QQuueessttiioonn ttyyppeess:
– SSccaallaarr qquueessttiioonnss: answered by some sort of scale
• “On a scale of 1 to 5, how do you like this book?”
– DDiicchhoottoommoouuss qquueessttiioonnss: only two possible choices
• “Have you shopped here before?”
– CCaatteeggoorriiccaall qquueessttiioonnss: answered by selecting the category
• “What is your ethnicity?”
– OOppeenn--eennddeedd qquueessttiioonnss: allows respondents to express themselves
24.
25. Surveys
Advantages:
• Surveys are relatively inexpensive (especially self-administered surveys).
• Surveys are useful in describing the characteristics of a large population. No
other method of observation can provide this general capability.
• They can be administered from remote locations using mail, email or
telephone.
Limitations:
• A methodology relying on standardization forces the researcher to develop
general questions
• Surveys are inflexible in that they require the initial study design (the tool
and administration of the tool) to remain unchanged throughout the data
collection.
• The researcher must ensure that a large number of the selected sample will
reply.
26. Survey Bias
• Surveys, as any kind of research, are vulnerable to
bias.
• The wording of a question can influence the
outcome a great deal.
• For example, more people answered no to the
question, should speeches against democracy be
allowed, than answered yes to the question should
speeches against democracy be forbidden.
27. Discussion Questions
Personal Privacy
• Many people do not like the fact that their
personal data are used for marketing.
• How can marketers justify their need for data?
• How can they acquire data and maintain
customer privacy?
Chapter Two Slide 27
28. Discussion Guides for Research
• Discussion guides are an important
part of focus groups and depth
interview.
• They provide an agenda for the
session and help ensure that the
researcher’s objectives that were
established for the research plan
are met.
• Some interviewers follow the guide
exactly, but most will “go with the
flow” and let the participants partly
drive the direction of the research.
Chapter Two Slide 28
30. Qualitative Collection Method
Projective Techniques
• Research procedures designed to identify
consumers’ subconscious feelings and underlying
motivations
• Consist of a variety of disguised “tests”
Chapter Two Slide 30
31. Common Projective Exercises
Table 2.1 (excerpt)
Description
Word
Associations
The researcher has a list of words, some of them to be studied and some
just as “filler.” The researcher asks the respondent(s) to react, one-at-a
time, to each word by stating or (in a focus group setting) writing on a
pad the first word that comes to mind, and to explain the link.
Sentence
Completion
The researcher has a series of incomplete sentences that the
respondent(s) needs to complete with a word or phrase.
Photo/Visual
for
Storytelling
The researcher creates/selects a series of photos of consumers, different
brands or products, range of print ads, etc., to serve as stimuli. The
respondents are asked to discuss or tell a story based on their response
to a photo or some other visual stimulus.
Role Playing Is quite similar to storytelling; however, instead of telling a story, the
participant(s) will be given a situation and asked to “act out” the role(s),
often with regard to a product or brand, or particular selling situation.
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Chapter Two Slide 31
32. Qualitative Collection Method
Metaphor Analysis
• Based on belief that metaphors are the most
basic method of thought and communication
• Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique
(ZMET) combines collage research and
metaphor analysis to bring to the surface the
mental models and the major themes or
constructs that drive consumer thinking and
behavior.
Chapter Two Slide 32
33. Qualitative Collection Method
“Looking-In”
• Look at information from threads and postings on social
media.
• Methodology to capture consumers’ experiences, opinions,
forecasts, needs, and interests
Chapter Two Slide 33
34. Data Collection Methods
Table 2.2
Mail Telephone Personal
Interview
Online
Cost Low Moderate High Low
Speed Slow Immediate Slow Fast
Response rate Low Moderate High Self-selected
Geographic
Excellent Good Difficult Excellent
flexibility
Interviewer
bias
N/A Moderate Problematic N/A
Interviewer
Supervision
N/A Easy Difficult N/A
Chapter Two Slide 34
35. Validity and Reliability
It is important for research to be both valid and reliable.
• It is only with these two characteristics that you can ensure
that the data you have collected is useful for the purpose and
can be expanded from the sample to the population
•Validity asks the question of whether the data is really applying
to the objectives you have set.
•Reliability tells you, the researcher, if the results would be
repeated if conducted on a similar group at the same time.
Chapter Two Slide 35
36. Sampling and Data Collection
• Samples are a subset of the population used
to estimate characteristics of the entire
population.
• A sampling plan addresses:
– Whom to survey
– How many to survey
– How to select them
• Researcher must choose probability or
nonprobabililty sample.
Chapter Two Slide 36
37. Data Analysis and Reporting Findings
• Open-ended questions are coded and quantified.
• All responses are tabulated and analyzed.
• Final report includes executive summary, body,
tables, and graphs.
Chapter Two Slide 37
38. Types of Secondary Data
Internal Data
• Data generated in-house
• May include analysis of
customer files
• Useful for calculating
customer lifetime value
External Data
• Data collected by an outside
organization
• Includes federal
government, periodicals,
newspapers, books, search
engines
• Commercial data is also
available from market
research firms
Chapter Two Slide 38
39. Customer Satisfaction Measurement
• Customer Satisfaction
Surveys
– Analysis of Expectations
versus Experience
• Mystery Shoppers
• Customer Complaint
Analysis
Chapter Two Slide 39
42. Marketing Research –Surveys
Quantitative Analytics
Surveys – descriptive.
• Why is consumption falling?
• Who are the consumers of our brand?
• What do they think about it?
• When do they use it?
• How do they use it?
QQuueessttiioonn ttyyppeess:
– SSccaallaarr qquueessttiioonnss: answered by some sort of scale
• “On a scale of 1 to 5, how do you like this book?”
– DDiicchhoottoommoouuss qquueessttiioonnss: only two possible choices
• “Have you shopped here before?”
– CCaatteeggoorriiccaall qquueessttiioonnss: answered by selecting the category
• “What is your ethnicity?”
– OOppeenn--eennddeedd qquueessttiioonnss: allows respondents to express themselves
43. Marketing guru Seth Godin spells out
why, when it comes to getting our
attention, bad or bizarre ideas are
more successful than boring ones.
44. Case Study
• Neutrogena is a manufacturer of personal care products for
young adults, The company would like to extend its facial
cleansers product line. Design (1) a qualitative and (2) a
quantitative research design for the company focused on this
objective.
Deep Clean Gentle Scrub
Deep Clean Gentle Scrub contains Beta Hydroxy
proven to clean deep down into pores.
This daily scrub deep cleans below the surface, yet
is gentle enough to use every day. Microbeads
gently exfoliate surface skin while Beta Hydroxy
cleans deep into pores for soft, smooth skin.
Oil-free Non-comedogenic (won't clog pores)
45. In Schwartz's estimation, choice has made us not
freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more
dissatisfied.
Does more choice lead to more freedom?
Hinweis der Redaktion
Here is an outline of the topics for Chapter Two.
Consumer research has developed from the more general field of market research. It is a field of study that has been influenced by researchers and practitioners in several other fields, including psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Consumer research is important for marketers as the competitive landscape in almost every industry becomes even more challenging and with growth in global and cross-cultural markets.
Here we see an overview of the consumer research process that a typical marketer might follow when conducting research. As you can see, the marketer will first develop objectives to guide their research. Next comes the collection of secondary data which we will learn is data that is available because it had been collected previous to the marketer’s particular research. In the next phase, the marketer branches to both qualitative and quantitative research. In each of these areas, the marketer collects and analyzes data and then presents it in either a written report, a presentation, or both.
It is extremely important that research objectives are determined at the beginning of the process. Without this agreed-upon roadmap for the research, money can easily be wasted and research objectives not fulfilled. At this point, it is important to define the purpose of a particular study. A small-scale exploratory study might be executed upfront if more information is needed by the researcher. This might include a few focus group sessions or a limited number of one-on-one interviews.
What might be three objectives of a research plan for your new business?
To determine the target market, to set pricing strategies, and to design effective marketing messages
How could you gather these data?
Primary and secondary research. Primary research might include focus groups, surveys, and observation studies of local students and their traffic patterns.
Information can be classified as either primary or secondary. Secondary information is information that has been collected for another purpose. It is already available to the researcher often for a fee. Primary research can be either qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative research includes focus groups and in-depth interviews. The more numerically-oriented quantitative research includes observational research, experimentation, and survey research.
How can marketers justify their need for data?
In many instances, marketers are gathering this data to truly provide better products and services. In addition, they want to know their customers better so they can better predict their needs. For example, if a company knows a customer’s policy is about to expire, they can contact the customer to determine if they want to renew their policy.
How can they acquire data and maintain customer privacy?
A couple of things must happen here. First of all, companies should be careful when sharing information. If the information is sold, it should always be in aggregate and never expose a customer’s personal information. Second of all, they must be clear with the customer when and how information will be shared. Finally, companies must carefully screen their employees who work with personal information to prevent such problems as identity theft.
This is an example of a discussion guide for the research done for a food manufacturer and marketer. The participants would be screened and then invited to participate in the focus group. The moderator or leader of the focus group would use this guide to bring them through the session.
Projective techniques have their roots in psychoanalytic theory and practice. As a group, they tap into the consumer’s unconscious associations and motivations. There are a variety of these techniques and they are generally administered one-on-one with the respondent in a closed setting. In many situations, the research purpose is disguised and the respondent simply knows they are answering questions for a researcher.
Here are four of the most common projective exercises. You can see by the description of the techniques that it is often important that the researcher does not tell the subject the nature of the study. Many of these theories are based on the fact that people cannot easily locate and verbalize their true feelings toward a product category or brand.
It is believed that much of communication is nonverbal and that people do not think as much in words as they do in images. Given this, they also use metaphors at the root of their thoughts and communication. The Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique is based on this use of metaphors. In these studies, respondents are asked to find pictures that describe their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about products, companies, and brands. The results are then combined to see if there are common themes or constructs that consumers mention in their results.
There is an emerging field of consumer research that works to interpret online conversations. The web link on this slide brings you to Converseon, a company that is working in the field. With the growth in social marketing, there are increasing conversations and comments online regarding products and brands. Marketers can use this information to develop new products, introduce new features, and to gain a better understanding of their customers’ needs and wants.
These are the four major survey methods. This table summarizes their advantages and disadvantages. As you can see, they differ in their speed, costs, response rate – three very important factors to consider when designing market research. Online surveys are becoming increasingly popular because they are easy to use, inexpensive, and can reach very spread-out respondents.
This web link is to surveymonkey.com which is one of the most popular online survey websites.
It is important for research to be both valid and reliable. It is only with these two characteristics that you can ensure that the data you have collected is useful for the purpose and can be expanded from the sample to the population. Validity asks the question of whether the data is really applying to the objectives you have set and reliability tells you, the researcher, if the results would be repeated if conducted on a similar group at the same time.
It is almost always impossible to get information from every member of the population. This is why marketers need to use a sample of the population. To determine the sample a researcher will use, it is important to put together a sampling plan which includes the details on whom to survey, how many to survey, and how the survey respondents will be chosen. Once this is decided, the marketer can choose a probability or nonprobability sample. The basic difference between these two types of samples is that in a probability sample, every member of the population has a chance of being selected as opposed to a probability sample, where the researcher uses their judgment to select the respondents for the sample.
The responses from qualitative research are analyzed in addition to the results of the quantitative research. For survey data, the open-ended responses are coded so that they can be entered into a spreadsheet or analysis software. Once all the data is entered, it is tabulated and then analyzed. The final step of the research process is to put together a report. In addition to the executive summary, body, tables, and graphs, the research report might include strategic recommendations based on the research findings.
Secondary data is readily available. As an employee of a company, you may have access to the company’s internal records and databases, which are rich with customer, intermediary, and company data. In addition, as a student, you can access many databases through your school library. Most of this external data comes from online databases which combine articles from books, newspapers, periodicals, as well as trade and academic journals. Some schools supply access to commercial data including Nielsen, Arbitron, SRDS, and MRI/Mediamark. These are four of the many research companies that gather information and then sell the data to companies and institutions. Another excellent source of information is the government. The web link on this slide will bring you to the U.S. Census Bureau. This site is full of statistics and data on the U.S. population and commerce.
It is important for every company to measure the level of customer satisfaction. Analysis can be quantitative as in the case of customer satisfaction surveys. With these surveys, it is important to measure the difference between what the customer expected from the company and their perception of what they received. Qualitative analysis might include mystery shoppers who pose as customers in order to interact with service personnel. The mystery shopper files a report on how effectively the employees work with customers. Companies should have a system where they can analyze their customer complaint data so that they can make changes for improvement. A good complaint analysis system should encourage customers to complain and provide suggestions for improvements in service and products.
Probing subjects for more information can be very challenging, especially for people who are new to conducting research. Here is a group of questions which can be very helpful should you need to interview subjects for this course or another class. Note how the questions will be more effective in different questioning situations.
Attitude scales are used to help researchers understand evaluations of certain product and brand attributes. The four scales in this slide are the most commonly used attitude scales. In general, these scales are easy to administer and provide excellent information for the researcher. You have probably taken many surveys that were full of attitude scales.