Marketing Research Flashcards
What is the six step marketing research process?
1) Define the problem and research objectives
2) Develop the research plan
3) Collect the information
4) Analyze the information
5) Present the findings
6) Make the decision
What does collecting secondary data involve? What are it’s advantages and disadvantages?
-Secondary data is information that already exists elsewhere.
-Advantages: Can often be obtained quickly and at a lower cost than primary data
-Disadvantages: Data was collected for another purpose and may be difficult to find, incomplete, outdated or not very usable
-Example: Google trend search can be an excellent tool
What does observational research involve? What are it’s advantages and disadvantages?
-Observational research involves observing people, actions, and situations
-You can read blogs, social networks, or websites
-You can watch consumers use the product/brand in a natural environment or observational lab. For instance, you could watch customers in a grocery store to see how they interact with various products
-Advantage: Can generate fresh insights that people are unwilling or unable to provide.
-Disadvantage: Some things cannot be observed or are difficult to observe. For instance, you can’t go into someone’s washroom and see their joy at applying a face cream. Or you especially can’t spend time around someone as they are using the washroom to judge the usefulness of an after washroom spray.
What are the three ways to collect primary data?
1) Observational Research
2) Focus Groups
3) Survey Research
If a focus group is well conducted, how is the data sourcing done?
-Focus groups are also known as “qualitative research” because it’s words and not numbers
-A group discussion is moderated by a discussion leader
-The goal is just to have a conversation on the topic, and to have the participants express their own views and respond to the views of others
-Researchers may note that two-three people brought something up, and wonder if that’s something that’s relevant to others. Or someone may hold an intense view, and we may be curious on if that view is held by others. Therefore, it’s best for preliminary research, following up by surveys or experiments.
What are depth interviews? When are they common?
-They are similar to focus groups but with one participant.
-Depth interviews are common when the people we want to speak to have a busy schedule, and it’s hard to get them all in one room (e.g. 6 CEO’s meeting is unlikely)
How should focus group questions be designed? How should focus group questions be organized?
-Develop clear but conversational questions
-Focus groups should not be like an interrogation
-Questions should not be leading. You’re there to listen to what they have to say, and not guide them.
-Imagine you’re the brand manager for P&G and you try to convince the focus group to like your product. That is not the goal of the focus group.
-Start with broad questions: “what are the first things you think about when you are buying a new home appliance.”
-Then specific: “when you decide to purchase a new washer/dryer what is the first thing you would do.” Answer could be look at flyers, look at sales, talk to a sales associate.
-Positive questions before negative questions. What are some good qualities in a washer dryer. What are some bad qualities in a washer dryer. It keeps an upbeat tone.
-Ask un-cued (recall) questions before cued (recognition). Then ask “what are the first washer dryer brands you’d think of.”
-If they don’t say LG, ask if they know LG. That would be cued.
How are focus groups typically structured?
-They are typically 10-15 questions
-They begin with an introductory question that makes the person feel comfortable such as “tell me your name and where you are from.”
-Opening: “What are your first impressions of _____?”
-Transition to key topics, “what are the benefits of using ______”
-Key questions into main issues (5-10 questions): “If you could change anything about ______, what would it be?”
-Ending: Of all the things we discussed, which was most important to you?
When conducting a focus group, what are the main things to remind yourself?
-Moderate, don’t participate. Don’t share your own opinions.
-Don’t react to unpleasant views or give leading questions. Don’t try to make people say your product is better, and don’t disagree when they say your product is bad.
-Adapt to the group dynamic but keep on topic. Make everyone feel relaxed and comfortable, which means allowing them to speak about what they want. But redirect the conversation so that you get the learnings you are looking for.
-If someone says something bad about the product, be neutral and ask them, “what makes you think that.”
What are the key areas to be cautious/weary of with focus groups?
-Small sample size. Don’t assume you know the answer based on the focus group. Further research is required.
-Group dynamics. One person may be opinionated and sway the group. Pay attention to everyone’s initial opinions prior to that person’s influence.
-Don’t only hear what you want to hear that is good. Find out key areas to improve upon.
What is survey research? What are it’s advantages and disadvantages?
-You see these a lot. It’s the many emails you get asking you to rate a bunch of things on a scale of 1-5.
-It’s the most widely used method.
How does mode affect response as per Pew Research survey?
-Social desirability bias is more in affect in person, and it’s less in affect when you are filling out a survey. People over the phone are more likely to say they are very satisfied with their family and friends.
-You are also more likely to be positive over a phone as opposed to over a survey. If a Liberal party member calls you, then you won’t be too negative towards Justin Trudeau.
What is questionnare design?
-Questionnaire design is the process by which the researcher determines question format, wording, and organizes the layout of the questionaire.
-It can be broken down into questionnaire organization, and questionnaire development
What is questionnaire organization?
-Questionnaire organization refers to the sequence of questions
-Poorly organized questionnaires discourage and frustrate respondents and may even cause them to stop answering questions in the middle of the survey
What is questionnaire development?
-Questionnaire development involves selecting response formats and wording questions that are understandable, unambiguous, and unbiased
-The researcher should strive to minimize question bias, i.e. the ability of a question’s wording or format to influence respondents’ answers
When are open ended questions used? What are some examples?
-Open ended questions are good for exploratory research
-They include questions like:
- “What is your opinion about this restaurant?”
- “What did you enjoy or not enjoy about your most recent visit to this restaurant?”
- “List all the restaurants you would consider when deciding where to eat tonight?”
- Word associations: “List the words you think of when you hear ‘McDonald’s’”
What are closed ended questions?
When they ask you to answer on a scale of 1-5, or 1-7.
What is measurement? What are objective properties and subjective properties?
-Measurement: determining whether an object possesses a property or how much of a property an object possesses.
-Objective properties are physically verifiable such as age, gender, or number of bottles purchased
-Subjective properties: mental constructs that are not directly observable such as attitudes, opinions, or intentions
What are the three types of measures in marketing research?
1) Nominal: We use labels. Even if there is a number on there, that number doesn’t mean anything. E.g. Here are four chocolate bars. Which do you like 1, 2, 3, or 4.
2) Ordinal: Responses can be ranked. The challenge is that the gap between one and two could be miniscule, but the gap between two and three can so major, that you wouldn’t even consider number 3. E.g. Rank these four phone brands from 1 to 4, with 1 being most preferred and 4 being least preferred.
3) Scale: Distance between levels is known. Can be in the form of two things.
-Interval: equal distances between levels. E.g. Indicate how much you like each brand from 1 to 5.
-Ratio: a true zero exists. Indicate how likely (in percent) you would be to choose each brand if you were to buy a new phone.
When constructing a Likert scale, what are the three questions to ask ourselves to know how big to make the scale?
1) How responsive will people be to the scale. E.g. If you’re asked to rank Coke on a scale of 1 to 100, you’ll probably give round numbers with a zero at the end.
2) How much granularity do you need?
3) Should we force them to pick a side. E.g. on a scale of 1 to 7, how much do you prefer Coke vs Pepsi.
What is a unipolar scale? What is a bipolar scale?
-Unipolar scale: Measures presence or absence of an attribute. Doesn’t show how much you like or hate it. E.g., how much do you like pizza? 1=not at all, 7=very much
-Bipolar scale: Measures relative proportion of contrasting attributes. Can be centered around 0 to highlight bi-directionality. E.g. How much do you like pizza? -3=dislike it very much, 0=neutral, +3=like it very much
What is a key distinction in collecting behavioural data?
It doesn’t just mean “what is your preference.” It has to do with “what did you buy.”
What does correlation doesn’t equal causation mean?
Two things can move together statistically. It doesn’t mean one thing caused the other.
What are the three key ways we collect behavioural data?
1) Past purchase behaviour. How much do you buy? At what frequency do you buy it?
2) Website browsing behaviour
3) Click-though rates on emails or online ads.
-Hard to track because you may not click through the initial source, and you may jump straight to the browser.
When do we conduct experimental research?
-We conduct experimental research to test for cause and effect, as well as to understand how different testing environments shift the results.
-We see how experimental manipulation of the independent variable influences the dependent variable
What are the four key research criterias?
1) Current
2) Valid
3) Reliable(consistent and replicable)
4) Representative sample
What are the two forms of validity with research criteria?
1) Internal validity-causal effects are due to experimental manipulation
2) External validity-effects generalize to other settings or populations
What is a good example of experimental research
M&M initially tried putting their mascot in the candy aisle to draw people who are already considering their brand. But later they moved the mascot to the middle of the store to tap into a market who wouldn’t have even considered them in the first place. Then they compared sales numbers.
What is the mere measurement affect?
The mere measurement effect is a psychological phenomenon where simply asking individuals about their intentions or future behaviors increases the likelihood that they will act in accordance with those responses.
What are mechanical research instruments?
Mechanical research instruments are devices or tools used to collect data in marketing research through automated or technological means, reducing human bias and increasing accuracy. These instruments help measure consumer behavior, preferences, and physiological responses.
What are the four ways we measure relationship?
1) Loyalty
2) Attachment
3) Community
4) Engagement
What is a marketing information system?
A marketing information system (MIS) consists of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision makers.
What is a customer database?
An organized collection of comprehensive information about individual customers or prospects that is current, accessible, and actionable for lead generation, lead qualification, sales, or customer relationship management
What is database marketing?
The process of building, maintaining, and using customer databases and other databases (products, suppliers, resellers) to contact, transact with, and build relationships with customers.
What is data mining?
Extract from the mass of data useful insights about customer behavior, trends, and segments.
What is ethnographic research?
Uses concepts and tools from anthropology and other social science disciplines to provide deep cultural understanding of how people live and work.
What is a focus group?
A gathering of 6 to 10 people selected for demographic, psychographic, or other considerations and convened to discuss various topics at length, with a professional moderator, for a small payment
What is a sampling unit?
Who we should survey
What is sample size?
How many people we should survey
What is sampling procedure?
How should we choose the respondents
What are the advantages and disadvantages of conducting marketing research by mail?
Advantages: Good for reaching people who would not give personal interviews orwhose responses might be biased or distorted by the interviewer.
Disadvantages: Response rate is usually low or slow.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of conducting marketing research by telephone?
Advantages: Good for gathering information quickly and clarifying questions if respondents do not understand. Response rate is typically higher than for mailed questionnaires.
Disadvantages: Interviews must be brief, not too personal. Telephone contact getting more difficult because of consumers’ growing antipathy toward telemarketers.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of conducting marketing research in person?
Advantages: Most versatile because researcher can ask more questions and record additional observations about respondents, such as dress and body language.
Disadvantages: Most expensive method, subject to interviewer bias, and requires more planning and supervision.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of conducting marketing research online?
Advantages: Inexpensive, fast, versatile. Responses tend to be honest and thoughtful. Firms can post questionnaires online, host a consumer panel or virtual focus group, sponsor a chat room or blog, analyze clickstream data, use text messaging.
Disadvantages: Samples can be skewed and small. Online research can suffer from technological problems and inconsistencies. Online panels can suffer from excessive turnover.
What is the potential market?
The set of consumers with a sufficient level of interest in a market offer. However, their interest is not enough to define a market unless they also have sufficient income and access to the product.
What is the available market?
The set of consumers who have interest, income, and access to aparticular offer. Eligible adults constitute the qualified available market—the set of consumers who have interest, income, access, and qualifications for the market offer.
What is the target market?
The part of the qualified available market the company decides topursue.
What is the penetrated market?
The set of consumers who are buying the company’s product.
What is market demand?
Market demand is the total amount a specific customer group would buy in a given area, time period, and marketing environment under a set marketing strategy. It varies based on these conditions.
What is market share?
Level of selective demand for the product.
What is a market forecast?
The expected level of demand.
What is market potential?
Market potential is the maximum demand possible if marketing efforts were unlimited in a given environment.
What is company demand?
The company’s estimated share of market demand at alternative levels of company marketing effort in a given time period.
What is company sales forecast?
The expected level of company sales based on a chosen marketing plan and an assumed marketing environment.
What is a sales quota?
the sales goal set for a product line, company division, or sales representative
What is a sales budget?
A conservative estimate of the expected volume of sales, primarily for making current purchasing, production, and cash flow decisions
What is total market potential?
The maximum sales available to all firms in an industry(assuming a certain level of industry marketing effort).
Potential number of buyers*price.
What is area market potential?
Like total market potential but for the area.
What is forecasting?
The art of anticipating what buyers are likely to do under a given set of conditions.
