Ch 7

Question 1

Marketing Research

Answer 1

Consists of a set of techniques and principles for systematically collecting, recording, analyzing and interpreting data that can aid decision makers involved in marketing goods, services or ideas.

Question 2

Firms find market research useful for 4 reasons

Answer 2

Reduces uncertainty

Provides crucial link between firms and their environments which enables firms to be customer oriented because they build their strategies by using customer input and continual feedback

firms can anticipate and respond quickly to competitive moves

Can identify emerging opportunities to satisfy consumer needs and wants

Question 3

Market Research Process

Answer 3

Step 1: define the research problem and objectives
Step 2: design the research plan
Step 3: collect data
Step 4: analyze data and develop insights
Step 5: determine the action plan

Question 4

Step 1: define the research problem and objectives

Answer 4

Must separate the symptoms of a problem from the actual problem

Poorly defined research objectives arise form 2 major sources:
Basing research on irrelevant research questions
Focusing on research questions that marketing research cannot answer
Addressing research questions to which the answers are already known

Question 5

Step 2: design the research plan

Answer 5

Researchers identify the type of data needed and determine the type of research necessary to collect it
Objectives of the project determine what type of data is needed

Question 6

Step 3: collect data

Answer 6

Primary data; data collected to address specific research needs
- Focus groups, in-depth interviews, surveys

Secondary data; pieces of information that have been collected prior to the start of the focal research project
- Internal and external

Question 7

Step 4: analyze data and develop insights

Answer 7

Data; raw numbers or other pieces of factual information on their own
- Purpose of converting data to information is to describe, explain, predict and/or evaluate a particular situations and then use it to develop insights

Question 8

Step 5: determine the action plan

Answer 8

Analyst prepares the results and presents them to decision makers to take appropriate marketing actions

Question 9

Secondary Data

Answer 9

Comes from census data, information from trade associations, books, journal articles, reports published in magazines and newspapers

internal/external

Question 10

Internal secondary data

Answer 10

Includes customer information and purchase history

Necessary to use data-mining techniques to extract valuable info from databases

Question 11

External secondary data

Answer 11

Can be accessed quickly and at relatively low cost

Scanner data; obtained from scanner readings of UPC codes at checkout counters and used in quantitative research

Panel data; information collected from group of consumers (the panel) over time

Question 12

Data collection research

Answer 12

qualitative, quantitative

Question 13

Reliability

Answer 13

extent to which you will get the same result if the study is repeated in identical situations
- Consistency

Question 14

Validity

Answer 14

extent to which the study actually measures what it is supposed to measure
- Accurately

Question 15

Sample

Answer 15

segment/subset of the population that adequately represents entire population of interest
- Important for reliability and validity

Question 16

Qualitative research methods

Answer 16

observation, in depth interviews, focus groups, social media

Question 17

Observation

Answer 17

examining purchase and consumption behaviours through personal means, or the use of technology (ex. Video camera), or tracking consumers’ movement electronically

Ethnography; observational method that studies people in their daily lives and activities in their homes, work and communities

Question 18

Social media

Answer 18

users of social media are rarely shy about providing opinions about the firm’s products or its competitor’s offerings
- Used to analyze reviews, dislikes, likes of customers

Question 19

In-depth interviews

Answer 19

are relatively time consuming and expensive

Question 20

Focus group interviews

Answer 20

small group of persons (usually 8-12) come together for an in-depth discussion about a topic

Question 21

Quantitative research methods

Answer 21

survery, panel and scanner based, experiments

Question 22

Survey research

Answer 22

most popular type of quantitative primary research method

More cost effective and reaches large audience, can be easily analyzed

consumers can be unable to answer some questions, may not be able to recall the information, interpret the questions differently than researchers intended

Question 23

survey vs questionairre

Answer 23

Survey; systematic means of collecting information from people that generally uses a questionnaire

Questionnaire; form of survey that features set of questions designed to gather information from respondents
- Can be done by phone, mail, internet, in person
- Can be unstructured or structured

Question 24

structured vs unstructured

Answer 24

Unstructured; open ended questions to allow respondents to answer in own words
Structured; close ended questions with a discrete set of response alternatives

Question 25

Panel and scanner based research

Answer 25

Can be both primary or secondary

Question 26

Experimental research

Answer 26

manipulates one or more variables to determine which variables have a casual effect on another variable

Question 27

The ethics of using customer information

Answer 27

Firms will notify customers that any information provided to them will be kept confidential and not sold to any other firm

Marketers must be vigilant to avoid abusing access to consumer data

Question 28

Privacy act

Answer 28

governs collection, use, disclosure and retention of personal information by federal government institutions

Question 29

Canadian marketing association provides 3 guidelines for conducting marketing research

Answer 29

Prohibits selling or fundraising under the guide of conducting research
Supports maintaining research integrity by avoiding misrepresentation or the omission of pertinent research data
Encourages the fair treatment of clients and suppliers