978-1305405769 Chapter 4 Part 2

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Chapter 4: Marketing Research and Information Systems

a. This information has allowed companies to predict customer behavior more

accurately, but many feel it infringes upon consumer privacy.

b. While such data enable companies to offer more personalized services, policy makers

fear that it could also allow them to discriminate against consumers who do not appear

to be “valuable” customers.

c. Many consumers also believe that their online behavior could be used to identify

them personally.

B. International Issues in Marketing Research

1. The marketing research process described in this chapter is used globally, but to ensure

research is valid and reliable, data-gathering methods may be modified to allow for

differences in sociocultural, economic, political, legal, and technological forces in different

world regions.

2. Experts recommend a two-pronged approach to conducting international marketing research.

a. The first phase involves a detailed search for and analysis of secondary data to gain a

greater understanding of a particular marketing environment and to pinpoint key

regional issues that could affect primary research data.

(1) Secondary data can be particularly helpful in building a general understanding

of the market, including economic, legal, cultural, and demographic issues, as

well as in assessing the opportunities and risks of doing business in that market,

and in forecasting demand.

b. The second phase involves field research using many of the methods described in the

chapter, including focus groups and telephone surveys, to refine a firm’s

understanding of specific customer needs and preferences.

(1) Specific differences among countries can have a profound influence on data

gathering.

(2) Primary data gathering generally will have a greater chance of success if the

firm employs local researchers who understand how to approach potential

respondents and can do so in their own languages.

Chapter 4: Marketing Research and Information Systems

DISCUSSION STARTERS

Discussion Starter 1: Sources of Secondary Data

ASK: What is held every 10 years in the United States as required by the Constitution and yields crucial

data for marketers?

ASK: Why is it called the U.S. Census and not the U.S. Sample?

Discussion Starter 2: Marketing Analytics

ASK: What is the fastest growing area of marketing research?

Discussion Starter 3: Market Research

In using observation methods, researchers record individuals’ overt behavior, taking note of physical

conditions and events. Direct contact with subjects is avoided. Observation may include the use of

ethnographic techniques, such as watching customers interact with a product in a real-world environment.

The movie Big, starring Tom Hanks, is a classic for portraying ethnographic field research. In the movie,

Tom Hanks is a kid trapped in an adult’s body. The business executive in the movie brings Hanks to FAO

Schwartz to study his reaction to various toys. Discuss how this is an effective way to gain consumer

insights into the psyche of key target markets.

Chapter 4: Marketing Research and Information Systems

CLASS EXERCISES

Class Exercise 1: The Marketing Research Process

The objective of this class exercise is to apply the marketing research process to solving a marketing

problem.

Prompt for Students:

You are considering opening a new “Fluff–and–Fold” laundry pick–up, cleaning, and delivery service

for students. You are uncertain whether sufficient demand exists, and you have questions about when

students will need your service most and what level of service they will require. You realize that

marketing research can help solve your information needs. You must now decide how to best answer

these questions.

1. Define the problem.

2. Design the research project.

3. After consulting any secondary data available, you decide to conduct an exploratory study with

students in your classes. Develop open-ended questions to ask other students that will provide

information regarding your hypotheses.

4. Having gained some insight into the problem, you are now ready to conduct a descriptive study.

You decide to conduct a survey to further test your refined hypotheses. However, you have several

decisions to make regarding this study.

a. What type of sampling approach (random, stratified, quota) will you use and why?

b. What survey method (mail, telephone, personal interview) will you use and why?

c. How will you construct the questionnaire? Develop open-ended, dichotomous, or multiple-

choice questions that will test your hypotheses. Remember to remain impartial and

inoffensive.

Answers:

1. The answers to this question will depend on how the students view the opportunity on the campus.

2. Most students will take the example and adapt it. However, you might push them further by asking,

demand on weekends versus weekdays).

3. This may be a good time to explain how a focus group can help resolve or clarify research

Chapter 4: Marketing Research and Information Systems

as focus groups or polling customers can ensure better marketing decisions.

4. Observation, combined with interviews, may be an efficient way to determine what times students

Class Exercise 2: Solving Data Collection Problems

This exercise is designed to prompt students to think about how to solve data collection problems.

Students should discuss the merits of alternative data collection methods as they solve each problem.

Obviously, each problem can be solved by more than one collection method. The students should decide

which data collection procedure is best for each situation and be able to defend their choices.

Prompt for Students:

What is the most appropriate data collection method for each of the following research questions?

1. How do consumers in South Dakota feel about Christmas shopping?

2. How do J.C. Penney customers feel about J.C. Penney’s customer service?

3. What is the opinion of U.S. consumers toward a Chrysler advertisement that questions the quality

of Japanese cars?

4. How many people nationwide currently live in apartments?

5. How do Sears-charge customers view the company’s new pricing policy?

Answers:

1. Telephone interviews or possibly focus group interviews

Class Exercise 3: Designing a Research Study

Chapter 4: Marketing Research and Information Systems

Recommended as a group activity

Prompt for Students:

In this chapter you were introduced to the various techniques used by marketers to collect data from

consumers. In this exercise your group is asked to design a research study to address the following

scenario.

You have been hired by a small used-CD shop to survey its customers about what other types of products

they should stock. The owners have considered the following: comic books, anime, collectible figures,

posters, used DVDs, used video games, and used musical instruments. The owners are uncertain which

products to add to their inventory.

Step 1: Define the problem.

Step 2: Design the research project.

a. Who do you need to collect the data from?

b. What is the best way to collect this data?

c. How would you analyze this data?

Step 3: Design a questionnaire for your client. Justify why you are asking each question.

Chapter 4: Marketing Research and Information Systems

CHAPTER QUIZ

1. Research design means developing a plan for obtaining the necessary market information. When a

researcher forms an informed guess or assumption about a certain problem, he or she is

a. conducting a search of secondary data.

b. forming a hypothesis.

c. examining research reliability.

d. considering how to collect primary data.

e. examining research validity.

2. The first step in the marketing research process is

a. defining the problem or research issue.

b. designing the research project.

c. collecting data.

d. interpreting research findings.

e. reporting research findings.

3. When a population is divided into distinct groups based on some particular characteristic and a

probability sample is taken from each group, this exemplifies _________ sampling.

a. nonprobability

b. quota

c. stratified

d. cluster

e. simple random

4. External sources of secondary data include trade associations, periodicals, government publications,

unpublished sources, and

a. focus groups.

b. exploratory research.

c. personal interviews.

d. experimental research.

e. online databases.

Chapter 4: Marketing Research and Information Systems

ANSWERS TO ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION AND REVIEW

1. What is marketing research? Why is it important?

2. Describe the five steps in the marketing research process.

Students should be able to describe each of the following steps:

3. What is the difference between defining a research problem and developing a hypothesis?

4. Describe the different types of approaches to marketing research, and indicate when each

should be used.

Exploratory research is conducted to gather more information about a problem or to make a

5. Where are data for marketing research obtained? Give examples of internal and external

data.

6. What is the difference between probability sampling and nonprobability sampling? In what

situation would random sampling be best? Stratified sampling? Quota sampling?

7. Suggest some ways to encourage respondents to cooperate in mail surveys.

Students’ responses may vary but should indicate an understanding of the growing challenges of

8. If a survey of all homes with listed telephone numbers is to be conducted, what sampling

design should be used?

9. Describe some marketing problems that could be solved through information gained from

observation.

10. What is a marketing information system, and what should it provide?

11. Define a database. What is its purpose, and what does it include?

12. How can marketers use big data and marketing analytics to improve marketing strategies?

13. What role do ethics play in marketing research? Why is it important that marketing

researchers be ethical?

14. How does marketing research in other countries differ from marketing research in the United

States?

Chapter 4: Marketing Research and Information Systems

ANSWERS TO DEVELOPING YOUR MARKETING PLAN

The information obtained from these questions should assist students in developing various aspects

of their marketing plan found in the Interactive Marketing Plan exercise at www.cengagebrain.com.

1. Define the nature and scope of the questions you must answer with regard to your market.

Identify the types of information you will need about the market to answer those questions.

For example, do you need to know about the buying habits, household income levels, or

attitudes of potential customers?

2. Determine whether or not this information can be obtained from secondary sources. Visit

the websites provided in Table 4.2 as possible resources for the secondary data.

3. Using Table 4.3, choose the appropriate survey method(s) you would use to collect primary data

for one of your information needs. What sampling method would you use?

Chapter 4: Marketing Research and Information Systems

COMMENTS ON VIDEO CASE 4: MARKETING RESEARCH REVEALS

MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE BABY BOOMER GENERATION

Summary

This case illustrates how a variety of marketing research techniques can help marketers meet the

needs of a target market. Baby Boomers are a profitable demographic, and with approximately 20

percent of the U.S. population estimated to be 65 years or older by 2030, marketers are beginning to

research better ways to market to this population. Baby Boomers desire to have a variety of products

available to them, and many of the products traditionally thought to belong to the younger generation

are actually bought the most by older generations, such as cars and technological products. As they

age, Baby Boomers are also creating a market for new products.

Questions for Discussion

1. Why are Baby Boomers such a lucrative market?

2. How has the marketing research process been used to understand how Baby Boomers shop

and interact in stores?

3. How have stores used marketing research findings to tailor their stores and products to

appeal to Baby Boomers?