Marketing Chapter 16 Consumer Research Learning Objectives Understand How Conduct Exploratory Research And Review

CHAPTER 16

Consumer Research

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

16.2 To understand the purpose and tools of qualitative research.

16.4 To understand how to combine qualitative and quantitative research, sampling, and data

analysis.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Learning Objective 16.1: To understand how to conduct exploratory research and review

secondary data.

The second source of secondary data is information from sources outside the firm or

organization. This type of data takes many different forms. Some information is free and can be

found in a public library, other information is available for only a nominal fee, and still other

data or information are quite expensive to secure. The major sources of external secondary data

are the government; articles from popular, professional, and academic publications; and

syndicated commercial sources.

Learning Objective 16.2: To understand the purpose and tools of qualitative research.

Learning Objective 16.3: To understand the purpose and tools of quantitative research.

Learning Objective 16.4: To understand how to combine qualitative and quantitative research,

sampling, and data analysis.

Marketers frequently conduct research projects that combine both a qualitative component (often

composed of focus groups and/or depth interviews) and a quantitative component (often

consisting of a survey research). For example, marketers use qualitative research findings to

discover new ideas and develop promotional strategies, and quantitative research findings to

estimate the extent or amount of consumers who react in a particular way (i.e., positive or

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Introduction

1. Disney’s Sofia the First, a modern princess which is an “anti–Cinderella,” was the product of

2. The preparation, use, and wide scale availability of large amounts of consumer research is a

critical force in advancing the discipline of consumer behavior.

a) Exploratory research is an examination of resources and materials that have already

been collected.

b) Primary research includes qualitative research and quantitative research.

Exploratory Research and Secondary Data

1. The first and most difficult step in the consumer research process is to accurately define the

objectives of the research.

2. Qualitative research (focus groups, depth interviews) is used if the purpose of a study is to

come up with new ideas for product or promotional themes.

3. Qualitative research is also used before conducting large quantitative studies to help

4. The second step in the consumer research process is to search for secondary data.

a) Secondary data is already existing information that was originally gathered for a research

purpose other than the present research.

b) In secondary data can in part or full answer the question, primary research can either be

cut back or avoided.

c) Internal secondary data can come from sales audits, customer service calls, customer

inquiries – and can be used to calculate customer lifetime value profiles.

d) External secondary data come from sources outside the firm, and include government

secondary data, periodicals and articles, syndicated research company data, and data from

consumer panels.

***** Use Key Terms customer lifetime value profiles and consumer panels Here*****

Qualitative Research

2. Those rejecting this view included member of an early school of qualitative consumer

researchers known as motivational research.

4. Dr. Ernest Dichter was an early leader of this movement.

*****Use Learning Objective #16.2 Here; Use Key Term motivational research Here*****

6. Most forms of qualitative research questioning have their roots in open-ended and free-

response types of questioning.

7. The key types of interviews conducted for qualitative studies are depth interviews and/or

focus group sessions.

a) Depth interviews

i) A depth interview, also referred to as a “one-on-one” interview is a somewhat

lengthy non-structured interview between a single respondent and a highly trained

researcher.

ii) The interviewer speaks little, giving the consumer time to express thoughts and

behaviors and to respond to verbal and visual materials.

iii) The research must establish an atmosphere to encourage the consumer to open up.

*****Use Key Term depth interview Here*****

b) Focus groups.

i) A “discussion group” or focus group often consists of 8 to 10 participants who meet

with a moderator-researcher-analyst to explore a particular product or product

category.

ii) Participants are encouraged to discuss their reactions to product and service concepts,

or new advertising or marketing communications campaigns.

iii) Respondents are recruited on the basis of a carefully drawn consumer profile.

iv) Some marketers prefer focus groups because they feel that the dynamic interaction

between participants that takes place in focus groups tends to yield a greater number

of new ideas and insights than depth interview.

v) It takes less time to complete a series of focus groups than a project of individual

depth interviews.

i) A discussion guide is a step-by-step outline that sets out the line of questioning that

the researcher needs to cover with the respondent in a depth interview, or a group of

respondents in the case of a focus group session.

ii) Some moderators prefer to closely follow the guide while others “go with the flow.”

iii) Some researchers will finish with often more information that anticipated.

d) Projective techniques

i) Projective techniques are a useful tool, adapted for studying the unconscious

associations of consumers who may be concealing or suppressing some of their

thoughts or reactions.

ii) Projective exercises consist of a variety of disguised “tests.”

(2) Sentence completions.

(4) Role playing.

***** Use Key Term projective techniques Here*****

e) Online focus groups

i) Over the past 5 to 10 years, there has been a substantial amount of interest in, trial of,

and acceptance of online focus groups and depth interviews.

Quantitative Research

1. The broad category of quantitative research includes experimentation, survey techniques, and

observational research.

*****Use Learning Objective #16.3 Here*****

2. A study is said to have validity if it collects the appropriate data needed to answer the

questions or objectives stated in the first stage of the research process.

3. A study is said to have reliability if the same questions, asked of a similar sample, produce

the same findings.

4. Observational research is an important research tool because marketers recognize that often

the best way to gain an in-depth understanding of the relationship between people and

products is by watching them in the process of buying and/or using the products. It provides

greater insight into the bond between people and products that is the essence of brand loyalty.

i) It is also important in uncovering issues or problems with a product.

ii) Consumers are generally either watched by researchers or mechanical or electronic

devices such as counting or video recording devices are used to capture customers’

behaviors or responses to a particular marketing stimulus.

5. Experiments (causal research)

a) There are a variety of different experimental designs that a researcher needs to select

from in formulating a particular consumer-related experiment.

6. Survey research

a) Following is a list of types of survey research (Table 16.1 lists advantages and

disadvantages of each):

i) Personal interview surveys (face-to-face)

ii) Telephone interview surveys

*****Use Table #16.1 Here; Use Key Terms personal interview surveys, telephone interview

surveys, mail surveys, e-mail surveys, Internet surveys Here*****

b) Questionnaires are the primary data collection instrument for quantitative research.

i) The questionnaire can be sent through the mail or online to selected respondents for

self-administration or can be administered by field interviewers in person or by

telephone.

ii) The questionnaire can be disguised or undisguised as to its true purpose.

iii) Questions can be open-ended or closed-ended.

iv) Wording the questions represents the biggest challenge in constructing

questionnaires.

(2) Avoid two questions in one

(4) Use words that consumers routinely use

(6) Make sure that respondents are willing to answer the question

(7) Questions’ sequence is important

***** Use Table 16.3 Here; Use Figure 16.5 Here; Use Key Terms open-ended question,

closed-ended question Here*****

c) The most frequently used attitude scales are Likert scales, semantic differential scales,

behavior intention scales, and rank-order scales.

(1) The Likert scale is the most popular form of attitude scale because it is easy for

(2) The semantic differential scale consists of a series of bipolar adjectives anchored

(4) With rank-order scales, subjects are asked to rank items such as products in

order of preference in terms of some criterion.

well as a variety of contact methods with customers.

i) Customer satisfaction surveys measure how satisfied the customers are with

relevant attributes of the product or service, and the relative importance of these

attributes.

(1) Customers who are very satisfied are much more profitable and loyal than

customers who are satisfied.

(2) Some marketers posit that customers’ satisfaction/dissatisfaction is a function of

the difference between expected performance (adequate, desired) and actual

(2) encourage customers to provide suggestions for improvements

(3) establish “listening posts” such as hotlines where specially designated employees

either listen to customers’ comments or actively solicit input from them.

***** Use Key Terms customer satisfaction surveys, mystery shoppers Here*****

1. A sample is a subset of the population that researchers use to estimate the characteristics of

the entire population because it is almost impossible to obtain information from every

member of the population or universe.

(1) In a probability sample, respondents are selected in such a way that every

member of the population studies has a known, nonzero chance of being selected.

(2) In a nonprobability sample, the population under study has been predetermined

in a nonrandom fashion on the basis of the researcher’s judgment or decision to

select a given number of respondents from a particular group.

1. Some marketers use a combination of quantitative and qualitative research.

2. They use qualitative research findings to discover new ideas and to develop promotional

3. Sometimes, ideas stemming from qualitative research are tested empirically through

quantitative studies.

REVIEW AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

16.1 Have you ever been selected as a respondent in a marketing research survey? If yes,

how were you contacted and where were you interviewed? Why do you think you, in

particular, were selected? Did you know or could you guess the purpose of the survey?

Do you know the name of the company or brand involved in the survey?

16.2 What is the difference between primary and secondary research? Under what

circumstances might the availability of secondary data make primary research

unnecessary? What are some major sources of secondary data?

16.3 What are the advantages and limitations of secondary data?

16.4 A manufacturer of a new product for whitening teeth would like to investigate the

effects of package design and label information on consumers’ perceptions of the

product and their intentions to buy it. Would you advise the manufacturer to use

observational research, experimentation, or a survey? Explain your choice.

16.5 Why might a researcher prefer to use focus groups rather than depth interviews?

When might depth interviews be preferable?

16.6 How would the interpretation of survey results change if the researcher used a

probability sample rather than a nonprobability sample? Explain your answer.

16.7 Why is observation becoming a more important component of consumer research?

Describe two new technologies that can be used to observe consumption behavior and

explain why they are better to use than questioning consumers about the same

behavior.

HANDS-ON ASSIGNMENTS

16.8 Neutrogena is a manufacturer of personal care products for young adults. The

company would like to extend its facial cleansers product line. Design (a) a qualitative;

and (b) a quantitative research design for the company focused on this objective.

Instructor’s Discussion

16.9 Based on the discussion of focus groups and depth interviews, develop a discussion

guide for studying college students’ reactions to their brand and model of cell phone.

Instructor’s Discussion

16.10 Using one of the attitude scales, develop a questionnaire to measure students’

attitudes toward the instructor in this course according to the following guidelines:

a. Prepare five statements measuring students’ attitudes via a Likert scale.

b. Prepare five semantic differential scales measuring students’ attitudes.

c. Can the same dimensions be measured by using either scaling techniques? Explain

your answer.

Instructor’s Discussion

Students should be guided to use skills of science and creativity in designing appropriate

instruments. The same dimensions can be measured by using either scaling method. The

S.T.A.R. PROJECTS

Ethical Issues in Consumer Behavior

S.T.A.R. Project

Acme Steel has employed you as a statistical analyst for almost ten years. In your job, you

tracked steel prices, created customer profiles, maintained data on contract negotiations,

provided data necessary for labor negotiations, researched information on new markets and joint

ventures, and developed a unique system for cataloging competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.

Your skill in obtaining primary and secondary research is not only known in Acme but in the

steel industry as a whole. The U.S. steel industry, however, is not doing well in the highly

competitive global marketplace. A German steel firm is expanding into the United States and is

currently negotiating to buy Bethlehem Steel. A recruiting firm has contacted you with a very

attractive offer—the German firm wants you. Simply put, you could double your salary, receive

a secure retirement and stock option package, and have a substantial position with a global

industry leader that has not had a layoff in ten years. The offer sounds very attractive when you

consider the situation at your own company and in the U.S. market in general. There is one

catch, however. You must be willing to bring all your knowledge of Acme and its processes to

your new firm. Though bringing actual data would be irresponsible, probably illegal, and very

difficult, your new firm does expect you to bring your models, ability to analyze data, and

knowledge of Acme customers, labor situations, and company weaknesses with you. Acme

would most certainly ask you to sign a nondisclosure document, however, this would be difficult

if not impossible to enforce. How should you meet your opportunity?

a. Considering the descriptions in the first part of this story, what type of information would

you feel comfortable in taking with you to the new firm? Explain.

b. From an ethics standpoint, how can companies control or be secure with employees

that are in a position to gather and obtain information such as that described in the story?

c. How do you feel about the dilemma created in this story? Comment.