McDaniel & Gates – Marketing Research, 9th Edition Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 7
Online Marketing Research
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the online world as it applies to marketing research.
3. To appreciate Internet search strategies.
5. To gain insights into survey research on the Internet.
6. To appreciate the importance of panel management in maintaining data quality.
KEY TERMS
Newsgroup
Cookie
Online focus groups
Web community
Unrestricted Internet sample
Commercial online panel
Open online panel recruitment
Closed online panel recruitment
CHAPTER SCAN
Secondary data can play a key role in the marketing research process. It can clarify a problem,
suggest a particular research methodology, or sometimes actually provide a solution to the
problem. The Internet has, in many ways, revolutionized the gathering of secondary data. Now,
rather than wait for replies from government agencies or other sources, users can find millions of
pieces of information on the Internet. Trips to the library may become a thing of the past for
McDaniel & Gates – Marketing Research, 9th Edition Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1. The Online World
2. Using the Internet for Secondary Data
I. Secondary Data
3. Internet Search Strategies
4. Online Qualitative Research
I. Categories of Online Focus Groups
A. Two Categories of Online Focus Groups
II. The popularity of Online Focus Groups
A. Advantages of Online Focus Groups
B. Disadvantages of Online Focus Groups
5. Survey Research on the Internet
I. Advantages of Online Surveys
McDaniel & Gates – Marketing Research, 9th Edition Instructor’s Manual
6. Commercial Online Panels
I. General
7. Summary
CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. THE ONLINE WORLD
1. One-fifth of the world’s population is online. In the United States, 77 percent of the population
is online spanning every ethnic, socioeconomic, and educational divide.
2. Most managers accept the idea that online research can, under appropriate conditions,
2. USING THE INTERNET FOR SECONDARY DATA
I. Secondary Data
McDaniel & Gates – Marketing Research, 9th Edition Instructor’s Manual
II. Sites of Interest to Marketing Researchers
See Exhibit 7.1 Secondary Data Available Online for Marketing Researchers (p.179-180)
A. Periodical, Newspaper and Book Databases–also posted at
www.wiley.com/college/mcdaniel.
III. Newsgroups
A. News groups–functions like bulletin boards for a particular topic or interest
1. Finding a particular newsgroup
a. Connect to the Internet in your usual way
b. Open your newsreader program
IV. Blogs
A. Blogs Defined–traditional definition of blog, or Web log–frequent, chronological publication
of personal thoughts and Web links
1. Now using blogs to talk to customers and to other business
3. Researchers–blogs are important source of information on just about any topic
a. Recruit respondents for surveys
3. INTERNET SEARCH STRATEGIES
I. Strategies
A. Five-step Strategy
1. Step One–Analyze your topic to decide where to begin
See Exhibit 7.2 Internet Search Topic Worksheet (p182)
2. Step Two–Test run a word or phrase in a search engine such as Google
3. Step Three–Learn as you go and vary your approach with what you learn
4. Step Four–Don’t get bogged down in any strategy that doesn’t work
2) Informine, http://infomine.urc.edu
4) Google Directory, http://directory.google.com
6) Yahoo Directory, http://dir.yahoo.com
5. Step Five–If you haven’t found what you want, go back to earlier steps better informed
II. Evaluating Web Pages–found what you were looking for–evaluate the quality–legitimate
researchers don’t charge a fee to become a panel member
See Exhibit 7.3 How to Evaluate Web Pages (p 183-184)
III. Creating a Database from a Website—A Marketer’s Dream
2. Websites can generate a file with the customer’s name, address, and purchasing history in
3. Once Web surfers start clicking around the virtual aisles of an online store, merchants can
4. ONLINE QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
I. Categories of Online Focus Groups
1. Traditional online groups—get 8 to 10 participants online at the same time, a moderator sends
2. In Online bulletin boards, questions are posted for participants each day, and they have all day
to provide their responses. They usually run for two to three days, sometimes longer. The
moderator answers questions from participants throughout the day.
II. The popularity of Online Focus Groups
A. Advantages of Online Focus Groups
1. Lack of geographic barriers
3. Faster turnaround time
5. Efficient moderator-client interaction
7. Access to the hard-to-reach target population
9. Likelihood of distraction is lower
B. Disadvantages of Online Focus Groups
2. Nonverbal inputs
4. Security
6. Exposure to external stimuli
7. Role and skill of the moderator
See Exhibit 7.4 Advantages and Disadvantages of Traditional and Online Focus Groups (p
189)
C. Using Channel M2 to Conduct Online Focus Groups–provides market researchers with
user-friendly virtual interview rooms, recruiting and technical support for conducting virtual
qualitative research
1. See demo at www.channelM2.com
2. M2 uses a blend of e-mail recruitment (from a global panel with access to over 15 million
4. Participants are provided instructions via e-mail including a link to the Channel M2
interviewing room and a toll-free teleconference number to call
5. When the group is underway questions and answers occur in “real time” in a lively setting
D. Types of Online Focus Groups
1. Real-Time Online Focus Groups–live, interactive sessions with four to six participants and a
moderator in a chat room format
2. Time-extended Online Focus Groups–follows a message board format and usually last 5 to
10 days. The 15 to 20 participants must comment at least 2 or 3 times per day, and spend 15
minutes a day logged in to the discussion
See Practicing Marketing Research: Advantages of Online Focus Groups in B2B research
(p 187) (p 210-211)
Online focus groups have been emerging as a means of obtaining qualitative information. In an
2. Information depth and quality
4. Accuracy and granularity
6. Honesty
8. Incorporating different geographies and time zones
10. Participation rates
12. Everyone has an equal say
13. Client participation
McDaniel & Gates – Marketing Research, 9th Edition Instructor’s Manual
Questions:
1. Do you think an online focus group would be more effective with consumer research or B2B
research? Why do you think as you do?
2. Would you rather participate in an online or a traditional focus group? Why?
E. Using the Web to Find Group Participants
The Internet has proven to be an excellent place to find participants especially for niche users in
small populations. Some firms have posted bulletin board messages in places like Craigslist.
F. Web Community Research
1. A Web community is a carefully selected group of consumers who agree to participate in an
3. Community members respond to questions posed by corporations. These dialogues are
augmented by members communicating with each other on the subject.
4. Web communities are popular because they:
• Engage customers in a space where they are most comfortable, allowing clients to interact
with them on a deeper level.
6. By adding a research focus, web communities become a way to:
• Map the psyche of consumer segments.
• Brainstorm new ideas.
• Co-create and test new products.
McDaniel & Gates – Marketing Research, 9th Edition Instructor’s Manual
See From the Front Line: Eight Tips for Conducting Successful Bulletin Board Focus
Groups (p 191-192)
Ryan Larson, Project Manager, DSS Research
The bulletin board focus group (BBFG) has been around since 1999 and is becoming a more
popular online qualitative research option. A BBFG can run for 2–5 days and accommodate
1. Stay safe and over-recruit the group—for consumers, you should recruit approximately 20%
more than you want to participate. For a business-to-business study, recruit 30% extra.
3. The primary questions will dictate the value of responses—participants will match their
4. Keep the primary questions formal, but the conversation casual—casual conversation helps to
5. Encourage the efforts participants make in the group.
7. Simply put . . . Probe!
8. Watch for participation peak times—The best way to avoid moderator absence is to look for
patterns as to when people log in. Participants tend to be consistent in the times of day they log
in.
G. Online Individual Depth Interviewing–experimentation is being done online–using private
blogs–the respond can create their online journal for the project
2. Phase two–a telephone, e-mail, or bulletin-board in-depth discussion
5. SURVEY RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET
I. Advantages of Online Surveys
A. Specific Advantages of Online Surveys
1. Rapid Deployment, Real-time Reporting–respondents complete surveys, and the results are
tabulated and posted for corporate clients to view as the returns arrive
3. Ready Personalization–greater relevance to each of the respondent’s own situation
4. High Response Rates–since online surveys take half the time to complete, can be
accomplished at the respondent’s convenience, and are much more stimulating and engaging
5. Ability to Contact the Hard-to-Reach–difficult people to reach such as doctors, high-income
professionals, CIOs, etc. are well represented online
6. Simplified and Enhanced Panel Management–are electronic communities, linked via the
Internet, that are committed to providing feedback and counsel to research firms and their clients
7. External Internet Panels Simplify Life for Research
Supplier–availability of huge Internet panels maintained by firms such as Harris Interactive,
SSI, Greenfield Online, and Decision Analysis–the sampling process is much easier for research
companies that utilize these panels
See Global Research: Research in Russia (p 196-197)
Russian consumers are generally open to interacting with researchers and are eager to share their
Questions:
1. How are the challenges facing researchers in Russia similar to those faced by researchers in
other developed nations? How do you think they differ?
2. If most of Russia’s disposable income is located in major metropolitan areas, why should a
researcher concern himself with getting a sample that includes remote, less affluent regions?
McDaniel & Gates – Marketing Research, 9th Edition Instructor’s Manual
II. Disadvantages of Online Surveys
A. Specific Disadvantages of Online Surveys
1. Internet users–not representative of the population as a whole
a. Counter to this statement–55 percent plus of the population now uses the Internet at home,
2. Unrestricted Internet sample–self-selected sample group consisting of anyone who wishes
to complete an Internet survey
3. Sample frame–type needed may not be available on the Internet
4. Other problems
a. No “callback” procedures to clarify open-end responses
b. Potential programming errors
c. Lack of bandwidth
d. Some research companies don’t have the technical expertise to conduct survey research
properly with the available software
See Practicing Marketing Research: The Primacy of Online Research (p 198)
Many market researchers are eager to get behind mobile research, they have yet to achieve real
Questions:
1. Why do you think researchers have not come to consensus about the viability of mobile
research?
2. In future Globalpark surveys, how do you think market researchers will respond about
delivering research through tablet applications, such as the iPad?
III. Methods of Conducting Online Surveys
A. Web Survey Software–software systems specifically designed for Web Questionnaire
construction and delivery, consisting of
1. Integrated questionnaire
3. All designed for us by nonprogrammers
B. Gaining Survey Completions
1. Tips to increase online survey completion:
a. Use language that is less “research-ese” and more conversational.
b. Be honest and upfront about the time required to complete a study.
c. Provide more opportunities for participants to truly express themselves (open-ended
2. While fancier versus simple surveys have very little impact on survey completion, offering an
incentive (of any type) versus not offering an incentive does increase survey completion.
See Exhibit 7.5 Does a Fancy Survey Design Matter? (p 200)
C. Survey Design and Web Hosting Sites–allows the researcher to design a survey online
without loading design software. The survey is then administered on the design site’s server–
tabulation and analysis packages are offered as well–WebSurveyor and Perseus are two that offer
Web hosting
See Global Research: Timing is Everything in Survey Invitations (p 202)
The time at which the invitation is sent can have a major impact on the number of responses,
according to findings from London-based Lightspeed Research. The firm sent out invitations to