Sales Chapter 7 Homework Web Site Judge Its Value For Accomplishing

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McDaniel & Gates – Marketing Research, 9th Edition Instructor’s Manual

• External events could have a dramatic impact on response rates for online surveys. A major

soccer game on Wednesday night lowered response rates, especially among male

respondents.

6. COMMERCIAL ONLINE PANELS

I. General

A. Commercial Online Panels – not created for the exclusive use of any one specific company, or

for any one particular project.

B. Some Online Panels – are for use by a specific industry (e.g., construction, medical, or

technology industries, etc.), and may have a few thousand panel members, while the large

commercial online panels have millions of people who have opted to participate in online

II. Panel Management

A. Quality of the Data – is dependent on how well the panel is managed.

B. Panel Recruitment – it is important to evaluate whether the panel’s recruitment method

draws from a representative audience of consumers. Ideally, a panel should represent a diverse

sampling of the population under study.

C. Recruiting Methods – there are essentially two methods for recruiting for an online panel:

open-source and by-invitation-only.

1. Open source or open online panel recruitment—Any person with Internet access can self-

select to be in a research panel. A key drawback is the lack of control over who is recruited—

McDaniel & Gates – Marketing Research, 9th Edition Instructor’s Manual

those who seek out these opportunities may not be representative of the general population.

a. With open recruitment, there may be panel members who participate in multiple panels,

2. Invitation-only or closed online panel recruitment—Invite only pre-validated individuals or

those with shared known characteristics to enroll in a research panel.

a. This type of recruitment is accomplished by inviting customers from large, highly trusted

leading brands who collectively have a large, diverse base of customers in a given population

III. Open versus Closed Recruitment

A. Open-Sourced Panelists versus Closed-Sourced Panelists – An experiment conducted by e-

Rewards revealed that open-sourced panelists are often quite different from closed-sourced

panelists.

1. Open-sourced panelists were much more likely to be homemakers, retired people, students,

See Exhibit 7.6 Open vs. Closed Panel (“by-invitation-only”) Recruitment Methods (p 204)

IV. Respondent Cooperation

A. Online Panels – the diminishing response rates observed with telephone interviewing has

played a key role in the increased usage of online panels.

1. Generally, online panels use two incentive models: the sweepstakes model and the pay-all

model.

McDaniel & Gates – Marketing Research, 9th Edition Instructor’s Manual

See Exhibit 7.7 Pay-all versus. Sweepstakes (p 205)

V. Controlling the Panel

A. Panels

1. Online panel providers must have effective ongoing management of their panel to ensure a

high level of quality.

3. Privacy must be maintained and panel managers need to safeguard personal information and

4. Profiles need to be continually updated to keep up with participants changing lives.

VI. Mobile Internet Research—The Next Step

A. Mobile Internet Research

1. In 2010 the mobile Web grew 110 percent in the United States and 148 percent worldwide.

3. In the United States, the overall response rate to the mobile survey was 28 percent. About one-

4. Mobile research offers: a. An alternative way to conduct research with hard-to-reach groups.

b. Increased respondent cooperation from all demographic groups.

5. A few disadvantages of mobile Internet surveys are as follows:

a. Lightspeed found that the response rate decreased with age due to lower usage of mobile

Internet services among older people.

b. Questionnaires must be short.

See Practicing Marketing Research: Mobile Research is Right Now (p 207)

Mobile research (namely, mobile phone based survey response via mobile Web, SMS, or MMS)

has demonstrated strong potential as a research platform, boasting high rates of mobile phone

adoption and coverage, growing functionality, and broad penetration. Adoption rates have risen

Questions:

1. Why do you think respondents are more likely to answer more personal questions using a

mobile phone than other devices?

2. Is faster information always better information? Why do you think as you do?

See From the Front Line: Why Isn’t all Data Collection Moving to the Internet? (p 208)

Elizabeth Anderson, formerly Research Analyst, DSS Research

Recently, DSS Research conducted a study involving 56,000 Internet surveys approximately

one-third the cost to do the survey by telephone in a fraction of the time. Comparison of the

results with previous waves of the same research conducted by telephone showed a high level of

consistency and no apparent differences due to the change in mode of data collection. So, given

all these wonderful advantages, why don’t we collect all our surveys by Internet? There are a

McDaniel & Gates – Marketing Research, 9th Edition Instructor’s Manual

Questions:

1. What were the results of the study involving 56,000 Internet surveys? Did the results indicate

significant difference between the Internet survey and similar telephone surveys?

7. SUMMARY

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND CRITICAL THINKING

1. Do you think that eventually all marketing research will be done on the Internet? Why

or why not?

Answers may vary. We are moving in this direction, especially as mobile internet becomes more

accessible. The biggest constraint is whether the target population is represented on the Internet.

2. Explain the relationship between blogs and marketing research.

Blogs are a source of information that can be tracked chronologically. First, the information can

3. How can a researcher evaluate the quality of a Web page?

There are many search engines, some are better for certain tasks than others. A “meta” search

engine will scour multiple databases and give some sort numerical score indicating how well the

4. How can a company benefit from building an internal database from its Web site

visitors? Is there an advantage that a Web retailer might have over a traditional store?

5. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of online focus groups.

Online focus groups are made up from databases of individuals who volunteer to participate.

The databases can be screened to make up groups of individuals that meet certain criteria that are

6. Explain the differences between real-time focus groups and asynchronous focus groups.

Real-time focus groups happen just like conventional, in-person focus groups in that people meet

7. Do you think that a company such as Caterpillar could benefit from Web community

research? Ford? United Airlines?

Any company whose customers use the Internet can benefit from web community research. Web

communities help companies create a customer-centered organization Furthermore, by adding a

8. Discuss the popularity of online survey research. Why is it so popular?

9. What are some techniques for increasing survey completion rates?

In addition to offering appropriate incentives, a research should:

a. As with any questionnaire, 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 provide open-ended answers and truly

express themselves.

10. Describe some ways to recruit for online panels.

For open panels, a company can post recruiting advertisements across the web on a corporate

11. How does one avoid professional survey takers with online panels?

The following presents some of the methods employed by e-Rewards to stop professional survey

takers:

• Using the “by-invitation-only” recruitment method to invite panel members with known

characteristics

12. Is panel management a critical task for a quality online panel?

Absolutely—Online panel providers must have effective ongoing management of their panel to

ensure a high level of quality. If the panel is not properly maintained, the sample may not

McDaniel & Gates – Marketing Research, 9th Edition Instructor’s Manual

WORKING THE NET

Go to Exhibit 7.1 and using it as a resource,

1. determine the 10 highest income counties in the United States;

2. where the highest ratio of pickup trucks per capita is found;

4. a list of key decision makers in the U.S. steel industry;

6. where most avocados are grown;

7. and this week’s Internet usage in the United States.

Answers will vary by when the search occurs.

Compare and contrast the offerings of www.surveysampling.com; info.zoomerang.com;

www.e-rewards.com/researchers; and www.websurveyor.com.

Answers may vary by when the search occurs as these companies constantly update their

offerings. With the exception of e-rewards, they all offer online surveys at a low cost and provide

REAL-LIFE RESEARCH

Case 7.1 Good Things Come to Brands That Give (p 211)

Key Points:

• Companies like Coca-Cola and Starbucks conduct humanitarian acts in the foreign

countries they do business in. These efforts directly impact branding.

McDaniel & Gates – Marketing Research, 9th Edition Instructor’s Manual

Questions

1. Given the general nature of this survey, would an open panel be an acceptable source for

a sample? Why or why not?

An open panel is not a good idea for this study. There is no guarantee that the participants are

actually customers of the focal companies and hence, measuring the actual impact of these

2. If a researcher was going to place restrictions on who might participate in this survey,

what might those be? Age was already mentioned as a qualifier.

3. Could this survey have been done just as easily by mail? Why or why not?

4. How might a firm like McDonald’s or Microsoft use this information?

Knowing how consumers feel about these humanitarian activities and that they have impact on

Case 7.2 Weiner World (pg. 212)

Key Points:

McDaniel & Gates – Marketing Research, 9th Edition Instructor’s Manual

• Weiner World has been running a tracking study to assess awareness, usage, and attitudes

toward their brand and competitive brands on a national basis since 1986. The study

provides key input and guidance for their marketing plans.

Questions:

1. Why do you think the sample is skewing older?

2. Why do you feel response rates for the traditional telephone methodology have fallen?

3. Do you believe the Internet panel approach will address the age skew issue? Why do you

say that?

4. How about comparability of data? Will the telephone and Internet panel approaches

produce comparable data? Explain your reasoning.

5. How could you test the comparability issue? Describe the approach.

6. What do you think Weiner World should do? Explain your reasoning.