Strategic marketing tracking

By: Jerry W. Thomas Editors note: Jerry Thomas is president of Decision Analyst, Arlington, Texas. He can be reached at 8 !"#$%"# ##. &phea'al. (e'ol)tion. Transformation. These are the *ords that characteri+e the nat)re and magnit)de of changes s*irling thro)gh the mar,eting *orld. The changes incl)de: the information s)perhigh*ay, interacti'e media, the telecomm)nications re'ol)tion- the gro*ing )se of promotions, the decline of traditional ad'ertising, the rise of sports mar,eting, database mar,eting, telemar,eting, con'entions and sho*s and conferences and symposi)ms- the m)ltiplication of tele'ision channels and comm)nication medi)ms, the rise of ne* distrib)tion systems .the s)perstores, disco)nt mail order, direct tele'ision sales/. All of these changes signal the end of an era. 0ome *ill say it *as the golden age of mar,eting, this past no* 'anishing into the 1)ic,sand of change. The simple *orld of three tele'ision net*or,s and stable retail distrib)tion channels has 'anished. The simple *orld of s)permar,ets and 2ielsen is gone fore'er. 0o *hats a mar,eting exec)ti'e to do3 Ho* can she ,eep trac, of the effects of mar,eting actions in the midst of )phea'al, re'ol)tion and transformation3 4n contrast to media and technology, the mar,eting f)ndamentals .strategy, positioning, a*areness, contin)ity, prod)ct 1)ality, concentration, message comm)nication and image pro5ection, etc./ remain as constant and as important as e'er. The f)ndamentals dont change 5)st beca)se the information s)perhigh*ay is created, or interacti'e media, or m)ltiplicity of tele'ision channels. The mar,eting f)ndamentals m)st remain as the lodestars in the mar,eting )ni'erse, to g)ide mar,eters thro)gh the cosmic conf)sion of changing media, changing technology and changing competiti'e forces. 6e ha'e fo)nd that strategic trac,ing of cons)mer a*areness, perceptions and beha'ior deli'ers essential mar,eting intelligence to help g)ide mar,eters thro)gh the t)rb)lence and helter"s,elter of rapid changes in mar,eting technology, media and distrib)tion channels. The )ltimate goal of mar,eting is to infl)ence and control the )ltimate cons)mer. Therefore, if the perceptions, attit)des and beha'ior of that )ltimate cons)mer are monitored o'er time, *e *ill ,no* if the c)m)lati'e force of all mar,eting acti'ities is infl)encing the )ltimate cons)mer. 4f *e trac, consistently, it is possible to monitor the effects of specific mar,eting programs as they are introd)ced. 0trategic trac,ing ans*ers a n)mber of important 1)estions: . Ho* yo)r brands a*areness is trending o'er time, relati'e to competition. A*areness is the single most important mar,eting 'ariable in many prod)ct categories. 7. Ho* yo)r brands image is e'ol'ing o'er time. Thin, of 8image8 as the character or personality of a brands a*areness. The strategic management of brand image is one of the most important goals of mar,eting.

9. 6hat ad'ertising messages do yo)r cons)mers remember abo)t yo)r brand, and ho* do these messages change o'er time3 Ad'ertising messages tend to )ndergo learning and memory distortion as they are interpreted and remembered by cons)mers. Therefore, the only *ay to ,no* for s)re the 8net, net8 comm)nication of yo)r ad'ertising is to trac, ad'ertising message recall. $. 6hat 'ariables define yo)r optim)m target mar,et3 6ho are yo)r brands hea'y )sers, non)sers, light )sers3 The identification and monitoring of yo)r brands optim)m target mar,et is one of the easily calc)lated o)tp)ts of good trac,ing research. 6hat are the demographics .and the correlates/ that define the optimal target mar,et for yo)r brand. 6hich mar,et segments sho)ld yo) foc)s )pon3 :. 6hat impact are yo)r competitors ha'ing in the mar,etplace, and ho* are competiti'e acti'ities infl)encing yo)r brand3 ;'erreaction and )nderreaction to competiti'e initiati'es constit)te some of the greatest mar,eting mista,es, historically. 4ts really important to ,no*, as early as possible, *hether a ne* competiti'e prod)ct or ne* competiti'e ad'ertising campaign is a real threat, or 5)st smo,e and 'apors. <ood trac,ing research allo*s yo) to monitor and assess competiti'e threats "" before its too late to react. 4f yo) sho)ld decide to p)rs)e strategic trac,ing research for yo)r brand, here are some s)ggestions to ,eep in mind. Trac,ing research, li,e e'erything else, can be good or bad depending )pon ho* yo) design and exec)te it. . Telephone s)r'eys are typically the best *ay to trac, a*areness, image, and ad'ertising message recall. These telephone s)r'eys can be contin)o)s .i.e., cond)cted e'ery day/ or p)lsed .cond)cted at a point in time, s)ch as the last *ee, of each 1)arter/. 0ome types of trac,ing research can be cond)cted by mail .e.g., recognition trac,ing, or image trac,ing, or brand share trac,ing/, and the 1)ality of the data from mail s)r'eys can be high. =ail s)r'eys, ho*e'er, are not 'ery good at meas)ring a*areness .beca)se respondents can as, other ho)sehold members or loo, )p the ans*ers/. 7. <ood sampling is essential. The greatest .and often least 'isible/ mista,es in trac,ing research are )s)ally sampling errors. The sampling plan and management of the sample are absol)tely cr)cial to consistently acc)rate trac,ing data. The samples from month to month and year to year m)st be identical in e'ery *ay, or else the res)lting data *ill not be comparable. Here are some common sampling errors to a'oid: a/ 0ample definition too narro*. 4f yo)r target a)dience is females 7 to 7>, thats fine for g)iding media placement. All too often, ho*e'er, the target a)dience becomes the specification for the sampling plan for trac,ing. Therefore, only females 7 to 7> are inter'ie*ed in the trac,ing research. 0)ppose yo)r ad'ertising t)rns o)t to be really effecti'e among *omen 9$ to :$ instead of *omen 7 to 7>. ?o) might ha'e canceled a 'ery effecti'e campaign beca)se it appeared to be failing among the target a)dience. Also, its possible yo)r ad'ertising is *or,ing among 7 to 7> year olds, b)t dri'ing all other age gro)ps a*ay. 4f *e *ere only sampling the 7 to 7> segment, *e *o)ld ha'e o'erloo,ed this critical failing.

(emember, al*ays define the sample for trac,ing research 'ery broadly and incl)si'ely. The p)rpose of trac,ing is to tell )s *hats happening in the mar,etplace, and a too"narro* sample almost al*ays defeats this ob5ecti'e. b/ @ariable definition of sample. 2e'er allo* the things yo) *ant to meas)re to be a part of the screening criteria that admits someone into the s)r'ey. Aor example, yo) *o)ld ne'er *ant a*areness of a prod)ct category or a*areness of a brand to be part of the screening criteria for a trac,ing s)r'ey, if one of the p)rposes of the trac,ing research *as to meas)re a*areness. Bi,e*ise, yo) *o)ld ne'er *ant 8past 9%"day )sage8 of a category or brand to be a part of the sampling criteria, if the p)rpose of the st)dy is to meas)re changes in )sage o'er time. A*areness and prod)ct )sage are 'ariables that can change as a res)lt of yo)r mar,eting acti'ities or competiti'e initiati'es, and change from season to season. As these 'ariables change, they can change the composition of the trac,ing sample, and destroy the comparability of the s)r'ey data across time. c/ 0ampling *itho)t replacement. 4f the )ni'erse is limited .say, yo) are trac,ing attit)des among yo)r ,%%% dealers/, and yo) ta,e dealers o)t of the sample as they are inter'ie*ed, then the composition of yo)r sample is grad)ally changing as inter'ie*ing progresses "" and this ma,es the inter'ie*s from one time period incomparable to inter'ie*s in another time period. (emember, if the )ni'erse is small and limited, then sample *ith replacement. That is, once a respondent is inter'ie*ed, p)t that respondent bac, into the sample for the next *a'e of inter'ie*ing. An alternati'e sol)tion is to di'ide the original sample into discrete, matched s)bsamples, and then )se one of these s)bsamples for each s)bse1)ent *a'e of inter'ie*ing. d/ (andomi+e sample *ithin 1)ota gro)ps. E'en tho)gh most pro5ects begin *ith a random sample, things can happen *hich destroy randomness. Aor example, most samples are organi+ed by time +one .so that ho)seholds across the &nited 0tates are called at the appropriate time/. 0ometimes, as part of this processing to organi+e the sample, the sample is p)t into some type of order .area code, prefix, alphabet/. As a final 1)ality control proced)re, al*ays randomi+e the final sample *ithin each 1)ota gro)p. Then, no matter ho* the sample is *or,ed, yo) *ill end )p *ith a random sample. e/ Bimit sample to force callbac,s. The research company m)st limit the si+e of the original sample, so that the callbac, cycle is properly triggered. 4f too many telephone n)mbers are p)t in the initial sample, then it is li,ely that no callbac,s *ill e'er be made. The st)dy is completed before the inter'ie*ers e'er *or, thro)gh the original sample. The recommended policy is to release !% percent of the planned sample, and then grad)ally introd)ce the remaining 9% percent of the sample as the callbac, cycle is completed on the initial sample. Typically, a primary n)mber in the sample sho)ld recei'e a total of three calls .an original call and t*o callbac,s/. 9. The 1)estionnaire m)st remain the same from month to month and year to year. Changes in the 1)estionnaire .e'en something as seemingly innocent as a change in 1)estion order/ can create )nexpected changes in the res)lts. 0imply changing one *ord in a 1)estion can change the res)lts. Therefore, ,eep the 1)estionnaire constant o'er time. 4f yo) *ant to modify, add or delete 1)estions in a trac,ing

st)dy, do it to*ard the end of the 1)estionnaire "" so that the changes *ill not distort the ,ey meas)res in the first 8% percent of the 1)estionnaire. $. All inter'ie*ing proced)res and controls m)st remain constant. Changes in the min)tia of training, sched)ling, monitoring and s)per'ising inter'ie*ers can in5ect )nplanned changes in trac,ing st)dy res)lts. The briefing and training instr)ctions for each specific trac,ing st)dy m)st remain )nchanged o'er time. Editing, coding, data cleaning, and tab)lation m)st remain constant o'er time. Changes in the *ay 8no ans*ers8 or 8blan,s8 are handled, changes in ho* many m)ltiple responses are accepted, and a h)ndred other 8minor8 tab)lation details can change trac,ing res)lts o'er time. A great long"term threat to the acc)racy and integrity of a strategic trac,ing st)dy is grad)alism. That is, small incremental changes in methods and proced)res that acc)m)late o'er time and grad)ally destroy the comparability of the trac,ing data. Aor ongoing trac,ing st)dies, it is recommended that monthly meetings be held *ith e'eryone *or,ing on the pro5ect, to re'ie* and reinforce exactly ho* the st)dy is to be exec)ted. Bi,e*ise, specific 1)ality control g)idelines and standards m)st be de'eloped and maintained for each long"term trac,ing pro5ect. 2eedless to say, once yo) choose a research company to do a trac,ing pro5ect, yo) sho)ld stic, *ith that one company .)nless that companys performance is )nsatisfactory/. Changing research companies e'ery year or t*o on a long"term pro5ect almost al*ays g)arantees that the data *ill not be comparable. The tr)e strategic 'al)e of trac,ing research is f)lly reali+ed only after se'eral years of consistent meas)rement of yo)r )ltimate cons)mers. 0e'eral years of longit)dinal data really tell a story, b)t its a strategic story, a grand panorama of yo)r performance in the mar,etplace compared to yo)r competitors, as played o)t d)ring the different phases of the b)siness cycle. 6ith this strategic road map, it is possible to plot grand strategy, and monitor yo)r s)ccesses and fail)res in p)rs)ing that strategy, regardless of the day"to"day conf)sion and chaos in the 1)ic,sand *orld of )phea'al, re'ol)tion and transformation.