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Chapter
4
Conducting
Marketing Research

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Learning Objectives
1. What is the scope of marketing research?

2. What steps are involved in conducting good marketing research?

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The scope of marketing research

• Formal marketing studies of specific problems and opportunities

– Conducted when available information is inadequate
– Conducted on a project-by-project basis
– Ex: Testing an ad / testing a new product / testing a new package / segmentation
study

• American Marketing Association

– Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to
the marketer through information—information used to identify and define marketing
opportunities and problems (ex: Machini); generate, refine, and evaluate marketing
actions (ex: LaRedoute; New Coke; Soporcel); monitor marketing performance; and
improve understanding of marketing as a process.

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The Scope of marketing research

Many companies still fail to use it sufficiently or correctly

Research conducted at small companies

Engage
students/prof
essors

Tap employee
Use Internet
creativity

Tap partner Check out

expertise rivals

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The Marketing Research Process

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Step 1
• Define the management problem

• Define the decision alternatives

• Define the research objectives

• Two common errors in problem definition:

– defined to vaguely

– defined to narrowly

 Ex: ‘New Coke’ (omitted the psychological aspects)

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Step 1
• Examples of problems / decision alternatives / objectives
– Should the advertising campaign be changed?
– What should be done to arrest the decline in market share of bank A?
– (Airline company) Will offering ultra speed wi-fi service create enough
incremental preference and profit to justify its cost gainst other service
enhancements?

• Should we offer ultra high-speed wi-fy service?

• If so, should we offer it to first class only or to other classes as well?
• What price(s) should be charged?
• On what types of planes and lenghts of trips shoud the service be offered?

– What is the importance of ultra-high-speed wi-fy compared to other service attributes?

– How importante is ultra high speed wi-fy service to first class passengers relative to other
services (such as enhanced entertainment)?
– What types of first class passengers would respond mostly to ultra high-speed?
– How many are likely to use it at different price levels?
– How many might choose our company because of this new service?
– How much long-term goodwill will this service add to our image? 4-7
– …

Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

• Data sources
– Secondary data vs. primary data

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Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

• Benefits and Limitations of Secondary Data

 Low cost  Collected for some other purpose

 Less effort  No control over data collection
 Less time  May not be accurate
 At times, more accurate  May be outdated
 May not meet data requirements
 At times, only way to obtain data
 Assumptions have to be made

Primary and secondary data complement each other, so...any good

research project should consider both!

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Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

• Research approaches

 Observational research

 Focus group research (Grupos de foco)

 Survey research

 Behavioral research (ex: LaRedoute)

Experiments
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Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

• Research instruments

Questionnaires

Qualitative measures

Technological devices

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Questionnaire
• DRAFTING THE QUESTIONNAIRE
– Extension of the questionnaire
– Questions should have a logical sequence / grouped by topics
– Many simple questions are preferable to a few questions that are complex
– Start the questionnaire by quick and simple questions
– Leave the most difficult questions for the middle/end of the questionnaire
– Desensitize questions by using response bands
– The order of the questions can influence the answers (Ex: buying cars)
– Questions should be clear/exclude words with multiple interpretations/common language
– Avoid questions with a negative in them
– Avoid hypothetical questions/about imaginary situations
– Questions may lead respondents into certain answers
– Each question must contain a ‘single question’ (see next page)
– Ensure that fixed responses do not overlap
– Allow for the answer “other” in fixed-response questions
– Should have a good presentation
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– Pre-test the questionnaire

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Questionnaire

• Double barrelled questions

– Example 1 (Source: Hill, 1998):

• The human resources manager of your company has been promoting training courses??

OR ….

• Does your company has a human resources manager?

• Has your company been offering training courses?
• Is the human resources manager the sponsor of those training courses?

– Other exemples:
• How often and how much time do you spend on each visit to a doctor?
• How satisfied are you with your pay and supervisor?

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Questionnaire

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Questionnaire

• Likert scale:

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Questionnaire

• Semantic differential

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Questionnaire

• Semantic differential

Powerful __x__: _____: _____: _____: _____: _____: _____ Weak

Reliable _____: _____: __x__: _____: _____: _____: _____ Unreliable

Modern _____: _____: __x__: _____: _____: _____: _____ Old-fashioned

Warm _____: _____: _____: _____: __x__: _____: _____ Cold

Careful _____: __x__: _____: _____: _____: _____: _____ Careless

IBM
Dell

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Questionnaire

• Constant sum scale

Below are ten characteristics of women’s tennis sportswear. Please allocate 100 points
among the characteristics such that the allocation represents the importance of each
characteristic to you. The more points that you assign to a characteristic, the more
important it is. If the characteristic is totally unimportant, you should not allocate any
points to it. When you’ve finished, please double check to make sure that your total adds
to 100.
Characteristics of Tennis Sportswear Number of Points
Is comfortable to wear _______
Is durable _______
Has the endorsement of a famous athlete _______
Is made by well-known brand or sports manufacturers _______
Has up-to-date styling _______
Is flattering to the body _______
Gives freedom to the body _______
Is a good value for the money _______
100 Points
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Questionnaire

• Ordinal scale:

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Questionnaire

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Qualitative measures
“A man is least himself when he talks in his
own person; when given a mask he will tell the
truth.” - Oscar Wilde

Word
association
Projective
techniques
Laddering

Visualization
Brand
personification

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Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

• Technological devices
– Eye-tracking

– Facial detection

– Skin sensors

– Brain wave scanners

– Audiometers

– …

https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/solutions/capabilities/consumer-neuroscience/
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Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

• Sampling plan

– Sampling unit: Whom should we survey?

• Ex: the business and leisure travelers? Accompanying person? Aged below
18? …

– Sample size: How many people should we survey?

• The larger the sample, the more reliable the results but …

– Sampling procedure: How should we choose the respondents?

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• Convenience or probability sampling?

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Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

• Contact methods

 Mail

 Telephone

 Personal

 Online

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Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

• Mail questionnaires:
– Advantages
• May be only method able to reach respondents
• Not subject to interviewer bias
• Respondents work at their own pace
• Assures anonymity of respondent: reliability
• Wide distribution possible
• Best for personal, sensitive questions
• Generally least expensive
– Disadvantages
• Very little control in securing response from specific individual: who responds?
• Cannot secure response from illiterates
• No control over whom the respondent consults before answering the questions
• Cannot control speed of response
• Poor response rate
• Difficult to obtain mailing list (complete? Updated?)
• Relatively short questionnaire
• Researcher cannot explain ambiguous questions
• Does not allow probing with open-ended questions
• Difficult to change sequence of questions (it is confusing)
• Sequence bias; respondents can view entire questionnaire before they respond
• May not respond to certain questions inadvertently
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Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

• Personal administration
– Advantages
• Probably highest response rate
• Best for getting response from specific, identified person
• Allows use of any type of question/questionnaire (open ended, …)
• Sequencing of questions is easily changed (eg, if answered No go to Q5)
• Allows probing
• Allows clarification of ambiguous questions
• Permits easy use of visuals
• Can arouse and keep interest
• Can build rapport
• Best for long questionnaires
– Disadvantages:
• Generally narrow distribution
• Interviewer supervision and control difficult to maintain
• Generally most expensive method of administration (its use is declining)
• Costly to revisit “not-at-homes”
• Relatively slow method of administration
• Subject to interviewer bias
• Response bias (embarrassing/personal questions)
• Interviewers may be reluctant to enter certain neighborhoods

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Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

• Telephone administration
– Advantages
• Relatively low cost
• Wide distribution possible
• Interviewer supervision is strong;
• Less interviewer bias;
• Central location
• Relatively strong response rates (much higher than mail surveys)
• One of quickest methods of data collection
• More difficult than with personal interviews to determine that appropriate respondent is being interviewed
• Less difficult and lower costs in handling “call backs” than in-home interviewer
• Computer support (reduces interviewing time, data entry is eliminated, facilitates generation of interim reports)
• Sequence of questions is easily changed
• More hours of the day are productive
• More interviews can be conducted in a given time (Traveling time is saved, …)

– Disadvantages
• Difficult to establish representative sampling frame due to unlisted numbers/People with no
telephone/Mobile phones
• Cannot use visual aids
• More difficult to establish rapport over the telephone than in person
• Lower response rate than personal interviewing
• Does not handle long interview well in most cases
• Amount of data that can be collected is more limited
• Subject to some degree of interviewer bias (but much less than with personal interview)
• Plenty of not-at-homes and no-answers
• Limited diversity of question formats (constant sum scale / ordinal scale????)
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Online Research

• Advantages • Disadvantages

– Inexpensive – Small samples sometimes

and Skewed
– Expansive (no geographical
boundaries) – Excessive turnover(panels)

– Fast – Technological problems and

inconsistencies
– Honest

– Thoughtful

– Versatile

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Step 3 to Step 6

Step 3: Collect the Information

Step 4: Analyze the Information

Step 5: Present the Findings

Step 6: Make the Decision

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