CHAPT

ER
TWO

The
Consumer
Research
Process

Why Do Marketers Regularly Test

Print Ads Like
This One Before They Are Placed
in the Media?

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

To Test the Impact of the

Message Before
Spending Large Amounts of
Money

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

The Importance of the

Consumer
Research
Process
Marketers must understand
customers to design effective:
marketing strategies
products
promotional messages

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

The Consumer
Research Process
Figure 2.2

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

The Consumer Research

Process
Secondary
research
Primary
research
Qualitative
Quantitative

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

Developing Research
Objectives
Defining objectives helps ensure
an appropriate research design.
Collecting and evaluating
secondary data.
Designing a primary research
study.
Collecting primary data.
Analyzing the data, and
Preparing a report on the findings.
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

Secondary Data
Data that has been
collected for
reasons other than
the specific
research
project
at

hand
Includes internal
and
external data
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

Types of Secondary
Data
Internal
Data
Data generated inhouse
May include
analysis of
customer files
Useful for
calculating
customer lifetime
value
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

External Data
Data collected by an
outside organization
Includes federal
government,
periodicals,
newspapers, books,
search engines
Commercial data
is also available
from market
research firms
Chapter Two

Designing Primary
Research
Qualitati
ve
Researc
h
Depth
Interview
s
Focus
Groups
Projective
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two Slide

Qualitative Collection
Method
Depth
Interview
Also called one-on-one interview

Usually 20 minutes to 1 hour

Nonstructured
Interviewer will often probe to get
more
feedback (see following slide for
probing)
Session is usually recorded
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

Probing Options for

Interviews
Figure 2.3

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

Qualitative Collection
Method
Focus
Group
8-10 participants

Respondents are recruited through a

screener
questionnaire
Lasts about 2 hours
Always taped or videotaped to assist
analysis
Often held in front of two-way mirrors
Online focus groups are growing
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

Focus Group Discussion Guide

- Figure 2.4

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

Qualitative Collection
Method
Projective
Techniques
Research procedures designed to

identify consumers
subconscious feelings and
underlying motivations
Consist of a variety of disguised
tests

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

Word
Associati
ons

Common Projective
Exercises
Description
Table 2.1 (excerpt)

The researcher has a list of words, some of them to

be studied and some just as filler. The researcher
asks the respondent(s) to react, one-at-a time, to
each word by stating or (in a focus group setting)
writing on a pad the first word that comes to mind,
and to explain the link.
Sentence The researcher has a series of incomplete sentences
Completio that the
n
respondent(s) needs to complete with a word or
phrase.
Photo/Vis The researcher creates/selects a series of photos of
ual for
consumers, different brands or products, range of
Storytelli print ads, etc., to serve as stimuli. The respondents
ng
are asked to discuss or tell a story based on their
response to a photo or some other visual stimulus.
Role
Is quite similar to storytelling; however, instead of
Playing
telling a story, the participant(s) will be given a
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

Qualitative Collection
Method
Metaphor Analysis

Based on belief that metaphors are

the most basic method of thought and
communication.
Consumer values also play an important
role in understanding consumer
behavior.
Sky blue
Water deep
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

Designing Primary
Research
Quantitati
ve
Research
Observatio
n
Experimen
tation
Survey
questionnai
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

Data Collection Methods

Observational Research
Helps marketers gain an in-depth
understanding of the relationship
between people and products by
watching them buying and using
products
Helps researchers gain a better
understanding
of what the product symbolizes
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two

Data Collection Methods

Mechanical Observational
Research
Uses mechanical or electronic device

to record consumer behavior or

response
Consumers increased use of
highly convenient technologies
will create more records for
marketers
Audits are a type of mechanical
observation which monitor sales
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two Slide

Data Collection Methods

Experimentation
Can be used to test the relative sales
appeal of
many types of variables
An experiment is usually controlled
with only some variables
manipulated at a time while the
others are constant
Test markets are conducted on a
single market area
Experimentation can be conducted in
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two Slide

Cost
Speed
Response
rate
Geograp
hic
flexibility
Interviewer
bias
Interview
er
Supervisi
on

Data Collection
Methods
Table
2.2
Mail
Telephone
Person

Online

Low
Slow
Low

Moderate
Immediate
Moderate

al
Intervi
ew
High
Slow
High

Low
Fast
Self-selected

Excellent

Good

Difficult

Excellent

N/A

Moderate

Problematic

N/A

N/A

Easy

Difficult

N/A

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two Slide

DATA COLLECTION METHODS:

SURVEYS
Personal Interview
Mail
Telephone
Online
23

Validity and
Reliability
If a study has validity, it
collects the appropriate
data for the study.
A study has reliability if the same
questions,
asked of a similar
sample, produce the same
findings.

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two Slide

Attitude Scales
Likert
scales
Semantic
differential
scales
Behavior
intention
scales
Rank-order
scales

Asked to agree or disagree with a

statement
Easy to prepare & interpret
Simple for consumers
Includes bipolar adjectives
Relatively easy to construct and
administer
Measures likelihood consumers will act a
certain way
Easy to construct and administer
Items ranked in order of preference in
terms of some
criteria

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two Slide

LIKERT SCALE
Please place the number that best indicates how strongly you agree or
disagree with each of the following statements about shopping on-line in
the space to the left of the statement.
1 = Agree
Strongly 2 =
Agree
3 = Neither
Agree or
Disagree
4 = Disagree
5 = Disagree
Strongly
a. It is fun to shop
online.
b. Products often
cost more on-line than
they are worth.
c. It is a good way
to find out about new

26

Behavior intention
scale

RANK-ORDER SCALES
A. Please rank the following e-mail providers in terms of ease of
access by placing a 1 in front of the service you think is best,
a 2 alongside the second best, and continuing until you have
ranked all six service providers.
America Online
AT&T
_ Netscape
Worldnet
_ Microsoft
_ Juno
Explorer
_ Erols
B. Rank the following computer manufacturers in terms of hotline
help by placing a 1 next to the one who provides the best
telephone help a 2 next to the second best, until you have
ranked all six.
_ IBM
_Hewlett
_ Dell
Packard
_ Toshiba
Compaq
NEC
29

Customer Satisfaction
Measurement
Custome
r
Satisfacti
on
Surveys
Analysis of
Expectations
versus
Experience

Mystery
Shoppers

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two Slide

Sampling and Data

Collection
Samples are a subset of the
population used to estimate
characteristics of the entire
population.
A sampling plan addresses:
Whom to survey
How many to survey
How to select them

Researcher must choose probability

or
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two Slide

Data Analysis and

Reporting Findings
Open-ended questions are
coded and quantified.
All responses are tabulated
and analyzed.
Final report includes executive
summary, body, tables, and
graphs.

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Two Slide

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
Copyright
2010
Pearson
Education,
publisher.
Printed
in the
United States
of America.Inc.

Publishing as
Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Chapter Seven