Chapter 1: Appendix: Developing Information about Consumer Behaviour

based on the slides provided in class and has some textbook examples

Primary Data

Collecting Data Yourself; New Data

Secondary Data

Data that already exists

What research methods helps marketers gather primary data?

Surverys, Focus Groups, Experiments

If a marketing team watches how customers shop in a grocery store without interacting with them, what type of research method is this?

Observation/Ethnographic Research

what are some drawbacks of using surverys?

Self-reported data and non response bias

what is non response bias?

When certain types of people don’t respond to your survey or study, which then skews your results.

Ex: If only the happiest customers fill out your feedback form, you’ll think your service is amazing, but you’re missing all the unhappy customers who never replied.

what are surveys good for?

good for asking “How many?” questions and collecting quantitative data.

ex: “What percentage of customers prefer Brand A over Brand B?”

Focus Group

research method that involves a group of 6–12 people and led by a trained moderator to share opinions and experiences

Independent Variable

the variable that is changed or manipulated

drawback of self-report data

Participants may give socially desirable answers.
Data may not generalize to the whole population.
Some people may not respond at all.

What is the purpose of a focus group?

To express opinions and experiances in the consumers own words

Is focus group Qualatative or Quantitative.

Qualitative

What are some draw backs of a Focus Group?

Self-reported data

Generalizability/representativeness
Group Think
Dominant members/Freeriders

A snack company wants to test two different package designs by putting each design in separate cities to see which sells better. This is an example of:

Field experiment

A sportswear brand hires a company to collect and sell information about the demographics and shopping habits of online sneaker buyers. This data provider is most likely:

A syndicated data service

A researcher asks participants to write about everything they ate for a week and how they felt after each meal. This is:

Diaries

A marketing professor is studying how consumers from different cultures make buying decisions, not for a specific brand but to advance knowledge in the field. This type of researcher is:

Academic

A chocolate company wants to see which combination of sweetness level, package color, and price people prefer. The best method would be:

Conjoint analysis

A retailer uses loyalty card data, purchase history, and customer demographics to send personalized coupons. This is:

Database marketing

A soft drink brand posts two versions of an ad on Instagram and tracks which one gets more clicks. This is an example of:

Field experiment

A nonprofit organization surveys households to find out how many people use public transportation in their city. This is best described as:

Primary data collection

A skincare brand analyzes facial muscle movements and brain activity when consumers smell their new lotion scent. This is:

Psychophysiological reactions and neuroscience

A group of 10 consumers is invited to a meeting where they openly share their personal experiences with a brand while a moderator guides the discussion. This is:

Focus group

Conjoint analysis

designed to figure out the relative importance of different product attributes (like sweetness, color, price) and how people react to various combinations of them.

“Build-your-own-product” testing to see what people really value.

Netnography

• Ethnographic research technique

• observes and analyzes the online behaviour and comments of consumers.

Ethonographic Research/Obeservations

Observing consumers at home or in stores to understand behavior and gain insights that will lead to more effective marketing decisions.

Watching consumers use products in the natural environment or lab.

Database Marketing

Combines different forms of consumer research in a common database.

Big Data

used by alot of online companies
analysis of consumer browsing

Patterns in Database Marketing can lead researchers to determine what?

how to make websites more user friendly.

Purchasing Panels

Longitudinal studies of a group of consumers’ attitudes and behaviors that track purchase data over time.

When are interviews most appropriate for?

more appropriate than focus groups when the topic is sensitive

Interviews are often recorded or transcribe. why?

So answers can be studied through qualitative/quantitative analysis

what are some draw backs of conducting interviews?

Drawbacks: Very expensive, relies on self reported data

How is storytellling defined as in the textbook?

Consumers are asked to tell stories about acquisition, usage, or disposition experiences

what are drawbacks of storytelling?

Drawbacks: can be difficult to analyze the data

Photography and Pictures

Using images (drawings, photos, collages) to help consumers remember and describe their experiences in more detail.

what are drawbacks of using Photography and Pictures?

Drawbacks: can be difficult to analyze the data

Diaries

Written records consumers keep about their daily activities (like purchases, media use, or social influences) to reveal patterns in their behavior.

What are some drawbacks of Diaries?

Drawbacks:
relies on self reported data
Attrition

Attrition

when participants drop out of a study before its finished.

example:You start tracking 1,000 shoppers’ habits for a year, but by the end only 700 are still participating. Those missing 300 = attrition.

Why does Attrition matters?

If too many people leave, results might be less reliable or less representative.

What is one type of field Experiement?

Market Test

Market Test

Studies the effectiveness of one or more elements of the marketing mix evaluating sales of the product in an actual market

Field Experiment

testing a marketing change with real customers in the real world to see how it affects sales

Observations and Ethnographic
Research

Watch consumers use products in the natural environment or laboratory

Ethnographic Research

researchers interview and observe (and perhaps videotape) how consumers behave in real-world surroundings.

What are drawbacks of Purchasing Panels?

Drawback: Attrition

Data Mining

Searching for patterns in a company database that offer clues to customer needs, preferences, and behaviors.

What are the types of information that can be stored in database marketing?

• Demographics

• Lifestyle

• Purchases

• Opinions

Psychophysiological Reactions and Neuroscience

Analysis of physiological reactions (such as eye and muscle movements) and applying neuroscience techniques (such as measuring brain activity) to understand consumer behavior

Types of Consumer Researchers: In-house Marketing Research Departments

Benefits: minimizes opportunities for information to leak to competitors

Types of Consumer Researchers: External Marketing Research Firms

Def: They develop measuring instruments to measure conumer responses, collect data from consumers, analyze the data, and develop reports for their clients. Then, they help design a spe cific research project before it begins

Some marketing research firms are full service, while others specialize in a particular type of research.

Types of Consumer Researchers:Advertising Agencies

conduct research to better understand what advertising messages and media will appeal to their clients’ target markets

Ad agencies may…

1. Test advertising concepts as part of the service they provide to clients

2. conduct advertising pretesting

What is Advertising Pretesting?

the process of evaluating advertising materials, like commercials or print ads, before they are launched to a wider audience

Types of Consumer Researchers: Syndicated Data Services

may collect and then sell the information that
they collect, usually to firms that market products and
services to consumers

Example of Syndicated Data Services

Nielsen is a syndicated data service that tracks
the TV viewing habits of the US population.

Types of Consumer Researchers: Research Foundations

a nonprofit organization that sponsors research on topics relevant to the foundation’s goals

Types of Consumer Researchers: Trade Groups

an organization formed by people who work in the same industry.

Types of Consumer Researchers: Government

often used by marketing researchers to estimate market size (e.g census data)

Which Governemnt agencies are designed for conumser protection?

CPSP, DOT, FDA and FTC

Types of Consumer Researchers: Consumer Orgranizations

conducts research, generally to protect or inform consumers

Consumers Union

an independent, nonprofit testing and information organization designed to serve consumers

Types of Consumer Researchers: Academics and Academic Research Centers

Studies are usually designed to enhance the general
understanding of consumer behavior.

What are Positve Aspects of Consumer Research

Better consumption experiences
Potential for building customer relationships

What are Negative Aspects of Consumer Research?

1. Studying consumer behavior in different countries

2. Potentially higher marketing costs

3. Invasion of consumer privacy

4. Deceptive research practices

Why is Studying consumer behaviour in different countries a negative aspect?

Marketers may face special challenges when trying to conduct research in a different country.

ex: U.S. marketers often put husbands and wives together in a focus group to explore attitudes toward products like furniture. However, this approach won’t work in coun tries like Saudi Arabia, where women are unlikely to speak freely and are highly unlikely to disagree with their husbands in such settings.