consumer research (CBA) Exam #1

marketers should…

• NOT rely solely on intuition

• conduct research

data + intuition = better decisions

types of consumer research

qualitative

• observe and interpret

• unstructured

• researcher is involved

• subjective results

• small sample size

quantitative

• measure and test

• structured response

• un-involved researcher

• objective results

• large sample size

qualitative

exploratory (generate ideas): in-depth interviews; focus groups; observations

descriptive (generate numbers and relationships): case studies

quantitative

exploratory: observation

descriptive: content analysis; surveys; data mining (scanner)

casual (asses cause-effect relationships): experiments, test markets

what is a focus group?

a form of in-depth interview of 6-12 consumers led by a moderator who asks participants to discuss a product, concept or other marketing stimulus

focus groups pros and cons

pros

• in-depth

• can ask follow up

• group can spark new ideas, discussions, etc.

cons

• moderator bias

• groupthink: phenomenon that occurs when well-intentioned groups make decisions that lack individuality because of desire to conform or belief that disagreement is not allowed

what are surveys in consumer research?

a research method that uses questionnaires and self-report by participants to measure unobservable (observable) variables

• cross-sectional surveys (at a single point in time)

• longitudinal surveys (track across time)

types of survey questions

unstructured

structured

• multiple choice

• dichotomous: more likely to agree or confirm to a statement than disconfirm

  • “A tastes better than B. Do you agree?”

• scales

  • rank order scales

survey pros and cons

pros

• quick

• cheap

cons

• lack of response; people may ignore unless they love the brand

• not specific

• caeless responses

• dishonest responses

correlation

relationship between two variables

• positive

• negative

• no relationship

correlation does not tell you…

• which one comes first

  • is __ increasing because of __

• causation

can surveys identify whether a correlation exists or not?

surveys can usually identify whether a correlation exists or not. THOUGH correlation does not equal causation

can experiments determine if there is a link between two variables?

can determine if there is a causal link between variable X and Y

• cause and effect

which variable is the “cause”?

x variable

independent variable: variable that causes change in another variable; cause

two main types of independent variables in consumer research are…

person variables: internal to individuals (interests; values; beliefs; personality; emotions)

situation variables: external; environmental (4 Ps)

which variable is the “effect”?

Y variable

dependent variable: variable that is affected by another variable; effect

consumer response: ABC

3 signs of a causal link between two variables

1. correlation: some relationship between X and Y

2. temporal antecedence: X occurs/changes before Y occurs/changes

3. no other factor is possible: other plausible causes of Y have been ruled out

simple design experiments

sample is divided randomly into two (or more) groups

• one group receives the “treatment”

  • expose to variable X that you want to test

  • commercial; new product; new design; website; etc

• one group is the “control”

  • what happens when not exposed to variable X

experiments help us…

• discover “consumer insights”

• understand cause-effect relationships and reduce uncertainty of the consumer’s “black box”

simple experiments with 1 DV and IV example

• seeing a commercial and liking the product

more than 1 IV? use the __ design

2 × 2 factorial design

what is the factorial design?

an experimental setup that examines the effects of two independent variables (each w/ 2 levels) on a single dependent variable

2 × 2 factorial design example

“A botanist wants to study how sunlight (low v. high) and watering frequency (daily v. weekly) affect plant growth. The four conditions are:

• low sunlight + daily watering

• low sunlight + weekly watering

• high sunlight + daily watering

• high sunlight + weekly watering

Allows us to analyze whether sunlight or watering independently affects growth

Manipulating or measuring IV factor

manipulated

• experimenter sets and controls the factors

  • temperature of drink

• experimenter determines the temperature for “hot” and for “cold” drinks

• participants are given either a “hot” or “cold” drink

measured

• based on participants’ response

  • temperature of drink

• everyone gets the same temperature drink

• what is your perceived temperature

  • if your response is “hot”, then you are placed in the “hot” group

  • if your response is “cold”, you are placed in the “cold” group

difference between within-subject designs vs between-subject designs

within-subjects

• comparison is within groups

• each participant is assigned to all groups

• each participant is aware of the treatment factor that varies across the groups

between-subjects

• true comparison across groups

• each participant is assigned to one group only

• usually, participants are unaware of the other groups

types of effects on the DV

main effects: effect that each factor has on the DV

• does the temperature significantly affect liking

• does the flavor significantly affect liking?

interaction effects: two factors interact to produce an effect on the DV

• does the effect on temperature on liking depend on flavor?

experimental design issues

• reliability: the ability to repeat the effect (replicate experiment)

• internal validity: the ability to attribute an effect to the manipulated factor

• external validity: the results of the experiment generalizable)

• random selection of subjects

• random assignment of subjects to treatment conditions