Untitled Flashcards Set

Step 1: Need for Marketing Research

• When managers must make decisions, but they have inadequate information

• Research should explicitly link to business impact

• Something happened as a result of research which otherwise wouldn’t have happened

• But research is not always the best solution if:

  • The information is already available

  • The timing is wrong (ex: product is reaching it’s end, therefore no need)

  • Costs outweigh the value

Step 2: Define the Problem

• What is the problem? Problems are situation that call for managers to make choices among various alternatives

• What is a symptom? A symptom is an observable sign that indicates that a problem exists

  • (Headache: symptom, Dehydration: problem)

Situation Analysis:

• An exploratory analysis conducted to gather background information that is helpful in defining the problem

• Experience surveys, case studies, pilot studies, focus groups

Step 3: Establish Research Objectives

• Exactly what information needs to be gathered and analyzed to make decisions

Research Objective: A goal-oriented statement or question that specifies what information is needed to solve the problem. It must be clear and concise as objective define the method.

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INVOLUNTARY INTERMEDIATION

Phenomena: When a manufacturer coerces its channel partner to end its direct relationship and transition to a designated intermediary.

• What are the key characteristics of involuntary intermediation?

• Does it exist? How prevalent is it?

• How is it conceptually different/similar from prior research?

What is II? What are key characteristics? Prevalence?

• Focus group study + pilot survey + personal experiences

  • Major ramification on customers’ status

  • Not dyadic (one to one relationship)

  • Not publicized by either manufacturer or the partner

  • Not voluntary (exit vs termination)

  • Manufacturer’s intent is to maintain relationship

How is II different from prior research?

• Literature review (academic & industry)

How do partners respond to II?

• Pilot study

What do we want to study?

• Research objectives: How to develop a successful involuntary intermediation strategy?

  • Understanding the customer’s perspective

Step 4: Determine Research Design

Exploratory: Informal research undertaken to learn about the research problem, learn terms and definitions and identify research priorities. 

• Used when the research problem is not clearly defined or understood (what, where, how)

• Groundwork for further research (gathering information)

• Usually unstructured (Ex: focus group)

Descriptive: research that describes the phenomena of interest 

• Focused on what, not why it happened

• Understand characteristics of a phenomena

• Correlations among variables

• Identifying trends and patterns without controlling for any factor

• Ex: correlation table

Causal: what factors cause an event

• Focus on cause and effect (temporal sequence)

• Establish a clear link between DV and IV

• Correlation is not equal to causation

Step 5: Identify Information Types and Sources

Primary information type: collected specifically for the problem in hand

• Primary data

• Observing consumers

• Monitoring information online

• Surveys

Secondary information type: information already collected (usually available in published sources, library, or online)

• Secondary data is cheaper and faster to collect. Challenge:

  • Might not be available, are inadequate, or are outdated

  • Incompatible reporting units (zip code level vs county level)

  • Mismatched measurement units (annual income before taxes in one region and monthly after taxes in another)

Step 6: Determine Methods of Accessing Data

Primary Data: complex data collecting process. May be collected by:

• Observing consumers

• Monitoring information online

• Surveys

Secondary data is cheaper and faster to collect. Challenges:

• Might not be available, are inadequate or are outdated

• Incompatible reporting units (zip code level vs county level)

• Mismatched measurement units (annual income before taxes in one region and monthly after taxes in another)

Step 7: Design Data Collection Form

Form: questionnaire for survey or focus group guide

The quality of data collection determines the quality of data gathered

Question should:

• Be able to answer the research objective

• Clear and unbiased

• Reduce non-response from respondents

Software: Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey

Step 8: Determine the Sample Panel and Size

Population vs Sample

Population: the entire group of interest; sample is a subset of that group used to draw conclusions

• Population is defined by the research objective

Define the population:

1. Study how many business schools in the US offer sustainability marketing certificate? (All marketing business students in the US)

2. What is the best shampoo in the US for curly hair? (Everyone in the US with curly hair)

3. Are people residing in senior living happier than the ones living in a joint family? (2 samples - Those living in senior living & those living in a joint family)

Some key questions for consideration:

What is the optimal sample size? What elements of the population should be included in the sample? How to ensure that the sample represents the population?

Step 9: Collect Data

Data collection should ensure minimal intentional or unintentional errors.

• Fieldworkers: data collectors may overhype/make up the data

• Validation: 10% of the data should be randomly selected, re-contacted and asked if they took part in the study

Step 10: Analyze Data 

Techniques: descriptive statistics (test for differences between groups), regression analysis (how are the two variables of interest related)

Selecting the right technique depends on your research

Step 11: Communicate the Insights

Examples:

• Research report

• Oral presentation

• Newer tools: Dashboards, videos, infographics

• Presentation: Canva, Prezi

Ethical Considerations in Marketing Research 

• Should the data you collect be anonymous?

  • Yes because it protects the privacy of individuals

• Anonymity (preferred) vs Confidentiality 

• Voluntary or non-voluntary participation?

  • Voluntary keeps it unbiased

• What biases may come up while conducting marketing research?

  • Design survey that promotes a certain type of desired result only

  • Misrepresentation of respondents

  • Fudging data

  • Stealing ideas (citation, plagiarism)

  • Deceiving the participants

Problem Statement & Research Objectives

Example

• Buffalo Wild Wings wants to determine whether to launch two new sauces.

  • With a growing number of consumers looking for diverse flavor options, it is crucial to assess whether these new sauces align with current customer preferences and the brand’s overall strategic goals. The company must understand the potential consumer demand, identify any operational challenges, and evaluate how these new products might influence sales.

  • Will the new Buffalo Wild Wings new sauces be well received by consumers or will they fail to align with their preferences?

    • Objectives:

      • Sales/Revenue

      • Incurring Cost

      • Customer Satisfaction

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Discussion board: What came first-data or decision?

• No right decision

  • Create multiple decisions and that is when you get into data

  • Instinctive will be to think when presented with a questions

  • Research provides a holistic view

RESEARCH DESIGN METHODS

Research design: a master plan that specifies the methods that will be used to collect and analyze the information needed for a research project

What are the 3 ways to design/approach a research methodically?

• Exploratory

• Descriptive

• Causal 

Exploratory research design methods

1. Secondary data research examples - book, journals, magazines, Google

2. Experience surveys - also known as key informant technique or lead-user survey (in tech)

3. Case analysis - particularly useful to prevent or manage crises, or rare events

Descriptive research method designs: when researchers wish to know who their customers are, what brands they buy and in what quantities, where they buy the brands, when they shop and how they find out about products, they turn to descriptive research.

Causal Classifications:

• Cross-sectional data - information collected about multiple subjects at a single moment in time

• Longitudinal data - data that is collected over time from the same group of people, objects, or events (time-series (one subject) vs panel (multiple subjects))

Research objectives vary for these methods:

1. What is the consumer's favorite ice cream flavor?

   1. Cross-sectional research

2. How Jill's preference for ice cream flavors changed over time?

   1. Longitudinal (time-series)

3. How consumers’ preference for different ice cream flavors changed over time?

   1. Longitudinal (time-series) 

KEY TERMINOLOGIES 

Causal Research

• To measure causality in relationships – if x, then y.

• When does a survey fail?

  • Attitude versus behavior

  • Self response (there is a response bias) within a survey you could say one thing but do another a differentiation between your behavior and attitude

    • Saying things that are socially acceptable but doing the opposite 

Experimental design: a procedure for devising an experimental setting so that a change in a dependent variable may be attributed solely to the change in a independent variable

Experiments: one or more independent variables are manipulated to see how one or more dependent variables are affected, while also controlling the effects of additional extraneous variables (ex: does identity affect your consumption behavior)

Independent vs dependent variable (and extraneous variables):

• Does better nutrition lead to higher GPA?

• Does including nutritional labels in the menu increase sales?

Note: Treated group is the intervention

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QUICK REVIEW - TYPE OF RESEARCH DESIGN

Exploratory: when the research domain is not well-studied, and you need to understand the phenomenon before diving into research

• Secondary data research 

• Experience surveys

• Pilot studies

• Focus groups

Descriptive: when you want to understand the trends and patterns without controlling for factors that might be affecting that phenomenon

• Cross-sectional data

  • Data from different sources collected at the same time

• Time-series Data

  • Data collected from one source over different periods of time

• Panel Data

  • A collection of observations made over time on a group of individuals

Causal: when you want to establish relationship between two or more variables

• Causal research design

  • Ex: Weight loss pills

    • Two groups: placebo pill and actual weight loss pill

    • Intervention/Treatment: Administration of the pill

    • Time: Before intervention vs after intervention

    • Control: Placebo

    • Treatment: Actual

Time

Outcome of Interest? Weight (in lbs.)

Is the actual medicine effective in weight loss?

• No

= (165 - 180) - (150 - 175) = 15 + 25 = +10

• A/B testing

• Experiment validity (internal vs external threats)

• Lab vs natural/field experiments

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CONDUCTING A LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature review is a summary of published work in a given field of study

• Ex: journal articles, white papers, industry reports, news, magazines, etc.

  • Depicts your depth and breadth of knowledge

  • How well you can justify your research objectives

Step 1: Define the scope of your research (e.g., sustainability in online grocery shopping)... what should be the scope?

Step 2: Identify the literature: develop an understanding of what exists, what terms are accurate, useful, and consistently used in literature to describe a phenomenon.

Step 3: Critically analyze the literature: explore the major themes, relationships, and critical gaps. The use of Venn diagrams.

Step 4: Categorize your resources

• By chronology, by theme, by methodology implemented, by theoretical approach

• Using an excel file is generally helpful—what should be included in the columns?

• Citation management tools/ Reference manager (Mendeley, Zotero). Follow APA

Mediator: Discuss the mechanism in your result

• The actual cause of the effect

Moderator: Modifies the relation between an independent and dependent variable 

2/13

Hypothesis: More exercise results in a higher GPA

Exercise (IV) → Health/Focus (Mediator: showing mechanism between the variables) → Nutrition (Moderator) → GPA (DV)

All variables that directly affect your GPA become control variables:

• Sleep

• Tutor Access

• Study Hours

• Peer Pressure

Gym Access cannot be considered a control variable because it doesn’t directly affect your GPA 

FOCUS GROUPS

Focus groups are small groups of people brought together and guided through an unstructured, spontaneous discussion for the purpose of gaining information relevant to the research problem

Used to:

• generate ideas

• learn the respondents’ “vocabulary” when relating to a product

• gain some insight into basic consumer needs and attitudes

Optimal size of a focus group- 6-12 people

When to use a focus group:

• to understand customer reactions for products/ services/ marketing activities (e.g. why an ad or a package feature is not appealing)

• to get ideas for ads/ suggestions to improve the delivery of benefits.

Advantages of a focus group:

• develop new ideas

• allow researcher to observe participants

• help in understanding a wide variety of issues related to the product or service

• quicker and easier access to special respondent groups such as doctors, who are typically difficult to find for a well represented sample

Disadvantages of a focus group:

• May not represent the population well.

• Success may depend on the moderator’s ability.

• Results are often subjective, which may result in wrong interpretation.

ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

• A detailed, descriptive study of a group and its behavior, characteristics, and culture

• Effective for studying trends, personal habits, lifestyle factors, and the effect of social and cultural context on consumption

• Ethnographers pay close attention to the words, metaphors, symbols, and stories people use to explain their lives and communicate with one another

  • E.g. Kellogg’s breakfast story in India (Cereals would not be favorable with hot milk)

• Netnography: study of online activities

TYPES OF SURVEYS

Person-administered/computer-assisted (when a computer is used to facilitate) surveys:

• In-home survey

• Mall-intercept survey

• In-office survey

• Telephone survey

Computer-administered surveys:

• Fully automated survey

• Online survey

Self-administered surveys:

• Group self-administered survey

• Drop-off survey

• Mail survey

What could be an appropriate survey method in the following cases?

• Ex: Polo wants to test a new cologne scent called “Extreme Red.”

QUIZ 2

• Study everything after Moderator vs Mediator

• Short answer questions

Example:

In the tech industry surveys is also known as key informant technique

• The false version stated case analysis

Snagjob needs to determine how many businesses expect to hire temporary administrative assistants for those who go on vacation in the summer.

• Survey Type

  • Telephone call

Funbrain, an online educational games company, requires information on the degree to which parents of children in elementary school see online math and reading games as worthwhile purchases for their children’s education.

• Survey Type

• At-home

Polo wants to test a new cologne scent called “Extreme Red.

• Survey Type

• Mall intercept

02/20

TYPES OF MEASURES

Nominal Measure: to label objects 

• Useful for categorizations

• Ex: Age range (no definite answer compared to ratio where there is an exact answer)

Ordinal Measure: to rank/identify the relative difference

Interval scale measures: to identify the intensity of often unmeasurable/unobservable constructs 

• Ex: Scale of 1- 10 (range of variables)

Ratio Scale Measure: measures where a true zero origin exists

• Quantified in a different construct

  • Reveal their age: can see what answers a 30 yr old vs a 20 yr old’s answers

  • The moment you can convert and data into ratio it applies to this measure 

Interval Scales: Likert

Respondents are asked to indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement on a symmetric agree–disagree scale for each of a series of statements.

• This scale captures the intensity of their feelings toward each statement’s claim or assertion.

• Disadvantage: It is hard to scale whether their response is true or not

Lifestyle inventory: a measure of consumers’ activities, interests, and opinions using Likert.

• Ex: fashion conscious, price-conscious, sports-enthusiast, home centered

Semantic Differential Scale

A series of bipolar adjectives to examine various properties of the object under study.

• Useful to measure a brand, company, or store image.

• Must control for the halo effect.

Stapel Scale

Numbers that range from a minus end to a corresponding plus end, with or without a zero as the midpoint

• Want them to choose between one or the other option

DESIGNING A QUESTIONNAIRE

• Follow chronological order of questions (ex: past, present, future)

• Questionnaire design is a systematic process that requires the researcher to go through a series of considerations

• Question bias occurs when the question’s wording or format influences the respondent’s answer.

• Question development involves selecting appropriate response formats and wording questions that are understandable, unambiguous, and unbiased.

Say away from this type of question: Are you trying to control your compulsive gambling?

• Assumes that you are a compulsive gambler

• Confuses the participant

Even the tiniest word choice can make a difference.

• Have you seen a living boy? (broad)

• Have you seen the living boy? (specific)

Evaluate questions to scrutinize for biases.

• Are you a male or a female?

Be prudent with the # words you use.

• What are the considerations that would come to your mind while you are confronted with the decision to have some type of repair done on the automatic icemaker in your refrigerator, assuming that you noticed it was not making ice cubes as well as it did when you first bought it?

Use questions that are focused on a single issue or topic (double-barreled questions).

• Do you think our product is affordable and of high quality?

  • Use the Likert scale to get specific information

Clarity in each question

• How many children do you have?

  • To vague since there can be different scenarios for those who have children

  • Context is important

  • How many children are in your household?

Do not overstate the case

• How much do you think you would pay for a pair of sunglasses that will protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays, which are known to cause blindness?

  • Nudging them to say an answer

  • Not capturing their actual behavior or opinion

Double-battered question: Do you think parents who are responsible citizens and who are aware of driving dangers use infant car seats?

02/25

DESIGNING QUESTIONNAIRE

Question Organization

• Who is conducting the survey (disguised vs undisguised survey – influence respondents, alert competitors)

• Purpose of the survey  – high level information only

• Participant selection criteria – why they were chosen; screening questions

• Motivation – incentives/compensation, value of their inputs, privacy concerns (anonymity and confidentiality) 

  • Anonymity: you as the servicer have no idea who is responding

  • Confidentiality: you now who is responding but decide to keep it confidential

Question Flow

• Sequence of questions or blocks of questions including any instruction on the questionnaire

• Question block: set of questions that pertain to a specific topic (Ex:demographic)

• Questions are developed on an objective-by-objective basis, but presented in an understandable logic (ex: chronologically)

  • Preface/consent : contents of information

  • Screens: used to select participants

  • Warm-Ups: easy to answer questions to generate interest

  • Transitions: notify that the format or subject will now change

  • Complicated: the more difficult questions that forms your research objective

  • Classification and demographics: personal questions to categorize respondents

  • Attention check: to ensure respondents read the questions

    • If they fail the attention check the answers are no longer valid

Finalize the Questionnaire

• Codes are numbers that are associated with question responses in order to facilitate analysis

  • Ex: 1,2,3,4,5 may correspond to poor-fair-good-very good-excellent scale

  • Select all that apply–each option has a 0-1 coding

• Pretesting the survey

  • A pretest is a dry run of a questionnaire to find and repair difficulties that respondents encounter while taking the survey

  • Identify eros

  • Confusing phrasing/words/sequencing

  • Time to complete the survey

  • Need to include any additional information