Managing Marketing Information Bluefield College September 21, 2010
Contact Methods Mail surveys Telephone surveys Mail survey pros: Can collect large amounts of information at a relatively low cost per respondent. Generates more truthful responses than phone interviews. Improved validity (no interviewer bias). Mail survey cons: Not flexible; study takes longer to finish. Low response rate. Little control over sample. Telephone surveys Telephone surveying pros: Gathers information fast. Greater flexibility than mail surveys. Interviewers can explain or skip questions. Strong sample control. Telephone surveying cons: Higher costs than mail. Interviewer may bias results. Limited quantity of data can be collected. Poor response rates.
Contact Methods Personal interviews: Individual interviewing Individual & group interviewing pros: Highly flexible method that can gather a great deal of data from a respondent. Good control of sample, speed of data collection, and response rate. Individual & group interviewing cons: High cost per respondent. Highly subject to interviewer bias and related interviewer effects. Focus group interviewing Online pros: Fastest form of data collection can gather a good amount of data. Lowest cost per respondent of all contact methods; offers excellent sample control. Good flexibility and response rate. Online cons: Somewhat subject to interviewer bias and related interviewer effects.
Using Sampling Techniques A segment of the population is selected to represent the population as a whole. Sampling requires three decisions: Who is to be surveyed? (Selecting the sampling unit) How many people should be surveyed? (Referred to as sample size) How should the people in the sample be chosen? (Describes the sampling procedure) Probability samples offer each population member a known chance of being selected. Simple random sample Stratified random sample Nonprobability samples are selected in a non random manner, which means sampling error cannot be computed. Convenience sample Judgment sample Quota sample
Research Instruments Questionnaire decisions: Mechanical devices: What questions to ask? Form of each question? Closed-ended or Open-ended Wording? Mechanical devices: People meters, checkout scanners, eye tracking devices, neuromarketing. Researchers used neuromarketing techniques to see how Super Bowl viewers’ brains responded to various ads. Visit Sands Research to learn more!
Implementing the Research Plan Collecting the data: Most expensive phase. Subject to error. Processing the data: Check for accuracy. Code for analysis. Analyzing the data: Tabulate results. Compute statistical measures. Interpret the findings. Draw conclusions. Report to management: Present findings and conclusions that will be most helpful to decision making.
Customer Relationship Management Managing detailed information about individual customers & carefully managing customer “touch points” in order to maximize customer loyalty. Many companies utilize customer relationship management (CRM): Captures customer information from all sources. Analyzes it in-depth. Applies the results to build stronger relationships. Companies look for customer touch points. CRM analysts develop data warehouses and use data mining techniques to find out information about customers. Findings may lead to new marketing opportunities.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Benefits of CRM: Ability to offer better customer service and develop deeper customer relationships. Pinpoint and target high-value customers more effectively. Enhances the firm’s ability to cross-sell products and develop offers tailored to customers. Marketing information systems (MIS) must make information readily available for decision-making: Routine information for decision making. Nonroutine information for special situations. Intranets and extranets facilitate the information sharing process.