Workshop on Consumer Behavior Methods Annual Meeting of the ASA, San Francisco, CA, August 16, 2004 by Dr. Leora Lawton, Principal TechSociety Research Berkeley, CA 2004 Leora E. Lawton TechSociety Research

Introduction to Consumer Behavior Research Theres good research and bad research. As a consumer, you want to have good products, services. Businesses give people jobs, businesses pay taxes that support public services, like faculty salaries. Few sociologists go into this field, but they have most of the requisite technical skills, which is often not the case of psychologists and MBAs. TechSociety Research

Responsibilities of the Consumer Behavior Researcher Research Design: Possibly the most important thing we do. Data Tabulations: Simple crosstab/bivariate/banner reports where the data is simply calculated into simple statistics but no interpretation Interpretative narrative: The basic frequencies plus maybe one or two crosstabs) Full analytic report: (includes bivariate and perhaps multivariate analyses, with charts, tables, key findings (simple results) and also the interpretation of the results. Executive summaries: An Executive Summary is the Cliff notes' of a report but also includes the full recommendations/implications section On-site presentations of results: Seminar-style bring out the full value of the deliverable and build the client relationship. TechSociety Research

Types of Consumer Research We categorize consumer research objectives by the following study types: Customer satisfaction and its kind Customer retention Product concept tests Brand Advertising Segmentation and other descriptives

TechSociety Research Customer Satisfaction Customer Satisfaction measures satisfaction with products, services, purchase experience, customer support interactions, partners Evaluating Sales Win-Loss patterns is a subset – that is, evaluating prospect satisfaction with the sales process. Customer Satisfaction when done in enterprise contracts typically consist one or more of the following characteristics: a benchmarking program, a tracking study, and a consultative relationship.

TechSociety Research Product Development Purpose: Improve or introduce products and services; Prioritize feature development for product teams. Not likely to be an enterprise study but could be sold in a package. While the structure of the study is fairly standard, the details are always unique. Hence, product concept tests are a good way to get to know a company and its products, and so good for a lead-off 'get to know you' deal.

TechSociety Research Brand and Advertising Awareness Identifies effective advertising campaigns, understands how a brand resonates with the customer target market, track brand position in order to better time advertising, and be aware of threats to market share. Provides competitive knowledge. Brand awareness when done in enterprise contracts typically consist one or more of the following characteristics: a benchmarking program, a tracking study, and a consultative relationship.

TechSociety Research Segmentation and Descriptive Studies Collect input regarding drivers of purchase, use and/or interest for better marketing campaigns. Lifestyle description puts product/service use in a context. Segment customers into groups in order to better find them and communicate to them To create products and services that meet their needs.

TechSociety Research Actors The researcher - MBAs often do not have training in conceptual development and clear understanding of statistical tools, but they know management issues; psychologists often lack solid survey research background, but theyre better at measurement validity and reliability. The client (including internal clients) - often marketing or sales executives, and also product or program managers. These folks tend to disrespect number crunchers. Your company hierarchy. See above.

TechSociety Research Proposals Background: Problem or motivation. Objectives. Approach and Method Schedule (client changes invalidate) Deliverables (both sides) Budget (Fixed or Time & Materials) Qualifications (statement, bio, relevant projects, perhaps resume)

TechSociety Research Conceptual Model Choice Anticipate d Need Awareness & Understandin g Availability of Alternatives Family Structure & Experience Ability & Access

TechSociety Research Questionnaires: see handout

TechSociety Research Tabulations Banner Reports (see handout) are generated by tabulations software (e.g., Wincross or Microtab). They crosstab up to all of the variables in the data set by a defined set of variable values, and provide between group comparisons with a t-test for means and Z-test for percentages. Other statistics are possible.

TechSociety Research Report Table of contents: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background and study objectives Methodology description Key Findings Recommendations and Conclusions Detailed Results Appendices Note: In business reports, you state the result first, and then support it.

TechSociety Research Report: Background & Objectives Common Reasons for Customer Satisfaction Studies include: Executive and employee compensation Service and product improvement Concerns about competitive advantage New services and features Tracking and trending Brand strength Include what prompted study.

TechSociety Research Report: Methodology An overview of important features. Details appear in the appendix (e.g., disposition reports, questionnaires, complex sampling frame calculations): Description and rationale for quantitative and/or qualitative methods Dates started, finished Number of surveys sent out, received, with response rates Outline of instrument

TechSociety Research Report: Key Findings Summarize what you want your clients to know, if they dont remember anything else. These findings may include: What scored highest and lowest Which group was associated with highest/lowest results What factors are associated with positive results (known as drivers) Verbatim statements that sum up numeric results.

TechSociety Research Report: Recommendations Summarize what you want your clients to DO. For example: Identify groups at risk, and suggest treatments to improve their loyalty. Highlight features or services that cause dissatisfaction, and point out ways that would resolve problem. Internal processes that could be tidied up. Whether to go ahead with new product. Any other ideas that could help them make things better.