1. The Consumer Research Process
CHAPTER
TWO
The Consumer Research Process
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.

2. The Importance of the Consumer Research Process
Marketers must understand customers to design effective marketing strategies:
Suitable products
Suitable prices
Suitable Promotional messages
Suitable distribution
Marketers understand customers through consumer research:
Secondary Research
Primary research (qualitative – quantitative)
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3. Steps of consumer Research Process
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4. Developing Research Objectives
Defining purposes and objectives helps ensure an appropriate research design
A written statement of objectives helps to define the type and level of information needed. Examples:
Selection of specific segment to be studied
Knowing the consumer attitudes regarding online shopping
Determining the percent of households shop for food online
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5. Secondary Data
Data that has been collected for reasons other than the specific research project at hand
(Includes internal and external data)
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6. Types of Secondary Data
Internal Data
Data generated in-house
May include analysis of customer files
External Data
Data collected by an outside organization
Includes federal government, periodicals, newspapers, books, search engines
Commercial data is also available from market research firms
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7. Designing Primary Research Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is a great way to begin your primary research. It is extremely helpful in identifying consumer’s attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs about your product. Because these methods generally use small samples, qualitative research techniques are often followed by quantitative processes.
Qualitative Research methods
Depth Interviews
Focus Groups
Projective Techniques
Looking-in
e.g. Getting new ideas of product extension
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8. Qualitative Collection Methods 1- Depth Interview
Also called one-on-one interview
Usually 20 minutes to 1 hour
provides important information for targeting, positioning, and product redesign
Interviewer will often probe consumers to get more information (see following slide for probing examples)
Session is usually recorded (video – audio)
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9. Probing Options for Interviews Figure 2.3
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10. Qualitative Collection Method 2- Focus Group
Small groups: 8-10 participants
Lasts about 2 hours
Respondents are recruited through a screener questionnaire (see following slide for a screener questionnaire example)
Advantage: respondents interact with each other and build off of each other’s comments
Disadvantage: participants might not always be honest and are less willing to expose private thoughts and personal views due to the presence of other members
Always taped or videotaped to assist analysis
Whereas one-on-one interviews are conducted directly with the interviewer and a respondent, a focus group uses a small group of subjects for the research. Some researchers favor this approach because the respondents interact with each other and build off of each other’s comments. In addition, many people’s opinions are included in a shorter amount of time than individual interviews. A disadvantage of focus groups is that participants might not always be honest and are less willing to expose private thoughts and personal views due to the presence of other members. Researchers must balance the advantages and disadvantages of this method when deciding if it is right for their research project.
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11. Screener Questionnaire - Figure 2.4
This is an example of a screener questionnaire for the research done for a food manufacturer and marketer. The participants would be screened and then invited to participate in the focus group. The purpose of it is to ensure that the appropriate individuals are invited to participate in the research study.
This is an example of a screener questionnaire for the research done for a food manufacturer and marketer. The participants would be screened and then invited to participate in the focus group. The purpose of it is to ensure that the appropriate individuals are invited to participate in the research study.
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12. Qualitative Collection Method 3- Projective Techniques
Research procedures (tests) designed to identify consumers’ subconscious feelings and underlying motivations
Consist of a variety of disguised “tests”.
In many situations, the research purpose is disguised and the respondent simply knows they are answering questions for a researcher not about themselves.
Projective techniques have their roots in psychoanalytic theory and practice. As a group, they tap into the consumer’s unconscious associations and motivations. There are a variety of these techniques and they are generally administered one-on-one with the respondent in a closed setting. In many situations, the research purpose is disguised and the respondent simply knows they are answering questions for a researcher.
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13. Common Projective Exercises Table 2.1 (excerpt)
Description
Word Associations
The researcher has a list of words, some of them to be studied and some just as “filler.” The researcher asks the respondent(s) to react, one-at-a time, to each word by stating or (in a focus group setting) writing on a pad the first word that comes to mind, and to explain the link.
Sentence
Completion
The researcher has a series of incomplete sentences that the respondent(s) needs to complete with a word or phrase.
Photo/Visual for Storytelling
The researcher creates/selects a series of photos of consumers, different brands or products, range of print ads, etc., to serve as stimuli. The respondents are asked to discuss or tell a story based on their response to a photo or some other visual stimulus.
Role Playing
Is quite similar to storytelling; however, instead of telling a story, the participant(s) will be given a situation and asked to “act out” the role(s), often with regard to a product or brand, or particular selling situation.
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14. Qualitative Collection Method 4- Looking-In
Look at information from postings on social media, including blogs and discussion forums regarding the products and brands
Methodology to capture consumers’ experiences, opinions, forecasts, needs, and interests
Marketers can use this information to develop new products, introduce new features, and to gain a better understanding of their customers’ needs and wants
There is an emerging field of consumer research that works to interpret online conversations. The web link on this slide brings you to Converseon, a company that is working in the field. With the growth in social marketing, there are increasing conversations and comments online regarding products and brands. Marketers can use this information to develop new products, introduce new features, and to gain a better understanding of their customers’ needs and wants.
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15. Designing Primary Research Quantitative Research
Quantitative research findings are descriptive and empirical. Unlike qualitative research, they can often be generalized to larger populations. Quantitative research helps marketers “predict” future needs, trends, and levels of satisfaction and are heavily used in research.
Quantitative Research methods
Observation
Experimentation
Survey (questionnaires)
Quantitative research findings are descriptive and empirical. Unlike qualitative research, they can often be generalized to larger populations. Quantitative research helps marketers “predict” future needs, trends, and levels of satisfaction and are heavily used in research. Observation and experimentation can often be done without the subject’s input but a survey always needs direct cooperation from the subject.
What percent of consumers who use a particular product?
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16. Data Collection Methods 1- Observational Research
In observational research, the researcher does not interact with the subject but watches their actions and behavior
Helps marketers gain an in-depth understanding of the relationship between people and products by watching them buying and using products
very helpful in uncovering problems with a product as well as to gain ideas for product improvements and new products development
In observational research, the researcher does not interact with the subject but watches their actions and behavior. Observation research can be done in stores, in malls, and in people’s homes. Observation research is very helpful in uncovering problems with a product as well as to gain ideas for product improvements and new products. This type of research is often done to understand how people interact with the product, each other, the design of the stores, and complementary products.
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17. Data Collection Methods Mechanical Observational Research
Uses mechanical or electronic device to record consumer behavior or response (e.g. store camera)
usage of barcode scanners
at stores will help provide data
to the retailers and brand managers
Consumers’ increased use of highly convenient technologies will create more records for marketers (e.g. using credit cards online)
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18. Data Collection Methods 2- Experimentation
Can be used to test the relative sales appeal of many types of variables
An experiment is usually controlled with only some variables manipulated at a time while the others are constant
Test markets are conducted on a single market area
Experimentation can be conducted in laboratories or in the field
Experimentation is useful for researchers in testing variables, including package design, alternative price points, and promotional offers. It is helpful for understanding cause-and-effect situations like the change in sales that is associated with a coupon. An example of an experiment might be to find out how much the use of a celebrity endorser will affect sales. Experiments can be carried out in the field as is the case for test markets. Test markets involve bringing the product to market in only one area and then measuring customer response. With this limited roll-out, marketers can decide if a national campaign and introduction make sense for their product. Experiments can also take place in a lab, on the Internet, and by using virtual reality methods. These more “remote” types of experiments are growing in usage because they are very cost efficient for marketers.
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19. Data Collection Methods 3- Survey methods
Mail
Telephone
Personal Interview
Online
Cost
Low
Moderate
High
Speed
Slow
Immediate
Fast
Response rate
Self-selected
Geographic flexibility
Excellent
Good
Difficult
Interviewer bias
N/A
Problematic
Supervision on the Interviewer
Easy
These are the four major survey methods. This table summarizes their advantages and disadvantages. As you can see, they differ in their speed, costs, response rate – three very important factors to consider when designing market research. Online surveys are becoming increasingly popular because they are easy to use, inexpensive, and can reach very spread-out respondents.
This web link is to surveymonkey.com which is one of the most popular online survey websites.
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20. Attitude Scales Likert scales Semantic differential scales
Asked to agree or disagree with a statement
Easy to prepare & interpret
Simple for consumers
Likert scales
Includes bipolar adjectives (good/bad), (like, dislike)
Relatively easy to construct and administer
Semantic differential scales
Measures likelihood consumers will act a certain way
Easy to construct and administer
Behavior intention scales
Items ranked in order of preference in terms of some criteria (e.g. quality, price, product design)
It enables marketers to identify areas of improvement
Rank-order scales
Attitude scales are used to help researchers understand evaluations of certain product and brand attributes. The four scales in this slide are the most commonly used attitude scales. In general, these scales are easy to administer and provide excellent information for the researcher. You have probably taken many surveys that were full of attitude scales.
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21. Sampling and Data Collection
Samples are a subset of the population used to estimate characteristics of the entire population.
A sampling plan addresses:
Whom to survey
How many to survey
How to select them
Researcher must choose probability or nonprobabililty sample.
It is almost always impossible to get information from every member of the population. This is why marketers need to use a sample of the population. To determine the sample a researcher will use, it is important to put together a sampling plan which includes the details on whom to survey, how many to survey, and how the survey respondents will be chosen. Once this is decided, the marketer can choose a probability or nonprobability sample. The basic difference between these two types of samples is that in a probability sample, every member of the population has a chance of being selected as opposed to a probability sample, where the researcher uses their judgment to select the respondents for the sample. 21
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22. Data Analysis and Reporting Findings
The responses from qualitative research are analyzed in addition to the results of the quantitative research
Once all the data is analyzed, The final step of the research process is to combine qualitative and quantitative findings in a final report
Final report includes executive summary, body, tables, and graphs.
The responses from qualitative research are analyzed in addition to the results of the quantitative research. For survey data, the open-ended responses are coded so that they can be entered into a spreadsheet or analysis software. Once all the data is entered, it is tabulated and then analyzed. The final step of the research process is to put together a report. In addition to the executive summary, body, tables, and graphs, the research report might include strategic recommendations based on the research findings.
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