Marketing Information

Marketing Information

Why gather information? • Companies need information about their: • Customer’s needs • Marketing environment • Service processes • Pricing • Advertising and Promotion • Competition

Information Overload • Marketing managers do not need more information, they need better information. • Need to weigh benefits of information against costs of information.

Marketing Information System An MIS consists of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision makers.

Sources of Marketing Information • Internal Databases: Electronic collections of information obtained from data sources within the company. • Marketing Intelligence: Systematic collection and analysis of publicly available information about competitors and developments in the marketing environment. • Marketing Research: Systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation facing an organization.

Primary vs. Secondary Data • Do we collect our own data or acquire someone else’s? • Pros and Cons of Primary vs. Secondary Data • Relevance • Timeliness • Cost • Availability

Information that already exists somewhere: Internal databases Commercial or syndicated data services Government sources Published sources (newspapers, magazines, etc.) Key sources of secondary data found on the Web: Media data: Arbitron, Nielson, ABC Government data:Census, FTC, SBA Consumer data:SMRB, ComScore Secondary Data

Census Data Census.gov

Primary Data • Consists of information collected for the specific purpose at hand. • Determine: • Research approach • Contact methods • Sampling plan • Research instruments

Primary Data - The Marketing Research Process

Types of Marketing Research • Exploratory Research: • Gathers preliminary information to help define the problem, suggest hypotheses and guide future research. • Descriptive Research: • Describes things (e.g., market potential for a product, demographics of our customers and consumer attitudes). • Experimental Research: • Tests hypotheses about cause-and-effect relationships.

Research Modalities • Observational • Survey • Causal • Experiments • Tests

Observational Research • Gathering data by observing people, actions, and situations. • Ethnographic research: • Observation in a “natural environment” • Spy or “Mystery” Shoppers • Shopping your own organization (Movie: “The Doctor”) • Mechanical observation

Mystery Shopper Survey for Restaurants

Mechanical Observation Devices • – People meters • –Scanners • –Galvanometers • –Eye Cameras • FMRI

Survey Research • Most popular method for primary data collection. • Best suited for gathering descriptive information. • Can gather information about almost anything. • Several formats available • Paper, Mail, Phone, Online

Mail Surveys • 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). • Cons: • Not flexible once printed. • Longer time horizon. • Low response rate. • Diminished control over sample.

Phone Surveys • Pros: • Faster time horizon • Greater flexibility than mail • Better response rates than mail • Cons: • Higher costs than mail • Interviewer bias • Limited quantity of data can be collected

In-Person Interviews (Individual & Group) • Pros: • Highest flexibility • Most extensive data-gathering potential • Highest speed of data collection • Best response rates • Cons: • Highest cost per respondent • Worst interviewer bias potential • Not scalable – can only target so many people

Focus Groups

Online Surveys • Pros: • Least expensive • Quickest way to gather information • Offers excellent control over sample. • Decent flexibility • Good response rates • Major Con • Limited sample demographics (but getting better!)

Sampling Plan • Sample:segment of the population selected to represent the entire population of interest. • Three decisions: • Who to survey? • Sampling unit • How many people should be surveyed? • Sample size • How to survey the sample? • Sampling procedure • Random vs. convenience samples • Will your sample generalize to the market?

Characteristics of Good Marketing Research • Scientific method • Research creativity • Multiple methods • Balances benefits & costs of information • Healthy skepticism • Good research questions

Survey Writing Workshop • Writing Good Survey Questions and Good Surveys • Question Types

Writing Good Surveys • Ensure questions are unbiased. BAD “How much better do you like John McCain than Barack Obama?” BETTER “Which candidate do you prefer - John McCain or Barack Obama?”

Writing Good Surveys • Keep questions simple. BAD “Considering the candidates running for office this election, who is your preferred candidate?” BETTER “Which candidate do you prefer?”

Writing Good Surveys • Make questions specific. BAD “Please tell us what you think of this restaurant.” BETTER “What did you think of our restaurant’s service, food, atmosphere, host, etc.”

Writing Good Surveys • Avoid jargon and sophisticated words. BAD “Do you consider yourself a metrosexual?” BETTER “Would you describe yourself as someone who enjoys cooking, nail treatments, etc.?”

Writing Good Surveys • Avoid ambiguity unless it’s called for. BAD OR OK “What do you think of Apple’s products?” BETTER “What do you think of Apple’s I-Phone?”

Writing Good Surveys • Avoid negatives. BAD “Which of the following would you prefer not to sample?” BETTER “Which of the following would you prefer to sample?”

Writing Good Surveys • Avoid hypotheticals. BAD “Imagine you were driving a car that handles and rides smoothly…” BETTER Consumer actually test-drives car that handles and rides smoothly.

Writing Good Surveys • Use mutually exclusive categories. BAD “What is your age?” 18-24 ___ 24-30 ___ 30-35 ___ BETTER “What is your age?” 18-24 ___ 25-30 ___ 31-35 ___

Writing Good Surveys • Allow for “Other” in fixed response questions. BAD Which brands of Cola do you consume? Coke ____ Pepsi ____ RC ____ BETTER Which brands of Cola do you consume? Coke ____ Pepsi ____ RC ____ Other ____

Writing Good Surveys • Avoid “double-barreled” questions. BAD “Would you describe yourself as someone who enjoys cooking, nail treatments, and/or fashion?” BETTER “Would you describe yourself as someone who enjoys cooking?” (then ask about nail treatments and fashion in two separate questions)

Effective Survey Tactics • Beware the order in which questions are asked. Avoid “mis-cues”. • Keep your surveys as short as possible without sacrificing the quantity or quality of information obtained. • Provide explicit answering instructions (i.e. “Check All that Apply” or “Check One”) for every question. • Don’t assume the subject knows what to do • Know how you’re going to analyze the data before designing your survey.

Question Types - Dichotomous In arranging this trip, did you contact American Airlines?  Yes  No

Question Types – Multiple Choice • With whom are you traveling on this trip? •  No one • Spouse • Spouse and children • Children only • Business associates/friends/relatives • An organized tour group

Question Types –Likert Scale • Indicate your level of agreement with the following statement: Small airlines generally give better service than large ones. •  Strongly disagree • Disagree • Neither agree nor disagree • Agree • Strongly agree

Question Types – Semantic Differential American Airlines Large ………………………………...…………….Small Experienced………………….………….Inexperienced Modern………………………..………….Old-fashioned

Question Types – Importance Scale • Airline food service is _____ to me. •  Extremely important • Very important • Somewhat important • Not very important • Not at all important

Question Types – Rating Scale • American Airlines’ food service is _____. •  Excellent • Very good • Good • Fair • Poor

Question Types – Intention to Buy Scale • How likely are you to purchase tickets on American Airlines if in-flight Internet access were available? •  Definitely buy • Probably buy • Not sure • Probably not buy • Definitely not buy

Question Types – Completely Unstructured What is your opinion of American Airlines?

Question Types –Word Association What is the first word that comes to your mind when you hear the following? Airline ________________________ American _____________________ Travel ________________________

Question Types – Sentence Completion When I choose an airline, the most important consideration in my decision is: _______________________________________________________________.

Question Types –Story Completion “I flew American a few days ago. I noticed that the exterior and interior of the plane had very bright colors. This made me think and feel...” Now complete the story. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Question Types –Picture (Empty Balloons)

Question Types – Thematic Apperception Test Make up a story that reflects what you think is happening in this picture.

Questions du Jour Should Marketing Research findings ever be ignored? Is Marketing Research always necessary or beneficial?

Marketing Information