Consumer Research Methods

1. Consumer Research Methods • Methods of consumer research • Primary research methods • Advantages and disadvantages of each method

2. Two Research Methods • Secondary: use of existing research already done • Government • Consulting firms • Newspaper and magazine articles • Primary: creation of specific studies to answer specific questions

3. ABI Inform • Specializes in business related publications • Search choices • Subject terms • “Snow-balling”  new subject terms • Personal Name • Product Name, Company Name • Abstract • “All basic search fields”

4. Snow-balling example • Subject=Asian + Subject=Advertising  Television stations, Television markets, Asian Americans, Television Advertising, Studies, Minority & Ethnic Groups

5. Lexis-Nexis (Academic) • From within Lexis-Nexis, select “Guided Search” • Several different options—e.g., “General News” vs. “Business News” • Allows for search through full text

6. Business & Industry • Great coverage of trade journals • Excellent indexing of articles by • Country/region • Industry • Business/marketing concept—e.g. • “Consumer marketing” • “Market Research” • “Teen Market”

7. Industry and Company Info Not as useful for this course but good for job hunting Hoover’s Identify competitors, industry Standard and Poor’s Industry Surveys Some print sources: Best Customers Statistical Abstracts Country information Stat-USA Economist Intelligence Unit Other

8. Newspaper back indices—usually have to pay for older articles Business Week online and other business periodicals Google news: current articles only http://news.google.com/ Other Sources When You Do Not Have Access to Lexis-Nexis/ABI

9. Primary Research Methods • Surveys • Experimentation • Focus groups • In-depth interviews • Projective techniques • Physiological Measures

10. Planned questions Open-ended Closed-ended Sample size and inferences Forms Mail Telephone Mall Intercept Computer/Internet Biases Wording Response Interviewer Surveys

11. Computer/Online surveys • Getting people to follow instructions • Opportunities for branching (contingent questions) • Sampling frame and response • Possible emerging opportunities • Correlating data on which not all respondents have answered the same questions

12. Experimentation • Real world relevance vs. control (internal vs. external validity) • “Treatments” and factorial designs • Sample sizes and inferences

13. Focus Groups • Groups of 8-12 consumers assembled • Start out talking generally about context of product • Gradually focus in on actual product

14. In-depth interviews • Structured vs. unstructured interviews • Generalizing to other consumers • Biases

15. Projective Techniques • Measurement of attitudes consumers are unwilling to express • Consumer discusses what other consumer might think, feel, or do

16. Observation • Consumer is observed--preferably unobtrusively--while: • Examining products prior to making a purchase • Using a product • Engaging in behavior where the product may be useful

17. Physiological Measures • Devices attached to the consumer to measure • Arousal • Eye movement • Consumer feedback • Lever pulled to positive or negative positions • Squeeze on ball

18. Scanner Data • Panel members in test communities agree to • Swipe a card prior to each purchase • Have purchases matched to • demographic profiles • media/coupon exposure • promotional status of competing brands • past purchases • Problems: • Aggregation over household • Aggregation bias--averages of disparate segments obscure!

19. Definition • Confound: The tendency of some phenomenon to be caused at least in part by some variable other than the one of interest. • E.g., are tall women more or less likely to wear high heels?

20. Confounds • What is cause, what is effect, and what is coincidence? • Correlation is not necessarily cause • “Lurking” factors may be real cause of 26 • Does having more toys cause children to be more intelligent? • Are tall women more or less likely to wear high heels? • Do vaccinations cause autism? • Does Prozac cause suicide? • Do fish-heavy diets cause stomach cancer?

21. Social desirability/ willingness to “stand out” ---> need to adjust data Willingness to criticize products Familiarity with being surveyed New technologies (e.g., scanner data) --usually less well developed than in the U.S. Reachability of respondents Selection of appropriate respondent Issues in International Primary Research

22. “Trackers” High vs. low tech tools Massive database Repetitive, non-glorious work Why We BuyChapter 1: “A Science Is Born”

23. Chapter 2: “What Retailers Don’t Know” • Conversion rates • What do managers actually know—or think they know? • Knowing the neighborhood • Waiting line

24. The Transition Zone Effects of automatic doors Productive uses of the transition zone Tradeoffs in real life Chapter 3“The Twilight Zone”

25. Why We BuyCh. 4—”You Need Hands” • Important to visualize the consumer in actual shopping situation • Some purchases may not be important enough to warrant logistics—must make it easier to reach products • Where to place baskets in stores? • Disneyland’s experience—thinking like a visitor

26. Ch. 5“How to Read a Sign” • Objectives • Get shoppers’ attention • Induce to look and shop • Deliver useful and understandable info • McDonald’s menus—prime exposure opportunities • CNN Airport television sets

27. Ch. 6“Shoppers Move Like People” • Why not be next to a bank? • What do mirrors do to walking traffic? • Chevroning—advantages and disadvantages