Consumer Behavior

Twelfth Edition

Chapter 2
Consumer Research

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Learning Objectives
2.1 To understand how to conduct exploratory research and
review secondary data.
2.2 To understand the purpose and tools of qualitative research.
2.3 To understand the purpose and tools of quantitative research.

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Why Do Marketers Regularly Test Print Ads Like
This One Before They Are Placed in the Media?

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3
To Test the Impact of the Message Before Spending
Large Amounts of Money

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4Chapter Two
Slide
 Consumer Research
Consumer research has developed from the more general
field of market research. It is a field of study that has been
influenced by researchers and practitioners in several other
fields, including psychology, sociology, and anthropology.
Consumer research is the practice of identifying the
preferences, attitudes, motivations, and buying behavior of
the targeted customer.
Consumer research is the process and tools used to study
consumer behavior.

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The Importance of the Consumer Research
Process

• Marketers must understand customers to

design effective:
–marketing strategies
–products
–promotional messages

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6 Chapter Two Slide
Consumer Research Process

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Consumer Research Process
• The marketer will first develop written statement of
objectives to guide their research and helps to define the
type and level of information needed.

• Next comes the collection of secondary data which we

will learn is data that is available because it had been
collected previous to the marketer’s particular research.

• In the next phase, the marketer branches to both

qualitative and quantitative research. In each of these
areas, the marketer collects and analyzes data and then
presents it in either a written report, a presentation, or
both.
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 Discussion Questions

• Assume you are planning to open a new pizza

restaurant near your campus.
–What might be three objectives of a research
plan for your new business?
–How could you gather these data?

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Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 9 Chapter Two Slide
Learning Objective 4.1
4.1 To understand how to conduct exploratory research and
review secondary data.

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Exploratory Research
Defined
An examination of resources and materials that had already been
collected and can be of value to the research at hand and consists
mostly of reviewing secondary data
Information can be classified as either primary or
secondary.

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Secondary Data (1 of 3)
Defined
Information that was gathered previously so it is existing
information gathered for a research purpose other than the
present research. It is already available to the researcher
often for a fee.
Collecting secondary information is important in guiding
primary research decisions.

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Secondary Data

• Data Includes internal and

external data

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13 Chapter Two Slide
 Types of Secondary Data

Internal Data External Data

• Data generated in-house • Data collected by an
outside organization
• May include analysis of
customer files • Includes federal
government, periodicals,
• Useful for calculating
newspapers, books,
customer lifetime value
search engines
• Commercial data is also
available from market
research firms
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Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 14 Chapter Two Slide
Secondary Data (2 of 3)
• Discussion Question:
What are the advantages and limitations of secondary data?

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Secondary Data (3 of 3)
Advantages Limitations
• May provide solution • It may not be accurate; errors
may have been made in data
• Helps clarify and redefine
collection and/or analysis
objectives of the primary
study • Data could be out of date
• Cheaper and quicker than
primary data

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Learning Objective 16.2
16.2 To understand the purpose and tools of qualitative research.

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Qualitative v s. Quantitative Research
ersu

After analyzing the secondary data available, marketers

can use either qualitative or quantitative research.
• Purpose: If the purpose of a study is to come up with new
ideas for products or promotional themes the researchers use
→ qualitative research (focus groups, one-one - depth
interviews in which sampled consumers are individually
interviewed by professionally trained interviewers.

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Qualitative Research
• It is extremely helpful in identifying attitudes, thoughts,
and beliefs about your product
• Ideal for initial ideas (promotional campaigns, products,
positioning)

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Key Methods
• Depth interview
• Focus groups
• Projective techniques

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Depth Interviews
• Also called one-on-one interview
• Provide information for targeting, positioning and product
redesign
• Usually 20 minutes to 1 hour
• Interview is often recorded either with video or audio
recordings so that the interviewer can play it back the session
to have all the details.
• Session is usually recorded

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Focus Groups
• 8-10 participants
• Focus group uses a small group of subjects for the
research.
• Lasts about 2 hours
• Always taped or videotaped to assist analysis
• Often participants might not be honest and are less willing to
expose private thoughts and personal views.
• Online focus groups are growing

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Projective Techniques
Projective techniques are indirect methods used in
qualitative research. These techniques allow researchers
to tap into consumers' deep motivations, beliefs, attitudes
and values. ... In such cases, projective techniques are
typically used in conjunction with direct questioning in
qualitative research

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Learning Objective 16.3
16.3 To understand the purpose and tools of quantitative research.

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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.

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 Designing Primary Research

Quantitative
Research
• Observation
• Experimentation
• Survey
questionnaires

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Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 26 Chapter Two Slide
Observation
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.
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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Experimentation
In 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

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Surveys
A Survey is defined as a research method used for
collecting data from a pre-defined group of respondents to
gain information and insights on various topics of interest.
• Personal interview surveys
• Telephone surveys
• Mail surveys
• Email surveys
• Internet surveys
 

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Surveys
• Personal interview surveys (that are face-to-face) most often take
place in a public space or a retail shopping area, such as within the
public area of a mall, or a rented space within an office located in a
mall.
• Telephone interview surveys - problems arise from the increased
use of answering machines, telephone company voicemail systems
• Mail surveys are conducted by sending questionnaires directly to
individuals at their homes.
• E-mail; surveys One of the key attractions of using email is that it is
as easy and quick to distribute a survey around the world-mail
surveys are an increasingly popular alternative to postal service.
• Internet surveys. Potential respondents are directed to the
company’s website by online ads or targeted e-mail invitations.

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Questionnaires
A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a
series of questions (or other types of prompts) for the
purpose of gathering information from respondents
• Open-ended questions(require answers in the
respondent’s own words (e.g., essay type questions).
• Closed-ended questions(require respondents to check
the appropriate answer from a list of options (e.g.,
multiple-choice and true or false questions).

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Questionnaires
Considerations
– Avoid leading questions
– Avoid two questions in one
– Questions must be clear
– Use words that consumers routinely use
– Ensure respondents can answer the question
– Ensure respondents are willing to answer the question
– Questions’ sequence

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Customer Satisfaction
• Customer satisfaction surveys
• Mystery shoppers
• Complaint analysis

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Complaint analysis
A good complaint analysis system should encourage
customers to:
1. Complain about an unsatisfactory product or
service.
2. Provide suggestions for improvements by
completing forms asking specific questions beyond
the routine “how was everything?”
3. Establish “listening posts” such as hotlines where
specially designated employees either listen to
customers’ comments or actively solicit input from
them (e.g., in a hotel lobby or on checkout lines).

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Complaint analysis
• Because each complaint, by itself, provides little
information, the company must have a system in
which complaints are categorized and analyzed so
that the results may be used to improve its
operations.

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Copyright

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