Books for Reference
Marketing Research – R.Nargundkar
Consumer Behaviour – Schiffman and Kanuk
Marketing Research – Tull, Green and Hawkins
Business Research Methods – Zikmund
Marketing Research – N.K. Malhotra
Marketing Research – Parashuraman, Grewal
Consumer Behaviour – Hoyer Mac Innis
Introduction,
Factors influencing consumer behaviour, Personality, Psychographics, Family, Society, Values of perception, Attitude and life styles,
Different models of consumer behaviour – Economic, Learning, Psychoanalytical, Sociological, Howard Shett, Nicosia, Webster and Wind, Engel, Blackwell and Minard models.
1. •Introduction,
•Factors influencing consumer behaviour,
Personality, Psychographics, Family, Society,
Values of perception, Attitude and life styles,
•Different models of consumer behaviour –
Economic, Learning, Psychoanalytical,
Sociological, Howard Shett, Nicosia, Webster
and Wind, Engel, Blackwell and Minard models.
2. Marketing Research – R.Nargundkar
Consumer Behaviour – Schiffman and Kanuk
Marketing Research – Tull, Green and
Hawkins
Business Research Methods – Zikmund
Marketing Research – N.K. Malhotra
Marketing Research – Parashuraman, Grewal
Consumer Behaviour – Hoyer Mac Innis
3. 1. Consumer Behavior
2. Buying Decision Making Process
3.Marketing Research Designs
4.Application of Quantitative Tools in Marketing
5.Market Research
4. Business orientations:
◦ 1. Production (Focus on production and production
related activities)
◦ 2. Sales (Focus on increasing sales)
◦ 3. Promotion(Efforts to increase sales)
◦ 4. Consumers (Focus upon consumers needs and
aspirations)
5. Who buys?
How do they buy?
When do they buy?
Where do they buy?
Why do they buy?
How often they buy?
6. Leon G. Schiffman and Kanuk
“Consumer behavior is the study of how
individuals make decisions to spend their
available resources (Time, Money and Efforts)
on consumption related items. It includes the
study of what they buy, why they buy it, when
they buy it, how often they buy it and how
often they use it”.
7. 1.The acquisition, consumption and
disposition of products, services, time and
ideas by decision making units (individual or
organizational)
2.It is the body of knowledge which studies
various aspects of purchase and consumption
of products and services by individuals with
various social and psychological variables at
play.
8. 3.The behaviour that the consumers display in
searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating and
disposing of products and services that they
expect will satisfy their needs.
4.The study of consumer behaviour involves
search, evaluation, purchase, consumption and
post purchase behaviour of the consumers and
includes the disposal of purchased products
keeping environment and personal
characteristics in mind.
10. According to Howard and Seth: Culture is
selective, manmade way of responding to
experience a set of behavior pattern.
It is a set of learned beliefs, values,
attitudes, habits and forms of behavior that
are shared by society and transmitted from
generation to generation.
11. It includes traditional ideas, and
values attached to these ideas.
It is comprehensive and includes
knowledge, beliefs, art, morality, law,
customs values, attitudes, habits and
all other habits acquired by man as a
member of the society.
12. Features:
1. It is a learned response
2. It includes inculcated values
3. Culture is a social
phenomena
13. Ex:
In the West, it is common to invite colleagues
or friends at home for a drink or dinner. In
Japan, inviting someone home is not a local
customs. It is preferable to do outing with
friends or colleagues in restaurant.
While if a Japanese offer you a gift, the
courtesy is to offer him an equivalent gift in
return.
14. How Mcdonalds adopted to different cultures?
McDonald’s is a brilliant example of adaptation
to the specificities of each culture.
McBaguette (with french baguette (a long, narrow
French loaf) and Dijon mustard (mustard made
from dark mustard seeds, white wine, and
spices.).
A Chicken Maharaja Mac and a Masala Grill
Chicken in India (with Indian spices).
15. How Mcdonalds adopted to different cultures?
A Mega Teriyaki Burger with teriyaki sauce (a
sauce made from soy sauce, sake, sugar,
ginger, and seasonings and used as a
marinade for meats that are then grilled,
broiled, or fried) or Gurakoro (with macaroni
gratin and croquettes (a small ball or roll of
vegetables, minced meat, or fish, fried in
breadcrumbs) in Japan.
16. How Mcdonalds adopted to different cultures?
McDonald’s in arabic and muslim countries use
certified halal and will not offer, of course,
any product with bacon (Meat product from a
pig) or pork.
18. It is a set of learned beliefs,
values, attitudes, habits, and
forms of behavior that are shared
by subsets of a society and are
transmitted from generations to
generations.
19. Sl.
No
Sub-Culture
Category
Examples
1 Religion Hindu, Jain, Christian, Muslim etc
2 Location North, South, East, West
3 Gender Male, Female
4 Occupation Business, service, professional
5 Social class Upper, Middle, lower
6 Age Old, young, middle age, children
etc
20. “Division of society into hierarchical levels of
distinct status classes so that members of a
class have relatively the same status and
members of all other classes have either
more or less”
21. Social factors are among the
factors influencing consumer behavior
significantly.
They fall into three categories namely,
1.Reference Groups,
2. Family and
3. Social roles and Status
22. “Are those groups with which individuals
interacts continuously. Ex: Family, friends,
neighbors, colleagues, religious
organizations, professional associations etc”
23. Reference groups are defined as those that
provide to the individual some points of
comparison more or less direct about his
behavior, lifestyle, desires or consumer
habits.
They influence the image that the individual
has of himself as well as his behavior.
Whether it is a membership group or a non-
membership group.
24. For example, even if he doesn’t need it yet, a
beginner cricketer may want to buy
“advanced” brands or products used by
experienced crickerters (aspirational group)
in order to get closer to this group.
While a teen may want the shoe or smart-
phone used by the group of “popular guys”
from his high school (aspirational group) in
order to be accepted by this group.
25. The family is maybe the most influencing factor for
an individual.
It forms an environment of socialization in which an
individual will evolve, shape his personality, acquire
values, develop attitudes and opinions on various
subjects such as politics, society, social relations or
himself and his desires.
But also on his consumer habits, his perception of
brands and the products he buys.
We all continue using some products and brands
which were used by the family.
Perceptions and family habits generally have a strong
influence on the consumer buying behavior.
26. For example, if you have never drunk Coke
during your childhood and your parents have
described it as a product “full of sugar and
not good for health”. There is far less chance
that you are going to buy it when you will
grow up that someone who drinks Coke since
childhood.
27. Sl.
No
Category Purchase of Products
1. Husband is dominant Automobiles, TV, Personal
computers
2. Wife is Dominant Washing Machine, Kitchen
appliances, Home appliances etc.,
3. Children are Dominant Tours, travels etc.,
28. The position of an individual within his
family, his work, his country club, his group
of friends, etc.. – All this can be defined in
terms of role and social status.
A social role is a set of attitudes and activities
that an individual is supposed to have and do
according to his profession and his position
at work, his position in the family, his gender,
etc.. – and expectations of the people around
him.
29. Same person plays different roles in the society.
This changes his consumer behaviour.
For ex:
Mr. “X” is the son of his father
Mr. “X” is the father of his son
Mr. “X” is the husband of his wife
Mr. “X” is a fried of Y
Mr. “X” is a CEO of ABC company.
All these roles of Mr X will influence his buying
behaviour. When we buys for his family, he buys
as a husband or a son or a father. But, when he
buys for the company he buys as the CEO
30. Decisions and buying behavior are obviously
also influenced by the characteristics of each
consumer:
1. Age and way of life
2.Purchasing power and revenue
3.Lifestyle
4.Personality and self-concept
31. A consumer does not buy the same products or
services at 20 or 70 years. His lifestyle, values,
environment, activities, hobbies and consumer
habits evolve throughout his life.
For example, during his life, a consumer could
change his diet from unhealthy products (fast
food, ready meals, etc..) to a healthier diet,
during mid-life with family before needing to
follow a little later a low cholesterol diet to avoid
health problems.
32. William Wells and George Gubar have
identified eight stages in family life cycle:
1. The Bachelor stage: Young, single person
under 35 years.
2. Newly Married: Young couples with no
children.
3. Full nest I: Young married couples with
youngest child under 6 years.
33. 4. Full nest II: Young married couple with
children from 6 years to 12 years of age.
5. Full nest III: Older married couple with
dependent teenage children living at home.
6. Empty nest I: Older married couples with no
children living with them.
7. Empty nest II: Older married couples with no
children living with them and retired.
8. Solitary survivor I: Older single person with
low income and increasing medical needs.
34. The purchasing power of an individual will
have, of course, a decisive influence on his
behavior and purchasing decisions based on
his income and his capital.
35. The lifestyle of an individual includes all of its
activities, interests, values and opinions.
The lifestyle of a consumer will influence on
his behavior and purchasing decisions.
For example, a consumer with a healthy and
balanced lifestyle will prefer to eat organic
products and go to specific grocery stores,
will do some jogging regularly (and therefore
will buy shoes, clothes and specific products),
etc..
36. Personality is the set of traits and specific
characteristics of each individual. It is the product of
the interaction of psychological and physiological
characteristics of the individual and results in
constant behaviors.
Personality traits include confidence, sociability,
autonomy, charisma, ambition, openness, shyness,
curiosity, adaptability, etc..
Self-concept is the image that the individual has – or
would like to have – of him and he conveys this.
These two concepts greatly influence the individual in
his choices and his way of being in everyday life. And
therefore also his shopping behavior and purchasing
habits as consumer.
37. Among the factors influencing consumer
behavior, psychological factors can be
divided into 4 categories
1.Motivation
2.Perception
3.Learning
4.Beliefs and Attitudes
38. Motivation is what will drive consumers to
develop a purchasing behavior.
It is the expression of a need is which
became pressing enough to lead the
consumer to want to satisfy it.
It is usually working at a subconscious level
and is often difficult to measure.
39. Perception is the process through which an
individual selects, organizes and interprets
the information he receives in order to do
something that makes sense. The perception
of a situation at a given time may decide if
and how the person will act.
Depending to his experiences, beliefs and
personal characteristics, an individual will
have a different perception from another.
40. The perception mechanism of an individual is
organized around three processes:
Selective Attention: The individual focuses
only on a few details or stimulus to which he
is subjected. The type of information or
stimuli to which an individual is more
sensitive depends on the person.
41. The perception mechanism of an individual is
organized around three processes:
A. Selective Attention: The individual focuses only on
a few details to which he is subjected.
B. Selective Distortion: In many situations, two people
are not going to interpret an information or a
stimulus in the same way. Each individual interprets
situations in a way consistent to their beliefs and
values.
C. Selective Retention: Individuals store and retain
from a given situation.
42. Learning is through action. When we act, we
learn.
“Learning changes behavior resulting out of
experience”.
For example, if we are sick after drinking coke,
we have a negative experience. We associate the
coke with this state of discomfort and we “learn”
that we should not drink coke. Therefore, we
don’t buy coke anymore.
43. A belief is a conviction that an individual has
on something. Through the experience he
acquires, his learning and his external
influences (family, friends, etc..), he will
develop beliefs that will influence his buying
behavior.
Attitude can be defined as a feeling, an
assessment of an object or idea and the
predisposition to act in a certain way toward
that object.
44. Different approaches are attempted to
understand and explain the complex buying
behaviour process.
In addition several models have been
propounded by marketing experts and
practioners to explain the buying process
45. Economic Model
Learning Model
Psychoanalytical Model
Sociological Model
46. The economic model of consumer behavior focuses
on the idea that a consumer’s buying pattern is based
on the idea of getting the most benefits while
minimizing costs.
Thus, one can predict consumer behavior based on
economic indicators such as the consumer’s
purchasing power and the price of competitive
products.
For instance, a consumer will buy a similar product
that is being offered at a lower price to maximize the
benefits.
An increase in a consumer’s purchasing power will
allow him to increase the quantity of the products he
is purchasing.
47. This model is based on the idea that consumer
behavior is governed by the need to satisfy basic
and learned needs.
Basic needs include food, clothing and shelter,
while learned needs include fear and guilt.
Thus, a consumer will have a tendency to buy
things that will satisfy their needs and provide
satisfaction.
A hungry woman may postpone buying a nice
piece of jewelry to buy some food, but will later
go back to purchase the jewelry once her hunger
is satisfied.
48. The psychoanalytical model takes into
consideration the fact that consumer
behavior is influenced by both the
conscious and the subconscious mind.
According to Sigmund Freud Human
personality is made up of three main
interdependent systems namely ID, SUPER-
EGO and EGO
49. 1.ID: instinct, needs, desires and impulse that demands
immediate fulfillment.
2.SUPER EGO:
It is Internal representative of the traditional values and the
customs of the society. It is moralistic and is learned from
parents, family, friends, teachers. It is the moral- science
and the conscience of human personality
3.EGO:
It is the planner, the thinker and the executer of personality
based on acceptance or not. It balances ID and Super-Ego
50. The sociological model primarily considers the
idea that a consumer’s buying pattern is based
on his role and influence in the society.
A consumer's behavior may also be influenced
by the people he/she associates with and the
culture that society exhibits.
For instance, a manager and an employee may
have different buying behaviors given their
respective roles in the company they work for,
but if they live in the same community or attend
the same church, they may buy products from
the same company or brand.
51. John Howard and Jagadish Sheth put forward the
Howard Sheth model of consumer behavior.
The Howard Sheth Model is a sophisticated
integration of the various social, psychological
and marketing influences.
According to this model there are inputs in the
form of Stimuli. There are outputs beginning with
attention to a given stimulus and ending with
purchase. In between the inputs and the outputs
there are variables affecting perception and
learning.
54. 1.Inputs: These input variables consist of three
distinct types of stimuli (information sources) in
the consumer’s environment.
1.Inputs comes from marketer furnishes physical
brand characteristics (significative stimuli) and
verbal or visual product characteristics (symbolic
stimuli).
2.Inputs comes from Impersonal sources like
mass media communication and advertising and
personal sources like sales and service
personnel.
3.Inputs also comes from consumer’s social
environment namely family, reference group, and
social class
55. 2.Perceptual and Learning Constructs: The central part of the
model deals with the psychological variables involved when the
consumer is contemplating a decision.
Some of the variables are perceptual in nature, and are
concerned with how the consumer receives and understands the
information from the input stimuli
stimulus ambiguity happens when the consumer does not
understand the message from the environment.
Perceptual bias occurs if the consumer distorts the information
received so that it fits his or her established needs or experience.
Learning constructs category, consumers’ goals, information
about brands, criteria for evaluation alternatives, preferences
and buying intentions are all included.
The proposed interaction In between the different variables in
the perceptual and learning constructs and other sets give the
model its distinctive advantage.
56. 3.Outputs: The outputs are the results of the
perceptual and learning variables and how
the consumers will response to these
variables (attention, brand comprehension,
attitudes, and intention).
4.Exogenous(External) variables: Exogenous
variables are not directly part of the decision-
making process. However, some relevant
exogenous variables include the importance
of the purchase, consumer personality traits,
religion, and time pressure.
57. Was developed in 1966, by Professor Francesco M. Nicosia,
This model focuses on the relationship between the firm
and its potential consumers.
The Nicosia model of Consumer Behavior is divided into
four major fields:
Field 1: The firm’s attributes and the consumer’s
attributes. The first field is divided into two subfields. The
first subfield deals with the firm’s marketing environment
and communication efforts that affect consumer attitudes,
the competitive environment, and characteristics of target
market.
Subfield two specifies the consumer characteristics e.g.,
experience, personality, and how he perceives the
promotional idea toward the product in this stage the
consumer forms his attitude toward the firm’s product
based on his interpretation of the message.
58. Field 2: Search and evaluation. The consumer will
start to search for other firm’s brand and evaluate the
firm’s brand in comparison with alternate brands. In
this case the firm motivates the consumer to
purchase its brands.
Field 3: The act of the purchase. The result of
motivation will arise by convincing the consumer to
purchase the firm products from a specific retailer.
Field 4: Feed back of sales results. This model
analyses the feedback of both the firm and the
consumer after purchasing the product. The firm will
benefit from its sales data as a feedback, and the
consumer will use his experience with the product
affects the individuals attitude and predisposition’s
concerning future messages from the firm.
60. Explains organization buying behaviour. It
considers four sets of variables which affect
the buying behaviour are:
1.Environment,
2. organization,
3.Buying center, and
4.Individual.
61. 1. The environmental variables include physical,
technological, economic, political, legal, labour
unions, cultural, customer demands, competition,
and supplier information.
2.The organizational variables include objectives,
goals, organization structure, purchasing policies and
procedures, degree of centralization in purchasing,
and evaluation and reward system.
These variables particularly influence the
composition and functioning of the buying centre,
and also, the degree of centralization or
decentralization in the purchasing function in the
buying organization.
62. 3.The functioning of buying centre is
influenced by the organizational variables,
the environmental variables, and the
individuals variables.
4.The output of the group decision-making
process of the buying centre includes
solutions to the buying problems of the
organization and also the satisfaction of
personal goals of individual members of the
buying centre.
64. This model consists of four sections viz.,
1.information input; 2. information
processing; 3.decision process and
4.variables influencing the decision process.
1.Information received from marketing and
non-marketing stimuli feeds into the
information-processing section of the mode
65. 2.The information section of the model
comprises various stages like exposure,
attention, comprehension, acceptance and
retention. After passing through these stages,
it goes into the memory.
Then this information that is stored in the
memory acts as an initial influence on the
need recognition stage. If internal
information is inadequate there is a search
for external information.
66. 3. The model focuses on the decision process
stages: need recognition, search, pre-
purchase alternative evaluation, purchase,
consumption, post-purchase alternative
evaluation and divestment. “Divestment” as a
construct was additionally added as a
modification over the EKB model. Divestment
relates to options of disposal, recycling or
remarketing. The entire process is influenced
by environmental influences and individual
differences
67. 4. Variables influencing decision process
includes:
a. Environmental influences like culture, social
class, personal influences, family and
situation and
b. Individual differences like consumer
resources, motivation and involvement,
knowledge, attitude, personality, lifestyle and
demographics
70. Types of research designs,
Techniques and tools of data
collection
Scales and measurement,
Various types of data,
Sampling techniques,
Sample size determination,
Analysis and interpretation of data,
Reporting the research findings.
71. 1.Define the problem
2.Determine research design
3.Identify data types and sources
4. Design data collection forms and
questionnaires
5.Determine sample plan and size
6.Collect the data
7.Analyze and interpret the data
8.Prepare the research report
72. The problem is translated into a research
problem involves the following:
1.Developing Title
2.Building conceptual model (Relations
between various concepts and variables)
3.Defining objectives
4.Setting investigative questions
5.Formulate Hypotheses
6.Operationally define concepts
7.Define scope of the study
73. The Research Design is a comprehensive
master plan of the research study. Marketing
research design can classified in one of three
categories:
1.Exploratory research attempts to explore an
not so well explored area.
2.Descriptive research describes the research
before research.
3.Causal research seeks to find cause and
effect relationships between variables.
74. The data can be Secondary and Primary.
Sources of Primary data:
1.communication
2.observation.
75. The questionnaire is an important tool for
gathering primary data. Poorly constructed
questions can result in large errors and
invalidate the research data, so significant
effort should be put into the questionnaire
design.
The questionnaire should be tested
thoroughly prior to conducting the survey.
76. Attributes can be measured on:
1.Nominal measurement scales
2.Ordinal measurement scales
3.Interval measurement scales
4.Ratio measurement scales
77. 1.Nominal measurements are qualitative,
Position not important,
Not related to the previous or succeeding
Ex gender: Male/Female, both are
independent, their position has no relevance)
78. 2.Ordinal scales are qualitative,
Position is important,
There is a order,
There is a range.
Ex income: 0-10,000, 10,001-20,000,
20,001-30,000) we can put the number of
people earning this income in a particular
class interval, but we do not have their exact
earning. For ex: we can say that Mr x
income in the range of 10001 -20,000 but
will not be knowing his exact earning.
79. 3.Interval scales
It is quantitative,
It is discrete by nature,
Takes positive values,
Takes exact measurement,
No range Ex: Income of Mr is Rs 15,454)
Example: Temperature scale
80. 4.Ratio scales similar to interval
are quantitative,
but considers 0, positive and negative values,
Data depends upon two variables
Ex mileage of a vehicle in Kms per liter of
petrol,
Ex; Temperature may be positive or negative.
81. The sampling frame is the pool from which the
interviewees are chosen.
The telephone book is often used as a sampling frame
Admission register in case of a college can be a sampling
frame.
In designing the research study, one should consider the
potential errors. Two sources of errors are :
1.Random sampling error are those due to the fact that
there is a non-zero confidence interval of the results
because of the sample size being less than the population
being studied.
2.Non-sampling error are those caused by faulty coding,
untruthful responses, respondent fatigue, etc.
82. The actual data collection should ensure that errors are
avoided.
Sampling errors must be reduced.
Non-sampling errors may be intentional on the part of the
interviewer,
The interviewer also may introduce unintentional errors,
for example, due to not having a clear understanding of
the interview process or due to fatigue.
A respondent may introduce intentional errors by lying or
simply by not responding to a question.
A respondent may introduce unintentional errors by not
understanding the question, guessing, not paying close
attention, and being fatigued or distracted.
Errors can be reduced through quality control techniques.
83. Before data analysis:
Raw data must be formatted
It must be edited so that errors can be
corrected or omitted.
The data must then be coded;
The data should be tabulated
85. 1.Conjoint Analysis: Conjoint analysis is a
tool that allows a subset of the possible
combinations of product features to be used
to determine the relative importance of each
feature in the purchasing decision.
Conjoint analysis is based on the fact that the
relative values of attributes considered jointly
can better be measured than when
considered in isolation.
86. 2. Hypothesis Testing: Hypothesis are the
vague statements about phenomena. These
statements have to be tested before
accepting or rejecting.
87. 3.Tests of Statistical Significance:
Two questions arise about any hypothesized
relationship between two variables:
1) what is the probability that the relationship
exists
2) if it does, how strong is the relationship
There are two types of tools that are used to
address these questions: the first is
addressed by tests for statistical significance;
and the second is addressed by Measures of
Association.
88. 4.ANOVA: The Analysis Of Variance, popularly
known as the ANOVA, can be used in cases
where there are more than two groups.
It is used to compare the means of more than
two samples.
89. 5.Discriminant Analysis: Discriminant function analysis is
a statistical analysis to predict a categorical dependent
variable (called a grouping variable) by one or more
continuous variables (called predictor variables).
Discriminant function analysis is useful in determining
whether a set of variables is effective in predicting
category membership.
In simple terms, discriminant function analysis is
classification - the act of distributing things into groups,
classes or categories of the same type.
90. 6.Factor Analysis: is a useful tool for
investigating variable relationships for complex
concepts such as socioeconomic status, dietary
patterns, or psychological scales.
In every factor analysis, there are the same
number of factors as there are variables. Each
factor captures a certain amount of the overall
variance in the observed variables, and the
factors are always listed in order of how much
variation they explain.
91. 7.Cluster Analysis:
cluster analysis is an exploratory data analysis
tool which aims at sorting different objects into
groups in a way that the degree of association
between two objects is maximal if they belong to
the same group and minimal otherwise.
Given the above, cluster analysis can be used to
discover structures in data without providing an
explanation/interpretation.
In other words, cluster analysis simply discovers
structures in data without explaining why they
exist.
92. Multiple Regression Analysis:
Multiple regression analysis is a powerful
technique used for predicting the unknown
value of a variable from the known value of
two or more variables- also called the
predictors.
More precisely, multiple regression analysis
helps us to predict the value of Y for given
values of X1, X2, …, Xk.
93. The format of the marketing research report varies with the
needs of the organization. The report often contains the
following sections:
Authorization letter for the research
Table of Contents
List of illustrations
Executive summary
Research objectives
Methodology
Results
Limitations
Conclusions and recommendations
Appendices containing copies of the questionnaires, etc.
94. The Research Design is a comprehensive
master plan of the research study to be
undertaken, giving a general statement of
the methods to be used.
Simply stated, it is the framework, a
blueprint for the research study which
guides the collection and analysis of data.
95. The Research design must, at least, contain—
(a) a clear statement of the research problem
(b) procedures and techniques to be used for
gathering information;
(c) the population to be studied;
(d) methods to be used in processing and analysing
data.
96. 1.Research design in case of exploratory
research studies
2.Research design in case of descriptive and
diagnostic research studies
3.Research design in case of hypothesis-
testing research studies
97. Exploratory research studies are also termed
as Formulative research studies.
The main purpose of such studies is to
formulate a problem for more precise
investigation or of developing the working
hypotheses from an operational point of view.
98. Descriptive research studies are those studies
which are concerned with describing the
characteristics of a particular individual, or of a
group.
Diagnostic research studies determine the
frequency with which something occurs or its
association with something else.
From the point of view of the research design,
the descriptive as well as diagnostic studies
share common requirements and as such we may
group together these two types of research
studies.
99. Hypothesis-testing research studies
(generally known as experimental studies) are
those where the researcher tests the
hypotheses of causal relationships between
variables.
Such studies require procedures that will not
only reduce bias and increase reliability, but
will permit drawing inferences about
causality.
100. 1. Quantitative methods
2. Qualitative methods for data collection:
101. Quantitative methods Includes:
Experiments/clinical trials.
Observing and recording well-defined events
(e.g., counting the number of patients waiting
in emergency at specified times of the day).
Obtaining relevant data from management
information systems.
Administering surveys with closed-ended
questions (e.g., face-to face and telephone
interviews, questionnaires etc)
103. One of the most influential distinctions made
in measurement was Stevens' (1946, 1957)
classification of scales of measurement.
He made the distinction between nominal,
ordinal, interval, and ratio scales of
measurement, which are briefly defined
below.
104. 1.Nominal scale
measurements are qualitative,
Position not important,
Not related to the previous or succeeding
Ex gender: Male/Female, both are
independent, their position has no relevance)
105. 2.Ordinal scales
Measurement are qualitative,
Position is important,
There is a order,
There is a range.
Ex income: 0-10,000, 10,001-20,000, 20,001-
30,000) we can put the number of people
earning this income in a particular class interval,
but we do not have their exact earning. For ex:
we can say that Mr x income in the range of
10001 -20,000 but will not be knowing his exact
earning.
106. 3.Interval scales
It is quantitative,
It is discrete by nature,
Takes positive values, takes exact
measurement,
No range Ex: Income of Mr is Rs 15,454)
Example: Temperature scale
107. 4.Ratio scales similar to interval
are quantitative,,
but considers 0, positive and negative values,
Data depends upon two variables
Ex mileage of a vehicle in Kms per liter of
petrol,
Ex; Temperature may be positive or negative.
108. Data can be of four major data types namely:
1.Quantitative
2.Discrete
3.Continuous
4.Categorical more detailed descriptions can
be found below:
109. Quantitative data is often referred to as the measurable
data.
This type of data allows statisticians to perform various
arithmetic operations, such as addition and multiplication,
to find parameters of a population like mean or variance.
The observations represent counts or measurements, and
thus all values are numerical.
Each observation represents a characteristic of the
individuals in a population or a sample.
Example: A set containing annual salaries of all your family
members, measured to the nearest thousand, contains
quantitative data.
Take, for instance, family X. Here is a possible data set for
this family: mother $25,000, father $30,000, son $35,000,
sons wife $32,000, uncle Joe $20,000, etc.
110. According to the New World Dictionary of the American
Language, the definition of "discrete" is separate and
distinct; not attached to others; unrelated; made up of
distinct parts; discontinuous.
Statistically speaking, discrete data result from either a
finite or a countable infinity of possible options for the
values present in a given discrete data set. The values of
this data type can constitute a sequence of isolated or
separated points on the real number line. Each observation
of this data type can therefore take on a value from a
discrete list of options.
Some examples of this type include the number of cars per
family, a student's height, the number of times a person
yawns during a day, a number of defective light bulbs on a
production line, and a number of tosses of a coin before a
head appears (which process could be infinite in length).
111. According to the New World Dictionary of the
American Language, the definition of "continuous" is
the following: going on or extending without
interruption or break; unbroken; connected; points
whose value at each point is approached by its
values at neighboring points.
Any observation can take on any real-number value
within a certain range or interval.
Example: Temperature readings between 10am and
6pm will be somewhere between 32 and 100 degrees
Fahrenheit, Temperatures can be in that range.
112. Categorical data, also called qualitative or
nominal, result from placing individuals into
groups or categories.
The values of a categorical variable are
labels for the categories.
113. Three types of sampling:
1. Probability sampling: it is the one in which each sample
has the same probability of being chosen.
2. Purposive sampling: it is the one in which the person
who is selecting the sample is who tries to make the
sample representative, depending on his opinion or
purpose, thus being the representation subjective.
3. No-rule sampling: we take a sample without any rule,
being the sample representative if the population is
homogeneous and we have no selection bias.
114. • Random sampling with and without
replacement.
• Stratified sampling.
• Cluster sampling.
• Systematic sampling.
115. Let us imagine now that we have already selected a
sample. From a high school with 560 students, we have
selected a sample of 28 students to know if they have
internet connection at home. But, what does it mean to
select 28 out of 560? Which proportion of the population
are we selecting? And when we want to have conclusions
about the population, how many of the students of the
population does each one of the sample elements
represent?
1. Sampling factor: it is the quotient between the size of
the sample and the size of the
To calculate sample factor we divide the sample size by
the population size, this is: 28/560 = 0.05, and this
means that the same sample size if 5% of population.
116. 2. Elevation factor: it represents the number of
elements existing in the population for each
element of the sample.
To calculate how many students represents each
sample, We make the we divide the number of
elements of the population by the number of
elements of the sample: 560/28 = 20, which
would mean that each of the students of the
sample represents 20 students of the high
school. The two concepts that we have just
presented have the following formal definition:
117. How will you select 28 students out of 560 in a high school to
get that all of them have the same probability of being in the
sample?
The easiest thing would be to choose them randomly, so that
they all have the same possibility of belonging to the sample.
When a sample can be selected again, we say that we make
sampling with replacement.(Asking only once)
When a sample cannot be selected again after being selected
once, we say that we have obtained the sample through
sampling without replacement. (Asking more than once the same
person)
118. what do people in the city do in their spare
time?
We all know that old people do not have the
same activities like middle-age people
In this case, We can select the samples after
dividing entire city with different stratas.
We select samples from all the stratas that we
have made like the children, young, teenage,
middle age, old age etc.
Then, we conclude about the city.
119. To study the average height of the students of high
schools in your city we can use cluster sampling.
In cluster sampling, population is divided into units or
groups or areas or clusters in which the population
has been divided
The group should be representative of the population.
i.e., they should represent the heterogeneity of the
population we are studying and they should be
homogeneous among them.
Finally samples are selected from each cluster and
conclusion is drawn about the entire population.
120. We select the sample systematically as follows:
For ex: Let us imagine that in our example of high school case
we have decided to choose 28 people out of 560 students.
In this case, the elevation factor would be 560/28 = 20.
We number students from 1 to 560.
We then choose a number x randomly from 1 to 20 say for
example 5 this would be the first student selected.
Then, we add this 20 to this 5, so the next number will be 25.
We again add 20 to 25 it becomes 45 and the process is
continued we get 28 samples in 560.
121. How many responses do you really need?
A larger sample can yield more accurate
results — but excessive responses can be
costly.
Factors influencing sample size
determination:
1.Population Size
2.Margin of Error (Confidence Interval)
3.Confidence Level
4.Standard of Deviation
122. For instance, if you want to know about
mothers living in the US, your population size
would be the total number of mothers living
in the US.
Don’t worry if you are unsure about this
number. It is common for the population to
be unknown or approximated.
123. No sample will be perfect, so you need to
decide how much error to allow.
The confidence interval determines how
much higher or lower than the population
mean you are willing to let your sample mean
fall.
If you’ve ever seen a political poll on the
news, you’ve seen a confidence interval. It
will look something like this: “68% of voters
said yes to Proposition Z, with a margin of
error of +/- 5%.”
124. How confident do you want to be that the
actual mean falls within your confidence
interval?
The most common confidence intervals are:
1. 90% confident,
2. 95% confident, and
3. 99% confident.
125. The standard deviation is the square root of variance.
Thus the way we calculate standard deviation is very
similar to the way we calculate variance.
In fact, to calculate standard deviation, we first need
to calculate the variance, and then take its square
root.
How much variance do you expect in your responses?
Since we haven’t actually administered our survey yet,
the safe decision is to use .5 – this is the most
forgiving number and ensures that your sample will
be large enough.
126. Confidence level corresponds to a Z-score (z
Score A z-score (a standard score) indicates
how many standard deviations an element is
from the mean.
90% – Z Score = 1.645
95% – Z Score = 1.96
99% – Z Score = 2.326
Necessary Sample Size =
(Z-score)² X Std Dev X (1-StdDev)
(margin of error)²
127. At 95% confidence level,
Standard deviation=.5
Margin of error (confidence interval) of +/- 5%.
=(1.96)²x.5(1-.5)/(.05)²
=(1.96)²x.5(.5)/(.05)²
=(3.8416x.25)/ .0025
=.9604/.0025
384.16= 384 is the sample size.
128. After completing your data analysis, research findings should be
presented in a
comprehensive and organized manner. A research report should
generally contain the following:
1. Executive Summary: present the heart of the report. ,
objectives, methodology, findings, conclusions, and
recommendations (a paragraph on each) must be presented
forcefully, and briefly
2. Introduction and Research Objectives: Briefly introduce the
topic, background and comment on why the research topic is
important. state the Research Purpose
3 Secondary Data Research: secondary data that is pertinent to
your research objectives
129. 4.Qualitative Research: If you have conducted a focus
group or depth interviews, report some basic
information about how the quantitative research was
conducted and state the key findings and insights.
5.Survey Research Design: In this section, you will
state your choice of survey method
(telephone/personal/mail/email, etc.); attach a copy
of the questionnaire in the Appendix.
6. Sample Characteristics: Note how you picked the
sample for survey, report sample size and sample
characteristics (description of the demographics.
130. 7. Survey Research Findings: The data analysis and findings
should be organized around the stated objectives and should be
supported by meaningful tables and/or charts. Where
appropriate, statistical tests should be reported. Include only
important numbers, tables, and charts in the text. The less
important analysis can be relegated to the appendix. Just state
the findings in the text
8. Conclusions and Recommendations: State the key findings,
and recommend specific actions where appropriate. Also indicate
any limitations of the method (e.g., sample size, nature of data
collection) that you think might have affected your findings
9. Appendix: should include: Copy of the questionnaire, Coding
Sheet, Any useful statistical tables not included in the text
Statistical tests/computations, if applicable.
132. Decision making using Regression analysis,
ANOVA,
Discriminant analysis,
Factor analysis,
Cluster analysis,
Multi-dimensional scaling,
Conjoint analysis,
Use of SPSS for data analysis
133. In the market research process, the one
important step is: Analyze the Data.
The amount of data that can be collected and
assembled in a market research study can be
astronomical.
Data organization and data reduction are two
very important aspects of data analysis.
A market researcher may tabulate data or
compile frequency distributions or any other
compilation depending upon the need.
134. The means or averages and other measures
of dispersion are common ways of analyzing
data for which frequency distributions are
available.
Very often, advanced statistics and decision
models are used to maximize the information
that can be extracted from research data.
The following section provides a brief
description of several commonly used
statistical tools, decision support models and
optimization routines
135. In market research analysis, a regression
function describes the relationship between a
dependent variable and independent
variables.
Multivariate regression extends the
regression function to describe not just one
dependent variable, but multiple dependent
variables.
136. With this technique we can:
Predict change in the dependent variables based
on manipulation of independent variables.
Develop visual representations of predictive
models that show how all of the data points in a
situation work together.
Understand how attributes such as weight, color,
convenience, or comfort influence a user’s
perception of and decision to purchase
product—and how these attributes interrelate.
137. Explore the variables that influence consumer
attitudes and observe how they collectively
impact consumer behavior.
Predict who among prospective customers is
likeliest to buy product, based on data about
past users.
Develop more effective and more targeted
marketing and products.
138. The Analysis Of Variance, popularly known as
the ANOVA, can be used in cases where there
are more than two groups.
It is used to compare the means of more
than two samples.
139. “Let us study the effect of fertilizers on yield
of wheat”.
We apply five fertilizers, each of different
quality, on five plots of land. The yield from
each plot of land is recorded and the
difference in yield among the plots is
observed.
Here, fertilizer is a factor and the different
qualities of fertilizers are called levels.
This is a case of one-way (Factor) ANOVA
since there is only one factor, fertilizer.
140. “We may also be interested to study the effect
of fertility of the plots of land”.
In such a case we would have two factors,
fertilizer and fertility.
This would be a case of two-way or two-
factor ANOVA.
Similarly, a third factor may be incorporated
to have a case of three-way or three-factor
ANOVA.
141. Chance Cause are the factors which
are attributed to chance and which are
beyond human control
Assignable Cause are the factors due
to variance between the samples
142. Discriminant analysis is a statistical function
that groups subjects based on a collection of
predictor variables.
An independent variable, sometimes called an
experimental or predictor variable, is a
variable that is being manipulated in an
experiment in order to observe the effect on
a dependent variable, sometimes called an
outcome variable.
143. In a study measuring the influence of different
quantities of fertilizer on plant
1) Independent variable =amount of fertilizer
used.
2)Dependent variable would be the growth in
height or mass of the plant.
3)Controlled variables would be the type of plant,
the type of fertilizer, the amount of sunlight the
plant gets, the size of the pots, etc.
144. Predict a subject’s likelihood of group
membership based on one or several
variables.
Distinguish between different groupings of
subjects (products, services, or customers)
using predictive capabilities.
Develop graphic representations of predictive
models.
145. Position products more effectively by
determining the category to which a new offering
belongs and comparing its attributes with those
of existing goods or services.
Market more effectively to different categories of
users by grouping existing customers according
to their attributes.
Predict which categories new prospects most
likely belong in, and use your advanced insight to
make successful entry in a new market.
146. To predict group membership based on a linear
combination of the interval variables. The
procedure begins with a set of observations
where both group membership and the values of
the interval variables are known.
A second purpose of discriminant function
analysis is an understanding of the data set, as a
careful examination of the prediction model that
results from the procedure can give insight into
the relationship between group membership and
the variables used to predict group membership.
147. A graduate admissions committee might divide a
set of past graduate students into two groups:
a.students who finished the program in five years
or less and
b.those who did not.
Discriminant function analysis could be used to
predict successful completion of the graduate
program based on GRE score and undergraduate
grade point average.
148. In general, the larger the difference between
the means of the two groups relative to the
within groups variability, the better the
discrimination between the groups.
149. Statistical technique that can study relationship patterns
underlying hundreds of interacting phenomenon such as
changes in interest rates, inflation, and/or oil prices
Factor analysis is used to analyze large numbers of dependent
variables to detect certain aspects of the independent variables
(called factors) affecting those dependent variables - without
directly analyzing the independent variables.
It enables an analyst to reduce the number of elements to be
studied and to observe how they are interlinked.
Factor analysis allows you to understand the underlying variables
(or factors) that explain what motivates customers to change
their observable attributes or behaviors.
150. Reduce a body of data to a few key dimensions,
making insights easier to access.
Explain how a collection of dependent variables
relate to, enhance, or detract from each other.
Use the relationship between attributes to create
perceptual maps and other visual aids that
explain data to end users.
Segment customers not just along demographic
lines but also in terms of which factors shape
their choices (sensitivity to product packaging,
ease of use, convenience, etc).
151. Cluster analysis is a Statistical classification
technique in which cases, data, or objects
(events, people, things, etc.) are sub-divided into
groups (clusters) such that the items in a cluster
are very similar (but not identical) to one another
and very different from the items in other
clusters.
It is a discovery tool that reveals associations,
patterns, relationships, and structures in masses
of data.
152. Cluster analysis divides data into groups
(clusters) that are meaningful and useful.
Cluster analysis has long played an important
role in a wide variety of fields: psychology
and other social sciences, biology, statistics,
pattern recognition, information retrieval,
machine learning, and data mining.
153. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) is a scaling that
provide a visual representation of the pattern of
proximities (i.e., similarities or distances) among
a set of objects.
For example, given a matrix of perceived
similarities between various brands of air
fresheners, MDS plots the brands on a map such
that those brands that are perceived to be very
similar to each other are placed near each other
on the map, and those brands that are perceived
to be very different from each other are placed
far away from each other on the map.
154. Many consumers are unable to accurately
determine the relative importance that they
place on product attributes.
For example, when asked which attributes
are the more important ones, the response
may be that they all are important.
Furthermore, individual attributes in
isolation are perceived differently than in
the combinations found in a product.
155. It is difficult for a survey respondent to take
a list of attributes and mentally construct
the preferred combinations of them.
The task is easier if the respondent is
presented with combinations of attributes
that can be visualized as different product
offerings.
However, such a survey becomes
impractical when there are several
attributes that result in a very large number
of possible combinations.
156. Conjoint analysis is a tool that allows a
subset of the possible combinations of
product features to be used to determine the
relative importance of each feature in the
purchasing decision.
Conjoint analysis is based on the fact that
the relative values of attributes considered
jointly can better be measured than when
considered in isolation.
157. In a conjoint analysis, the respondent may be asked
to arrange a list of combinations of product attributes
in decreasing order of preference.
Once this ranking is obtained, a computer is used to
find the utilities of different values of each attribute
that would result in the respondent's order of
preference.
This method is efficient in the sense that the survey
does not need to be conducted using every possible
combination of attributes. The utilities can be
determined using a subset of possible attribute
combinations. From these results one can predict the
desirability of the combinations that were not tested.
158. SPSS is a data management and statistical
analysis tool which has a very versatile data
processing capability. It can be useful for:
Electronically storing questionnaire data. Data is
stored in a spreadsheet-like table similar to that
of Microsoft Excel.
Generating routine descriptive statistical data for
question responses, such as frequency counts of
closed questions, distribution of multiple-choice
question responses etc.
159. Creating graphical presentations of
questionnaire data for reporting,
presentations or publications.
Exploring relationships between responses to
different questions.
Collating open question responses.
161. Marketing and Market research,
Qualitative research,
Market and sales analysis.
Motivation research,
Communication research,
Product, Pricing and Distribution research.
162. Marketing Research has two words
Marketing and Research.
Marketing means activities involved with
buying and selling.
Research means a systematic and complete
study of a problem. It is done by experts. It
uses scientific methods.
163. 1. According to American Marketing Association
(AMA),
“Marketing Research is the systematic gathering,
recording and analysing of data about problems
relating to the marketing of goods and services.”
2. According to Philip Kotler,
“Marketing research is a systematic problem
analysis, model building and fact finding for the
purpose of improved decision-making and
control in the marketing of goods and services.”
164. 1.Wide and comprehensive scope - product research,
packaging research, pricing research, market
research, sales research, etc
2.Systematic and scientific - Marketing research uses
scientific methods.
3.Science and art : A
Science is a body of knowledge.
Art is the way science is used.
4.Collects and analyzes data - It first collects reliable
data and then analyses it systematically and critically.
165. 5.Continuous and dynamic process - It continuously
collects up-to-date data for solving the marketing
problems.
6.Tool for decision-making - Marketing research
provides correct and up-to-date data to the
marketing manager.
7.Benefits company and consumers – Helps to
increase sales and profits of the company. It also
brings the company closer to the consumers. It gives
convenience and satisfaction to the consumers.
8.Similar to military intelligence - Marketing research
is a commercial intelligence-gathering activity.
9.Applied research - Marketing research is used for
solving marketing problems. Therefore, we can say
that, Marketing research is also an applied research.
166. 10.Connected with MIS - Marketing research is a component of
Marketing Information System (MIS).
11.Reduces gap between producers and consumers - Marketing
research informs producers about the needs and wants of the
consumers.
12Uses different methods - Survey Method, Experiment Method
and Observation Method.
13.Has few limitations – It is not an exact science. So, it does not
give accurate results. It provides suggestions and not solutions.
It is also a costly and time-consuming process.
14. Accurate data collection and critical analysis - Marketing
research gives much importance to accurate data collection and
its critical analysis.
167. 1.To study the needs, wants and expectations
2.To find consumer reactions
3.To evaluate sales promotion measures
4.To study current marketing problems and
opportunities
5.To suggest introduction of new products,
modifications of existing products and to
discover new uses of existing products
6. To design appropriate packaging to make
it attractive
168. 7.To study pricing, distribution and
competition
8. To build company brand
9.To assess competitive strength and
policies.
10. To estimate potential buying power
11. To know expected share of the market
12. To determine marketing programs
13.To define probable market for a
specialized product
169. The process of gathering, analyzing and
interpreting information about a market,
about a product or service to be offered for
sale in that market, and about the past,
present and potential customers for the
product or service; research into the
characteristics, spending habits, location and
needs of your business's target market, the
industry as a whole, and the particular
competitors you face.
170. 1.Product — Improve your product or service
2.Price — Set a price based on popular profit
margins
3.Placement — Decide where to set up and
how to distribute a product.
4.Promotion — Figure out how to best reach
particular market segments
5. Economy and demography: keep up with
the dynamics of the economy and
demography.
171. 1. Understand your customers and their
preferences in terms of 4 P.s
2. Identify opportunities to grow and
increase profits
3. Recognize and plan for industry and
economic shifts
4. Monitor the competition in your market
5. Mitigate risk in your business decisions
172. Marketing research and market research can
be distinguished based on following five
points namely their
Meaning,
Objective,
Scope,
Relation
Dependence.
173. Sl.
No
Basis Marketing Research Market Research
1 Meaning Marketing research collects
and analyses data for
solving marketing
problems.
Market research collects data
about market. It finds out
answers for: What to sell?, Where
to sell? When to sell? and How
much to sell?
2 Objective The main objective of
marketing research (MR) is
to: Solve the marketing
problems and find out
present and future
marketing opportunities
The main objective of market
research is to study the market in
terms of nature, size, location,
demand potential, etc.
174. Sl.
No
Basis Marketing Research Market Research
3 Scope Very wide scope.
Product research, Packaging
research, Pricing research, Market
research, Sales research, etc.
Limited scope. It only
studies the market.
4 Relation Marketing research is a branch of
Marketing Information System
(MIS)
Market research is a
branch of marketing
research
5 Dependence Marketing research is independent.
It is a very broad and wide term.
Market research is not
independent. It is a
narrow term.
175. Qualitative research is a method of inquiry employed
in many different academic disciplines, traditionally
in the social sciences, but also in market research
and further contexts.
Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth
understanding of human behavior and the reasons
that govern such behavior.
The qualitative method investigates the why and how
of decision making, not just what, where, when.
Hence, smaller but focused samples are more often
used than large samples.
176. Some of the techniques are:
1. Document examination,
2. Observation,
3. Interviews (Structured interviews, Semi-
structured interviews, unstructured interviews
and focused group interviews.
178. If the focus of the study is the
examination of documents like
letters, memos, notes, diaries,
photograph, audiotapes,
videotapes, films, articles, books,
manuscripts, e-mails, online
discussions and so forth is
document examination.
180. Observation is the technique of obtaining
data through direct contact with a persons or
group of persons.
The researcher is a passive observer and on
the other extreme the researcher is a
participant observer. In between these two
extremes, the researcher may be an active
observer .
181. Interviewing is a technique of gathering data
from humans by asking them questions and
getting them to react verbally.
Types of Interviews:
1. Structured interviews
2. Unstructured interviews
3. Focused group interviews
183. •Structured interviews use an interview schedule
that is similar to the survey questionnaire.
•The questions are asked in such a way that have a
limited range of responses.
For example, ‘Do you think the image of teachers
in society has gone down? Strongly agree, agree,
somewhat agree, agree and strongly agree.
•Structured interviews are widely used in surveying
opinions, beliefs and perceptions of people.
184. unstructured interviews are widely used in
qualitative research.
Un-structured interviews consist of a list of
open-ended questions based on the topic areas
the researcher intends to study.
The open-ended nature of the questions
provides opportunities for both the interviewer
and interviewee to discuss certain topics in more
detail.
If the interviewee has difficulty answering a
question or hesitates, the interviewer will probe.
186. A focus group is a group of people (7-10) who
are asked about their attitudes and opinions
about a service, issue, concept, idea or product.
Members in the group are free to talk with other
members in the group.
The researcher acts as moderator who listens,
observes, ask questions and keeps the group on
track.
Focus provide valuable information or insights
when the memories, ideas and experiences of
individual members are stimulated when
listening to others verbalise their experiences.
187. Market analysis is an analysis of market to
determine the attractiveness of a market and
to understand its evolving opportunities and
threats as they relate to the strengths and
weaknesses of the firm.
188. David A. Aaker outlined the following
dimensions of a market analysis:
1.Market size (current and future)
2.Market growth rate
3.Market profitability
4.Industry cost structure
5.Distribution channels
6.Market trends
7.Key success factors
189. Sales Analysis is A careful examination of a
company's sales records, that is done to measure the
company's performance and to try and improve it.
Sales analysis examines sales reports to see what
goods and services have and have not sold well.
The analysis is used to determine how to stock
inventory, how to measure the effectiveness of a
sales force, how to set manufacturing capacity and to
see how the company is performing against its goals.
191. Motivational research is a type of marketing research that
attempts to explain why consumers behave as they do.
Motivational research seeks to discover and comprehend what
consumers do not fully understand about themselves.
Implicitly, motivational research assumes the existence of
underlying or unconscious motives that influence consumer
behavior.
Motivational research attempts to identify forces and
influences that consumers may not be aware of (e.g., cultural
factors, sociological forces).
192. There are four techniques of conducting
motivation research:
(a) Non-disguised Structured Techniques
(b)Non-disguised, Non-structured
Techniques
(c) Disguised, Non-structured Techniques
(d) Disguised Structured Techniques
193. This approach employs a standardized
questionnaire to collect data on beliefs,
feelings, and attitude from the respondent.
i. Single Question Method: (I think it is a good
product or I think it is a poor product).
ii. Multiple Questions Method: Number of
questions are asked and their attitudes
towards the product are measured.
194. These techniques use a non standardized
questionnaire.
The techniques are also called depth
interview, qualitative interviews, unstructured
interviews, or focussed interviews.
All these techniques are designed to gather
information on various aspects of human
behaviour including the “why” component.
195. The art of using disguised and unstructured method
is referred to as “Projective Techniques”.
The projective techniques include several tests given
to the respondents.
They may be asked to give their comments on
cartoons, pictures, stories etc. The stimuli used for
this purpose are capable of answering the respondent
to a variety of reactions.
A number of Projective Techniques, are available to
the market researchers for the purpose of analysing
“why” part of consumer behaviour.
196. 1. Word Association Test (W.A.I): (The
interviewer calls a series of listed words one
by one and the respondents quickly replies
the first word that enters his mind)
2. Sentence Completion: (The respondent is
required to complete an unfinished sentence.
For example, “I do not use shampoos
because……..” )
197. 3. Story Completion: (In this technique the
respondent is asked to complete a story, end of
which is missing)
4. Research of Ink-blot Tests (or Research Tests):
A lot of ink is put on the piece of paper and
reference is made of company, product, and the
respondent is asked to give his view points after
interpreting what he sees in the blot before him.
The respondent say, “ugly packaging of the
product”, or “excellent performance of the
product”.
198. 5. Psychographic Technique:
This includes galvanic skin response (a
change in the electrical resistance of the skin
caused by emotional stress, measurable with
a sensitive galvanometer, e.g. in lie-detector
tests) eye movement and eye blink test etc.
which uses various Instruments with the
physiological responses.
199. 6. Espionage Technique: (casually spying)
There are two methods in this technique:
(i) Use of Hidden Recorders: Such as hidden tape
recorders, cameras used to watch consumers as
they make purchases or consume items.
(ii)Rubbish Research: The researcher shifts
through the garbage of individuals or groups and
record pattern of consumption, waste, and brand
preference. It gives most required estimates of
consumption of cigarettes, medicines, liquor, and
magazines etc.
200. When we are to measure those attitudes which
respondents might not readily and accurately
express, we can use disguised structured
techniques. The disguised structured
questionnaire are easy to administer and code.
Respondents are given questions which they are
not likely to be able to answer accurately. In such
circumstances they are compelled to ‘guess at’
the answers.
201. 1. Motivation Research provides inspiration to
creative person in the advertising and packing
world.
2. Knowledge and measurement of the true
attitude of customers help in choosing the best
selling appeal for the product
3. Motivation Research can help in measuring
changes in attitudes, thus advertising research.
4. Enables estimating market potential of each
additional segment.
5. Provides Strategies to position the offer of the
company in a particular market segment.
202. 1. Caution should b exercised in the application
of these techniques
2. Resultant data should be analysed and
interpreted according to the psychological
theory.
3.It is not free from draw backs while we apply
these techniques to gather data from a number
of individuals.
4. The designing and administering of these
techniques need qualified and experimented
researchers. Such personnel are not easily
available.
203. Marketing communication plays a very important
role in the overall success of a marketing
program and the business itself.
Marketing communications are messages and
related media used to communicate with a
market.
Marketing communications is the "promotion"
part of the "marketing mix" or the "four Ps":
price, place, promotion, and product.
204. See if audience is targeted correctly,
See if communication objectives are properly set,
See if the design of the message of communication is
proper,
See if media channel is selected judiciously,
See if the budget for communication is adequately
set,
See if the marketing communication mix has a right
proportion.
See if the communication results are properly
measured,
See if marketing communication is properly
integrated with the over all objectives of the
business.
205. Marketing mix plays a very important role in
the success of any marketing program.
Marketing mix variables includes the price,
product, promotion and physical distribution.
The decisions about these marketing mix
variables should be based on thorough
research on Price, product, promotion and
physical distribution.
206. What does the customer want from the product/service?
What needs does it satisfy?
What features does it have to meet these needs?
◦ Are there any features you've missed out?
◦ Are you including costly features that the customer won't
actually use?
How and where will the customer use it?
What does it look like? How will customers experience
it?
What size(s), color(s), and so on, should it be?
What is it to be called?
How is it branded?
How is it differentiated versus your competitors?
What is the most it can cost to provide, and still be sold
sufficiently profitably? (See also Price, below).
207. Where do buyers look for your product or
service?
If they look in a store, what kind? A specialist
boutique or in a supermarket, or both? Or online?
Or direct, via a catalogue?
How can you access the right distribution
channels?
Do you need to use a sales force? Or attend trade
fairs? Or make online submissions? Or send
samples to catalogue companies?
What do you competitors do, and how can you
learn from that and/or differentiate?
208. What is the value of the product or service to the
buyer?
Are there established price points for products or
services in this area?
Is the customer price sensitive? Will a small
decrease in price gain you extra market share? Or
will a small increase be indiscernible, and so gain
you extra profit margin?
What discounts should be offered to trade
customers, or to other specific segments of your
market?
How will your price compare with your
competitors?
209. Where and when can you get across your marketing
messages to your target market?
Will you reach your audience by advertising in the
press, or on TV, or radio, or on billboards? By using
direct marketing mailshot? Through PR? On the
Internet?
When is the best time to promote? Is there
seasonality in the market? Are there any wider
environmental issues that suggest or dictate the
timing of your market launch, or the timing of
subsequent promotions?
How do your competitors do their promotions? And
how does that influence your choice of promotional
activity?