MKTG 342 EXAM 1

marketing

• activity, set of institutions, and process for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that customers value

• how to meet customer needs, profitably

marketing concept

achieving organizational goals requires being more effective than competitors in creating, delivering, and communicating customer value to chosen target markets

what is the difference between marketing research and marketing stretegy?

marketing research

• the process of designing, gathering, analyzing, and reporting information to solve a specific marketing problem

• not continuous, has a beginning and end

marketing strategy

• consists of selecting a target market and designing the proper ‘mix’ of the 4Ps to meet the wants and needs of consumers

good marketing research → good marketing strategy

when do you use marketing research?

• to help identify marketing opportunities and problems

  • ex: zoom taking the opp. during covid vs. skype

• to help generate, refine, and evaluate potential marketing actions

  • used in…

    • selecting target markets

    • product/pricing/promotion/distribution research

• to monitor marketing performance

  • tracking data at the point of sale

  • tracking social media

strengths + weaknesses (SWOT)

• internal capabilities of the firm’s employees

• company reputation

• customer relationships

  • satisfaction, retention, recommendation behavior

• downstream effectiveness

  • distribution, pricing, promotion, innovation

• perceptions of quality

opportunity (SWOT)

buyer needs or interests that has a high probability of profitability satisfying (external)

threat (SWOT)

challenge posed by an unfavorable trend or development that, without counter action, would lead to lower sales or profit

types of research

basic research

• expands general knowledge rather than solving a specific problem

• results often can’t be directly implemented

applied research

• tries to solve specific problems

• most marketing research by companies falls into this category

what is marketing information systems (MIS) and what are the 4 components

MIS

• the people, equipment, and procedures used to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute information to marketing decision makers

internal reports system

• gathers information generated within a firm (orders, billings, inventory: accounting related)

• daily transactions information (products purchased, payment methods, etc)

intelligence system

• brings in information generated outside of the firm

  • magazines, trade publications, newspapers

decision support system

• data collected that will be analyzed to generate decision-making insights

research system

• gathers information for a specific situation (ex: what promotion to use or which logo will be more effective)

• information not gathered by the other MIS

what are the values of marketing research?

• decrease uncertainty

• increase the likelihood of a correct decision

• improve marketing performance, resulting in higher profits

what are the costs of marketing research?

• research expenditures

• time needed could delay a marketing decision

• possible wrong research results

• possible disclosure of information to rivals

when is marketing research not needed?

• information is already available

  • past studies

  • internal reports in MIS

• timing is wrong

  • do we need to act immediately

  • is the product at the end of its life cycle

what is the difference between symptoms and problems?

symptoms

• observable signs that problems exist

problems

• situations calling for managers to make choices among alternatives

problem statements

concise descriptions of problems or opportunities

iceberg principle

• decision maker (top of iceberg) → symptoms

• researcher (under water) → problems

what do KPIs provide?

measures how well a company is performing relative to an objective

situation analysis

gathers background information helpful in defining the problem

how do research objectives relate to hypotheses?

research objectives (RO)

• specified what information is needed to solve the problem

• specifies who to gather information from

• a research study may have multiple ROs

• can be a question or a statement

hypotheses

• statements that are taken as true for the purpose of argument or investigation

Unidimensional variables vs. constructs

unidimensional

• height, weight, etc.

constructs

• multidimensional

• abstract concept composed of attitudes or behaviors that are related

research design

specifies the methods that will be used to collect and analyze information for a research project

what are the objectives of a research design?

• gain background information

• develop hypotheses

• measure a variable of interest

• test hypotheses about relationship between variables

what are the 3 types of research design?

• exploratory research

  • best when there is little known about the problem

• descriptive research

  • best when problem is somewhat clear

• causal research

  • best when the problem is very clear

exploratory research

unstructured, informal, and often conducted at the beginning of research projects

• used to gain background information

• used to define terms

• used to clarify problems and hypotheses

• used to establish research prioties

what are the different types of exploratory research methods?

• secondary data analysis

  • search for and interpret existing relevant information

• experience surveys

  • gather information from those knowledgeable on the relevant issue

  • leader-user survey

• case analysis

  • viewing information about a past situation that has similarities to the current research problem

• focus groups

  • utilize small groups of consumers guided by a moderator through an unstructured discussion to gain information

what is the purpose of descriptive research studies?

helps describe important market/consumer characteristics and function

• process is more formal and well defined

• examines who, what, where, and when

• helps provide answers to broader questions

• necessitates a representative sample

• may be gathered with or without directly interacting with respondents

types of descriptive research studies

• cross sectional studies

  • measures units from a sample of the population at only one point in time

  • sample surveys

• longitudinal studies

  • repeatedly measure the same sample units of a population over time

continuous panels

(related to longitudinal studies)

ask panel members the same questions on each measurement occasion

• brand switching studies

• market tracking studies

discontinuous panels

(related to longitudinal study)

vary questions from one measurement to the next

causality

a conditional relationship in which a change in a variable(s) affects a change in one or more variables

experiment

(related to causal research)

a study in which one or more IV at a time are manipulated to see how they affect a DV

experimental design

(related to causal research)

provides the setting for us to examine if a change in a DV may be attributed solely to the change in an IV

why do we need control and treatment groups?

to tell if the difference in DV is the result of the change in IV or something else

why is random assignment important?

to ensure that we don’t have groups that are fundamentally different

pretest

measures if the 2 groups (that got randomly assigned) are about the same ob an important variable before beginning

before-after testing

the DV is measured in both groups at two time points

(T2 - T1) - (C2 - C1)

A/B testing

we test 2 alternatives simultaneously to see which is better

• there is no control group

internal vs. external validity

internal

• the extent to which the change in the DV is actually due to the change in the IV

external

• the extent that the relationship observed between the IV and DV during the experiment is generalizable to the “real world”

lab vs. field experiments

laboratory

• the IV is manipulated and DV is measured in an artificial setting

• higher internal validity

field

• the IV is manipulated and the DV is measured in its natural setting

• higher external validity

what are the uses of databases?

• identify prospects

  • identify customers who requested information and provide them with a personalized sale presentation

• sending customized offers

  • send purchasers of a product an offer for a different one 2 weeks later

• reactivate purchases

  • automated messages can increase customer awareness (on birthdays, after 6 months, etc.)

• avoid customer mistakes

  • identify the most profitable customers can prevent treating them like “any other” customer

advantages and disadvantages of secondary data

advantages

• quickly obtainable

• inexpensive

• readily available

• can enhance primary data insights

disadvantages

• in compatible or unmatched reporting units

  • ex: you want city-level data, only state-level is available

• unusable class definitions

  • ex: you want data of a city with a population over 80,000, only 60,000+ is available

• may be outdated or not credible

• competition may have access to the same data

online user generated content

information created by online users that is and intended to be shared with others

social media monitoring

involves actively gathering, organizing, and analyzing social media data to gain consumer insights

3 main social media data platforms

• online communities/forums

• blogs

  • social networks

how do we analyze social media posts?

several dimensions of posts

• post sentiment (positivity/negativity of post)

• post emotions

• post length

also…

• mean post characteristics

• number of comments

3 categories of research

• quantitative research

• qualitative research

• mixed methods research

quantitative research

uses structured questions with predetermined response options, response is 'quantified’

qualitative research

involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data that is in the form of words or text

mixed methods research

integrates both quantitative and qualitative research methods

• qualitative before quantitative

• quantitative before qualitative

• both at the same time

observation methods

techniques in which phenomena of interest involving people, objects, and/or activities are systematically observed and documented

types of observation methods

• direct vs. indirect

• overt vs. covert

• structured vs. unstructured

• in situ vs. invented

direct vs. indirect observation

direct

• observes behaviors as it occurs in real time

indirect

• observes the effects/results of behavior

  • archives

  • physical traces (like popcorn in movie theatre)

covert vs. overt observation

covert

• subjects are unaware that they are being observed

overt

• subjects are aware that they are being observed

structured vs. unstructured observation

structured

• the behaviors to be observed (and recorded) are determined beforehand

unstructured

• all behavior is observed and recorded

in situ vs. invented observation

in situ

• approaches observe subjects in natural settings (higher external validity)

invented

• uses a ‘simulated’ environment (higher internal validity)

advantages and disadvantages of observational techniques

advantages:

• insight into actual consumer behavior, not just what they say they do

• no chance of recall errors by consumers

• applicable to most settings

disadvantages:

• behavior observed needs to be relatively short

• interpretations are more subjective than analyzing secondary data

• does not examine causality

Purpose and objective of focus groups

• generate new ideas

• understand the vocabulary of consumers

• reveal motives, perceptions, and attitudes

• deepen understanding of quantitative studies (we see the “why”)

• describe (not predict) a phenomenon

advantages and disadvantages of focus groups

advantages:

• great for generating new ideas

• can be used to understand a wide variety of issues

• allow fairly easy access to special respondent groups

disadvantages:

• representativeness of target market may be low

• depend on moderator’s skill

• interpretation of information sometimes is difficult

ethnographic research

descriptive study of a group and their behavior, characteristics, and culture

• shopalongs

• mobile ethnography

• netnography

thematic analysis

• thematic analysis

  • examines qualitative data to uncover themes (patterns that relate to the objective of research)

• researchers look for substantiating examples from what participants said/wrote that provide evidence of a theme

• word cloud

eye tracking

measures eye positions and movement

facial coding

measures expressions of emotions by facial appearances

why not just sample the entire populaion?

• expensive

• too many people

• analyzing that much data is difficult

sampling error, sampling unit, sample, population, sampling frame, sampling frame error -- how are they related?

sample unit

• the basic level of investigation

sample frame

• a master source of sample units in the population (hopefully)

sampling frame error

• the sample frame fails to account for all of the population

sampling error

• any error in a survey that occurs because a sample is used

  • could be due to sample selection method

  • could be due to sampling size

probability vs. non probability sampling

probability sampling

• members have a known probability of being selected for the sample

  • using an objective method to select sample units

nonprobability sampling

• probability of selecting members from the population into the sample is unknown

  • subjective way of selecting samples and based on the knowledge of researcher

what are the 4 probability sampling methods

• simple random sampling

• systematic sampling

• cluster sampling

• stratified sampling

simple random sampling

the probability of being selected into the sample is equal for all members of the population

• sample size / population size

advantage:

• every population member has an equal chance to be selected, so representative

disadvantages:

• creating a population list and randomly selecting from it may be time consuming

• there still may be sample error if the population is listed incompletely or inaccurately

systematic sampling

a sample is selected systematically from a list using skip interval

• population list size / sample size

advantages:

• easy and quick way to draw samples

• less costly

disadvantage:

• if the sample frame doesn’t include all members of the population, then they cannot be included in the sample

cluster sampling

the population is divided into naturally existing clusters (subgroups), each of which could represent the entire population

• each cluster is assumed to be representative of the population

  • we take a subsample of a cluster

• clusters can be created based on a variety of identifiers

• area sampling divides demographic areas into clusters

advantages:

• cost effective

• easy to implement

• the clusters are often readily available

disadvantage:

• cluster specification error

  • when clusters are NOT homogeneous

stratified sampling

population is divided into different subgroups (called strata) and all subgroups are sampled

• useful when we think that the units within each stratum are not ‘balanced’

• must consider the sizes of the strata relative to the population size to calculate a weighted mean

  • (data %) + (data * %) …

• proportionate stratified sample

  • sample size scaled to population size

what are the 4 nonprobability sampling approaches

• convenience sample

• chain referral “snowball” sample

• purposive “judgment” sample

• quota sampling

convenience sampling

draw at the convenience of the researcher

• the selection of time, place, and situation is subjective

advantages:

• can interview a high number of respondents quickly

• good in early stages of research to pretest a questionnaire

disadvantages:

• difficult to determine if the sample is representative

• results are often not generalizable

• often times not much variation in the sample

chain referral “snowball” sampling

the initial respondents provide names of other prospective respondents

advantages:

• effective when the population is small or unique

• helpful when conducting qualitative research

disadvantages:

• the generalizability of the results will likely be limited

  • recommendations are based on the sample unit

purposive “judgment” sampling

requires an “educated guess” made by an experienced researcher as to who should represent the population (ex: focus group)

advantage:

• can help gather insights from key respondents who may have important insights about larger groups

disadvantages:

• the sample likely won’t be representative

• depends on the expertise (and possible bias) of the researcher

quota sampling

ensures that specified percentages of the total sample come from various types of individuals or subgroups and selects them in a non-random way

advantages:

• can improve the representativeness of a sample, but it is still not random

• useful when researchers have a detailed demographic profile of the respondents

disadvantages:

• results may not be generalizable

• the study’s sample depends on subjective decisions by researchers

sample size general formula

margin of error

sample accuracy

• how close a random sample’s characteristics of interests (i.e., mean) is to the true population’s value it represents

as our acceptable margin of error decreases (more precise), the sample size we need increases

• the ‘e’ in the equation (denominator)

variability

refers to how similar or dissimilar responses are to a given question

• as variability in the population increases, the sample size we need also increases

• the “s” in the equation (numerator)

how do we estimate variability? what are our options?

• we can use data from a previous study on the same population that measured the population characteristic of interest

• we can conduct a pilot study of the population

• (1/4) * range

confidence level

how confident we want to be that the sample mean will contain the population mean

• “z” in the equation (numerator)

two types of major erros

nonsampling error

• all sources of error other than sample selection method and sample size

  • the wrong problem is specified

  • the questions are biased

  • data is recorded incorrectly

  • the data analysis is wrong

sampling error

• any error that occurs because a sample is used

  • could be due to sample selection method

  • could be due to sample size

the normal distribution

• it is continuous

• it is symmetrical

• the distribution on each side of the mean is 0.5 (50%)

central limit theorem (CLT)

a sampling distribution derived from a random sample will be normally distributed

68-95-99.7 rule

• 68.27% of the data is within 1 SD of the mean

• 95.45% of the data is within 2SD of the mean

• 99.73% of the data is within 3 SD of the mean

what is the z score?

the number of SD that a value, x, is away from the mean

• the z score for 95% is 1.96 because 95% of the area under the standard normal curve is within z scores of -1.96 and 1.96

  • 95% of our data will be greater than or equal to z=-1.96 and less than or equal to z=1.96

calculating sample size with proportions

• 50 X 50 is a “safe estimate”

• p = estimated % in a population

• q = 100 - p

what are the 5 dimensions of service quality?

• reliability

• responsiveness

• tangibles

• empathy

• assurance