Market Research 1
Session 8
Introduction to Marketing
Professor Greenleaf
Fall 2023
© Prof. Eric Greenleaf 2023
Agenda
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Why firms need market research
Market research process
Types of research data
Types of primary research
– Exploratory
– Descriptive (next Wed.)
– Causal - marketing experiments (“ “ )
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Why do firms need
marketing research?
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What do we want to know to improve the
quality of our marketing decisions?
What do we need to learn about
– Consumers
– Competitors
– Important environmental trends
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Two Keys to Good Market Research
1) Identify the Marketing Problem:
The reason we are doing this research
The marketing problem is a decision
the firm wants to make, an action it is
is considering, or an issue it faces,
usually concerning marketing
strategy or the marketing mix: e.g.
 Why is demand decreasing?
 Reposition?
 Add / change target segment?
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What are some Marketing Problems
at movie theaters?
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Two Keys to Good Market Research
2) Identify the Research Problem:
What do we want to learn?
The research problem defines the
information the firm wants to obtain to help it
make a better decision regarding the
marketing problem:
 Examine competitor actions and prices
 Examine consumer reactions to current
and potential new positions
 Identify and evaluate market segments
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What are Research Problems associated
with these Marketing Problems at movie
theaters?
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Market Research Process
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Good market research is difficult, and
can be time-consuming and expensive
Benefits should exceed costs
Can be done in-house or externally
– Depends on internal expertise
– Sometimes depends on internal politics
 e.g.
Introduce new product that will take
sales from an existing product?
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Types of Market Research Data
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Primary
– Collected for a specific research problem
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Secondary - existing
– Not collected with this research problem in mind,
but data may still be useful for this question
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Transaction
– Data on your firm’s actual transactions and
interactions with consumers, but not collected with
a particular research problem in mind
 Purchases, promotions, web browsing, etc.
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Binging
on streaming TV:
Insights from
transaction data
https://www.businessinsider.com/most-bing-watched-streaming-tv-shows-2021-9
Business Insider
9.10.21
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Three research methods
for obtaining primary data
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Exploratory Research
– First look - helps focus research project
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Descriptive Research
– More guided investigations, often surveys
– Often produces numerical results that can be
used for statistical hypothesis tests
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Causal Research (marketing experiments)
– Manipulate marketing environment to look at
impact of manipulated variables on variables
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of interest
Objectives of
Exploratory Research
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Create initial insights for further study
Develop hypotheses to test
Discover practical issues in carrying out
research on this topic
Clarify key concepts and definitions
– e.g. How should we define “customer
satisfaction for movie theaters?”
Focus and reduce scope of research
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Characteristics of
Exploratory Research
Small samples of consumers
 Qualitative data collection
 Usually does not generate “hard
data”
 Should be quick
 Do not use to
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– Draw final research conclusions
– Recommend final course of action
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Some Types of
Exploratory Research
Focus Groups
 Depth Interviews
 Projective Techniques
 Observation
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Focus GroupsMost popular exploratory method
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A moderated group discussion:
– Focused on a series of topics,
introduced and guided by moderator
– Participants (6 – 12) encouraged to:
 Express own views
 Elaborate on, or react to, views
expressed by other focus group
members
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Political focus group –
Why did Democrats lose Virginia
governor election?
https://thirdway.imgix.net/pdfs/override/Qualitative-Research-Findings-–-Virginia-Post-Election-Research.pdf
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Focus Groups
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Advantages:
– Rich information – especially regarding
consumers’ thoughts, feelings, and behavior
– Versatility and flexibility
– Impact on managers who observe
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Disadvantages:
– Lack of generalizability
– Opportunity for misuse - interpretation and
action
– High cost: $5,000 - $10,000 per focus group
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Depth Interviews
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Interviews conducted face to face
with consumer
– Usually singly, occasionally a couple
or a family
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Subject matter explored in depth
– Probe deeper motivations
– Identify key product benefits
– Trigger creative insights for marketers
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Findings from depth interviews
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Kimberly-Clark Pull-Ups
– Cross between diapers and underpants
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Depth interviews with parents regarding
toilet training revealed
– Very emotional process
– Once kids are in toilet training, diapers seen
as parental failure
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“Pull-Ups training pants look and fit more
like Big Kid underwear!”
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Projective Techniques
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Unstructured and indirect form of questioning
Encourages respondents to project their
underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes, or
feelings regarding the issues of concern.
Some popular projective methods – List Analysis
– Word Association or Sentence Completion
– Draw Pictures
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List Analysis: What was wrong
with Nescafe instant coffee?
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Conducted in 1950s – Nestle surprised at
customer resistance to Nescafe instant
coffee
When women were questioned directly
about why they did not like instant coffee,
many said they did not like its flavor.
But people liked Nescafe’s flavor in “blind”
taste tests compared to regular coffee.
Researchers suspected flavor was not
real reason why Nescafe sales were so
low. What was the real reason?
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Describe This Shopper
(See List A or List B)
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List A
Pound and a half of
hamburger
2 loaves Wonder bread
Bunch of carrots
Nescafe instant coffee
1 can Rumford’s baking
powder
2 cans Del Monte
peaches
5 lbs. potatoes
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List B
Pound and a half of
hamburger
2 loaves Wonder bread
Bunch of carrots
1 lb. Maxwell House
coffee (drip grind)
1 can Rumford’s baking
powder
2 cans Del Monte
peaches
5 lbs. potatoes
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Sentence Completion
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People who work out at at Crunch are
_________.
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People who work out at Equinox are
_________.
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People who work out at Planet Fitness are
_________.
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Picture Drawing:
Cake Mixes
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Picture Drawing and Narrative:
Roach Killer
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Projective Techniques
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Advantages
– Elicit information that consumers are unable
or unwilling to provide
– Helpful when underlying motivations, beliefs
and attitudes are primarily subconscious
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Disadvantages
– Requires highly trained interviewers
– Requires skilled interpreters for analysis
– Can still have interpreter bias
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Observation
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Record behavior of people, objects
and events in a systematic manner
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Observation methods
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Natural setting (e.g. home or store) vs.
artificial (research lab)
Disguised (e.g., hidden cameras)
versus undisguised (e.g., web viewing
panel)
Human observer human (e.g., store
clerk watching) versus mechanical (e.g.,
eye motion measure)
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Using “Heatmap”
cameras to track
shoppers in stores
New in 2013 –
Now, many retailers
now use this
technology
WSJ
12.09.13
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The Art
Newspaper
5.27.16
An interesting scholarly paper that
discusses this research:
https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1605/
1605.00108.pdf
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Which drivers don’t stop
for pedestrians
at crosswalks?
Car and Driver
2.20.20
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Ikea “Home Visits” combine depth interviews and observation
Ikea
website
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First Exam – Tuesday, Oct. 10
Studying for the exam
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Questions are brief marketing examples
Three kinds of questions
– Essay
– Shorter answer
– Multiple choice
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Emphasizes applying concepts as well as
knowing them
Bring a calculator
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Suggestions for studying for exam
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First study your notes and the readings,
including Mediquip case
Think about applying concepts, not just
memorizing them
First study by yourself, then with classmates
Look at the solved example of Quantitative
Analysis that you can study to help prepare for
the exam – Gus Soda
Good Luck!
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Next Wednesday:
Market Research II

Descriptive Research
 Survey design
 Sampling issues
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Causal research
 Marketing Experiments
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