M&L 847 Analytical Methods in Marketing
Spring Quarter 2008
MW 3:30 pm – 5:18 pm
Instructor: Larry M. Robinson
636 Fisher Hall
Ph.: 614-292-0680
Email: robinson_878@fisher.osu.edu
Description:
Marketing research is an organized way of developing and providing information for
decision making purposes. The quality of the information depends on the care exercised
in executing the various steps of the marketing research process. The steps include
problem formulation, research design, data collection, data analysis, and reporting of
findings.
Emphasis will be given to qualitative and quantitative aspects of marketing research and
how marketing information can help managers to address substantive marketing problems
such as: market segmentation, estimating market potential, forecasting market demand,
developing loyalty programs, developing promotional programs, creating pricing
strategies and tactics, designing and positioning new products, and developing marketing
scorecards.
Course Objectives:
1. To develop ability to define problem and opportunities so that research can be
used to improve decisions made by marketing managers
2. To develop a fundamental understanding of information sources and uses in
decision making by marketing managers
3. To introduce qualitative and quantitative research methods, including design
considerations associated with each method
4. To understand data analysis techniques to develop fact-based findings and
recommendations needed to improve decisions made by marketing managers
The course is aimed at the manager who is the user of marketing research and who is
responsible for determining the scope and direction of research conducted on his/her
behalf.
How we will achieve the objectives:
We will use a combination of readings, cases, guest lectures, class discussion, and two
projects to achieve the objectives. The course is organized by topics, including:
marketing research overview/research design, typical marketing research subjects, basic
research methods, and leading edge research methods. There will be one individual
project and one group project. The individual project will be about use of secondary
sources to identify information about a specific marketing problem or opportunity. The
group project will be done by a group of four or five students and will focus on the entire
research process from problem identification to research design, to data collection, data
analysis, summary of findings, and presentation of recommendations.
The course site on Carmen includes articles and notes about marketing research and will
include slides from your instructor and slides from guest presentations. The home page of
the course web site will be updated following each class session to provide guidance on
preparation for the next session of the course.
Grading:
The course will have 125 possible points. Your top 100 points will be used to determine
your grade. Grade components include:
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Class Contribution:
Group consulting report
Individual project
Group project
Final exam
Total:
25 points
25 points
25 points
25 points
25 points
125 points
Your grade will be modified by dropping the lowest 25 points to get your strongest 100
points. If your poorest performance is in class contribution, it will count as 0% as
opposed to 25%. If your poorest performance is on the assigned group case analysis, it
will count as 0% as opposed to 25%. If your poorest grade is for the individual project, it
will count as 0% as opposed to 25%. If your poorest score is on the group project, it will
count as 0% instead of 25%. If your poorest performance is on the final exam, it will
count as 0% as opposed to 25%. The final grade will be determined by your highest 100
points with this breakdown:
>93%=A
90 to 92.99$=A87 to 88.99=B+
84 to 86.99=B
<84=BEach group will write a consulting report for one of the cases to be discussed in class.
The groups will be formed the first class session. The assigned case for your group
consulting report will be given to you at the second class session.
Class contribution:
Three criteria will be used in reaching a judgment about your class contribution:
1. Depth and Quality of Contribution
The most important dimension of class contribution concerns what it is you are saying. A
high quality comment reveals depth of insight, rigorous use of case evidence, consistency
of argument, and realism.
Depth of insight—good comments are never trivial or obvious. They are not mere facts.
They are facts in conjunction with one another, bringing the class to a deeper level of
understanding
Rigorous use of case evidence—assertions must be supported to be powerful. You should
constantly by looking to use qualitative or quantitative case information and analyses to
diagnose the problem, to support your position, or to challenge someone else’s
conclusion and action plans.
Consistency—reflects the degree to which your argument is tied together.
Realistic implications—not every comment should be about the action plan. However,
useful comments tend to have implications for action.
To perform well on these criteria, it is important you come to class with a definite action
plan and be prepared to help your classmates appreciate the appropriateness of your plan.
2. Moving Your Peers’ Understanding Forward
Great ideas can be lost through poor presentation. A high quality presentation of ideas
must consider the relevance and timing of comments, and the flow and content of the
ensuing class discussion. It demands comments be concise and clear, conveyed with a
spirit of involvement in the discussion at hand.
Relevance—concerns the timing, fit, and placement of your comments. A relevant
contribution joins seamlessly with previous comments to build a coherent, focused
discussion. Irrelevant comments (either by topic or timing) can cause the discussion to
digress through previously charted grounds, or to change focus prematurely, resulting in
disjointed communication and a fragmented learning experience. Effective listening, a
good sense of timing, and a willingness to either integrate the work of others or challenge
their ideas are the skills that lead to relevance. Occasionally, someone makes a comment
that changes the course of discussion. This can be effective too, but only if the comment
is properly timed.
Clarity and Conciseness—clarity involves speaking with urgency, vividness, and
persuasiveness. To be concise, make your best point in the shortest possible time. A long
comment is not by definition a good comment. Similarly, a good point buried in two poor
points, tends to get lost.
Involvement—concerns the energy, interest, and enthusiasm you bring to class.
Involvement shows in thoughtful listening, concentration, tracking of the discussion, and
a poised readiness to contribute selectively. Involvement is discriminating: having a hand
in the air regardless of the question posed or the topical discussion underway signals you
are not involved. However, noticing when class discussion has gotten bogged down on a
small point and finding a constructive way to move the discussion forward often is a
valuable form of involvement.
3. Frequency
Frequency refers to the attainment of a threshold quantity of contributions that is
sufficient for making a reliable assessment of comment quality. The logic is simple: if
contributions are too few, one cannot reliably assess the quality of your remarks.
However, once threshold quantity has been achieved, simply increasing the number of
times you talk does not automatically improve your evaluation. Beyond threshold, it is
the quality of your comments that must improve. In particular, one must be especially
careful that in claiming more than your fair share of “airtime”, that quality is not
sacrificed for quantity. Finally, your attempts at participation should not be such that the
instructor must “go looking for you”. You should be attempting to get into the debate on
a regular basis.
The group case consulting report is based on your group analysis of a case which will be
discussed in class. Your group will do a problem definition, will make recommendations
to the decision maker, will support the recommendations, including identification of risk
and risk mitigation strategies, will explain why competing alternatives were not
recommended, and will include implementation guidance for the recommendations.
The individual assignment will be a secondary research analysis on a problem or
opportunity faced by a marketing manager. Your assignment is to identify information
that already exists about the problem or opportunity and to summarize the existing
information to make it useful to a marketing manager who faces the problem or
opportunity.
The group project will be a research project that requires data collection, either survey or
experimental, from respondents. You will need to gather some data; however time and
money constraints will limit the amount of data your group actually collects. You will use
whatever data you are able to develop to simulate your final results. Your problem should
be chosen by the third session of the course (April 1!). Your group should have four or
five team members. The final report from your group will include a written and oral
presentation including:
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Executive Summary
Intro with description of problem, statement of research purpose and research
objective
Description and justification of the research strategy
Brief outline of the data gathering process and analysis done with the data
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Discussion of key findings (from your simulated results), recommendations and
conclusions, including limitations of the study
The report and group presentation will be judged on content, quality of research, and
writing quality. A sample report will be posted on Carmen along with an evaluation sheet
used in grading the written reports.
The class schedule for the course follows this introduction to the course
March 24: Intro to course. Read note posted on Carmen: “Marketing Research”
March 26: 3:30 to 4:30: Meri Meredith, Fisher Business School Librarian, speaking on
secondary research capabilities at Fisher College of Business Library; 4:30 to 5:18
discussion about individual and group project possibilities
March 31 Discussion of three Marketing Research Notes: Research Methods in
Marketing: Survey Research; Note on Market and Consumer Research; Cost-Conscious
Marketing Research
April 2 Case Study: The Coop Market Research
April 7 Case Study: Zenith: Marketing Research for HDTV
April 9 Case Study: Relating to Peapod; Readings: Margaret Mead Meets Consumer
Fieldwork; Are You Reaching Your Customers?
April 14 Case Study: Clark Material Handling Group-Overseas: Brazilian Product
Strategy; Reading: Conjoint Analysis: A Manager’s Guide
April 16 Case Study: Brita Products
April 21 Guest Speaker, Tamara Janoscik, Manager Client Consulting, BASES, The
Nielsen Company
April 23 Guest Speaker, Paul Kolada, CEO, Priority Designs
April 28 Case Study: IDEO Product Development
April 30 Guest Speaker, Paul McClain, Corporate VP, LIMRA International Inc.
May 5 Case Study: Innovation at 3M; Readings: Let the Users Take the Lead: Note on
Lead User Research
May 7 Guest Speaker, Stephen P. Collesano, Vice President, Research, American
International Group
May 12 Guest Speaker, Marty Saperstein, CEO Saperstein Associates
May 14 Case Study: Aqualisa Quartz: Simply a Better Shower
May 19 Review – preparation for final exam
May 21 Guest Speaker: John Gongos, CEO Gongos Associates
May 26 Memorial Day Holiday—no class
May 28 Presentations: Group Projects
June 2-June 5: Final Exam Date and Time yet to be Determined