Marketing Research Lecture 6

Marketing Research Lecture 6 Concept Of Causality Scientific notion of causality is very different from the common sense, every day notion Common Sense: there is a single cause of an event. “X” is a cause of “Y” & “X” is indeed the cause Scientific: “X” would only be one of the number of determining conditions. Common Sense: for “X” to be a cause of “Y”, “X” must always lead “Y”. Scientific: “X” can be a cause of “Y” if the occurrence of “X” makes the occurrence of “Y” more likely or more probable. Common Sense: can prove that “X” is a cause of “Y” Scientific: we can just infer but never prove a relationship. Marketing Research Lecture 6

Marketing Research Lecture 6

Marketing Research Lecture 6

Marketing Research Lecture 6

What Are Causal Relationships In Marketing Decision Making? Analysis Marketing Program Development Performance Evaluation What effect have recent price increases had on product class sales Does the number of sales call per month affect the size the order placed? Does advertising before khabarnama increase awareness of product A? How has the new sales training program affected sales performance? Marketing Research Lecture 6

Problems of Experimentation Cost Time Control Marketing Research Lecture 6

How Test Markets Help To Spot Product Flaws? A dog food changed color on the store shelves In cold weather, baby food separated into a clear liquid & a sludge In hot weather, cigarettes in a new package dried out A pet food gave the test animals diarrhea Marketing Research Lecture 6

Marketing Research Lecture 6 Conti.. When it was combined with price reduction, a product change in a liquid detergent was thought by consumers to be dilution with water Because of insufficient glue, over half of the packages came apart during transit Excessive settling in a box of tissues caused the box to be one-third empty at purchase Marketing Research Lecture 6

Problems Of Experimentation According to a former director of corporate marketing research for General Mills, experimentation: “..costs a mint, tells the competition what you’re doing, takes forever, and is not always accurate…. For the moment it’s the only game in town” Marketing Research Lecture 6

Advantages & Disadvantages of Simulated Test Markets Protect from competitors. Faster & cheaper than full scale market tests. Good to spot weak products before distribution on a national scale. ----------------------------------------------- 1.Do not know how well trade will accept the product. 2.Do not know how competition will react. Marketing Research Lecture 6

Marketing Research Lecture 6

Marketing Research Lecture 6