The Marketing Survey-29.2 After finishing this section, you will know: How to construct a survey The ways that technology is used in marketing research

Constructing the Questionnaire Validity- exists when the questions asked measure what was intended to be measured Reliability- exists when a research technique produces nearly identical results in repeated trials Requires that the questions ask the same type of information from all the respondents Questions should be clear and easily understood To be valid and reliable a questionnaire must be properly written, formatted, and administered

Writing Questions Open-ended questions- ask respondents to construct their own response to a question Example: How can we serve you better? Generate a wide variety of responses that are difficult to categorize and tabulate

Forced-choice questions- ask respondents to choose answers from given possibilities Two-choice questions Multiple choice questions Rating or ranking scales Level of agreement scales

Yes/No Questions-Page 534 Should be used only when asking for a response on one issue The most often used filter questions- help to guide respondents to answer only those questions that apply Example: Have you had your vehicle serviced during the past year? If yes answer questions 1-4, if no, skip to question 5.

Multiple Choice Questions-Page 534 Give the respondent several choices Choice should be made comprehensive enough to include every possible response To make sure all responses are covered the other option is included Increases reliability

Rating Sale Questions-Page 535 Rate a product based on a scale Example: very satisfied to very dissatisfied or excellent to poor Level of Agreement Questions-Page 535 Used to assess attitudes or opinions Example: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree

Basic Guidelines for Writing Questions Each question should be written clearly and briefly as possible Use the same ranking or rating scales for all similar questions It is important not to ask leading questions- suggest a correct answer Example: Do you prefer X or the more reasonably priced Z? Avoid bias- a systematic error introduced by encouraging one outcome or answer over the others It is a good idea to pretest the test the wording of the questions

Formatting Questionnaires must have excellent visual appearance and design to appeal to respondents Use dark ink on light paper and type that is easy to read Shading sections and using arrows lead the reader through the questionnaire Section headings or numbers should be placed on all individual survey sections Respondents are more likely to respond to all sections and questions if they are numbered

Numbered questions are also easier to tabulate If your survey goes onto more than one page, place a message at the bottom of each page to continue to the next Directions for completing the questionnaire must be clear for each section or group of questions Demographic questions about gender, age, ethnic background, and education are grouped together at the end of the questionnaire

Respondents are more likely to respond to personal questions after completing the other questions Some people may take offense to personal questions placed at the beginning May choose not to take part in the survey Only placed at the beginning of a survey as a qualifying question Example: Are you between the ages of 20 and 30? If yes the interviewer would continue with the survey and if no, the person would not be included in the survey.

To increase the response rate the survey should have a variety of question types A mix of 25% Yes and no, 25% agree/disagree, 50% scaled-response

Administering the Questionnaire All surveys should have deadlines for completion A mailed questionnaire should be sent first-class with a hand-signed cover letter and personalized The cover letter should explain the purpose of the survey and give a deadline for completion A postage paid envelope should be included for convenience

Questionnaires that are not mailed, should have an explanation of the survey’s purpose on the questionnaire itself When a personal interview is used, the selection of participants is very important The selection process should not be biased A plan should be established for selecting participants Example: interviewing every third person to exit a store, regardless of age, gender, or appearance

Personal interviews provide a degree of flexibility in collecting data To conduct an interview, dress in a businesslike manner and carry a clipboard to hold your questionnaire Approach people politely and don’t take offense if individuals don’t wish to participate Marketing research firms have trained professional interviewers on staff

The Impact of Computer Technologies on Marketing Research Software programs- allow researchers to analyze huge amounts of information Allow researchers find secondary data in computer databases, prepare surveys, and generate lists of potential customers Information can be stored, and used to improve processes in the future

Computerized databases- source of data collection for researchers Computer programs are available that analyze the information collected Specialized programs can assist with forecasting current market data and use this information to predict future sales Fax broadcasting- allows businesses to send questionnaires to a select group of fax numbers

Automated dialers- increase the number of telephone survey responses by placing multiple calls and automatically rejecting those with busy signals and answering machines Digital surveys- allow a pre-recorded voice to qualify a respondent and then ask a series of survey questions Interactive voice response- similar to voicemail as callers are greeted by a recorded voice that leads them through a series of questions Responses can be given using the telephone keypad

Assignment Page 538 #1-6