marketing 300 discussion section

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the first exam  How was it? Questions? Comments?

Quiz Review A $50 consumer product which is purchased infrequently is: a) an unsought product. b) a convenience product. c) a specialty product. d) a shopping product. e) It might be any of the above.

Quiz Review A situation analysis a) can never eliminate the need for further research. b) is used primarily in the problem solving step. c) is expensive compared with more formal research efforts. d) can be very informative, but takes little time. e) must be quantitative to be useful.

Quiz Review Product class is based on the type of a)Final customer b) Manufacturing process c) Marketing mix d) Marketing strategies e) Shopping strategies

what is this?

350,000 tons a year

that’s right… DIAPERS

discussion question How would you use focus groups, observation, survey and experiments to forecast market reactions to a new kind of disposable baby diaper?

wait… Q: What’s the point of market research anyway? A: You don’t know what consumers want, how they shop, what their concerns are, what they like/dislike about your product, etc. $ ?

discussion question Watch this clip: What are the researchers doing right? What are they doing wrong?

discussion question Focus group testing – what is it? Market research technique that involves interviewing a group of people about their thoughts on a product or service. (ex. get 10 people in a room to talk about a proposed website launch)

discussion question Advantages of focus groups? – Quick to conduct – Cheap – Can get personal consumer insights Disadvantages of focus groups? – Not quantitative, hard to assess objectively – People can be horrible judges of their own thoughts – Selection bias – Easy to “lead” subjects – Tendency by analysts to universalize comments

discussion question The social desirability problem A B C D

discussion question How would you use focus groups in this diaper context? Ex. consumers could be asked directly about the likelihood of their purchase of the product

discussion question Observation – what is it? Market research technique that involves monitoring consumer behavior to see reactions to product or service (ex. videotaping consumers shopping, “secret shoppers”)

discussion question Advantages of observing? – Consumer is not heavily involved in testing aspect – Can get at unconscious aspects of consumer behavior – Can gain consumer insights without asking directly or otherwise influencing behavior Disadvantages of observing? – Ridiculously tedious! – Does not get at conscious consumer processes – Some customers creeped out by the idea of some weird guy who lives in parents’ basement watching them on CC TV

discussion question How would you use observations in this diaper context? Ex. your company can observe prominence of display and the rate of sales for similar products in various kinds of stores

discussion question Surveying – what is it? A (typically) quantitative market research method that involves asking questions whose answers can be summarized in averages, percentages, etc. (ex. mail-in questionnaire, telephone survey)

discussion question Advantages of surveying? – Easy to analyze – Can be designed to be completed quickly – Can quantify consumer responses – Depending on format, can be more convenient and anonymous for consumers Disadvantages of surveying? – Response rates – Selection and representativeness biases – Can be intrusive and really annoying – Do people answer honestly?

discussion question How would you use surveys in this diaper context? Ex. Ask retailers about their feelings about the product, and the sales volume they expect; or ask targeted consumers about their knowledge and interest in the product

discussion question Experimenting – what is it? A market research technique involving the setup of a situation in which an experimental sample is compared against a control group (ex. compare sales of 16oz. Cheetos bags with sales of 15.75oz Cheetos bags in a different area)

discussion question Advantages of experimenting? – Can help understand effect of changes in marketing mix – Assuming effective testing, can immediately see cost/benefit – Can understand impact of a single factor Disadvantages of experimenting? – Can be expensive, logistically complex – Competitor/retailer action can screw up test validity – If testing multiple features simultaneously, cannot disentangle individual effects

discussion question How would you use experiments in this diaper context? Ex. See how different retailer displays might affect sales

discussion question Questions?

project progress  You should have segmentation and targeting done by now.

the first exam  For any specific questions, please make an appt. with me.

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