Reading 1: Listening Begins at Home Stengel, Dixon, Allen

History of Marketing Research Procter girls Qualitative (still dominant in Europe) Direct mail Telephone Internet

Stengel, et al. overview “listening to the consumer” is key Marketing plans should be developed from research, not from intuition P&G’s marketing plans were in disarray

Methodology Stengel, et al. conducted qualitative research April 2001 Internal focus – marketing employees, mostly brand oriented Shadowing one-on-one Off-site focus groups Depth interviews Quantitative survey of employees

Researcher challenges Jargon particular to P&G and the industry Time to collect data Researcher lens

Findings People development was weak – Coaching skills were not being used – Change management was erratic – Formal and informal training programs dropped Valuation of marketing as a profession Focus on activity, not results Discipline relative to established processes Not listening to customers

Prescriptive Actions Six steps on page 112 Common language Training Centers of Expertise Focus Marketing roles Marketing as a career