1. The Human Side of Marketing Research

2. Stage of development Stage of intuitive decision making Stage of sophistication Intuition-Centered Decision Making Research-Centered Decision Making Continuum of Marketing Research Sophistication

3. Managers Researchers 1)Decision-oriented 2)Intuitive 3)Like to confirm 4)Time orientation -- Proactive 1)Project immediacy 2)Results about future behavior 5)Frugal 1)keep costs down 6)Results orientation 1)Do not like surprises – tend to reject the results 2)Concern 1)Aren’t we #1 yet? 3)Certainty 1)Is it or isn’t it? 1)Technique-oriented 2)Analytical 3)Like to explore 4)Time orientation -- Reactive 1)Project prolongment 2)Results about past behavior 5)Not cost conscious 1)You get what you pay for 6)Results orientation 1)Love surprises – like finding out new info about the world 2)Abstraction 1)Our exponential gain …. 3)Probability 1)May be …..

4. Who Should Do the Research? Outside Agency (Research supplier) –An independent research firm contracted by the company that actually will benefit from the research. Can provide a fresh perspective Often can be more objective May have special expertise Often has local expertise In-house Research –Research performed by employees of the company that will benefit from the research. Can complete the research quickly Allows close collaboration with other employees Economy Secrecy

5. Organizational Structure of Marketing Research: Mid-Sized Firms Director of marketing research –Provides leadership in research efforts & integrates all staff- level research activities into one effort. –Plans, executes, & controls the firm’s marketing research function. Research analyst –Responsible for client contact, project design, preparation of proposals, selection of research suppliers supervision of data collection, analysis, & reporting activities.

6. Organizational Structure of Marketing Research (cont’d) Research assistants (or associates) –Provide technical assistance with questionnaire design, data analyses, &similar activities. –Also called junior analysts Manager of decision support systems –Supervises the collection and analysis of sales, inventory, and other periodic customer relationship management (CRM) data. Forecast analyst –Provides technical assistance, such as running computer programs and manipulating data to forecast sales.

7. Director of marketing research and sales forecasting Manager of sales research Forecast analysts Research analyst (project director) Research assistant (entry-level trainee) Medium-Sized Research Department

8. The Director of Marketing Research: Problems in Directing Research Skilled research professionals like conducting research better than managing people. The research management role often is not formally recognized. Outstanding research professionals often have trouble delegating responsibility. Research is often seen as a hodgepodge of techniques available to answer individual, unrelated questions.

9. Marketing Research Pays Research analysts’ salaries are $45,000 - $85,000, but some make over $100,000 Entry level is lower: $22,500 - $55,000

10. Research Supplier A commercial marketing research service that conducts marketing research activities for clients Syndicated service –Can provide standardized service –Can provide customized research

11. World’s Largest Research Firms (2010)

12. Choosing Research Suppliers Evaluative CriteriaDescription Technical CompetencyPossesses necessary functional requirements to conduct project. Expertise, practical skills, confidence Marketing KnowledgeAbility to assimilate diverse marketing environments and situations very rapidly. Quickly link client’s business with valid project. Reliability of ServiceAbility to be consistent and responsive to client’s needs. Conformance to Standards Ability to be accurate and on time. “Never promise what you can’t deliver.” ReputationAggregate of the 4 criteria above.

13. Evaluating Research Suppliers Evaluative CriteriaDescription Marketing KnowledgeTranslates objectives into marketing perspective; recommends marketing program action. Technical SkillsDesign, questionnaire, sample, measures, analysis ReliabilityConsistent performance over entire project duration ResponsivenessWillingness/readiness to provide designated tasks as indicated in research proposal AccessPrompt replies to questions; easily approachable

14. Evaluating Research Suppliers Evaluative CriteriaDescription CommunicationKeeps client informed throughout entire project CredibilityExhibits expertise; trustworthy; performs in professional manner UnderstandingTries to keep project costs low; understands true nature of client’s problems, business, daily activities Quality of reportWell-planned, concise, accurate report; no wasted information in presentation CostJustifies/itemizes costs based on all necessary tasks to complete project TimingCompletes project as promised within reasonable time frame

15. Ethical Issues in Marketing Research Marketing ethics –The application of morals to behavior related to the exchange environment. Moral standards –Principles that reflect beliefs about what is ethical and what is unethical. Ethical dilemma –A situation in which one chooses from alternative courses of actions, each with different ethical implications.

16. Ethical Issues in Marketing Research (cont’d) Relativism –Degree to which one rejects moral standards in favor of the acceptability of some action. –Rejects absolute principles in favor of situation-based evaluations. Idealism –Degree to which one bases one’s morality on moral standards. example: the Golden Rule

17. General Rights and Obligations of Concerned Parties Everyone involved in marketing research can face an ethical dilemma: –The people actually performing the research—the “doers.” –The research client, sponsor, or the management team requesting the research—the “users.” –The research participants—the actual research respondents or subjects. –Society at large — forms governments that oversee all aspects of commerce & benefits from effective research.

18. Rights & Obligations of Marketing Research 18

19. Rights & Obligations: Research Participant Informed Consent –The individual understands what the researcher wants him/her to do and consents to the research study. Implicit Consent –Behaviors that are performed in public, implies that one is willing to have others observe them. Confidentiality –The information involved in the research will not be shared with others. Be Truthful

20. Deception in Research Designs And the Right To Be Informed Experimental Designs –Placebo False experimental effect used to create perception of a true effect. –Debriefing Research subjects are fully informed & provided with a chance to ask any questions they may have about the experiment. –Mystery shoppers Employees of a research firm that are paid to pretend to be actual shoppers.

21. Protection from Harm Questions to ask to help avoid harming a research subject: –Has the research subject provided consent to participate in an experiment? –Is the research subject subjected to substantial physical or psychological trauma? –Can the research subject be easily returned to his or her initial state? Human Subjects Review Committee –Reviews proposed research designs to ensure that no harm can come to any research participant. –Also called Institutional Review Board (IRB)

22. Rights and Obligations of the Client Sponsor (User) The Right to Privacy (confidentiality) Commitment to the research Theft of creative ideas –Get ideas from researchers & conduct study themselves, or –Use the ideas they got as a bargaining tool with other suppliers Use of pseudo-pilot studies –Researcher is told study is 1 st of many in a comprehensive study (when it’s actually only the 1)

23. Rights of the Researcher Fair compensation for efforts Properly cited as research provider

24. Obligations of the Researcher  Objectivity  Understand that the purpose of research is research -- no sales pitch to research participants  Do not misrepresent research  Be honest in reporting errors & limitations  Protect the confidentiality of both subjects & clients  Appropriately price the research  Data Validation  Attempt to ensure data collected & recorded accurately  Typically 20% of total responses

25. Researcher Unethical Behaviors  Falsifying data  Rocking chair interviewing  Duplicating actual response data  Phantom respondents  Consciously manipulating data structures inappropriately  Inflation of research price with “soft” costs – travel expenses, monetary response incentives, etc  Selling unnecessary / unwarranted research services  i.e., sells 2 or 3 data collection forms while only 1 is necessary to achieve the research objectives

26. Researcher Unethical Behaviors  Fulfilling promises to respondents and/or field workers  Incentives usually not given until project is over  Recipients thus lose leverage  Respondent abuse  Misrepresent interview length  Selling PII without approval  Tracing individual respondents for sales call purposes  Covertly recording audio / visual without permission

27. When Nobody Is Looking? Sometimes the stakeholders involved in research are presented with subtle or perhaps even invisible ways to influence the research process in potentially unethical ways.

28. How Results Can Be Misrepresented in a Report or Presentation

29. Research That Isn’t Research Pseudo-research –Conducted not to gather information for marketing decisions but to bolster a point of view & satisfy other needs. Push poll –Telemarketing under guise of research. Service monitoring –Contacting customers about their experience with a product, there is no selling attempt.

30. The Researcher & Conflicts of Interest Conflict of interest –Occurs when one researcher works for two competing companies

31. Suggestions Develop & enforce a Code of Ethics Develop & publish a Privacy Policy Maintain an opt-out list for all survey methods –Phone –Mail –Electronic