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1. Compare reliability and validity. Why are they important considerations in marketing research? |
ANSWER: In designing research, marketing researchers must ensure that research techniques are both reliable and valid. A research technique has reliability if it produces almost identical results in repeated trials. To have validity, the research method must measure what it is supposed to measure, not something else. This means that not all reliable research findings are valid. For example, although a group of customers may express the same level of satisfaction based on a rating scale, as individuals they may not exhibit the same repurchase behavior because of different personal characteristics. If the purpose of rating satisfaction was to estimate potential repurchase behavior, this result may cause the researcher to question the validity of the satisfaction scale. A study to measure the effect of advertising on sales is valid if advertising can be isolated from other factors and from variables that affect sales. Research projects should be replicable as well, otherwise it is impossible to establish reliability. |
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2. Explain the conditions that would favor an exploratory study over a conclusive study. |
ANSWER: Conclusive research is designed to verify insights through an objective procedure to help marketers make decisions. It is used in the final stages of decision making, when the marketer has narrowed his or her decision down to a few alternatives. Whereas, when marketers need more information about a problem or want to make a tentative hypothesis more specific, they conduct exploratory research. The main purpose of exploratory research is to better understand a problem or situation and/or to help identify additional data needs or decision alternatives.4 For example, China is the world’s largest auto producer and has made great strides in developing high efficiency vehicles, yet exports practically none of them. Chinese automakers have begun to see opportunities abroad as countries increase fuel efficiency standards and the demand for efficient cars grows. Geely Group, which acquired Volvo Cars of Sweden, for instance, has begun conducting exploratory research in major Western markets, such as Britain, to determine which of its low-cost and high fuel efficiency models would be most popular there. Exploratory research can help marketers better understand how consumers view a topic or a product, which can assist a firm as it develops better products and more targeted marketing mixes. |
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3. Compare and contrast the response rates of the four basic survey methods. Are there methods to increase any of these response rates? |
ANSWER: The four basic survey methods include mail surveys, telephone surveys, online surveys, and personal interview surveys. A mail survey is less expensive than a telephone or personal interview survey as long as the response rate is high enough to produce reliable results. A major disadvantage of this method is the possibility of a low response rate. One method of improving response rates involves attaching a brief personal message on a Post-it Note to the survey packet. Premiums or incentives that encourage respondents to return questionnaires have been effective in developing panels of respondents who are interviewed regularly by mail. A telephone survey has some advantages over a mail survey. The rate of response is higher because it takes less effort to answer the telephone and talk than to fill out and return a questionnaire. If enough interviewers are available, a telephone survey can be conducted very quickly. However, only a small proportion of the population likes to participate in telephone surveys or interviews. This can significantly limit participation and distort representation. Many households are excluded from telephone directories by choice (unlisted numbers) or because the residents moved after the directory was published. Potential respondents often use telephone answering machines, voice mail, or caller ID to screen or block calls; additionally, millions have signed up for "Do Not Call Lists." Moreover, an increasing number of Americans are giving up their fixed telephone lines in favor of cellular or wireless phones. These issues have serious implications for the use of telephone samples in conducting surveys or interviews. In an online survey, questionnaires can be transmitted to respondents either through e-mail or through a website. Marketing researchers often send these surveys to online panel samples purchased from professional brokers or put together by the company. The potential advantages of online surveys are quick response and lower cost than traditional mail, telephone, and personal interview surveys if the response rate is adequate. Marketers can use digital media forums such as chat rooms, blogs, newsgroups, social networks, and research communities to identify trends in interests and consumption patterns. In a personal interview survey, participants respond to questions face-to-face. Respondents can be selected more carefully, and reasons for nonresponse can be explored. Today, many personal interviews are conducted in shopping malls. Shopping mall intercept interviews involve interviewing a percentage of individuals who pass by an "intercept" point in a mall. Like any face-to-face interviewing method, mall intercept interviewing has many advantages. |
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4. Why would a personal interview be favored over a mail or telephone survey? |
ANSWER: In a personal interview survey, participants respond to questions face-to-face. Various audiovisual aids—pictures, products, diagrams, or prerecorded advertising copy—can be incorporated into a personal interview. Rapport gained through direct interaction usually permits more in-depth interviewing, including probes, follow-up questions, or psychological tests. In addition, because personal interviews can be longer than other survey types, they may yield more information. Respondents can be selected more carefully, and reasons for nonresponse can be explored. One such research technique is the in-home (door-to-door) interview. The in-home interview offers a clear advantage when thoroughness of self-disclosure and elimination of group influence are important. In an in-depth interview of 45 to 90 minutes, respondents can be probed to reveal their true motivations, feelings, behaviors, and aspirations. |
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5. Why is it essential that a questionnaire be carefully designed and prepared? What problems can arise when a survey has not been well thought out? |
ANSWER: A carefully constructed questionnaire is essential to the success of any survey. Questions must be clear, easy to understand, and directed toward a specific objective, meaning they must be designed to elicit information that meets the study’s data requirements. Defining the objective of a questionnaire before construction will provide a guide to the substance of the questions and ensure that they yield useful information that contributes to the research project. The most important rule in composing questions is to maintain impartiality. The questions are usually of three kinds: open-ended, dichotomous, and multiplechoice. Open-ended questions should be used carefully, as it is very difficult to code the responses in such a way as to easily analyze the data later. Problems may develop in the analysis of dichotomous or multiple-choice questions when responses for one outcome outnumber others. For example, a dichotomous question that asks respondents to choose between "buy" or "not buy" might require additional sampling from the disproportionately smaller group if there were not enough responses to analyze. Researchers must also be very careful about questions that a respondent might consider too personal or that might require an admission of activities that other people are likely to condemn. Researchers must word questions carefully so as not to offend respondents. |
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6. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the two types of collecting a sample. |
ANSWER: a population. There are two basic types of sampling: probability sampling and nonprobability sampling. With probability sampling, every element in the population being studied has a known chance of being selected for study. Random sampling is a form of probability sampling. When marketers employ random sampling, all the units in a population have an equal chance of appearing in the sample. Another type of probability sampling is stratified sampling, in which the population of interest is divided into groups according to a common attribute, and a random sample is then chosen within each sub-group. A stratified sample may reduce some of the error that is a risk of a completely random sample, ensuring that a group is not accidentally over-represented. By segmenting a population into groups, the researcher makes sure that each segment receives its proportionate share of sample units and helps investigators avoid including too many or too few sample units from each sub-group. Samples are usually stratified when researchers believe there may be variations among different types of respondents. The second type of sampling, nonprobability sampling, is more subjective than probability sampling because there is no way to calculate the probability that a specific element of the population being studied will be chosen. Quota sampling, for example, is highly judgmental because the final choice of participants is left to the researchers. In quota sampling, researchers divide the population into groups and then arbitrarily choose participants from each segment. In quota sampling, researchers impose some controls—usually limited to two or three variables, such as age, gender, or race—over the selection of participants to ensure that representative categories of respondents are included. |
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7. What pitfalls should a marketing researcher avoid in preparing a report for a company executive? Why? |
ANSWER: The final step in the marketing research process is to report the research findings. Before preparing the report, the marketer must objectively analyze the findings to determine whether the research is as complete as it can be and how well the data answer the research question and support or negate the hypothesis. Most research will not have answered the research question completely. Thus, the researcher must point out deficiencies and their causes in the report. While writing, researchers must keep the report’s audience in mind and ensure that findings are relevant to the firm. They should also determine before writing how much detail and supporting data to include. Research is not useful unless it supports the organization’s overall strategy and objectives. If an outside research agency was contracted, it is important that it fully understand the client’s business. Those responsible for preparing the report must facilitate adjusting the findings to the environment, as it can change over time. The report must be helpful to marketers and managers on an ongoing basis. |
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8. Discuss the role of the marketing information system in helping marketing managers make better decisions. |
ANSWER: A marketing information system (MIS) is a framework for the day-to-day management and structuring of information gathered regularly from sources both inside and outside the organization. As such, an MIS provides a continuous flow of information about prices, advertising expenditures, sales, competition, and distribution expenses and can be an important asset for developing effective marketing strategies. The main focuses of an MIS are on data storage and retrieval, as well as on computer capabilities and management’s information requirements. MIS can help with producing regular sales reports by product or market categories, data on inventory levels, and records of salespeople’s activities, which can all help in marketing decision making. |
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9. How can companies use information technology as a competitive advantage? |
ANSWER: Technology and the Internet have made the information required for marketing decisions more accessible than ever. Marketers can easily track customer buying behavior, obtain detailed demographic profiles, and anticipate what buyers want— making it possible to fine-tune marketing mixes to satisfy customers. Information technology permits for easy internal research and quick information gathering to help marketers better understand and satisfy customers. CRM has been enhanced by the ability to integrate and access data from all customer contacts. Many firms use marketing information systems, CRM technologies, and cloud computing to network technologies and organize the marketing data available to them. Improvements in information technology have made it possible for firms to develop data-bases that are vastly enhanced in their speed and storage capacity, to guide strategic planning and improve customer service. For instance, think about the advertisement for the SAP HANA database. It uses 21st century technology to consolidate all the data contained in a database in order to speed processing and to allow a firm to retrieve answers more quickly. The HANA database model reduces redundancies and makes it easier for marketers to retrieve the information that they need to make sound marketing decisions and improve customer relationship marketing. |
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10. Why is ethics an important consideration in marketing research? |
ANSWER: Marketing managers and other professionals increasingly rely on marketing research, marketing information systems, and new technologies to make better decisions. Therefore, it is essential that professional standards be established by which to judge the reliability of marketing research. Such standards are necessary because of the ethical and legal issues that can develop in gathering marketing research data. For example, many consumers are wary of how their personal information collected by marketers will be used, especially whether it will be sold to third parties. It is important that marketers remain ethical at all times, to retain consumer and stake-holder trust and a positive reputation. To provide standards and guidelines, organizations such as the Marketing Research Association have developed codes of conduct and guidelines that promote ethical marketing research. |
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11. How does marketing research differ when conducted in other countries? |
ANSWER: Sociocultural, economic, political, legal, and technological forces vary in different regions of the world. These variations create challenges for the organizations that are attempting to understand foreign customers through marketing research. While the marketing research process is generally the same around the world, some regional differences exist. To make certain that firms are sufficiently aware of global and regional differences, many companies retain a research firm, or at least a researcher, with experience in the country of interest. Most of the largest marketing research firms derive a significant share of their revenues from research conducted outside the United States. For example, the Nielsen Company, the largest marketing research firm in the world, is a U.S. company but has a market presence in over 100 different countries. |
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12. Marketing research is best defined as |
ANSWER: a a. the systematic design, collection, interpretation, and reporting of information to help marketers solve specific marketing problems or take advantage of market opportunities. |
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13. Marketing research is a process designed to gather information |
c. not currently available to decision makers. |
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14. The use of marketing research is |
d. widespread throughout business and nonprofit organizations. |
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15. The real value of marketing research to the organization can best be measured by |
d. improvements in the ability to make decisions. |
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16. All of the following are steps in the marketing research process except |
e. understanding your customer. |
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17. Pointing out any deficiencies and the possible reasons for them should be done in the ____ step of the marketing research process. |
d. reporting research findings |
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18. Problem location and definition is the first step toward finding a solution to a marketing problem or launching a research study. The first sign of a problem |
e. is typically a departure from some normal function, such as a failure to attain objectives. |
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19. To maintain the control needed to obtain accurate information, marketers approach marketing research as a process. Which of the following steps of that process focuses on uncovering the nature and boundaries of the marketing situation to be studied? |
a. Locating and defining problems |
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20. Decreasing sales, increasing expenses, or decreasing profits |
b. are examples of symptoms that point to larger problems. |
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21. An overall plan for obtaining the information needed to address a research problem or issue is called the |
a. research design. |
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22. Jack knows his business has a problem because of an increasing number of consumer complaints received recently. He has decided how to make this problem a precise, researchable statement and should next move on to |
b. designing the research project. |
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23. An informed guess or assumption about a certain problem or set of circumstances is known as |
c. a hypothesis. |
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24. Students from a marketing research class are involved in a project about the level of sleep, exercise, and stress individuals experience. They have decided to collect data from three student-center areas on campus. When they analyze their data they find the responses are very similar across the three areas. The students feel comfortable they have achieved which of the following with regard to their data? |
a. reliability |
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25. Costco believes that most of its sales are to small businesses rather than consumers — and that women are more likely to be making the purchasing decisions. This is an example of a(n) ____ that Costco could test through marketing research. |
b. hypothesis |
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26. ____ that are either accepted or rejected become the primary conclusions of a marketing research study. |
e. Hypotheses |
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27. When more information is needed about a problem and a tentative hypothesis needs to be made more specific, marketers usually conduct ____ research. |
c. exploratory |
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28. Cover Girl believes that sales of one of its lipstick lines have fallen due to the introduction of a new color palette. However, in order to best determine the impact of the color palette, Cover Girl should conduct _____ before proceeding with this tentative hypothesis. |
c. exploratory research. |
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29. Research designed to verify insights through an objective procedure to help marketers make decisions is called |
d. conclusive. |
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30. Research that is conducted to clarify the characteristics of certain phenomena to solve a particular problem is called ____ research. |
c. descriptive |
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31. Research that allows marketers to make causal inferences about relationships is called |
e. experimental research. |
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32. Suppose that marketers at Sun Products are trying to determine whether the use of free samples of Snuggle fabric softener was the reason for a sales increase in a particular store. The type of research conducted to answer this question is |
c. experimental. |
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33. If Little Caesars wants to determine the impact of different coupon offers on pizza unit sales, it needs to conduct |
e. experimental research. |
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34. When marketing researchers try to manipulate an independent variable and measure the resulting changes in a dependent variable, they are engaging in |
e. experimentation. |
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35. Designing research procedures that produce reliable marketing data means that |
a. others using the same procedure will get almost identical data. |
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36. Marketing researchers at Nike decided to test several new designs and colors of shoes with its young, urban target market. The shoe colors used in the experiment were bright yellow, light blue, bright green, red, and black. Nike repeated the particular experiment several times in different large cities and discovered that the results produced each time were nearly identical. The participants preferred the green, red, and black. However, when the shoes were produced, the sales were higher for the plain white version, the black, and red. The sales of the bright green were very low. Nike couldn’t understand why the test results were consistent, but the results didn’t match with the actual sales. This phenomenon would indicate that the test results were _____ but not _____. |
a. reliable; valid |
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37. A valid study |
e. measures what it is supposed to. |
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38. A firm has conducted market research and found that customer satisfaction with its product is quite high. Nonetheless, repurchase behavior is very low. The research design evidently has a problem with |
c. validity. |
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39. A study that is valid and reliable |
b. measures what it is supposed to measure and produces almost identical results in repeated trials. |
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40. Palmetto Regional Hospital has designed an upcoming research project for determining the best methods for improving patient care. The next step the organization must take in the marketing research process is |
b. collecting data. |
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41. Primary data are best described as the |
c. data that are observed, recorded, or collected directly from subjects. |
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42. Data that are observed or collected directly from respondents are called |
ANSWER: d d. primary data. |
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43. Saks Fifth Avenue wants to learn about its consumers’ attitudes toward on-line purchases. There are numerous studies that are available about consumers and on-line buying, but Saks believes its customers might be different from the usual on-line consumer profile, so they decide to conduct their own study. If Saks were to use the available data about consumer attitudes, it would be using ___ data; however, if Saks does its own study it would collect ______ data. |
c. secondary; primary |
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44. Secondary data cannot be obtained from |
d. surveys. |
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45. One overlooked internal source of secondary marketing information discussed in the text is |
b. accounting records. |
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46. Time Warner Cable uses its sales reports broken down by geographic regions as part of its marketing research to determine which markets are most rapidly adopting high-speed Internet connections. In this example, Time Warner Cable is using |
e. internal secondary data. |
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47. Georgia-Pacific needs information about trends in housing starts and remodeling around the country. Since it will be difficult to collect _______ from the numerous locations, it decides to use _____ data from the U.S. Department of Commerce reports to get this information. |
e. primary; secondary |
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48. When working as a summer intern for a local retail store, Jan Halverson was sent to the library to look up data on population forecasts for the city of San Antonio. The population information she found would be considered |
b. secondary data. |
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49. Information from the U.S. Census Bureau is commonly used as ____ by a variety of agencies and organizations. |
a. external secondary data |
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50. Subscription services from firms such as ACNielsen provide marketing researchers with a good source of ____ data. |
d. external secondary |
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51. Kristen is the new marketing manager for the footwear division of her company and is currently planning next season’s product lines. She needs to gain access to data about recent purchasing patterns in the industry, but has a limited budget and time. Which type of data would be the best choice for Kristen to use in this situation? |
b. secondary data. |
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52. All the elements, individuals, or units of interest to researchers for a specific study are called the |
c. population. |
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53. If the University Bookstore wanted to understand the textbook and school supplies needs on the campus of the University of Michigan, the population of study would be |
e. all students, faculty, supporters, and staff of the University of Michigan. |
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54. Patricia Robertson is running for Congress from the Sixth District in her state. She is interested in knowing the intended choices of the voters. All the registered voters in her district would constitute the study’s |
c. population. |
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55. In marketing research, a sample is best described as |
c. a limited number of units chosen to represent the characteristics of a total population. |
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56. When marketing researchers consider sampling techniques, they are preparing to collect ____ data. |
e. primary |
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57. The objective of sampling in marketing research is to |
c. select representative units from a total population. |
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58. The two basic types of sampling that marketing researchers use are |
b. probability and nonprobability. |
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59. Which sampling design gives every member of the population an equal chance of appearing in the sample? |
b. Random |
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60. In which of the following sampling designs do all members of a population have an equal chance of being selected? |
d. Random |
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61. Subway wants to collect data about employee satisfaction within its organization. It decides to survey a sample of 500 employees by having a computer program automatically pick which employees will be in the sample. If it uses the payroll database as the list of names to chose from, which type of sampling method is Subway using? |
a. random sampling. |
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62. Which of the following is a probability sampling technique used to reduce errors within random sampling? |
b. Stratified |
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63. Assume that Verizon Wireless is interested in studying the pricing expectations of its customers. If the study calls for selecting at random 100 people from each of three age groupings, ____ sampling is being used. |
b. stratified |
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64. Baskin Robbins is conducting research on possible new ice cream flavors and products. It is selecting at random 100 males and 100 females in order to collect data. This is an example of ____ sampling. |
d. stratified |
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65. If Weight Watchers is interested in collecting information about Americans’ perceptions of dieting programs, and the company believes that significant regional differences may exist, the best type of sampling would be |
d. stratified. |
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66. In ____ sampling, there is no way to calculate the likelihood that a specific element of the population being studied will be chosen. |
e. nonprobability |
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67. In which type of sampling design is the final choice of respondents left up to the interviewer? |
e. Quota |
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68. When researchers divide the population of interest in a study into groups and then arbitrarily choose participants from each group, they are using |
a. quota sampling. |
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69. Quota sampling is most commonly used in |
e. exploratory studies. |
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70. Nelson Marketing Research is concerned about using surveys to conduct a marketing research project because |
a. fewer people are willing to participate. |
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71. What is the primary factor contributing to the increasing difficulty associated with gathering primary data through surveys? |
b. Fewer people are willing to participate in surveys. |
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72. Which of the following is the least flexible survey method? |
d. Mail surveys |
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73. Peter, the director of marketing at Holcomb, Inc., calls in Andrea, the firm’s marketing research director. Peter wants a study done to assess the company’s image relative to a new competitor, Levitt Labs. He has a flexible time schedule, has very little money to devote to the research, and feels that a relatively low response rate will not be a major problem. Andrea will probably recommend using a ____ survey. |
a. mail |
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74. The major disadvantage of a mail survey versus a telephone or personal survey is |
b. the failure of respondents to return the questionnaire. |
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75. An offshoot of mail surveys, ____ have shortcomings because the people who participate in them generally have higher incomes and education levels than the general population. |
a. purchase diaries |
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76. Compared to a mail survey, telephone surveys have |
e. higher response rates, but higher costs |
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77. The manager of MegaMarket is interested in asking consumers what they think about the store’s new layout and expanded produce selection. If the manager would like to obtain a high response rate and have the study conducted as quickly as possible, which data collection method would you recommend? |
c. Telephone survey |
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78. Although telephone surveys can be conducted very quickly, a major limitation is |
d. that only a small portion of the population likes to participate in telephone surveys. |
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79. Which of the following survey methods has the potential to offer quick response at a lower cost than traditional mail and telephone surveys? |
e. Online surveys |
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80. Mika is the marketing research manager for a company that sells skis and other sporting equipment. His company currently has a profitable brand and a good share of the traditional ski market, but would like to enter the "extreme" category of winter sports. Mika needs to obtain information about consumer attitudes of the company’s current products as well as attitudes of potential customers in the "extreme" consumer market. He does not have constraints on time, but he does have a modest budget for research. Mika should probably use _____ to obtain the data about the company’s current products, and _____ to obtain information about the extreme consumers’ attitudes. |
b. Online surveys; focus groups |
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81. Low response rate and privacy are both issues of concern related to |
d. e-mail surveys. |
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82. Participants in ____ frequently get to see pictures, products, advertising samples, and diagrams. |
b. personal interview surveys |
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83. If a marketing researcher is interested in observing group interaction during an informal, unstructured, and open-ended data collection process, he or she should use |
b. a focus-group interview. |
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84. A research method in which a number of people are exposed to an idea or concept and the interaction of the people is observed is called a(n) |
c. focus-group interview. |
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85. Emily Dawson and seven other people were paid to get together and discuss a new product idea proposed by Johnson & Johnson. Researchers observed the interaction of the group. During the discussion, Emily was annoyed that Jack, another participant, seemed to "hog" the discussion and didn’t give others a chance to speak. This is an example of a problem when using ________. |
a. focus-group interviews. |
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86. Kelsey thinks she will be able to get the highest quality of responses concerning the product features most sought by consumers through personal interviews. She decides to conduct her interviews at ____ because this is the most common location for personal interviews. |
a. a shopping mall |
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87. A survey question that requires a yes or no answer is called a |
d. dichotomous question. |
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88. An item on the University Book Store’s survey asks respondents to tell the store, in their own words, what they like least about textbook shopping. This item would be an example of a(n) ____ question. |
a. open-ended |
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89. When Pepsi Max implemented a telephone survey to determine the effectiveness of a recent advertising campaign. One of the questions the interviewer asked was, "Have you ever heard of a cola with twice the caffeine of regular colas?" This is an example of which of the following kinds of questions? |
b. Dichotomous |
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90. An online survey conducted before students could register for their fall semester classes asked, "Do you think online professor evaluation forms would be better than paper and pencil forms administered during class?" This is an example of a(n) ____ question. |
e. dichotomous |
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91. For demographic purposes, a mail survey sent out by the American Cancer Society asks each respondent to identify their race by choosing among a list of possibilities. This common type of question is called a(n) ____ question. |
b. multiple-choice |
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92. Carmen has been hired by a market research company to collect data about the drinking habits of 25 to 35-year old urban professionals. Carmen is to go to "happy hour" with a group of individuals and observe what type of alcoholic beverages they order, how often, and what brands. The data that Carmen will obtain is ______ and she will use ______ in its collection. |
c. primary; ethnographic |
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93. Cameras, counting machines, and scanners are used most often in |
d. observation. |
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94. Having recording biases and collecting only descriptive information are two of the primary drawbacks to |
c. observation. |
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95. If Procter & Gamble, the maker of Dawn dishwashing liquid, wants to know what percentage of customers examine product labels before making a product selection in the grocery store, it can best gain this information through |
d. observation. |
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96. Nathan, a marketing manager for Casual Express, a retail clothing store chain, wants to use observation methods to gather information about shopping behavior. Which of the following should Nathan know about observation methods of data collection? |
c. Observation can tell Nathan what is being done, but not why. |
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97. Jamal has just finished collecting data about the texting habits of students during their lunch hour. He used both online surveys to ask the students about their texting behavior, as well as observational techniques in the cafeteria. What is the next step in the marketing research process for Jamal to begin? |
c. Interpreting research findings |
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98. Carlos was given the task of conducting a research project for his firm and proceeds with the following steps: he asks questions to determine the research topic, conducts a telephone survey, writes a report describing the survey results, and gives that report to his boss. Which step of the marketing research process has Carlos omitted? |
c. Interpreting research |
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99. In the process of conducting marketing research, marketers should allow for |
b. continual evaluation of the data during the entire collection period. |
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100. Which step in the marketing research process involves the use of data analysis and statistical techniques to help draw conclusions? |
d. Interpreting research findings |
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101. According to the text, ____ interpretation focuses on what is typical or what deviates from the average. |
a. statistical |
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102. Darren uses Microsoft Excel to determine how much the responses to his survey about household decision making for toilet paper vary. Darren is in the ____ step of the marketing research process. |
a. interpreting research findings |
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103. Suppose that a retail store conducts a mail survey of its customers and finds that 50 percent of the customers believe store personnel are "courteous." Which benchmark or comparison would be most useful for interpreting this result? |
b. How the 50 percent figure compares with that for competitors |
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104. The final step in the marketing research process is |
d. reporting the research findings. |
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105. Corporate executives often prefer marketing research findings to be put into a report |
d. that is clear, short, and simply expressed. |
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106. In reporting marketing research findings, the researcher should |
a. provide explanations in language that those who use the report to make decisions can understand. |
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107. There is some concern that marketing research has been used incorrectly by some firms. The major problem comes from ____ because the researcher wants to obtain favorable results. |
b. bias and distortion |
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108. A framework for gathering and managing information from sources both inside and outside an organization is referred to as |
b. a marketing information system. |
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109. Which one of the following best characterizes a marketing information system (MIS)? |
b. An MIS provides a continuous flow of information about such things as distribution costs, prices, sales, and advertising expenses. |
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110. The main focus of a marketing information system is on |
c. data storage and retrieval. |
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111. American Flooring sells all types of floor coverings to contractors and other businesses. It keeps a collection of information about all of its clients that can be easily accessed on the company’s computer system. This collection of information is called a |
b. database. |
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112. Bart’s Appliance Center owner Ron Bart feels that his organization has access to a great deal of information generated both inside and outside the firm, but much of this information is presently going to waste. Apparently, Bart needs to develop a |
c. marketing information system. |
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113. A(n) ____ is a collection of information arranged for easy access and retrieval. |
a. database |
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114. Information provided by a single firm on household demographics, consumer purchases, television viewing behavior, and responses to promotions is called ____ data. |
a. single-source |
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115. Behavior Scan, a research company, provides information on household demographics, television viewing habits, and purchases tracked with Hotline cards. This is |
e. single-source data. |
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116. Max is the product manager for a new type of lumbar supports used in the production of office chairs. His company sells the lumbar supports to approximately 70 different chair manufacturers. The price for this new product still needs to be finalized. Max has decided to take the data recently collected in a marketing research study and apply it to different pricing scenarios in order to set the best price for his company. He will be utilizing computer software to obtain results from the various scenarios. Max is most likely using a |
d. marketing decision support system. |
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117. The following are all guidelines for questionnaire introduction that support ethical marketing research except |
e. keep the name of the research company confidential. |
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118. Which of the following statements about conducting marketing research internationally is false? |
e. Specific differences among countries have no effect on data gathering or the marketing research process. |
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119. Scenario 5.1 Because of the development of optical scanners and cable television, marketing researchers can now test the effectiveness of advertising more precisely. Volunteers in a minimum of six cities are offered food discounts in return for allowing marketing research firms to monitor grocery purchases and send trial commercials to their homes through cable television. The research subjects shop only at stores equipped with UPC scanners, and their purchases are identified by a special card. Respondents are also told that some of the commercials they see on cable television may differ from those seen by their neighbors. Buying patterns are then compared. For example, Kashi cereals tested a Crunchy Wheat promotion using this system. Half of the 5,000 participating homes in one city saw a commercial announcing the promotion; the other half saw a commercial that did not mention the promotion. Kashi used scanner data to evaluate the promotion’s success and offered the commercials nationwide. Refer to Scenario 5.1. Kashi’s testing of the Crunchy Wheat promotion is an example of |
d. the collection of primary data used in a descriptive study. |
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120. Scenario 5.1 Because of the development of optical scanners and cable television, marketing researchers can now test the effectiveness of advertising more precisely. Volunteers in a minimum of six cities are offered food discounts in return for allowing marketing research firms to monitor grocery purchases and send trial commercials to their homes through cable television. The research subjects shop only at stores equipped with UPC scanners, and their purchases are identified by a special card. Respondents are also told that some of the commercials they see on cable television may differ from those seen by their neighbors. Buying patterns are then compared. For example, Kashi cereals tested a Crunchy Wheat promotion using this system. Half of the 5,000 participating homes in one city saw a commercial announcing the promotion; the other half saw a commercial that did not mention the promotion. Kashi used scanner data to evaluate the promotion’s success and offered the commercials nationwide. Refer to Scenario 5.1. Suppose that when selecting the 5,000 homes to participate in scanner studies in one city, the research firm first divided the city’s population into upper-, middle-, and lower-class families, then took a probability sample within each group. This would be a(n) ____ sample. |
b. stratified |
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121. Scenario 5.1 Because of the development of optical scanners and cable television, marketing researchers can now test the effectiveness of advertising more precisely. Volunteers in a minimum of six cities are offered food discounts in return for allowing marketing research firms to monitor grocery purchases and send trial commercials to their homes through cable television. The research subjects shop only at stores equipped with UPC scanners, and their purchases are identified by a special card. Respondents are also told that some of the commercials they see on cable television may differ from those seen by their neighbors. Buying patterns are then compared. For example, Kashi cereals tested a Crunchy Wheat promotion using this system. Half of the 5,000 participating homes in one city saw a commercial announcing the promotion; the other half saw a commercial that did not mention the promotion. Kashi used scanner data to evaluate the promotion’s success and offered the commercials nationwide. Refer to Scenario 5.1. The 5,000 households that allowed their group purchases to be scanned are a |
c. sample. |
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122. Scenario 5.1 Because of the development of optical scanners and cable television, marketing researchers can now test the effectiveness of advertising more precisely. Volunteers in a minimum of six cities are offered food discounts in return for allowing marketing research firms to monitor grocery purchases and send trial commercials to their homes through cable television. The research subjects shop only at stores equipped with UPC scanners, and their purchases are identified by a special card. Respondents are also told that some of the commercials they see on cable television may differ from those seen by their neighbors. Buying patterns are then compared. For example, Kashi cereals tested a Crunchy Wheat promotion using this system. Half of the 5,000 participating homes in one city saw a commercial announcing the promotion; the other half saw a commercial that did not mention the promotion. Kashi used scanner data to evaluate the promotion’s success and offered the commercials nationwide. Refer to Scenario 5.1. When the researchers compared the average sales of Crunchy Wheat for the group that saw the promotion with the average sales for the group that did not see the promotion, in which stage of the marketing research process were they? |
e. Interpreting research findings |
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123. Scenario 5.2 Colin Jackson recently purchased Blue Waters Adventures, a kayak and canoeing rental business near the Chatsworth River in Arizona. Blue Waters Adventures had been in operation for five years and was located in an ideal area. Even though the winters in the area can be cold, kayaking and canoeing activities are generally popular year-round. After two months of operation, it became clear why the previous owners had sold the business. While the business appeared to be ideally located, sales were extremely disappointing. Refer to Scenario 5.2. Colin decided to apply some of the things he had learned in his marketing research class to his business. The first thing he should do is to ___________ which will help him ______ |
c. define the problem to be researched; determine his data needs. |
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124. Scenario 5.2 Colin Jackson recently purchased Blue Waters Adventures, a kayak and canoeing rental business near the Chatsworth River in Arizona. Blue Waters Adventures had been in operation for five years and was located in an ideal area. Even though the winters in the area can be cold, kayaking and canoeing activities are generally popular year-round. After two months of operation, it became clear why the previous owners had sold the business. While the business appeared to be ideally located, sales were extremely disappointing. Refer to Scenario 5.2. Colin developed a research design to aid his investigation. This design included a questionnaire that attempted to measure "outdoor activity preferences"; however, Colin’s professor said that the questionnaire measured not "outdoor activity preferences" but something else. The professor was questioning the research design’s |
e. validity. |
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125. Scenario 5.2 Colin Jackson recently purchased Blue Waters Adventures, a kayak and canoeing rental business near the Chatsworth River in Arizona. Blue Waters Adventures had been in operation for five years and was located in an ideal area. Even though the winters in the area can be cold, kayaking and canoeing activities are generally popular year-round. After two months of operation, it became clear why the previous owners had sold the business. While the business appeared to be ideally located, sales were extremely disappointing. Refer to Scenario 5.2. Colin went to the university library and collected everything he could find on the kayaking and canoeing sports industries. He found a significant amount of information, but it didn’t seem to be in the format that he could actually use in his analysis. Colin realized that he could just use this preliminary data as a resource to help him design his plan for utilizing focus groups and possibly for designing a survey. The preliminary data is referred to as _____, while the data from focus groups and surveys is ______. |
b. secondary data; primary |
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126. Scenario 5.2 Colin Jackson recently purchased Blue Waters Adventures, a kayak and canoeing rental business near the Chatsworth River in Arizona. Blue Waters Adventures had been in operation for five years and was located in an ideal area. Even though the winters in the area can be cold, kayaking and canoeing activities are generally popular year-round. After two months of operation, it became clear why the previous owners had sold the business. While the business appeared to be ideally located, sales were extremely disappointing. Refer to Scenario 5.2. Besides administering the questionnaire, Colin observed people who went kayaking and canoeing on the Chatsworth River, making notes about their appearance and behavior. The type of data he collected are ____ data. |
d. primary |
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127. Scenario 5.2 Colin Jackson recently purchased Blue Waters Adventures, a kayak and canoeing rental business near the Chatsworth River in Arizona. Blue Waters Adventures had been in operation for five years and was located in an ideal area. Even though the winters in the area can be cold, kayaking and canoeing activities are generally popular year-round. After two months of operation, it became clear why the previous owners had sold the business. While the business appeared to be ideally located, sales were extremely disappointing. Refer to Scenario 5.2. Before administering the questionnaire, Colin discovered through talking to other sports rental businesses that, although retired males made up a small percentage of the area’s population, they often rented kayaks and canoes. In light of this, Colin decided to include a minimum of 25 percent retired males in his sample. The final choice of respondents was left up to the interviewers. This sampling method is known as ____ sampling. b. stratified c. random d. representative |
a. quota |
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128. Marketing research is a systematic and orderly gathering of information supplied through the routine reporting system within the organization. |
b. False |
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129. The purpose of marketing research is to inform an organization about customers’ needs and desires, marketing opportunities for particular goods and services, and changing attitudes and purchase patterns of customers. |
a. True |
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130. The first step in launching a research study is problem or issue definition. The first sign of a problem is usually a departure from some normal function, such as a failure to attain objectives. |
a. True |
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131. The key to locating and defining problems is to probe beneath the superficial symptoms. |
a. True |
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132. Marketing research can be used to test a hypothesis. |
a. True |
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133. A hypothesis is a fact about the problem or topic under investigation. |
b. False |
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134. The hypothesis being tested determines the general data-gathering approach to use. |
a. True |
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135. Exploratory research is concerned with identifying the characteristics of markets or categorizing market activities. |
b. False |
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136. Conclusive research is used when marketers need more information about a problem or want to make a tentative hypothesis more specific. |
b. False |
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137. Descriptive research can be used to better understand the characteristics of certain phenomena to solve a particular problem. |
a. True |
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138. Experimental research is used to make tentative hypotheses more specific. |
b. False |
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139. A research technique is said to be reliable if it produces almost identical results in successive repeated trials. |
a. True |
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140. If a research method measures what it is supposed to measure, it is said to be reliable. |
b. False |
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141. The opportunity to obtain data via the Internet has resulted in more than half of all marketing research coming from secondary sources. |
a. True |
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142. Secondary data are data collected from inside the organization; primary data are those collected from outside the organization. |
b. False |
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143. One of the most overlooked sources of secondary data is the organization’s own accounting records. |
a. True |
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144. Survey and observation are considered secondary data collection techniques. |
b. False |
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145. Data regarding attitudes toward a particular product are collected. To test a hypothesis, the data are used and then stored. If these data are used again in a future research study, they will be considered primary data. |
b. False |
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146. The technique of sampling in marketing research is the process of selecting representative units from a total population (a sample) and being able to project the characteristics of the total population from the sample considered. |
a. True |
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147. In probability sampling, there is no way to calculate the likelihood that a specific element of the population being studied will be chosen. |
b. False |
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148. Stratified sampling may reduce some of the error that could occur in a simple random sample. |
a. True |
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149. In quota sampling, all elements in a population have an equal chance of appearing in the sample. |
b. False |
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150. The four fundamental survey methods used to obtain data in marketing research are telephone surveys, mail surveys, online surveys, and personal interviews. |
a. True |
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151. Results of a mail survey can be misleading if there is a high non-response rate. |
a. True |
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152. Telephone surveys allow an interviewer to gain rapport with respondents and to ask probing questions. |
a. True |
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153. A telephone survey is a good example of a completely random sample for the entire population. |
ANSWER: False |
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154. The potential advantages of traditional mail surveys are quick response and lower cost than online surveys, but this advantage has yet to be achieved. |
ANSWER: False |
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155. The in-home (door-to-door) interview is an example of a focus-group interview. |
ANSWER: False |
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156. Focus-group interviews are useful if the researcher is interested in observing group interaction. |
a. True |
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157. Customer advisory boards are small groups of actual customers who serve as sounding boards for new product ideas and offer insights into their feelings and attitudes toward a firm’s products, promotion, pricing, and other elements of marketing strategy. |
a. True |
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158. An on-site computer interview is a variation of the shopping mall intercept interview. |
a. True |
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159. One common mistake in questionnaire construction is developing the questionnaire before objectives have been established. |
a. True |
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160. Three types of objective questions that can be designed for questionnaires are closed questions, linkage questions, and multiple-choice questions. |
ANSWER: False |
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161. The observation method of research systematically examines and records secondary data information about the physical conditions, events, and overt behavior of respondents. |
ANSWER: False |
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162. Observation may be used in combination with interviewing. |
ANSWER: True |
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163. Marketing researchers should allow for continual evaluation of the data during the entire data collection period. |
ANSWER: True |
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164. The first step in drawing conclusions from most research is to rank the data according to importance. |
ANSWER: False |
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165. Statistical interpretation focuses on what is typical or what deviates from the average. |
ANSWER: True |
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166. The final step in the marketing research process is to assess the ethicality of the data collection phase. |
ANSWER: False |
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167. In general, corporate executives prefer research reports that are short, clear, and simply expressed. |
ANSWER: True |
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168. Unethical behavior in the research process is not a major problem in the reporting of research findings. |
ANSWER: False |
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169. A marketing information system provides an irregular and unstructured flow of information from internal sources within the organization. |
ANSWER: False |
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170. In the marketing information system, the means of gathering data receive less attention than the procedures for expediting the flow of information. |
a. True |
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171. The main difference between marketing research and a marketing information system is that the MIS is an information-gathering process for specific situations whereas marketing research provides continuous data input. |
b. False |
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172. A database is a collection of information arranged for easy access and retrieval. |
a. True |
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173. A marketing decision support system aids marketing managers in decision making by helping them to anticipate the effects of certain decisions. |
a. True |
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174. When conducting marketing research in another country, researchers should begin by using focus groups and other survey methods to refine their understanding of customer needs and preferences. |
ANSWER: False |
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175. Crowdsourcing refers to the process of taking tasks usually performed by a marketer or researcher and outsourcing them to a crowd, or potential market, through an open call. |
ANSWER: True |
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176. Online focus groups gather data from large and geographically diverse groups in a less intensive manner than focus-group interviews. |
ANSWER: True |
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177. You are watching an episode of a new game show that tests contestants’ knowledge by giving them phrases they must respond to with a question. The following phrase comes up: "Its purpose is to inform an organization about customers’ needs and desires, marketing opportunities for products, and changing attitudes and purchase patterns of customers". What should the response be? b. What is experimental research? d. What is conclusive research? e. What is marketing research? |
e. What is marketing research? |
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178. What role does marketing research play in the development of the SWOT analysis for a company? b. Marketing research facilitates the process of assessing a company’s strengths and weaknesses. d. Marketing research only facilitates the process of assessing a company’s opportunities. e. Marketing research facilities the process of assessing a company’s regulatory compliance. |
b. Marketing research facilitates the process of assessing a company’s strengths and weaknesses. |
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179. Your company is seeking to hire a consultant to assist with completing a specialized marketing research project that is focused on tech-savvy, young consumers. One of the firms describes its state-of-the-art marketing research system as follows: "It’s a social intelligence system that provides insightful, actionable information about what people are saying about your brand. It integrates information from millions of sources and empowers you to, among other things, help your organization understand and even shape relevant conversations in the social media sphere". Based on the description, which of the following is the best reason for hiring this company? b. This company is likely run by recent college graduates who will understand our target market better than other firms. d. This company is a socially responsible company. e. The CEO of this company has a close personal relationship with our marketing director. |
c. This company’s expertise and information systems are a good fit for the project. |
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180. Your marketing team is conducting research to improve your understanding of the cohort group called the Millennials. You have accumulated the following key data points about the group: c. that this group does not have the financial resources to be an attractive target market. e. that this group has a strong historical perspective. |
a. that this group likely has a higher average education level than the general population. |
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181. You are the campaign manager for a candidate running for mayor of Hartford, Connecticut. You are running a series of focus group sessions with residents of the city to get a better understanding of their needs and wants. Your focus group sessions are an example of which of the following types of research? b. Conclusive research c. Marketing research d. Exploratory research e. Experimental research |
d. Exploratory research |
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182. Your company is in the final stages of deciding whether to launch a new product that you have been testing for the last six months. While the CEO of your company is very optimistic about the potential for the product, he is a skeptic by nature. He has asked you to conduct one last round of market research that will give him greater confidence in the product’s prospects. Which of the following types of marketing research should you conduct to satisfy the CEO’s concerns? b. Conclusive research c. Focus group research e. Experimental research |
b. Conclusive research |
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183. You are working with the data scientist from your Sales Department to develop a regression model for forecasting your company’s sales based on changes in the U.S. economy. Which of the following types of data do you need the most in order to enhance the accuracy of the model’s forecasts? b. Qualitative data about your company’s historical sales and U.S. economic performance statistics. d. Quantitative data about your company’s historical sales only. e. Qualitative data about your marketing environment. |
a. Quantitative data about your company’s historical sales and U.S. economic performance statistics. |
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184. You are watching an episode of a new game show that tests contestants’ knowledge by giving them phrases they must respond to with a question. The following marketing-related phrase comes up in the bonus round of the game: "It’s an informed guess or assumption about a problem or set of circumstances. It is based on all the insight and knowledge available about the problem or circumstances from research studies and other sources." The contestant’s response should be b. What is a qualitative data point? c. What is a hypothesis? d. What is an objective statement? e. What is a plausible conclusion? |
c. What is a hypothesis? |
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185. While shopping at the mall over the weekend, you noticed a group of young women asking shoppers if they could spare five minutes to answer some questions about their shopping experience at the mall. Given your marketing experience, you immediately recognize that these young women were conducting a marketing research project. Which step in the five-step marketing research process were they in? b. Step 2 – Designing the research project c. Step 3 – Collecting data d. Step 4 – Interpreting research findings e. Step 5 – Reporting research findings |
c. Step 3 – Collecting data |
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186. Which one of the following statements about marketing information technology is true? b. Marketing information systems typically include databases. c. The internet is a good source for qualitative data but not quantitative data. d. Social media is one type of a decision support system. e. "Big Data" refers to the large numerical figures that can be stored in a database. |
b. Marketing information systems typically include databases. |
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187. Big data is the new hot topic in technology and marketing. It promises to provide many informational benefits to the companies that can harness it most effectively. But all new things come with positives and negatives. Which one of the following is a challenge associated with big data? b. There isn’t much data available. c. Finding enough storage capacity for the data. d. Writing reports using big data. e. Getting quantitative and qualitative data in the same database. |
a. Determining how to get value from the data. |
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188. Which of the following issues is an ethical issue in marketing research? b. Rising cost of marketing research c. Confidentiality issues in marketing research d. Clogging consumers email and mail boxes with promotional materials. |
c. Confidentiality issues in marketing research |
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189. Because of a variety of cultural, geographic, regulatory and social issues, international marketing can pose unique challenges for the marketer. Many of these challenges can be mitigated by an effective international-oriented marketing research effort. International marketing research can help a company____________________. b. avoid product formulation errors. c. improve a company’s labor relations in foreign markets. e. eliminate product manufacturing inefficiencies. |
b. avoid product formulation errors. |
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