CH-4 Conducting Marketing Research and Forecasting Demand – Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspective : Exam Guide

Chapter 4 Conducting Marketing Research and Forecasting Demand 1) ________ provide diagnostic information about how and why we observe certain effects in the marketplace, and what that means to marketers. A) Marketing insights B) Marketing metrics C) Marketing channels D) Marketing information systems E) Marketing-mix models Answer: A 2) ________ is the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company. A) Marketing communications B) Internal marketing C) Marketing research D) Market segmentation E) Marketing planning Answer: C 3) Anne, a beautician by profession, owns a salon in Bangkok, Thailand. Every weekend, she makes it a point to visit the other salons in Bangkok to find out about the beauty services they offer to customers. Anne is attempting to conduct market research by _______. A) studying customer behavior B) forming alliances with competing firms C) using experimental research techniques D) checking out rivals E) tapping into marketing partner expertise Answer: D 4) Which of the following types of marketing research firms gathers consumer and trade information and then sells it for a fee (e.g., Nielsen Media Research)? A) custom marketing research firms B) syndicated-service research firms C) specialty-line marketing research firms D) generic marketing research firms E) focused marketing research firms Answer: B 5) Quick Research, is a firm which collects and processes household data and sells it to other firms which produce consumer durables. Quick is an example of a ________. A) custom marketing research firm B) specialty-line marketing research firm C) syndicated-service research firm D) generic marketing research firm E) focused marketing research firm Answer: C 6) A field-service firm is a ________. A) custom marketing research firm B) syndicated-service research firm C) specialty-line marketing research firm D) consumer marketing research firm E) social marketing research firm Answer: C 7) You are the marketing research director of a medium-sized manufacturing firm and you would like to engage an outside marketing research firm to conduct field interviews. Which of the following options categories of marketing research firms should you use? A) syndicated-service research firms B) custom marketing research firms C) global research management firms D) specialty-line marketing research firms E) brand management specialty research firms Answer: D 8) The marketing research process begins by ________. A) developing a research plan B) defining the problem, the decision alternatives, and research objectives C) analyzing the internal environment D) reading marketing research journals E) contacting a professional research consultant Answer: B 9) Which of the following is considered to be the last step in the marketing research process? A) presenting findings B) analyzing information C) controlling the environment D) arriving at a decision E) drafting the report Answer: D 10) If the goal of marketing research is to shed light on the real nature of a problem and to suggest possible solutions or new ideas, the research is said to be ________. A) descriptive B) quantitative C) primary D) secondary E) exploratory Answer: E 11) Unistar Inc., is an FMCG company that produces a wide range of offerings such as grocery items and personal care products. If Unistar wants to estimate the demand for its new line of body moisturizers, which are all priced at $18, it should opt for ________ research. A) descriptive B) exploratory C) prescriptive D) causal E) qualitative Answer: A 12) A company would like to study the impact of advertising expenditure on sales and sales revenue. This is an example of ________ research. A) prescriptive B) causal C) secondary D) exploratory E) qualitative Answer: B 13) The marketing manager needs to know the cost of the research project before approving it. During which stage of the marketing research process would such a consideration most likely take place? A) Step 1: defining the problem B) Step 4: analyzing the information C) Step 5: drafting the report D) Step 2: developing the research plan E) Step 3: collecting information Answer: D 14) Designing a research plan calls for decisions on all of the following EXCEPT ________. A) research objectives B) data sources C) research approaches D) research instruments E) sampling plans Answer: A 15) ________ are data that were collected for another purpose and already exist. A) Primary data B) Secondary data C) Primitive data D) Cross-sectional data E) Ordinate data Answer: B 16) Before Sandra opened her florist shop she read all she could about the floral industry. She also consulted several published research reports to understand growth patterns in the local area with particular interest in the location of florists throughout the city. This ________ helped her to decide on the location of her store. A) primary data B) secondary data C) primitive data D) tertiary information E) licensed information Answer: B 17) Primary data can be collected in several ways. Installing CCTV cameras in a retail store whereby consumers' actions can be recorded is an example of ________. A) focus group research B) survey research C) observational research D) behavioral research E) experimental research Answer: C 18) ________ approach uses concepts and tools from anthropology and other social science disciplines to provide deep cultural understanding of how people live and work. A) Cognitive research B) Inductive research C) Archaeological research D) Ethnographic research E) Deductive research Answer: D 19) The goal of ethnographic research is to ________. A) capture cause-and-effect relationships by eliminating competing explanations of the observed findings B) understand consumers' behavior by observing a sample groups discussing various topics of interest at length C) study demographic variables such as age, gender, income, education, and so on, in relation to consumer buying patterns D) analyze customers' purchasing behavior through catalog purchases and customer databases E) immerse the researcher into consumers' lives to uncover unarticulated desires that might not surface in any other form of research Answer: E 20) A(n) ________ is a gathering of 6 to 10 people carefully selected by researchers based on certain demographic, psychographic, or other considerations and brought together to discuss various topics of interest at length. A) target group B) pilot group C) focus group D) customer base E) ethnographic group Answer: C 21) As the marketing manager of Cominform Pte Ltd., a manufacturer of health drinks, you have selected 10 individuals who match the profile of your target customer, to participate in a discussion on changing lifestyle trends related to health. You have also hired a skilled moderator to facilitate the discussion and ensure that everyone participates and stays focused on the topic. The moderator provides questions and probes based on the “script” prepared by you. The discussions are also recorded for further analysis. Which of the following methods of acquiring primary data is being used in this case? A) observational research B) surveys C) behavioral data D) experiments E) focus groups Answer: E 22) Why must the researchers avoid generalizing from focus-group participants to the whole market? A) Participants' responses are not reliable. B) Most of the participants are likely to be ignorant about the topic of discussion. C) The size of the group is too small and the sample is not drawn randomly. D) Most of the participants are likely to exhibit similar tastes and preferences. E) The participants usually come from diverse backgrounds. Answer: C 23) Which of the following is used to assess people's knowledge, beliefs, preferences, and satisfaction and to measure these magnitudes in the general population? A) observational research B) descriptive research C) quantitative research D) survey research E) experimental research Answer: D 24) The most scientifically valid research is ________ research. A) observation B) focus-group C) survey D) behavioral E) experimental Answer: E 25) ________ is designed to capture cause-and-effect relationships by eliminating competing explanations of the observed findings. A) Experimental research B) Behavioral research C) Observational research D) Focus group research E) Descriptive research Answer: A 26) Which of the following rules must be kept in mind while framing a questionnaire? A) Use broad and loosely defined words in the questions. B) Avoid using response bands. C) Ensure that fixed responses overlap. D) Frame hypothetical questions. E) Allow for the answer “other” in fixed-response questions. Answer: E 27) Because of its flexibility, ________ are the most common technique of collecting primary data. A) questionnaires B) telephonic interviews C) behavioral research studies D) experimental designs E) focus groups Answer: A 28) ________ allow respondents to answer in their own words and often reveal more about how people think. A) Open-end questions B) Dichotomous questions C) Likert scale questions D) Multiple choice questions E) Semantic differential questions Answer: A 29) Which of the following is true of qualitative research? A) It is a structured measurement approach that permits a range of possible responses. B) It is means of ascertaining consumer perceptions that may otherwise be difficult to uncover. C) It requires large sample sizes. D) Its results can be easily generalized to broader populations. E) It generally results in similar results and conclusions across researchers. Answer: B 30) A scale that connects two bipolar words is called a ________. A) dichotomous question B) multiple-choice question C) Likert scale D) semantic differential E) word association Answer: D 31) A question that respondents can answer in an almost unlimited number of ways is called a ________. A) structured question B) closed-end question C) completely unstructured question D) dichotomous question E) multiple choice question Answer: C 32) “Truancy should be checked in schools: 1) Strongly disagree, 2) Disagree, 3) Neither agree nor disagree, 4) Agree, 5) Strongly agree.” This is an example of a ________. A) Likert scale B) semantic differential C) multiple choice question D) Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT) E) dichotomous question Answer: A 33) An item in a questionnaire states that “most politicians cannot be trusted.” Respondents are required to provide their answers by choosing any one of the following options: 1) Strongly disagree, 2) Disagree, 3) Neither agree nor disagree, 4) Agree, 5) Strongly agree. This is an example of a ________. A) semantic differential B) word association question C) Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT) D) Likert scale E) dichotomous question Answer: D 34) If a marketing researcher chooses to use word associations, the researcher is using ________. A) closed-end questions B) Likert scale questions C) open-end questions D) rating scale questions E) semantic differential questions Answer: C 35) In which of the following types of tests is a picture presented and respondents are asked to make up a story about what they think is happening or may happen in the picture? A) visual perception test B) Rorschach Ink-blot Test C) story completion test D) Thematic Apperception Test E) Renfrew Action Picture Test Answer: D 36) The question “What is your opinion of the measures taken by the government to control inflation?” is an example of a ________ question. A) semantic differential B) word association C) completely unstructured D) story completion E) dichotomous Answer: C 37) In which of the following qualitative method are subjects asked to complete an incomplete stimulus? A) word association B) projective techniques C) visualization D) brand personification E) laddering Answer: B 38) ________ requires people to create a collage from magazine photos or drawings to depict their perceptions. A) Brand personification B) Projective technique C) Visualization D) Laddering E) Metaphor Elicitation Technique Answer: C 39) The primary purpose of ________ is to identify the range of possible brand associations in consumers' minds. A) experimental research B) deshboarding C) laddering D) semantic differentials E) word associations Answer: E 40) With respect to the sampling plan, three decisions must be made: (1) the sampling unit—who is to be surveyed; (2) sample size—how many people should be surveyed; and (3) ________. A) sample cost—how much does sampling cost B) surveyor skill—who should conduct the survey C) sample security—how should the sample data be protected D) sampling procedure—how should respondents be chosen E) sample supervisor—who leads the sampling effort Answer: D 41) Thailand’s Boon Rawd Brewery conducted a brand personification study and found that Leo, a local beer, was perceived to have a mature personality that values Thai heritage. Singha, another local beer, was perceived as having an international Thai personality — someone who is modern and proud to be a Thai, and yet a citizen of the world with international ambitions. Heineken was viewed as the Master European Brewer, while Chang, a low-cost beer targeted at the rural market, had no clear brand personality. Which of the following qualitative research approaches relates to the approach described above? A) projective techniques B) visualization C) brand personification D) laddering E) brand architecture Answer: C 42) According to the concept of ________, a series of increasingly more specific “why” questions can reveal consumer motivation and consumers' deeper, more abstract goals. A) word association B) projection C) visualizing D) brand personification E) laddering Answer: E 43) ________ measure the interest or emotions aroused by exposure to a specific ad or picture. A) Tachistoscopes B) Polygraphs C) Galvanometers D) Audiometers E) GPS systems Answer: C 44) ________ flash an ad to a subject with an exposure interval that may range from less than one hundredth of a second to several seconds. A) Tachistoscopes B) Audiometers C) Polygraphs D) GPS systems E) Galvanometers Answer: A 45) ________ attached to television sets in participating homes now record when the set is on and to which channel it is tuned. A) Tachistoscopes B) Polygraphs C) GPS systems D) Audiometers E) Galvanometers Answer: D 46) Which of the following statements about audiometers is true? A) It usually takes a long time to gather information through audiometers. B) The audiometers is able to clarify questions if respondents do not understand them. C) The response rate for audiometers has been typically lower than for mailed questionnaires. D) Governments generally encourage audiometer setups by firms. E) Audiometers attached to television sets in participating homes now record when the set is on and to which channel it is tuned. Answer: E 47) If a marketing researcher wishes to reach those people who would not give personal interviews or whose responses might be biased or distorted by interviewers, he or she should use ________. A) mail questionnaires B) telephonic interviews C) online interviews D) focus groups E) observational research Answer: A 48) Which of the following is considered to be the most versatile of all the contact methods? A) mail questionnaires B) telephone interviews C) personal interviews D) online interviews E) field trials Answer: C 49) In ________ interviews, researchers stop people at a shopping mall or busy street corner and request an interview on the spot. A) intercept B) arranged C) group D) structured E) behavioral Answer: A 50) Which of the following is an advantage of personal interviews? A) It is a relatively inexpensive method of gathering information. B) The possibility of interviewer bias is minimized. C) Participants can choose to respond at their own convenience. D) It facilitates anonymous responses. E) Interviewers can record additional observation about the respondent such as body language. Answer: E 51) Which of the following is one of the key disadvantages of online market research? A) Online research is expensive. B) Online research is time consuming. C) People tend to be dishonest online. D) Online research lacks versatility. E) Samples can be small and skewed. Answer: E 52) Which of the following is an advantage of online research? A) Samples are generally representative of the target population. B) Members of online panels and communities tend to have low turnover. C) Online research is relatively free of technological problems and inconsistencies. D) People tend to be honest and thoughtful online. E) Online research is slow but gather detailed information. Answer: D 53) The ________ phase of marketing research is generally the most expensive and the most prone to error. A) contact B) research planning C) questionnaire design D) interview design E) data collection Answer: E 54) After collecting the relevant information, the next step in the marketing research process is to ________. A) develop the research plan B) define the problem and research objectives C) present the project report D) make the final decision E) analyze the acquired data Answer: E 55) After computing averages and measures of dispersion for the major variables and applying advanced statistical techniques and decision models in the hope of discovering additional findings from the gathered information, the researchers ________. A) define the problem, the decision alternatives, and the research objectives B) present findings relevant to the major marketing decisions facing management C) evaluate the costs associated with data collected D) analyze the appropriateness of the data sources used E) develop the research plan Answer: B 56) Why do firms employ two or three research methods? A) To exhibit similar tastes and preferences. B) To show findings are equal across different customer segments. C) To show a unique approach to what they do. D) To increase confidence in the results. E) The firms want to provide consumers with a greater number of research choices. Answer: D 57) A ________ has been defined as a coordinated collection of data, systems, tools, and techniques with supporting software and hardware by which an organization gathers and interprets relevant information from business and environment and turns it into a basis for marketing action. A) marketing metric B) marketing channel system C) marketing decision support system D) marketing research system E) database management system Answer: C 58) All of the following are considered to be among the seven characteristics of good marketing research EXCEPT ________. A) the scientific method B) research creativity C) multiple methods D) ethical marketing E) independence of models and data Answer: E 59) ________ are a structured way to disseminate the insights gleaned from the two complementary approaches to measuring marketing productivity within the organization. A) Marketing metrics B) Marketing decision support systems C) Marketing dashboards D) Marketing segments E) Marketing mix models Answer: C 60) Two complimentary approaches to measure marketing productivity are ________ and marketing-mix modeling. A) quality ratios B) salesperson satisfaction rates C) marketing metrics D) retailer satisfaction indices E) customer feedback surveys Answer: C 61) Which of the following refers to the set of measures that help firms to quantify, compare, and interpret their marketing performance? A) marketing diagnostics B) marketing information systems C) marketing simulation D) marketing intelligence E) marketing metrics Answer: E 62) London Business School's Tim Ambler believes the evaluation of marketing performance can be split into two parts: ________. A) long-term results and changes in brand equity B) short-term results and changes in brand equity C) long-term results and changes in consumer perceptions D) short-term results and changes in profitability E) changes in market share and changes in profitability Answer: B 63) Which of the following is an external marketing metric that companies need to monitor? A) resource adequacy B) staffing or skill levels C) active innovation support D) market share E) relative employee satisfaction Answer: D 64) Which of the following is an internal marketing metric that companies need to monitor? A) market share B) consumer satisfaction C) relative perceived quality D) total number of customers E) relative employee satisfaction Answer: E 65) ________ analyze(s) data from a variety of sources, such as retailer scanner data, company shipment data, pricing, media, and promotion spending data, to understand more precisely the effects of specific marketing activities. A) Marketing metrics B) Marketing-mix models C) Marketing forecasting D) Marketing intelligence databases E) Marketing decision systems Answer: B 66) When the marketers of a mobile phone manufacturing company want to determine the impact of individual media such as television and online display ads on sales as well as that of trade activities like every day low price, off-shelf display and so on, they usually use ________. A) marketing metrics B) market segmentation strategies C) market capitalization techniques D) market basket analysis E) marketing-mix models Answer: E 67) A ________ records how well the company is doing year after year based on measures such as the average perception of the company's product quality relative to its chief competitor. A) customer-performance scorecard B) stakeholder-performance scorecard C) marketing balanced scorecard D) vendor scorecard E) generic scorecard Answer: A 68) If a company actively tracks the satisfaction of its suppliers, banks, and distributors, it is using what is called a ________. A) customer-performance scorecard B) stakeholder-performance scorecard C) marketing balanced scorecard D) vendor scorecard E) generic scorecard Answer: B 69) According to marketing consultant Pat LaPointe, the ________ measurement pathway of the marketing dashboard reflects how prospects become customers. A) customer metrics B) unit metrics C) cash-flow metrics D) brand metrics E) productivity metrics Answer: A 70) According to marketing consultant Pat LaPointe, the ________ measurement pathway of the marketing dashboard focuses on how well marketing expenditures are achieving short-term returns. A) customer metrics B) unit metrics C) cash-flow metrics D) brand metrics E) productivity metrics Answer: C 71) Marketing insights often explain certain effects in the marketplace. Answer: True 72) Most large companies prefer to use external marketing research consultants rather than employ their own marketing research department. Answer: False 73) When the companies engage students to design and carry out projects, the payoff to the students is experience and visibility; the payoff to the companies is a fresh set of eyes to solve problems at a fraction of what consultants would charge. Answer: True 74) A good example of a syndicated-service research firm is Millward Brown. Answer: True 75) Custom marketing research firms sell field interviewing services to other firms. Answer: False 76) After developing the research plan, the marketing researcher should define the problem and research objectives. Answer: False 77) The goal of exploratory research is to shed light on the real nature of the problem and to suggest possible solutions or new ideas. Answer: True 78) The purpose of causal research is to test a cause-and-effect relationship. Answer: True 79) James collected primary data when he distributed a survey to dorm residents to discover their attitudes and opinions on campus life. Answer: True 80) Secondary data are data freshly gathered for a specific purpose or for a specific research project. Answer: False 81) The goal of ethnographic research is to immerse the researcher into consumers' lives to uncover unarticulated desires that might not surface in any other form of research. Answer: True 82) Researchers should generalize findings from focus-group participants to the whole market. Answer: False 83) Companies undertake surveys to learn about people’s knowledge, beliefs, preferences, and satisfaction, and to measure these magnitudes in the general population. Answer: True 84) A good example of collecting behavioral data would be when a store uses scanners to read bar codes on products selected by consumers. Answer: True 85) Behavioral research is the most scientifically valid research. Answer: False 86) Experiments call for selecting matched groups of subjects, subjecting them to different treatments, controlling extraneous variables, and checking whether observed response differences are statistically significant. Answer: True 87) Owing to its greater flexibility, a questionnaire is by far the most common instrument used to collect primary data. Answer: True 88) Qualitative research techniques are relatively structured measurement approaches that permit limited possible responses. Answer: False 89) Questionnaires need to be carefully developed, tested, and debugged before they are administered on a large scale. Answer: True 90) If a marketing researcher decides to use a Likert scale, the researcher has chosen a technique wherein the respondent reviews a statement that shows the amount of agreement/disagreement with some product, service, or concept. Answer: True 91) A dichotomous question is a question with three or more answers. Answer: False 92) A scale that describes the respondent's intention to buy a particular product is called a rating scale. Answer: False 93) Visualization requires people to create a collage from magazine photos or drawings to depict their perceptions. Answer: True 94) Once they have determined the sampling unit, marketers must develop a sampling frame so that a small section in the target population has a greater chance of being sampled. Answer: False 95) Samples of less than 1% of a population can often provide good reliability, with a credible sampling procedure. Answer: True 96) Probability sampling allows confidence limits to be calculated for sampling error and makes the sampling more representative. Answer: True 97) The response rate is usually very high for mail questionnaires. Answer: False 98) If a marketing researcher is looking for a contact method that can gather information quickly and allow the interviewer to clarify questions if necessary, he or she will choose the telephone interview method. Answer: True 99) A good illustration of what is called the arranged interview occurs when interviewers stop people in a shopping mall or on a busy street and solicit information necessary to their research effort. Answer: False 100) Online surveys are fast because the survey can automatically direct respondents to applicable questions and transmit results immediately. Answer: True 101) One of the characteristics of good marketing research is that it uses multiple methods to increase confidence in the results. Answer: True 102) Marketing researchers should have a healthy skepticism toward glib assumptions made by managers about how a market works. Answer: True 103) Some organizations are using marketing decision support systems to help their marketing managers make faster decisions. Answer: False 104) Marketing-mix modeling is used to estimate causal relationships and measure how marketing activity affects outcomes. Answer: True 105) Marketing accountability means that marketers must more precisely estimate the effects of different marketing investments. Answer: True 106) Especially popular with such companies as Procter & Gamble, marketing-mix modeling is used to allocate or reallocate expenditures. Answer: True 107) Marketing-mix modeling focuses on baseline sales or long term effects instead of incremental growth. Answer: False 108) Management can assemble a summary set of relevant internal and external measures in a marketing dashboard for synthesis and interpretation. Answer: True 109) A stakeholder-performance scorecard tracks the satisfaction with the company and its products and services among such entities as suppliers, banks, and stockholders. Answer: True 110) Discuss the different ways which can be adopted by small manufacturing firms to conduct market research. Answer: The small firms can adopt the following ways to conduct market research: 1) They can engage students or professors to design and carry out projects. 2) They can collect considerable information at very little cost by examining competitors’ Web sites, monitoring chat rooms, and accessing published data. 3) The owners of small business firms can routinely visit competitors to learn about changes they have made. 4) By tapping into marketing partner expertise. 111) What are the six steps involved in the marketing research process? Answer: The six steps are: (1) define the problem and research objectives, (2) develop the research plan, (3) collect the information, (4) analyze the information, (5) present the findings, and (6) make the decision. 112) List the challenges faced to conduct a good focus group discussion. Answer: There are many challenges to conducting a good focus group. Some researchers believe consumers have been so bombarded with ads, they unconsciously parrot back what they've already heard instead of what they really think. There's always a concern that participants are just trying to maintain their self-image and public persona or have a need to identify with the other members of the group. Participants also may not be willing to acknowledge in public—or may not even recognize—their behavior patterns and motivations. And the "loudmouth or know-it-all" problem often crops up when one highly opinionated person drowns out the rest of the group. 113) Distinguish between closed-end and open-end questions. Answer: Closed-end questions specify all the possible answers and provide answers that are easier to interpret and tabulate. Open-end questions allow respondents to answer in their own words and often reveal more about how people think. They are especially useful in exploratory research, where the researcher is looking for insight into how people think rather than measuring how many people think a certain way. 114) Give an account of experimental research. Answer: Experimental research is designed to capture cause-and-effect relationships by eliminating competing explanations of the observed findings. If the experiment is well designed and executed, research and marketing managers can have confidence in the conclusions. Experiments call for selecting matched groups of subjects, subjecting them to different treatments, controlling extraneous variables, and checking whether observed response differences are statistically significant. 115) Explain what qualitative research is and why it might be useful to marketers. What are its major drawbacks? Answer: Qualitative research techniques are relatively unstructured measurement approaches to permit a range of possible responses, and they are a creative means of ascertaining consumer perceptions that may otherwise be difficult to uncover. Because of the freedom it affords both researchers in their probes and consumers in their responses, qualitative research can often be an especially useful first step in exploring consumers' brand and product perceptions. It is indirect in nature, so consumers may be less guarded and reveal more about themselves in the process. Qualitative research does have its drawbacks. Marketers must temper the in-depth insights that emerge with the fact that the samples are often very small and may not necessarily generalize to broader populations. And different researchers examining the same qualitative results may draw very different conclusions. 116) Give an account of the different technological devices that have been developed to provide insight into the consumers' behavior to the researchers. Answer: There has been much interest in recent years in various technological devices. Galvanometers can measure the interest or emotions aroused by exposure to a specific ad or picture. Audiometers attached to television sets in participating homes now record when the set is on and to which channel it is tuned. Eye cameras study respondents' eye movements to see where their eyes land first, how long they linger on a given item, and so on. 117) What is the chief advantage of using each of the following contact methods: mail questionnaire, telephone interview, and personal interview? Answer: The chief advantage of each contact method mentioned is (1) mail questionnaire—the best way to reach people who would not give personal interviews or whose responses might be biased or distorted by the interviews, (2) telephone interviews—the best method for gathering information quickly and the interviewer is also able to clarify questions if respondents do not understand them, and (3) personal interview—the most versatile method because they can ask more questions and record additional observations about the respondent. 118) Give reasons to justify that online research is versatile. Answer: Increased broadband penetration offers online research even more flexibility and capabilities. For instance, virtual reality software lets visitors inspect 3-D models of products such as cameras, cars, and medical equipment and manipulate product characteristics. Even at the basic tactile level, online surveys can make answering a questionnaire easier and more fun than paper-and-pencil versions. Online community blogs allow customer participants to interact with each other. 119) What are the major shortcomings of marketing-mix modeling? Answer: The major shortcomings of marketing-mix modeling are- 1) Although marketing-mix modeling helps to isolate effects, it is less effective at assessing how different marketing elements work in combination. 2) Marketing-mix modeling focuses on incremental growth instead of baseline sales or long term effects. 3) The integration of important metrics such as customer satisfaction, awareness, and brand equity into marketing-mix modeling is limited. 4) Marketing-mix modeling generally fails to incorporate metrics related to competitors, the trade, or the sales force. 120) Mars Group is a market research firm which sells field interviewing services to a software development firm. Can Mars Group be categorized as a custom market research firm? Give reasons to support your answer. Answer: No, Mars group is a specialty-line marketing research firm as it sells field interviewing services, whereas a custom marketing research is hired to carry out specific projects. 121) As a marketing researcher of Matrix Private Limited you have been asked to forecast the demand for your new range of body wash if a discount of 10 percent is offered on each unit sold. Identify the research category into which this market research falls. Answer: Here the researcher needs to study the effect of the discount on the demand for body wash. The objective of this research is to establish the cause and effect relationship between the discount and the demand for body wash. Therefore, this can be categorized as causal research. 122) Highspeed Motors is planning to introduce its new sports bike into the market. It collects data on prices, designs, features, and performance of sports bikes manufactured by other companies from their respective Web sites. What type of data is being used by Highspeed motors in this case? Answer: Highspeed Motors is using secondary data for its research. 123) Ryan has been appointed by Target Internationals, a hardware manufacturing firm, as a marketing researcher and has been asked to conduct a marketing research to produce new insights of consumer attitude on its vacuum tubes. Ryan begins with the research process by defining the problem, the decision alternatives, and research objectives. Mention the next step that Ryan will follow to continue with the research. Answer: After defining the problem, the decision alternatives, and research objectives, the researcher develops the most efficient plan for gathering the needed information, and will estimate the cost of conducting the research. 124) Axis Centre a departmental store has installed CCTV cameras to record consumer actions. Which research approach has been adopted by Axis and why? Answer: Axis has adopted observational research approach to gather fresh data by observing the consumers' actions in the store. 125) As a marketing manager of Kids Care, a manufacturer of baby soaps, Tim plans to analyze customer attitudes by using the focus group research approach. How will he conduct the research in this case? Answer: Student answers will vary. Tim selects 8 first time mothers who can adequately represent the users you want to target. He also appoints a skilled moderator to facilitate the discussion among these women to ensure everyone participates and stays on track. The moderator provides questions based on the “script” prepared by Tim. The discussions are recorded for further analysis. Tim will gather a diverse group of parents and caregivers to discuss their perceptions, preferences, and experiences with baby soaps. He will facilitate the discussion to gain qualitative insights into customer attitudes and behaviors. 126) Copra, a manufacturer of cigarettes, conducts a survey before launching its new range of herbal cigarettes. What is the basic purpose of undertaking such a survey by Copra? Answer: Copra undertakes the survey to assess people's knowledge, beliefs, preferences, and satisfaction and to measure these magnitudes in the general population. 127) What are some drawbacks to qualitative research? Answer: The in-depth insights that emerge have to be tempered by the fact that the samples involved are often very small and may not necessarily generalize to broader populations. Moreover, given the qualitative nature of the data, there may also be questions of interpretation. Different researchers examining the same results from a qualitative research study may draw very different conclusions. 128) As a marketing researcher of a firm, you have planned to conduct behavioral research to develop marketing insight. What procedure would you follow in this case? Answer: In order to conduct behavioral research, the marketing researchers need to develop consumer insight by analyzing store scanning data, catalog purchases, and customer databases. 129) A questionnaire used in a survey contains a question such as: “Retail-R-Us offers the best everyday prices” and the responses that the respondents can opt for are: “Strongly Disagree”, “Disagree”, “No opinion”, “Agree”, “Strongly Agree”. Identify and define the type of closed-end question that has been exemplified in this case. Answer: The question mentioned above is a Likert Scale question. A Likert Scale is a statement with which the respondent shows the amount of agreement or disagreement. The question exemplifies a Likert scale question, which measures the degree of agreement or disagreement with a statement. It offers respondents a range of options from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree" to express their opinion. 130) Suppose, as a marketing manager of a firm, you have planned to conduct a market research using qualitative measures. For the purpose of developing consumer insight you have distributed among the respondents a picture of a man and woman in a coffee shop, and have asked the respondents to make up a story about what is happening in the picture. Identify and define the type of question used in this case. Answer: The marketing manager has used Thematic Apperception Test in this case. In Thematic Apperception Test, a picture is presented and respondents are asked to make up a story about what they think is happening or may happen in the picture. 131) The Bledsoe Marketing Research group has been hired to administer a series of questions to shoppers in a local mall. If questions on the survey questionnaire have only two possible responses (such as “yes/no”), what type of questions are these? Answer: Questions of this type are closed-end questions that are dichotomous in nature. 132) As a marketing researcher, if you plan to conduct your research using qualitative measures like brand personification, what are you likely to ask the respondents in order to elicit their impression on your brand? Answer: Student answers may vary. When the marketing researcher uses the brand personification approach to get inside consumers' minds and find out what they think or feel about brands and products, he is likely to ask the respondents what kind of person they think of when the brand is mentioned. As a marketing researcher using brand personification, you might ask respondents: 1. "If our brand were a person, what kind of personality would it have?" 2. "How would you describe this person's lifestyle and interests?" 3. "What kinds of activities would this person enjoy?" 4. "How would this person interact with their friends and family?" 133) Jane is a marketing researcher of a cellular service providing firm. She is conducting a market research before the firm decides to launch its 4G services. After deciding on the research approach and instruments, what is the next step that Jane should follow? What are the three things that she is required to consider in this step? Answer: After deciding on the research approach and instruments, Jane must design a sampling plan. In order to design the plan, Jane has to decide upon the sampling unit (whom she should survey?), the sample size (how many people should she survey?), sampling procedure (how should she choose the respondents?). 134) A marketing research firm has instructed its research associates to collect primary data by stopping people at a shopping mall or busy street corner and request an interview on the spot. Which contact method is being used by the researchers in this case? What probable risk may the researchers face while using this method? Answer: The researchers are using intercept interviewing method for collecting primary data in this case. The researchers run the risk of including non-probability samples while using this method. 135) Aromas is a popular brand of cosmetic products. During the last quarter, the company suffered a drop in sales of some of its more popular offerings. In an attempt to find out the problem, Aromas designed an online questionnaire for its existing customers, who can fill out the questionnaire and also leave their comments and suggestions for improvement. What are the problems that Aromas is likely to face by using this method of contacting its customers? Answer: Student answers will vary. Aromas is using online contact method to gather customer feedback. The major problems of using this method are- 1) samples may be small and skewed, 2) online panels and communities can suffer from excessive turnover, 3) such online market research can suffer from technological problems and inconsistencies. Aromas might face the following problems with an online questionnaire: 1. Low response rates, as customers may ignore or overlook the survey. 2. Biased feedback, primarily from highly satisfied or dissatisfied customers. 3. Limited depth of insights, as questionnaires may not capture nuanced opinions. 4. Potential technical issues, such as difficulties in accessing or submitting the survey. 136) As a marketing controller of a company, you have been asked to create a stakeholder-performance scorecard that tracks the satisfaction of various constituencies who have a critical interest and impact your company's performance. List four constituencies that might be included. Answer: The stakeholder-performance scorecard could track the satisfaction of employees, suppliers, banks, distributors, retailers, and stockholders. 137) As a marketing controller of a company you have been asked to develop a customer-performance scorecard for your company's toy division. List three measures you might include. Answer: The three measures that might be included are: (1) percentage of new customers to average number of customers; (2) percentage of lost customers to average number of customers; (3) percentage of win-back customers to average number of customers. Answers may vary. As a marketing controller, three measures to include in a customer-performance scorecard for the toy division might be: 1. Customer Satisfaction Index: To gauge overall customer happiness with the products. 2. Repeat Purchase Rate: To measure customer loyalty and the likelihood of repeat business. 3. Net Promoter Score (NPS): To assess the likelihood of customers recommending the brand to others. Test Bank for Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspective Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller, Abraham Koshy, Mithileshwar Jha 9789810687977, 9780132102926