MARKETING MATERIAL
9416 MARKETING (Second Edition)
CHAPTER 3
INSTRUCTOR MANUAL
MARKETING RESEARCH AND INFORMATION
The direct objectives are:
1. Awareness of the importance of information in general, and of marketing research data in particular, to all organizations.
2. Understanding of how management in general may make optimum use of the information available.
3. Appreciation of the range of internal and external information available in support of marketing decision-making.
4. Understanding of the main techniques used in desk and survey research.
This is one of the most important chapters in the student text; hence its position near the beginning of the book.
The major objective is to make all managers aware of the importance of information - where information handling is becoming a major function of most staff in general, and of managers in particular. The second objective is then to give them the skills necessary to make the best use of the information available to them.
The subsidiary objective, which is still a very important one (and would be the prime objective for most student texts) is to introduce marketing research - arguably by far the most important function specific to marketing.
Whilst the chapter describes a very wide range of techniques, it is the philosophies (which lead to the ability to use such information effectively) which are the critical element.
[Acetate 3.01]
This chapter is about marketing research in its very widest sense; often now described as the Marketing Information System (MIS). Much of it is about data which already exists in the organization, but the focus is primarily on information about the customer; the listening part of the 'dialogue'.
The main split of the chapter is between 'internal data' (already collected within the organization; but, in this marketing context, still describing the outside world) and 'external data' (including marketing research as traditionally defined - but which represents only a small part of what is typically available in total).
'Internal data' is probably the richest source of material for any manager; but one which is too often neglected. It includes performance data, used to control the operations of the organization, and written reports, which are much more difficult to analyse. They lead to problems of data handling, such as data overload and access.
Even so, informal reports (usually seen by the participants as interesting conversations) and personal experience predominate as the manager's main source of data; though they are rarely recognized as such - and much of the data is, without correct handling, lost.
In many respects the most important management tool is desk research, possibly via the local library.
Marketing research embodies basic ('primary') research - finding information about the consumer. In some ways it also represents the definitive skill of marketing.
Marketing research may be qualitative, using individual (in-depth) interviews or discussion (focus) groups, but the survey based upon doorstep interviews is the archetypal quantitative research.
Industrial market research (much of which concentrates upon finding information about the total market rather than the average customer), and that for services (which requires more sophisticated use of even the basic techniques), have slightly different requirements.
This is a large subject, so the students need to be told how you will be working your way through it. In particular, it is worthwhile stressing the split between the first parts (MIS, internal data and personal experience) which is about SKILLS which are equally applicable to all managers; the subject of the desk research could just as easily be new production techniques as market information. On the other hand, the latter part (marketing research) is about KNOWLEDGE of the process which is at the heart of marketing. This knowledge is essential if you are to make practical use of marketing, or if you want to understand it.
This may seem a trivial point, stretching the earlier analogy to breaking point. In fact, though, it is a very powerful concept in this context. Much of marketing research can get bocged down in the technicalities of sample sizes etc.; at which point it is even more important to remember the simple fact that it is all about listening to the customer - all else is the vehicle for achieving that!
The other important concept to grasp is that all marketing research is about varying degrees of uncertainty. In the first place, it would not be undertaken at all if the future was certain. In the second, the results which it reveals are themselves subject to error - and it is seldom possible to avoid a remaining element of uncertainty. Many researchers hide behind the theory of statistics (which in this context are usually only errors due to sample size - which are typically the least of the problems!), and leave the impression that the figures speak for themselves. They rarely do - unless you understand the reliance you can put on them; and hence the importance of understanding some of the basic principles of the subject.
This is a somewhat gimmicky subject, and is best treated as a sub-set of 'Management Information Systems' (again MIS - and the students need to be made aware of the potential for confusion). It encompasses all the information, not just that dependent upon the use of computers; and it is better to teach it without these, since they only get in the way of the basic concepts, though use of computers for handling parts of the database is now almost obligatory.
[Acetate 3.02]
Again, to the students this may seem a fine theoretical distinction; but they should come to understand that it is an important one - not least because all these terms are used as if they were interchangeable (and they very definitely are not).
The exact borderlines between the various stages are not important - which is fortunate since they are often disputed. What is essential to understand is the progression from a mass of figures which have been collected (the data) through some form of abstraction and collation of the main results (information) to the final rigorous application of the very specifically targeted analysis of the key data (intelligence).
The particular importance of understanding the process is that error, and in particular bias, can be introduced at each stage. It is quite common, for instance, for management to select only the data which support their own viewpoint - a process which can hardly be described as intelligence! At the first (data) stage (and at the second, information selection, stage as well) the errors are likely to be those of omission. At the final stage the main error is that of commission, where it is quite possible to detect patterns which do not really exist (especially if you do not appreciate the uncertainties behind the original data). Cyert and March cite two specific examples: 'routing', which ensures that some data never reaches the people who need it and 'filtering'; which ensures that the data selected is biased to meet the preconceptions of the organization.
These are all elements of information which can be found within the organization; often without leaving your desk - where the telephone is an invaluable data retrieval device.
[Acetate 3.03]
performance analysis
This ought to be the easiest data to find. It is simply the data collected on what is happening within the organization, and sometimes without it as well. It is usually numerical in nature, and is typically held on computer mainframes from where, these days, it can often be accessed from a terminal on the manager's desk. On the other hand, such systems are normally driven by the organization's accounting systems. The data is thus often very selective (and much useful data, such as lost business, is thrown away as not needed!)
ABC ANALYSIS
This is the simplest approach of all, but it can be one of the most effective. The data, sales volumes by product say, are sorted by size; from largest down to the smallest. It is especially useful because of the Pareto (80:20) Rule, which says that the top 20% of items will account for 80% of sales; which is why you start with the largest - by the time you have become bored with the interminable list of figures it is likely that you will have covered the 20% which count. It is, thus, a very useful means of concentrating your attention on the data which matters.
VARIANCE ANALYSIS
This is an even better device for selecting data, since it can be used to extract only the data which is showing changes beyond what was expected (against budget say). The problem is simply that for every figure reported a target or budget figure has to be prepared in advance. This is beyond many organizations. Where it is provided, however, it offers a very powerful way of immediately seeing what the level of deviation is - and sorting (by another ABC analysis) into those deviations which are significant.
AD-HOC DATABASE ENQUIRIES AND REPORTS
The best solution is to have the raw data available, together with the expertise to produce ad-hoc analyses on any data. This is what MIS is supposed to be about - but rarely is!
These ought to be a major source of intelligence. But they suffer from significant problems, not least in persuading the sales force to contribute them.
[Acetate 3.04]
ANALYSIS
Because words rather than numbers are used, this material seems much more approachable; but that too often leads to it being taken at face value - the reader's critical faculties are suspended. Even then analysis is very difficult, when different people use the same words for different things; so that this material is frequently used only to bolster management's preconceptions. The increasing use of electronic mail, with its standardised procedures helps overcome some of these problems.
DATA ACCESS
This information is often limited in distribution, so those who might act upon it learn about it at second-hand; only after others have filtered it.
DATA RETRIEVAL
The main shortcoming is the difficulties in retrieval.
activity
Ask the students to return to chapter 1 and find the Kotler and Andreasen summary of the position on non-profit organizations (it is on page 25).
With luck it will take the students a little time to find this - even though they have studied it recently. It is likely that the fastest will use the index - which points up the techniques needed to access written (verbal) material.
[Acetate 3.05]
The most obvious solution, these days, might seem to be that of computer databases; especially those which index each occurrence of a word in an abstract or even the whole document - but the overhead of maintaining these is high (not least, all information - memos and incoming letters for instance - must be entered on to the computer database). A simpler solution is that of keeping a 'facts book' of key information for each brand, say. This will not be as comprehensive as the computer equivalents; but it will be much more accessible - since the enquirer will not have to sift through so much dross.
Much the same comments apply to these as to sales reports.
On the other hand, these follow very different rules. Despite the fact that they are almost universally ignored by marketing texts, they are the most important of all - simply because they represent such a large proportion of the data impinging on managers in general.
The techniques for data capture here are much more direct, and often require the manager to take the initiative.
[Acetate 3.06]
questioning
It is just possible that the other person(s) involved in the discussion may provide all the information you want without any stimulus from yourself; but that is unlikely. More generally, you will have to ask the right questions, and that is an art which is not generally taught.
The detailed section on questioning is clearly optional, but we have found that many students find it useful - in terms of general skills. The acetate [3.07] is, thus, made available to support any teaching you choose to do. It is often a good idea to get the students to question one another, as they did in the first chapter; but this time so that you can point out where they are using the various techniques - and show how effective they are. If nothing else you should persuade them of the importance of asking open questions!
[Acetates 3.07 and 3.07A]
listening
Development of this is again optional, but it is an important general skill - and I include an acetate to cover the main points.
[Acetate 3.08]
recording and organizing
Once more this is a minor subject, but one which can be important in practice - if it is (unfortunately rarely) practised.
The one area of information which is almost never touched on in marketing texts is that of the personal experience of the marketer; or in more general terms, of the manager. Yet this is typically the most important influence on that person's decision-making. This section therefore, brief as it is, seeks at least in part to redress the balance. IN TERMS OF INDIVIDUAL SKILLS IT IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT IN THE STUDENT TEXT.
As it is such an individual skill it is difficult to teach on a conventional marketing course. The conceptualization, the handling of the abstract concepts underlying the theory, which students learn as part of any college course (including one as practically oriented as marketing) should help them develop the skills of standing back from their personal prejudices. Below, though are some other suggestions which may also help;
[Acetate 3.09]
personal knowledge
The first key to using personal knowledge, which has been introduced throughout the first part of this chapter, is therefore the student's commitment to apply just as rigorous standards to this knowledge. The second is quite simply to seek out every possible opportunity to expand this personal knowledge. The following three techniques are not well known, but can help in a wide range of situations.
customer simulation
This is possibly the most powerful technique of all, but also the most difficult to embrace. In essence it means internalizing all the intelligence received about the customer; building a personal model of the consumer - which can be brought into play when ad-hoc decisions are needed.
In this way, you view the decision as literally as possible from the viewpoint of the customer. This may not be too difficult when the 'product' is one which you would naturally consume. One UK supermarket chain, Waitrose, eschews marketing but manages to recruit buyers whose taste matches that of their 'discerning consumers' - a surprisingly successful marketing technique! It is, unfortunately, much more difficult when the consumers' tastes are very different to your own - pity the middle-aged male trying to get inside the mind of a teenage girl buying a pop record.
activity
Get the class to build up as complete a picture of, an identity for, a consumer of a product you know well (and for which consumer data is available). See how much of a character you can create; and then see how far you can extend that in terms of understanding purchasing behaviour.
walkabout
This is the simplest of all, just putting yourself where the action is. It seems to be the technique favoured by a number of Japanese organisations - and it works. Going out to talk to customers, and distributors, personalizes the impersonal data embodied in the research reports - though the safeguards against prejudice must still be there.
activity
Take your class out to meet some consumers, and distributors, from the group you attempted to simulate in the last exercise. The students should find it enlightening; and you may too!
trial and error
This is the most powerful of all, but potentially very expensive since at the extreme it simply tries out, in the market, whatever you are investigating. At a simpler level it means understanding what causes the various outcomes of the day-to-day marketing activities. It sounds only commonsense, but it actually involves quite an amount of work - and few marketers like a post-mortem on a failure (which is the most informative of all!).
The main source of external data is published material (rather than marketing research). It is called secondary data because the 'questions' have been asked by someone else. It is an especially important source of intelligence for the categories below - of which market intelligence is the one we will examine in this chapter. The other two (environmental and competitive intelligence) will be referred to in later chapters - but the same techniques apply.
[Acetate 3.10]
The next section is largely optional, which is as well since it is a rather boring list. The only one which must be brought to the notice of the students is that of the library. If they are not yet accustomed to using the library for such research it would be worthwhile taking them to the college library; and letting the librarian handle the chore.
[Acetates 3.11 and 3.11A]
The last category on this acetate, news media, is also worth mention - since it is a major source of information (and not least of personal 'experience') yet it is barely mentioned by most texts. Students should be encouraged to take at least two quality Sunday newspapers of opposing viewpoints, so that they begin to recognize the bias of much of the media.
This is the most generally recognized, indeed definitive, element of marketing. In the form of survey research (the interviewer on the doorstep) it is widely claimed to be used (as the tables from Hooley show). But, to repeat what was said earlier, it is important to recognize that it is just one part of the range of information reaching the marketer. Because of the difficulties and cost of reaching industrial customers this form of research is much more evident in consumer markets.
[NOTE: This is one topic where the make-up of the audience will have a significant impact upon the amount of detail which is taught. Part-time, general management students, for instance, will not need to know the detailed techniques - though they may be briefly introduced to them to assist their understanding of what lies beneath the more general principles. On the other hand, marketing students will need to know these detailed techniques, and undergraduates may gain from the theory (such as statistics) involved in them.]
The main point to make first is that unlike the research techniques discussed so far - which have been able to use internal resources (especially the manager's own time) - this form of research almost always relies on the employment of outside specialists. The first acetate shows the three main groups.
[Acetate 3.12]
SYNDICATED RESEARCH
The easiest, and often the cheapest, approach is to buy information which has already been gathered by specialist organizations. In general this is the only way that most organizations can afford the very expensive audit results (both store and consumer panel). But it is also possible to buy individual questions on an omnibus survey - which may be a very cheap method of answering one or two very simple questions.
[Acetates 3.13 and 3.13A]
It is probably worthwhile explaining all these categories for most audiences, since they give a good flavour of what marketing research is about, whilst still being interesting (and not requiring any deep understanding of statistics!).
RETAIL AUDITS
The point to emphasize here is the audit nature of the operation; paralleling that of a normal accounting audit. The field researchers conduct a stocktake, and then audit the receipts (as well as any transfers) to calculate the actual sales. As with any company end-of year stocktake, this is very time consuming (though it is becoming easier now that EPOS data is available in some stores) and - as it has to be carried out across 500-1,000 stores - it is very expensive indeed (and hence the reason it is syndicated; with Nielsen having almost a monopoly of the larger markets).
This is a good time to introduce the concept that this process still measures actual sales, no judgement is required from the consumer; though the statistics of using samples come into play (and there may be some 'shrinkage' - the retailers' discreet term for theft, often by their own staff - which inflates the figures). In the research discussed later in the chapter similar figures are obtained by asking consumers for their own estimates of purchases; where it is notoriously more difficult to achieve any reasonable degree of accuracy.
PANEL RESEARCH
This still involves a physical count but in the consumer's home.
[Acetate 3.14]
The home audit involves much the same process as the retail audit (though the receipts are much messier since they may well be in the form of used packs place in a dustbin specially reserved for the purpose - hence the popular name of 'dustbin audit').
The diary requires that the consumer records all purchases. This is less accurate (since consumers forget to make entries) - but demands less dedication on the part of the researcher.
Overall, this type of research is less accurate then retail audit data (due to the fallibility of the consumers involved). On the other hand it does record all that gets into the home by whatever route. Thus baked beans may be bought from market stalls and catering outlets (which are usually not covered by retail audits) as well as from supermarkets or corner shops.
Even in the case of this most accurate market research there can be uncertainties as to its accuracy. In the 1960s when I worked for the advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding one eager client took not just Nielsen and a consumer diary audit, but also a second retail audit. The agency research executive involved spent so much time explaining away why all three gave different results (often showing different trends - one retail audit showing sales increasing where the other showed them declining!) that he never had time for the most interesting research of all (into the accuracy of the whole process.)
OMNIBUS SURVEYS
These can be explained very quickly, though it may be worth describing the links with political opinion polling; although this now represents a small (but highly visible and influential) part of their business.
CONSULTANCIES
It is not generally appreciated how much of some (specialized) consultancies' work revolves around research. The examples given in the student text are typical.
CUSTOM RESEARCH
This is the staple diet of marketing research - and is often a major part of the stereotype of marketing (though it probably represents a very small part of it for most organizations).
It is important to distinguish between consumer research (the interviewer on the doorstep who everyone recognizes) and industrial research where the interviews may be very much longer and conducted by expert interviewers (with less structured questionnaires) on relatively few (carefully selected) organizations.
It is also important to highlight the trend over recent years to treat marketing research as a commodity which is bought from the lowest bidder. THIS POSES MAJOR PROBLEMS WHERE THE CLIENT USUALLY DOES NOT POSSESS SIGNIFICANT RESEARCH SKILLS - AND HENCE IS DEPENDENT UPON AN ORGANIZATION WHICH HAS BEEN CHOSEN ONLY ON THE BASIS OF PRICE.
Such research organizations should be chosen for their expertise in integrating the various activities..
SUB-CONTRACTORS
Such lead organizations will almost certainly sub-contract the most important activities to specialists; especially the interviewing and computer analysis (probably the two most critical activities).
It is important, therefore, that all managers understand the concepts behind the overall processes, so that they can critically appraise what is happening - and what reliance to put on the results.
We like to use the diagrammatic approach of the 'Research Diamond' [Acetate 3.15A], since it more clearly illustrates the relationships between the various elements (and their resource use), and this approach is fully explained in the student text; but a more conventional approach is also included [Acetate 3.15] in this manual.
DEFINING THE OBJECTIVES
The most important step, and one which only the client can take, is to decide what the research needs to do. This is actually a very difficult step, especially for a manager who does not appreciate the subtleties of such research. After all, the basic reason for conducting research is a lack of knowledge about something - and to define what that lack of knowledge is poses a challenge for even the most expert marketer! But it must be done if the research is to produce meaningful results which address the underlying problem.
PLANNING THE RESEARCH
This will inevitably be the province of the research agency, but (if sufficiently sophisticated in such matters) the client should insist on being involved in the process.
The next few sections are largely detailed; though the overall (brief) summaries are intended for general use. How you use this material (and in particular how you expand - in as limited a manner as possible - the headings for general students) must depend upon the audience and the feedback you get. Some of the topics may be seen by them as interesting, and expansion into detail (especially if you have personal experience to relate) may be a very good way of conveying some of the flavour of marketing.
[Acetates 3.16 and 3.17]
observation and experimental research
These are unusual marketing research techniques, infrequently used; but for some scientific/technical audiences they may offer a useful bridge to marketing.
group/qualitative research
Qualitative research covers a range of techniques, of which group research is by far the most important. Individual depth interviews (and semi-structured interviews) can be very successful, but require expert interviewers - preferably qualified psychologists. As a result they are rarely used in mainstream research.
Repertory Grids (often called Kelly Grids after their inventor) are used even less frequently, possibly because few researchers understand the complex computer analysis techniques involved. Even so, it is well worthwhile introducing the topic (which is fully described, in outline at least, in the student text) since it clearly demonstrates the problems of finding the issues that really concern consumers, and of establishing the language they use. The use of repertory grids forces the questions which follow in the full-scale survey research to relate to the consumers as no other technique does.
Group research (usually called 'group discussions' or 'focus groups'), on the other hand, is widely used. It is a very powerful technique (like repertory grids) for finding out the issues (and the language) to be addressed in the full-scale survey; as long as the groups are run by experts (and again that usually means trained psychologists) - though here the cost is less as up to ten individuals take part in each group (and only two or three groups are run).
All such qualitative techniques (especially groups) are primarily designed to be the first stage of research which is quantified by a large-scale survey. The numbers involved simply do not usually justify any statistically significant conclusions by themselves.
The students should be warned, however, that in recent years focus groups have been sold by some research agencies as valid research in their own right; with quasi-statistical outputs. This approach certainly offers a lower cost, but can produce results which seem anecdotally important but are dangerously inaccurate!
survey research
This is the archetypal marketing research, the research that most of your students will think of. Again, though, you will need to vary the content and the emphasis you give to it according to the audience, but even for general audiences it does clearly demonstrate some important marketing lessons. The first of these is questionnaire design.
[Acetate 3.18]
The quality of the answers to a questionnaire will depend to a great extent on the quality of the questions ( in computer vernacular GIGO: garbage in - in this case poor questions - garbage out). If you ask the question badly, or even worse miss it out, the answer you receive may be worthless.
The list of questions must therefore be complete (which is why the earlier, qualitative stages are so important).
The questions themselves must be put correctly; so that the respondents are not confused (beware, they will try to help you by giving an answer even if they do not understand the question!). Leading questions must be avoided at all costs. It is all too easy to have preconceptions and word the questionnaire in such a way as to confrim these: with questions such as those which say 'do you agree that.....?', which only the brave will disagree with. But there can be much more subtle influences which are not so easy to see. What looks like a perfectly unbiased question (about attitudes to foreigners, say) may come after a section has biased the respondent's viewpoint (asking in depth about problems on foreign holidays, say).
A few decades ago, when I was a brand manager with Gallahers, all the research showed that the Condor pipe tobacco brand would decline steadily at 1% per annum, as the consumers literally died off! The key element was research which showed that pipe-smokers were so loyal that they never cha.ged brands. By chance we were given the results of a brand switching survey conducted on the cigarette brands - which also showed pipe tobaccos. This showed the astonishing result that a third of pipe-smokers #hanged their brand every three months. When we redid all the previous research, at great cost, we found that it had been biased by preconceptions. The practical outcome was that the resulting new strategy pushed Condor sales up by 10% per annum and made it brand leader inside a year. None of this would have happened if that happy accident had not caused us to query the questions asked in the research!
OPEN/CLOSED QUESTIONS
As we saw earlier (in the sales call analogy) open questions are the best starting point (and must be used in the earlier qualitative work). Unfortunately, on large-scale surveys they are difficult and expensive to use. The interviewer has to understand what the respondent is saying, and then summarize the answer on the questionnaire. It then has to be hand-coded by trained staff when the questionnaire is processed. The net result is that they are used less than might otherwise be indicated.
Sentence Completion/Thematic Aperception Tests
These two detailed techniques may be used for general students, to show how attitudes may be examined.
But the real concentration should be on the workhorse of surveys, the closed question. This is easy to transcribe, the tick in the box is transferred to the computer by an ordinary terminal operator. The main types are:
NUMBERS YES/NO MULTIPLE CHOICE
These should be self explanatory, but an example is provided;
[Acetate 3.19]
SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIALS
These are again detailed topics, but may be useful in teaching undergraduates, since they give a good feel for the way many marketing research questions are actually asked, The obscure name often makes students think they are more complex than they are; though once they realize this they get a kick out of using the academic terminology! The main lesson is the use, with graduated descriptions of numbers, as originally developed by Osgood (and as shown in the acetate below); the extension by Likert (using agree/disagree with specific statements) is also informative for most students.
[Acetate 3.20]
COLLECTING THE DATA
[Acetate 3.22]
The teaching point to be made here is the difference between mail and personal interviewing (telephone lies somewhere between). Personal interviewing has all the advantages except cost, which is why it is described further in the rest of the chapter. Mail, though, does have a significant cost advantage and may be viable where other methods cannot be afforded (for small groups which are difficult to contact otherwise - especially in industrial markets).
Mail is hampered by requiring relatively simple questions (since the interviewer is not there to help - though that may often be a disadvantage where the interviewer biases results), but the main problem is the relatively low response rates, typically 20-30 %, which means that the statistical validity of the results is in doubt. The answer to this is to find ways of interesting the respondent; in the OUBS we may achieve up to 70+% response rates from our students - who are committed to what we are doing. If you can achieve such high rates then mail surveys may actually be preferable because they remove the potential bias introduced by the interviewer.
[Acetate 3.23]
random/quota samples
In the case of all surveys (but especially personal interviewing) one question to be decided is that of the type of sample (and its size). Random samples are best taught in terms of selecting every nth member of the population (though that, of course, means that you must explain what a population is). If you do not have an electoral list a phone book is a useful substitute to demonstrate the technique (analysing the inhabitants by town by selecting the first entry on each page as a sample).
Students may benefit from the statistics of sampling. The main point to get across though is the size needed. Although the theory will emphasize that the accuracy also depends on the spread of answers, if the sample size is 500 or more (and preferably over 1,000) then the results are likely to be valid.
[Acetate 3.24]
Quota sampling is a cheaper form, which misses some of the quality control (and all of the statistical control) but is often used because of the cost savings.
There is much debate about statistical errors, but little about interviewer error. Yet the work by O'Brien and Ford showed that this could be as high as 20% (the 40% quoted was the sum across two surveys). Even though this will tend to cancel out as the errors are random, you should emphasize to the students the essential requirement for good interviewer control (these results were from one of the most highly respected, and well-controlled, field forces in the UK - so you can imagine what equivalent results from lesser organizations might have looked like!).
activity
The traditional activity at this stage is to send the students out to conduct a survey for themselves - to find out about shoppers in the local high street (you might angle the questions to answer some of the students' questions which have come up in earlier sessions). Ideally this should start with the design of the questionnaire (and sample - though this will almost inevitably have to be by quota sample), before they launch themselves in teams on the local shoppers. It is worthwhile getting at least two separate teams to operate independently - and seeing how the results compare (that may teach the students more about the accuracy of such surveys than all of the preceding lecture).
[Acetates 3.25 and 3.25A]
How you introduce these analytical techniques to students will once more depend upon the audience and your own understanding of them. They are the province of (computer) experts; but students should be aware that they can offer a powerful insight into the results.
REPORTING THE FINDINGS]
The main lesson to teach here is that such research is not an academic exercise; it is needed to answer the questions of the managers involved. The reports, therefore, must address those problems, providing the results (in language they understand) that managers can use to guide their decisions. This is a skilled exercise in communication - where most managers do not understand marketing research (and even less its limitations).
This final footnote should be self explanatory. It simply suggests how students may best handle the reports which will come across their desk - but, as a general skill, it may be important to them!
[Acetate 3.26]
hits