Consumer Research

Being in the field

Meeting 3

Know others by knowing yourself

Observe yourself as a customer• Buy a cup of coffee and observe yourself from the

time you are in line until the coffee has been consumed

Practice introspection exercises• Determine the essence of a product experience• Understand the nuances of behavior reinforcement• Use the knowledge of your own experience to

understand the experience of others

Secondary data

Demographic/product use/media habits• Simmons (SMRB) and Mediamark (MRI)

Public opinion and attitude surveys• Roper, Yankelovich and Gallup

Motivation studies and VALS• SRI• American Demographic magazine

Trade, Industry and Government sources

Become a consumer detective

• Great insights are revealed in little details• Use semiotics to discover clues• What can you discover about American

from examining a one dollar bill?• What can you tell about the person next to

you from his or her clothing?• What do you know about an instructor from

the contents of his/her office?

Professional detectives

Category• New Yorkers• Professors• Executives• Gamblers• Tourists• Pet owners

Detective• Taxi drivers• ?• ?• ?• ?• ?

Measuring vs. Interpretation

• Conduct a class poll to determine whether or not more women prefer Coke than Pepsi

• Have women characterize Coke and Pepsi according to film stars cast to promote it

• What conclusions can you make about each method’s ability to inform the question?

Field Observational Techniques:Convenience Store

Quantitative• Count the number of

activities taking place using pre-established categories

• Yields amounts and types of transactions

Qualitative• Observe and record

activities taking place as they occur, letting events drive data.

• Note dress, mood• Listen to conversations• Results yield portrait of

convenience store culture

Content or Document Analysis:Magazine Ads

Quantitative• Identify ad types

(product in use, product alone etc) and count them.

• Provides a tally on ad content

Qualitative• View the magazine as

text and allow categories to emerge on their own

• Provides insight on message delivery

Interviewing: Perfume

Quantitative• Surveys distributed

with samples to wearer demographics

• Numbers yield statistically significant results

Qualitative• Open-ended questions

posed to representative group and probed for more information

• Responses analyzed for patterns/themes

Data Quality

Quantitative• Validity• Reliability• Survey pre-testing

Qualitative• Authenticity• Triangulation

Humanistic Researchers

• Focus on wholeness of consumer experience• Search for meanings and essence of consumer

experiences• Obtain descriptions of experience through 1st

person accounts• Use data to understand consumer behavior• View behavior as inseparable relationship between

consumer and product

Qualitative Research for Advertising

1. Obtain background information on problem or target segment

2. Identify develop and test creative concepts with consumers

3. Identify behavioral patterns, beliefs, opinions and attitudes about brand perceptions (What is your experience with Timex watches?)

Preparing for field research

1. Select participants who use product

2. Protect participants with anonymity

3. Identify and gain access to a field location using a gatekeeper

• Shopping mall

• Multinational corporation

• Hospital maternity ward