McDaniel&Gates–MarketingResearch,12thEdition Instructor’sManual

Copyright?2021JohnWiley&Sons,Inc. 9-

CHAPTER9

PrimaryDataCollection:Observation

LEARNINGOBJECTIVES

1.Developabasicunderstandingofobservationresearch.

2.Learntheapproachestoobservationresearch.

3.Understandthetypesofmachineobservation.

4.Appreciatehowonlinetrackingischanginganditsgrowinguseofsocialmedia.

5.Learnhowvirtualshoppingenvironmentsarecreatedandusedinmarketingresearch.

KEYTERMS

Augmentedreality

Codereader

Disguisedobservation

Electroencephalograph(EEG)

Ethnographicresearch

Fingerprinting

Galvanicskinresponse(GSR)

graphologist

Implicitmeasures

Localpeoplemeter

Mysteryshoppers

Neuromarketing

Observationresearch

One-waymirrorobservation

Openobservation

Portablepeoplemeter

Setmeter

Virtualreality

CHAPTERSUMMARY

Thischapterexaminesthesystematicprocessofrecordingpatternsofoccurrencesorbehaviorswithoutquestioningornormallycommunicatingwiththepeopleinvolved.Forobservationtobeusedsuccessfully,theneededinformationmustbeobservableandthebehaviorofinterestmustberepetitive,frequent,orinsomemannerpredictable.Thebehaviorofinterestalsoshouldbeofarelativelyshortduration.Therearefourdimensionsalongwhichobservationapproachesvary:(1)naturalversuscontrivedsituations,(2)openversusdisguisedobservation,(3)humanversusmachineobservers,and(4)directversusindirectobservation.

Thebiggestadvantageofobservationresearchisthatresearcherscanseewhatpeopleactuallydoratherthanhavingtorelyonwhattheysaytheydid,therebyavoidingmanybiasingfactors.Also,someformsofdataaremorequicklyandaccuratelygatheredbyobservation.Theprimarydisadvantageofthistypeofresearchisthattheresearcherlearnsnothingaboutmotives,attitudes,intentions,orfeelings.Finally,socialmediatrackinghelpsmarketersunderstandhowconsumerstalkaboutabrandoraproductorwhattheyexpectfromabrand.

QUESTIONSFORREVIEWANDCRITICALTHINKING

Youarechargedwiththeresponsibilityofdeterminingwhethermenarebrand-consciouswhenshoppingforracquetballequipment.Outlineanobservationresearchprocedureformakingthatdetermination.

Inviteagroupofmenwhoareknowntoplayracquetballtoaroomequippedwithaone-waymirror.Letthemknowthattheyaregoingtodiscussracquetballequipment.Haveseveralbrandsofequipmentintheroom.Haveadiscussionguideavailabletopromptthequestionsifnecessary.Observethewaythemenhandletheequipmentandtalkaboutperformance.Askthequestion,“Ifpricewerenotanissue,whatbrandofracquetballequipmentwouldyouuse?Why?”

Fisher-Pricehasaskedyoutodeveloparesearchprocedurefordeterminingwhichofitsprototypetoysismostappealingforfour-andfive-year-olds.Suggestamethodologyformakingthisdetermination.

Putthreeorfourchildreninaroomwiththetoys.Observethemfrombehindaone-waymirror.Countthenumberoftimesachildgoesbacktoatoyorthelengthoftimethechildrenplaywitheachone.Sincechildren’s’attentionspanscanbebrief,thosetoyswhichareplayedwithforthelongestperiodoftimemightbethemostappealing.Also,carefullynotetheroleofgroupdynamics.Childrenarenaivelyegocentric.Theymaywantatoysimplybecauseanotherchildwantsit.Ifthisisperceivedtobeaproblem,thegroupofchildrenmayneedtobenarrowedtoonechildatatimeintheplayroom.Anotherwaytodealwiththe“mine”problemistohaveduplicatesoreventriplicatesofthetoys.

Whatarethebiggestdrawbacksofobservationresearch?

Onedisadvantageofobservationresearchisthatonlybehaviorandphysicalcharacteristicscanbeexamined.Also,onlypublicbehaviorisobserved.Aresearchercannotdeterminehowmanyproductsareusedorwhytheyareusedthatway.Observedbehaviormaynotbeprojectabletothefuture.Justbecauseaconsumermakesapurchaseoradecisiontodaydoesnotguaranteethatheorshewilldothesametomorrow.Finally,observationresearchcanbetime-consumingandcostlyiftheobservedbehavioroccursratherinfrequently.

Comparetheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofobservationresearchwiththoseofsurveyresearch.

Withsurveyresearch,theresearchercancollectalargequantityofdataonmanydifferentvariablesacrossmanydifferentbuyingsituations.Also,withsurveyresearchtheresearcherisnotrestrictedtoonlyobservingbehavior.Thedisadvantageofsurveyresearchisthatbehavioristhehardestvariabletomeasure;theinquiriesarealwayspost-hoc.Withtheobservationmethod,measuringbehaviorcanbeeasilydisguised.Therespondent/subjectgoesabouthis/hernormalbuyingpatternswithoutbeingaskedalotofquestions.Withsurveyresearch,respondentssometimesareinclinedtoanswerthewaytheythinktheresearcherwantsthemtoanswer.

Ithasbeensaidthat“peoplebuythingsnotforwhattheywilldo,butforwhattheymean.”Discussthisstatementinrelationtoobservationresearch.

Peopleoftenbuyobjectsforsocialstatus,prestige,forwhatothersthinkabouttheirpurchases,andwhatitdoesfortheirself-concept.Ifweassumethishypothesistobecorrect,thenobservationalresearchmaybelessusefulbecauseitproducesdataregardingexternaleventsratherthaninternalmotivations.Observationresearchcould,however,beusedinanattempttomeasuretheeffectofphysiologicalarousalonproductpurchase,therebyprovidingacrudemeasureofmotivesviainternalpsychologicaloremotionalstates.

Howmightamysteryshopperbevaluabletothefollowingorganizations:(a)JetBlueAirlines,(b)Macy’sDepartmentStore,(c)H&RBlock.

JetBlueAirlines–Amysteryshoppercouldfindoutcompetitor’spricing,flightschedule,typesofservicesrenderedonspecificshortandlongflights,comparefirstclassserviceandcoachservice,andcheckforpunctuality.ThemysteryshoppercouldalsojudgeJetBlue’slevelofserviceincomparisonwiththecompetitors.

Macy’sDepartmentStore–Amysteryshoppercouldchecktheknowledgeandfriendlinessofthesalesrepresentatives,thelevelofcourtesyinthecustomerserviceareaversusthecompetition’s,thecleanlinessofthestoreanditsrestroomfacilities,andtheconvenienceofstorelayout.Also,aphysicallyimpairedshoppercouldtesttheeaseofmovingthroughthestore.ThiscouldaidthestoreincomplyingwiththeAmericanswithDisabilitiesAct.

H&RBlock–Amysteryshoppercoulddeterminethecourtesyandknowledgeleveloftheemployees,theeffectivenessofserviceasitrelatestothelengthoftimerequiredtopreparethetaxreturn,andcomparepricesindifferentlocationsofthecompanytoensurethatequityexists.

Useethnographicresearchtoevaluatethediningexperienceatyourstudentcenter.Whatdidyoulearn?

Responseswillvary.Ethnographicresearchisthestudyofhumanbehaviorinitsnaturalcontext,involvesobservationofbehaviorandphysicalsettingssotheanswersshouldreflectthis.

Describehowtrackingresearchcanbenefitanonlineretailer.

TrackingallowstherecordingandanalysisofconsumerbehaviorastheysurftheWeb.Whatsitesdidtheyvisit?Howlongdidtheyvieweachscreen?Whatlinksdidtheyclick?Didtheygobacktopreviousscreensordidtheytendtopressaheadintheirsurfing?Wecanlearnalotaboutconsumers’interestsbylookingatwhattheychoosetoseeontheirscreensandhowlongtheylookatit.ThissortofinformationcanbevaluabletotheonlinemarketerbecauseittellsuswhatsortofInternetapproach“works”best.

Doyouthinkthatvirtualrealitywillreplaceotherformsofmarketingresearch?Whyorwhynot?

Virtualshoppingmayreducetheneedforlarge,expensivetestmarketsandmayprovideacomplementarymethodtofieldstudies,on-sitestudies,shop-alongstudiesandthelike.Thekeyiswhethervirtualshoppingprovestobemorepredictiveandinstructivethanexistingmethods.Currentlyitisamethodwhosegrowthisperhapsdrivenasmuchbyresearchers’accesstonewtechnologyasitisbyatrackrecordofinsightsandpredictivevalidity.

Doyouthinkin-storetrackingistoointrusive?WhyorWhynot?

Responseswillvarybystudent.

Wereyouawareofallofthetypesofinformationthatsocialmediagathersaboutyou?Areyoucomfortablewiththis?Doyoulikethefactthatonlyadsofpotentialinteresttoyouwillbeshown?

Responseswillvarybystudent.

Dividetheclassintoteamsoffive.Eachteamshouldselectadifferentretailer(servicesareokayformysteryshopping.)Twomembersoftheteamshouldpreparealistof10to15questionstobeanswered.Theremainingthreemembersoftheteamshouldbecomemysteryshopperswiththegoalofansweringthequestionscreatedbytheteam.Aftertheshoppingiscomplete,theteamshouldcombineitsfindingsandmakeareporttotheclass.

Resultswillvary.

Whatarethebenefitsofmysteryshopping?

Mysteryshoppinggivesmanagersnearlyinstantfeedbackfromthecustomer’sperspectiveontheperformanceoftheiremployeesandanythingthatcanbeobservedbyacustomer.Italso…

Givesfeedbackaboutstaffperformance.

Monitorsfacilityconditionsasseenbythecustomer.

Servesasanemployeemotivationaltoolsincebonusesandotherrewardscanbetiedtoperformance.

Benchmarkcompetitors.Itisimportanttorememberthatmysteryshoppingcanbeusedtoevaluatecompetitorsandanyotherfirmsinwhichyouhaveaninterest.

Identifytrainingneeds.

Improvedcustomerretention.

Discussthenotionof“implicitmeasures”asitappliestomarketingresearch.

Implicitmeasuresdon’tactuallymeasurepsychologicalcausessuchasemotionsorbehaviordirectlybutratherinferwhatishappeninginsidethebrainfrompeoples’biologicalresponses.Forexample,eyedilationasameasureofinterestinaproduct.

Howdoresearchersuseeye-trackingheatmaps?Whatcanbelearned?

Heatmapshighlightareasthatusersseemostoften.Heatmapscanbedevelopedbytrackingtheeyesofcustomerswhiletheyviewdifferentads,promotions,andsoon.Thiscanhelpshowwhatcatchesthecustomer’seyeandthereforeattention.

ExplainhowNielsenMediaResearchtracksviewinghabitsacrossalldevices.

Nielsenmeasures40percentoftheworld’sviewingbehavior–hundredsofchannels,thousandsofprograms,andmillionsofviewers.Fortraditionaltelevision,Nielsen’smeterscanidentifywhoiswatchingandwhen,including“time-shifted”viewing–thewatchingofrecordedprograminguptosevendaysafteranoriginalbroadcast.Tomeasurevideocontentonmobiledevices,Nielsenhasexpandeditspanelstoincorporatebigdatafromthirdpartiestocapturethebreadthanddepthofmobileviewing.

NielsenusesalocalPeopleMeterinmanytestmarkets.SamplehouseholdshaveameterdirectlyconnectedtoallTVsinthehome.MembersofthehouseholdareeachassignedabuttonandperiodicallyengagewiththemeterwhilewatchingTV.Inaddition,Nielsenuseshouseholdmetersintwoforms:SetMeterandCodeReader.ThesedonotmeasurewhoiswatchingTV.SetMetersareconnectedtoallTVsinthehouse,whileCodeReadersareplacednearTVsinapanelmember’shomeandpickupaninaudiblesignalfromtheTV.TheyalsouseaPortablePeopleMeter(PPM).ThePPMisawearabledevicethattracksconsumers’exposuretomediaandentertainmentincludingbroadcast,cable,andsatelliteTV,onlineradio,cinemaadvertisingandmanydigitalmedia.

Explaintheconceptoffingerprintingasitappliestotracking.

Browsersreportalotofinformationaboutyoursystemtothewebsitesyouvisit.Thisincludestheresolutionofyourscreen,youroperatingsystem,andthefontsyouhaveinstalled,amongothers.Thesedetailscreateafingerprintofyourdevice.Someresearchersevenclaimthatanindividual’smousemovementsareuniqueandcanbeusedtocreateauniquefingerprintforthatuser.Sitescanuseyourdigitalfingerprinttoknowifyouhavevisitedbefore,createprofilesofyourbehaviorandcreateadsthatfollowyouontheInternet.

Howdoestrackingapplytomagazines?

Becausevirtuallyallpopularmagazinescanbereadonline,trackingcanbeusedtoseewhatarticlesandadsarebeingread.Somepublisherscantiethisinformationtosubscribersandevencustomprintadsintheirprintmagazinesforthosesubscribersbasedontheironlineviewinghabits.

WORKINGTHENET

Goto.ExplaintotheclasswhatGoogle’sMarketingPlatformoffersbusinesses.Next,clickon“resources”andthen“SuccessStories”.PickastoryandtelltheclasswhattheMarketingPlatformprovidedacompanyorbrand.

Answerswillvarybutmightinclude:

Customizablereports.

Testingvariationsofyourwebsitesandapps.(A/Btesting.)

Surveys.

Managingallyourtags.

Contentvariesfrequentlysothestoryastudentmightchoosetohighlightcanvary.

Goto.Whattoolsareavailableforabusinesstoanalyzeitsdata?What’sinvolvedinthe“freeset-up”?

GoogleAnalyticscangeneratecloseto100differentreportsthatallowtheusertoanalyzejustabouteverythingabouttheirwebsitetraffic.Someofthemostusefulshowhowmuchtrafficawebsiteattracts,wherethattrafficcomesfrom,andwhereitgoesonceitleavesyourwebsite.Studentsmayemphasizedifferentaspectsintheiranswers.

FromtheGoogleAnalyticswebsite,gettingstartedrequires:

Settingupanaccount.

GrantingpermissionstoGoogletomakeconfigurationchangestoyourwebsite.

LinkingyourGoogleAdsandAnalyticsaccounts.

Settingupreportingviews.

Settingupgoalstoidentifytheactionsyouwantuserstotakeonyourwebsite.

Modifyingyourtrackingcodetocollectadditionaldata.

Goto/fields-of-use/marketing-consumer-research/.Whatservicesandinsightscantheyprovidetoadvertisers?

Fromthewebsite,“Eyetrackingisauniquemethodtoobjectivelymeasureconsumers'attentionandspontaneousresponsestomarketingmessages.Theseinsightshelpmarketerstoeffectivelydesigncommunicationtocatchtheshopper'seye.”

Gotoanddescribetheconceptandthetoolstheyofferretailers.

TheyofferadvancedAIsoftwarethatanalyzesfaces(inimages,video,andreal-time)torecognizefaces,verifyidentities,andmeasureattributessuchashappiness,surprise,anger,disgust,fear,andsadness.Inadditiontofaceanalysisandemotionrecognition,theyoffer:

Eyetracking

Facedetection

Facematch

Faceblur

RefertothecompanieslistedinExhibit9.5andperusetheirwebsites.Whichtoolmightyouselectif:(a)youwerelookingforanall-in-onesocialmedialisteningtool?(b)youwanttotracktrafficfromyoursocialmediacampaign.(c)youwanttomonitortheperformanceofyourcontentacrosstheweb.(d)youneedasocialmediamanagementtoolwithbuilt-inmonitoring.

Studentresponseswillvary.

REAL-LIFERESEARCH

Case9.1—VrboTurnstoEye-TrackingandFacialrecog