To understand targets, one needs research. Research techniques precede research, which precedes marketing.
Surveys: Using concise straightforward questionnaires you can analyse a sample group that represents your target market.
The larger the samples the more reliable are the results.
In person Surveys:
They are one on one interviews typically conducted in high tragic locations such as shopping malls people are presented with samples of products, packaging or advertising and immediate feedback is gathered.
These surveys generate a response rate of more than 90%
People in shopping malls are window shopping. Shopping malls are about footfalls. To meet. To socialize. Replacing open space – in the process of ‘hanging out’ if someone wants something, the opportunity to buy is there. That is why malls spend so much time catering to the socialization needs of individuals.
Thus the chances of getting surveys filled in a mall are greater.
Surveys by and large do not give completely scientific data because one cannot distinguish between target audiences and the person who is filling out surveys usually has an incentive – more surveys = more money. Thus one may not necessarily get an accurate TA. One also needs to remember that open ended questions that may be in surveys are not necessarily ‘scientific’ in nature.
Telephone Surveys:
They are less expensive in comparison with in person surveys however consumers are of late resistant to relentless tele marketing and hence getting people to participate in telephone surveys has becomes increasingly difficult.
These Surveys generate a response rate of 50-60%
Nowadays there is only focused tele marketing. Not the tele canvassing that was seen earlier.
Tele marketing has an extremely low response rate. For certain services, like banks, or a service with which a consumer is already loyal or a member, or if the service has a value addition to make – then the consumer may lend an ear.
For high profile companies, tele marketing takes the form of relationship management – and thus extremely differently done.
Mail Surveys:
They are relatively an in expensive way to reach a broad audience. Even though they are cheaper than in person and telephone surveys, they generate a response rate of just 3-15%
Cheap but low response rate. Because it involves a lot of involvement – filling the survey – and mailing it. Search cost of finding the nearest post box.
People also need to know where the mailbox is.
A mail survey requires an active data base – such a data base is required to send out mail surveys to consumers in small towns.
Banks, telephone operators, Internet sites are creating and maintaining databases.
People in small towns are not wary of mail surveys as yet. So the likelihood of them answering a survey is greater in small towns as opposed to the city.
Online Survey
These surveys generate an unpredictable response rate and unreliable date as you have no control over the pool of respondents
However it is a simple and inexpensive way to collect, anecdotal evidence and gather customer opinions and perfumes.
Verification of data online can be a problem because people tend to undertake fictitious, sometimes fantasy oriented identities.
FOCUS GROUPS:
a) It is used to generate a hypothesis that can be further tested.
b) It helps generate information in structuring consumer questionnaires
c) It helps provide overall information on a product category
d) It secured impressions on new product categories. For Eg: Harley Davidson
Conducted a research before re introducing their products in the market.
The survey was conducted on 16,000 people.
The focus groups consisted of currents owners, would be owners and owners of other brands. The resultant themes as response that emerged were – enjoyment, outdoor and freedom.
They then followed it up with mailers asking psychological, sociological and demographic specific question.
30% of the respondents therefore characteristically highlighted freedom and power.
A typical focus group project has 4 groups of a maximum of 12 participants
Certain requirements for a focus group are:
a) Each group is homogeneous
b) Each participant has had no past focus group experience
c) No friends and relatives of the participants and/or of the company that wished to get the research done can participate
d) It lasts for 1.5-2 hours.
e) Ideas from the first group are thrown open to the next group as an introductory hypothesis where a hypothesis is a statement that specifies how 2 or more measurable values/ variables are related.
f) When the late group stops throwing up new ideas, the focus group discussion ends.
g) A focus group modulator must lead the discussion
h) Moderator is a professional and has some qualities. He gives the discussion direction. The moderation should be a good communicator and from a marketing background.
People that are participating in the research should not have vested in the survey being conducted or should not have been a part of previous focused groups. The exercise becomes futile and there is not too much learning. Responses may become ‘learned’ and parrot like and thus the kind of data generated may not be accurate.
The duration of a focus group is 1 and a half to 2 hours because one needs to generate in depth learning. Something that cannot be gained by questionnaires. The focus group discussions a most times lend in the development of questionnaires for the creation of surveys which then provide quantitative data.
Focus groups are not done as parallels, they are done sequentially. So the learnings of 1 group discussion are then transferred to the next focus group nd thus a variety of learnings are accumulated.
A good focus group discussion requires a good moderator to ensure that the learning from the exercise is maximized.
Qualities of a focus group moderator are 2 fold:
- He has to be a good communicator
- Has to have an indepth knowledge about the topic being discussed and about marketing.
Focus groups are usually recorded. They yield insights into customer attributes. So a focus group is qualitative – it gives an idea of psychographics, lifestyles and values.
Also, for products, focus groups generally identify the key benefits for a product. That could include functional as well as emotional key benefits for consumer groups.
Questionnaires of do not record the sub text – the unobvious subtle observations. Here one puts products and brands in a personal context – and they are often bought and sold in personal contexts,
With focus groups, different levels of mindsets can be revealed.
Surveys often tend to stereotype a lot – that may be erased to a certain extent by focus groups.
Facial expressions and body language can also be observed within focus groups and non-verbal signals can also amount to research. Even the words being used by respondents can have trends extrapolated from them.
Focus groups may stray since people are in the company of others and thus they may tend to fabricate information which generally skews themselves in a positive situations.
Disadvantages of Focus Groups
However, focus groups also have disadvantages: The researcher has less control over a group than a one-on-one interview, and thus time can be lost on issues irrelevant to the topic; the data are tough to analyze because the talking is in reaction to the comments of other group members; observers/ moderators need to be highly trained, and groups are quite variable and can be tough to get together. (Ibid.) Moreover, the number of members of a focus group is not large enough to be a representative sample of a population; thus, the data obtained from the groups is not necessarily representative of the whole population, unlike in opinion polls.
A fundamental difficulty with focus groups (and other forms of qualitative research) is the issue of observer dependency: the results obtained are influenced by the researcher, raising questions of validity. The issue evokes associations with Heisenberg’s famous Uncertainty Principle. As Heisenberg said, "What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning." Indeed, the design of the focus group study (e.g. respondent selection, the questions asked, how they are phrased, how they are posed, in what setting, by whom, and so on) affects the answers obtained from respondents. In focus groups, researchers are not detached observers but always participants. Researchers must take this into account when making their analysis (Based on: Tjaco H. Walvis (2003), “Avoiding advertising research disaster: Advertising and the uncertainty principle”, Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 10, No. 6, pp. 403-409).
Douglas Rushkoff[1] argues that focus groups are often useless, and frequently cause more trouble than they are intended to solve, with focus groups often aiming to please rather than offering their own opinions or evaluations, and with data often cherry picked to support a forgone conclusion. Rushkoff cites the disastrous introduction of New Coke in the 1980s as a vivid example of focus group analysis gone bad
In traditional focus groups, a screened (qualified) group of respondents gathers in the same room. They are screened to ensure that they are part of the relevant target market and that the group is a representative subgroup of this market segment. There are usually 6 to 10 members in the group, and the session usually lasts for 1 to 2 hours. A moderator guides the group through a discussion that probes attitudes about a client's proposed products or services. The discussion is loosely structured, and the moderator encourages the free flow of ideas. The moderator is typically given a list of objectives or an anticipated outline. He/she will generally have only a few specific questions prepared prior to the focus group. These questions will serve to initiate open-ended discussions.
Researchers examine more than the spoken words. They also try to interpret facial expressions, body language, and group dynamics. Moderators may use straight questioning or various projective techniques, including fixed or free association, story-telling and role-playing. Focus groups are often used to garner reaction to specific stimuli such as concepts, prototypes and advertising.
With the advent of large scale computer networks, such as the Internet, it is now possible to link respondents electronically. Respondents share images, data, and their responses on their computer screens. This avoids a significant amount of travel expenses. It allows respondents from all over the world to gather, electronically, while avoiding countless logistical headaches. Like in-person focus groups, online groups are usually limited to 8-10 participants and involve real time interaction between respondents as well as with the moderator. 'Whiteboard' exercises, private polls, and the ability to mark up concepts or other visual stimuli simulate many of the characteristics of in-person groups.
Such a system eliminates the travel expenses associated with conducting focus groups. Many platforms even allow for a 'back room', so that clients can observe and talk among each other and with the moderator as the group proceeds, just like in-person focus groups, even though they are physically apart from the moderator. In this way, questions can be added in real time to further probe a particular response. Such a system prohibits participation on the different chat discussions based on the class of the participant (moderator, observer, participant).
In addition to the savings on travel, online focus groups often can be accomplished faster than traditional groups because respondents are recruited from online panel members who are often qualified to match research criteria.
PERSONAL INTERVIEWS
P.I’s like focus groups include unstructured open ended questions.
They last for about an hour and are usually recorded.
Focus groups and P.I’s provide more subjective data than surveys do. However their results are not statistically reliable as they usually do not represent a large section of the population
However they yield valuable insights into customer attitudes and are an excellent method to uncover issues related to new products a service development
OBSERVATION
It has been noticed that individual responses to surveys and focus groups are sometimes at odds with people’s usual behavior when you observe consumers in action at stores, work or at home, you may observe how they buy or use a product. This gives a more accurate picture of customer usage habits and shopping patterns.
e.g. Retail scanner. Placing cameras or at the cashier.
Observation goes to many realms and a variety of results can be obtained.
FIELD TRIALS:
New products are placed in selected stores to test customer response under real life selling conditions.
This helps the manufacturer to make product modifications, adjust prices or improve packaging etc. Small business owners try to establish a rapport with local store owners.
In certain cases websites help them to test their products.
In this kind of research, the research is done mainly with the stores, not with the customers. Research is generally done through retail chains (for logistical reasons) and also chains mainly that have high footfalls.
Marketing selectively and then seeing the results.
Eg. ITC has the Sun smiling and also Shah Rukh Khan and the ad shows a kid swimming through cream with Shah Rukh and this appeals to the kid.
Also distribution is fanastic (ITC has used its expertise in cigarette distribution).
Here in field research, the marketer can also observe behaviour and appropriately mould the strategy.
Players like Priyagold however, will use cheaper alternatives like marketing behind bus tickets and attacking local kirana stores in small zones to gain zonal advantages in specific areas and make single areas their cash cows. Thus local kiranas may push these certain small brands if the stock of other reputed brands is low.
In this case, the small players may offer incentives such as credit (a longer duration for credit), higher margins, lower interests or no interests on credit, more stocks etc. In this case, there is generally no observation like in the case of Sunfeast WRT packaging etc. because they are not concerned with that – and don’t have the skills and resources for great packaging. They are mostly concerned with pushing of sales.
