(2) Consumer research has developed from the more general field of market research.

It is a field
of study that has been influenced by researchers and practitioners in several other fields, including
psychology, sociology, and anthropology.
(3) Here we see an overview of the consumer research process that a typical marketer might follow
when conducting research. As you can see, the marketer will first develop objectives to guide their
research. Next comes the collection of secondary data which we will learn is data that is available
because it had been collected previous to the marketers particular research. In the next phase, the
marketer branches to both qualitative and quantitative research. In each of these areas, the
marketer collects and analyzes data and then presents it in either a written report, a presentation, or
both.
(4) Information can be classified as either primary or secondary. Secondary information is
information that has been collected for another purpose. It is already available to the researcher
often for a fee. Primary research can be either qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative research
includes focus groups and in-depth interviews. The more numerically-oriented quantitative research
includes observational research, experimentation, and survey research.
(5) Zindagi Ke Objectives
(6) Before jumping into primary data collection, a researcher will collect all the relevant secondary
data that is available.
(7) Secondary data is readily available. As an employee of a company, you may have access to the
companys internal records and databases, which are rich with customer, intermediary, and
company data. Some schools supply access to commercial data including Nielsen, Arbitron, SRDS,
and MRI/Mediamark.
(8) Qualitative research is a great way to begin your primary research. It is extremely helpful in
identifying attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs about your product. Because these methods generally use
small samples, qualitative research techniques are often followed by quantitative processes.
(9) Depth interviews provide important information for targeting, positioning, and product redesign.
They can be as short as 20 minutes or last up to an hour. The interview is often recorded, either with
video or audio recordings so that the interviewer can play it back or transcribe the session to have all
the details. To get the most from the subject, an interviewer will usually ask probing questions
in order to gain more insights from the subject.
(10) Whereas one-on-one interviews are conducted directly with the interviewer and a respondent, a
focus group uses a small group of subjects for the research. Some researchers favor this approach
because the respondents interact with each other and build off of each others comments. A
disadvantage of focus groups is that participants might not always be honest and are less willing to
expose private thoughts and personal views due to the presence of other members
(11) Projective techniques have their roots in psychoanalytic theory and practice. As a group, they
tap into the consumers unconscious associations and motivations. There are a variety of these
techniques and they are generally administered one-on-one with the respondent in a closed setting.
(12) Here are four of the most common projective exercises. You can see by the description of the
techniques that it is often important that the researcher does not tell the subject the nature of the
study. Many of these theories are based on the fact that people cannot easily locate and verbalize
their true feelings toward a product category or brand.
(13) It is believed that much of communication is nonverbal and that people do not think as much in
words as they do in images. Given this, they also use metaphors at the root of their thoughts and
communication. The Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique is based on this use of metaphors.
In these studies, respondents are asked to find pictures that describe their thoughts, feelings, and

beliefs about products, companies, and brands. The results are then combined to see if there are
common themes or constructs that consumers mention in their results.
(14) Quantitative research findings are descriptive and empirical. Unlike qualitative research, they
can often be generalized to larger populations. Quantitative research helps marketers predict
future needs, trends, and levels of satisfaction and are heavily used in research. Observation and
experimentation can often be done without the subjects input but a survey always needs direct
cooperation from the subject.
(15) In observational research, the researcher does not interact with the subject but watches their
actions and behavior. Observation research can be done in stores, in malls, and in peoples homes.
Observation research is very helpful in uncovering problems with a product as well as to gain ideas
for product improvements and new products. This type of research is often done to understand how
people interact with the product, each other, the design of the stores, and complementary products.
(16) Mechanical observation research eliminates the need for a trained observer gathering data on
behaviors. These mechanical tools can count and record customer behavior. Examples of mechanical
observation methods are electronic traffic counters, videotape technology, and meters. In addition, a
customers usage of frequent shopper cards at stores will help provide data to the retailers and brand
managers. Researchers working in this area must always respect the consumers right to privacy.
(17) Experimentation is useful for researchers in testing variables, including package design,
alternative price points, and promotional offers. It is helpful for understanding cause-and-effect
situations like the change in sales that is associated with a coupon. An example of an experiment
might be to find out how much the use of a celebrity endorser will affect sales. Experiments can be
carried out in the field as is the case for test markets. Test markets involve bringing the product to
market in only one area and then measuring customer response. With this limited roll-out, marketers
can decide if a national campaign and introduction make sense for their product. Experiments can
also take place in a lab, on the Internet, and by using virtual reality methods. These more remote
types of experiments are growing in usage because they are very cost efficient for marketers.
(18) These are the four major survey methods. This table summarizes their advantages and
disadvantages. As you can see, they differ in their speed, costs, response rate three very important
factors to consider when designing market research. Online surveys are becoming increasingly
popular because they are easy to use, inexpensive, and can reach very spread-out respondents.
(19) It is important for research to be both valid and reliable. It is only with these two
characteristics that you can ensure that the data you have collected is useful for the purpose and can
be expanded from the sample to the population. Validity asks the question of whether the data is
really applying to the objectives you have set and reliability tells you, the researcher, if the results
would be repeated if conducted on a similar group at the same time.
(20) Attitude scales are used to help researchers understand evaluations of certain product and
brand attributes. The four scales in this slide are the most commonly used attitude scales. In
general, these scales are easy to administer and provide excellent information for the researcher. You
have probably taken many surveys that were full of attitude scales.
(21) (cybernet example)
(22) It is almost always impossible to get information from every member of the population. This is
why marketers need to use a sample of the population. To determine the sample a researcher will
use, it is important to put together a sampling plan which includes the details on whom to survey,
how many to survey, and how the survey respondents will be chosen. Once this is decided,
the marketer can choose a probability or nonprobability sample. The basic difference between these
two types of samples is that in a probability sample, every member of the population has a chance of
being selected as opposed to a probability sample, where the researcher uses their judgment to
select the respondents for the sample.

(23) The responses from qualitative research are analyzed in addition to the results of the
quantitative research. For survey data, the open-ended responses are coded so that they can be
entered into a spreadsheet or analysis software. Once all the data is entered, it is tabulated and then
analyzed. The final step of the research process is to put together a report. In addition to the
executive summary, body, tables, and graphs, the research report might include strategic
recommendations based on the research findings.