460 MKTG Sec 003 Winter 2009 Solutions Week 2
Directions
Copy and insert the results from any computer program you use, such as R, into the same, single document in which your interpretation and other commentary appear. Turn in this single document as your homework assignment, probably on paper. If you do email, turn in as a single document in pdf format, and include 460 in the subject line along with the Homework number, listed above by week. No matter if turned in on paper or email, turn in the complete assignment in one document. Make sure to attach the accompanying cover sheet at the beginning of the document. Place all questions and other comments on this cover sheet. Note: Some of these answers will take more than a few sentences, but the intention is never more than a paragraph. This will be the longest short answer homework of the term. In future weeks we will start adding some data analysis part and cover less reading material in the text each week.
Short Answer
Ch 3 Review Questions, p81
1: 3-1. Identify ways in which new technology is changing the way in which businesses conduct marketing research. Technology changes how companies define research problems and specify research objectives. Innovations in technology are determining the most effective research designs and the best data sources to use in achieving research objectives. Technology changes the sampling of participants, scale measurement designs, and questionnaires, and expedites the data collection process. The process of compiling, storing, and analyzing data, and disseminating results is more precise and user-friendly.
2: 3-2. Explain what an Enterprise Information Portal is, and how they are used in marketing research.
1
An Enterprise Information Portal (EIP) is an Internet site owned and operated by an organization to support its total business operation. It is often referred to as a dashboard and it serves as a single point of connection between a business, its supply chain partners, and customers. It organizes information and uses indexes and visual presentation. 3: 3-3. What is the difference between Transactional Customer Data and Analytical Customer Data. Provide an example on how each type of data is used. Transactional customer data includes all the information contained in a strategic business unit, whose purpose is to support the daily operations of that unit. It might include hotel or airline reservations, purchases from an online store, and so on. It can be used to generate sales reports, facilitate inventory control procedures, and enable tracking of product and service sales. Analytical customer data is customer data used in performing analyses as the basis for managerial decision making. It includes market and industry trends, competitor information, and macroenvironmental changes, as well as transactional customer data. It is used in making planning decisions like whether to expand product lines, move into new market segments, evaluate new distribution methods, or reposition a current brand. 4: 3-4. Illustrate how Biometrics and Smartcards can be used to provide businesses with information about their customers. Biometrics refers to the automatic identification of a person based on his/her physiological or behavioral characteristics. It determines authenticity based on physiological and behavioral traits. A smart card is a pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits that can process information about people. Together, the smart card and biometric technologies have a substantial advantage over past information gathering systems because they provide a macro view of what has taken place. 5: 3-5. Discuss some of the unique features associated with SPSS Dimensions 4.0. SPSS Dimensions 4.0 is a platform of several independent software packages that work together seamlessly. It can perform the following tasks: 1) automated dialing for phone, 2) creation and execution of online, phone, and paper surveys, 3) scanning of paper surveys, 4) managing and manipulating data, 5) creation of tables from local data, 6) interaction with tables on the desktop, 7) translation of surveys and reports, 8) collection of data via handheld devices, 9) data analysis, including data mining, and 10) preparation of reports and presentations. The most unique feature is its multimodal deployment capability enabling potential respondents to answer surveys via any data collection mode.
2
6: 3-6. Explain how the concepts of Data Warehousing and Data Marts operate in providing customer information to businesses. A data warehouse is a logical aggregation of information stored in a single data location. A data mart contains all types of data included in a data warehouse but in a format relating to only one product of a company. They enable managers to use the data for further analysis and decision making. The data warehouse sends subsets of customer information to data marts. The information is multidimensional and enables the development of customer profiles and buying behavior across products or brands. 7: 3-7. Explain the differences between a Push and Pull Portal Environment as they relate to the communication of marketing research results. A push portal is one in which the research firm pushes the marketing research information to the client. Emailing a report is an example of a push portal. A pull portal is one used by the client to search and extract only the information the client wants.
Questions from Class
8. Describe some characteristics of the graphics on a typical, well-designed web page for product display on a company's on-line catalog. A successful product page usually includes one or more relatively small photos of the product along with a short, concise description with lots of keywords to help identify the site. The photos provide alternative views of the product. Pop-up's of different and/or larger photos, as well as sources of additional information, should also be provided. 9. Define web analytics and provide two examples of the type of information provided by this analysis. Web analytics is the analysis of how users interact with a web site. This analysis includes the page at which the site was entered and left, the amount of time spent on each page, the previous and next pages relative to the given page, the type of browser and screen characteristics, the location in the world from which the site was viewed, and an analysis of the keywords used to locate the site. 10. What is the distinction between organic and sponsored keywords. What are the relative costs involved to funnel these clicks to your website of interest? 3
Organic keywords are the search words entered by the user which results in a list of web pages indexed by the search engine that contain these words. Sponsored keywords are those, that when entered by the user, result in a display of paid links. Clicking on a link from an organic keyword costs the company nothing. When the user clicks on a link that is sponsored, the company which operates the targeted web site pays anywhere from five cents to a dollar or more.
Ch 3 Hands-On Exercise, p79
11: 3-1. Which new technology developments are likely to impact the restaurant industry the most? Student opinions will vary. Restaurants could utilize Smart Cards to better track customer behavior, particularly for chain restaurants. Web site analytics would be useful for understanding how people are using restaurant websites (for information on menu items, nutritional information, directions and so on). The two combined could be useful for determining whether web site traffic results in restaurant traffic. Social networking has already been used successfully by some local restaurants as a tool for promoting special events and this may be useful for Santa Fe Grill as well. 12: 3-2. In your opinion which two technological developments are most likely to help the owners of the Santa Fe Grill research ways to improve their business? Explain your choice. For research purposes, the Smart Cards would enable behavior tracking of customers and the information could then be used to evaluate the menu, plan specials, staff during busy and slow times, and other operational decisions. Likewise, the web site analytics would also offer information on operational and promotional decisions.
Ch 4 Review Questions, p110
13: 4-1. How have advances in Internet and telecommunication technologies impacted database marketing activities leading to market intelligence programs? Technology provides the platform for turning customer data into customer knowledge. Advances in Internet and related technologies are the driving force behind the successful acquisition, recording, integration, storing, and sharing of information by many businesses today. In short, information technology plays a pivotal role enabling companies to maximize profitability through precise targeting of market segments Information technology drives the collection of customer data relating to demographics, billings, transactions, satisfaction levels, and service quality. These data are combined with additional primary and
4
secondary data, integrated, and stored in a centralized data warehouse where they are then analyzed with data mining tools. 14: 4-2. What is market intelligence research and why are many companies undertaking this type of research? Market intelligence research refers to research insights based on mining and modeling data collected from and about customers and their behaviors. It enables firms to responds to individual needs and wants and to nurture long-term relationships. Market intelligence based on database research ensures long-term profitability and survival for both product and service businesses. 15: 4-5. should not have been assigned 16: 4-8. nonexistent
Ch 5 Review Questions, p148
17: 5-1. What process would a researcher undertake to determine whether research secondary would the best approach for gathering data to address a decision maker's problem or opportunity? A researcher would ask the following questions. If the answers are yes, then secondary data can be used. Can the data help answer the specified research questions? Are the data relevant to the time period and population of interest? Is the unit of measurement comparable to the current situation? Can the original source of the data be accessed? Are data acquisition costs reasonable? Can data bias be accessed? Can data collection accuracy be verified? If accuracy cannot be verified, should the data be used?
5
18: 5-2. What role should secondary information research designs play in marketing research today? At a minimum secondary research can inform the development of primary research designs including better defining the problem, determining the best approach, and developing scales and measurement. It may also be that secondary research can address the problem, eliminating the need for primary research. 19: 5-3. What are the various reasons to conduct a literature review? There are several reasons for conducting a literature review:
Literature reviews can help clarify and define the problem or questions. It can uncover existing studies on the topic. It can suggest research hypotheses to investigate. It can identify scales to measure variables. It can suggest possible designs. It can suggest explanations for findings regarding primary data.
20: 5-4. What are the major sources of information for a literature review? What are the advantages and limitations of using these sources? There are several sources of information for a literature review including databases and Internet searches. Newspapers, magazines, journals, trade publications, and government data are all possible sources of information for a literature review. These can be identified through Internet. 21: 5-6. What are the general steps involved in conducting any type of secondary research project? Exhibit 5.2 offers guidelines for conducting literature reviews. Step 1: Identify relevant literature to review for topic. Step 2: Analyze literature and sources. Step 3: Analyze quantitative research literature/sources (if needed). Step 4: Analyze qualitative research literatures/sources (if needed). Step 5: Prepare tables that summarize literature sources. 6
Step 6: Synthesize literature prior to writing a review. Step 7: Write first draft of the review. Step 8: Check style, mechanics, and language usage.
Ch 6 Review Questions, p201
22: 6-1. What are the major differences between quantitative and qualitative methods? What skills must a researcher have to develop and implement each type of design? There are several characteristics that can be used to compare and contrast these two research methods. As an example, the "type" of research done by a researcher in the qualitative arena normally consists of exploratory designs, where quantitative methods focus on descriptive and causal frameworks. The types of questions used in quantitative methodologies are mostly structured, where qualitative research methods used open-ended, unstructured, semi-structured queries with deep probing techniques. In order to develop and implement qualitative methodologies a researcher needs to respect and be trained in interpersonal communication and be willing to open themselves (and their management team) to interpretation. Finally, the information collected from in-depth interviews, ZMET sessions, and focus groups tends to be metaphorical and subjective. Therefore, the analysis associated with any qualitative project is more protracted and complex than quantitative data analysis. Quantitative methods require a researcher to "be on the same page" as management when developing and implementing the design since the problems and opportunities are well defined. Communication and interpretation take center stage with qualitative research; survey design and administration are more critical for the researcher with quantitative research. Researchers need to be skilled in statistical data analysis skills, sampling, construct development and scale measurement. Finally, researchers need to provide managers with something of "value" and therefore need to be able to translate complex data structures into a meaningful narrative a decision-maker can use to address a strategic problem or opportunity. 23: 6-2. Compare and contrast the unique characteristics, main research objectives, and advantages/disadvantages of the in-depth and focus group interviewing techniques. Focus group and in-depth interviewing techniques have some characteristics in common, and part company on a number of important levels. First, it's important to note that both focus groups and in-depth interviewing techniques make use of probing questions as a mechanism to get more information from the subject(s). As well, in-depth interviews and focus groups are similar in that researchers can collect attitudinal and behavioral data that 7
spans the past, present, and future. Interpersonal communication skills and the ability to be able to "listen well" are characteristics shared by interviewers whether the questions are raised in an in-depth interview or focus group. The setting for the focus group, however, is often different than an in-depth interview. An in-depth interview may take place in a manager's office, or over the phone. Focus groups, on the other hand, may occur in seminar rooms in a hotel, on-line or in a facility equipped with pivot cameras and microphones. Finally, focus groups can include 8-12 people (4-6 if conducted online) where an in-depth interview is always "one-on-one." The main objective of in-depth interviews is to have a respondent communicate as much detail as possible about his/her knowledge and behavior toward a given object or topic. The pros...