Lecture Marketing research - Chapter 6: Primary data collection: Observation

This chapter include objectives: To develop a basic understanding of observation research, to learn the approaches to observation research, to understand the advantages and disadvantages of observation research, to explore the types of human observation,...

Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Primary Data Collection: Observation

3 To understand the advantages and

disadvantages of observation research.

4 To explore the types of human observation.

Learning Objectives

5 To understand the types of machine

observation and their advantages and

disadvantages.

6 To explore the tremendous impact of

scanner-based research on the marketing research industry.

7 To learn about observation research on the

internet

Observation Research Defined

The systematic recording of patterns of occurrence or

behaviors without communicating with the people

involved

Conditions for Using Observation

• The information must be observable

• The behavior must be repetitive

• Short duration

Approaches to Observation Research

•Natural Versus Contrived Situations

•Open Versus Disguised Observation

To develop a basic understanding

of observational research.

The Nature of

Observation Research

To learn about the various types of firms and their functions in

People watching phenomena

Machines watching people

Machines watching phenomena

Observer stationed at intersection counts traffic.

Video-cameras record consumers selecting frozen foods to determine popularity of choice.

Traffic-counting machines monitor the flow of traffic through an intersection.

•Structured Versus Unstructured

•Human Versus Machine Observers

•Direct Versus Indirect

Advantages of Observation Research

• We can see what people actually do

• Avoids interviewer bias

• Quick data collection

Disadvantages of Observation Research

• Researcher does not learn motives

• Time-consuming and expensive

To understand the advantages and disadvantages of observational

research.

The Nature of

Observation Research

Ethnographic Research

• From anthropology

• Recording people in their natural settings

Mystery Shoppers

• To gather observational data about a store

• To collect data about customer/employee interactions

To explore the types of human observation.

Human Observation

Four variations of mystery shopper:

Level 1 - a mystery telephone call

Level 2 - a quick purchase, little or no interaction Level 3 - using a script, initiates a conversation

Level 4 - requires excellent communication and

knowledge of product

To explore the types of human observation.

Human Observation

Human Observation To explore the types of human

observation.

Measuring employee training: most common use of

mystery shoppers

• Phase 1—evaluate existing customer service

• Phase 2—evaluations analyzed and training program

developed

• Phase 3—shoppers return to evaluate the customer

service post-training

Preparing for New Competition

• Evaluation of the strengths and weakness

Monitoring the Competition

• Comparing one’s own store with that of a competitors

Recognizing Good Employees

• Recognizing employees who provide customers with outstanding service builds employee morale and better customer satisfaction

To explore the types of human observation.

Human Observation

One Way Mirror Observations

• Clients to observe the group discussion

Shopper Patterns and Behavior

• Tracing the flow of shoppers

To explore the types of human observation.

Human Observation

• GSR: galvanic skin response

• Pupilometer: pupil dilation

• Voice Pitch Analysis: measures emotion

To describe the types of machine observation.

Machine Observation

Opinion and Behavior Measurement

• Radio Listenership Track

MOBILTRAK

• Peole Reader

• Rapid Analysis Measurement (RAMS)

• The People Meter

To describe the types of machine observation.

Machine Observation

Scanner Based Research

Television Meters Laser Scanners

- Shopping with an ID card

- Impact of new advertising?

- Minimize media costs?

• InfoScan Tracking Service

• All store scanner data system

• More than 31,000 stores

• InfoScan Tracking

• to benchmark retailer performance against other

retailers in same area

To describe the types of machine observation.

Machine Observation

To learn about the various types of firms and their functions in

IRI field personnel visually surveys stores Sent to IRI

Panel members are selected for television monitoring Sent to IRI

Shopper’s Hotline

A multi-outlet panel of 55,000 households

• IRI’s Software

• Decision-making software

• The Future of Scanning

• Will analyze individual household consumption

To describe the types of machine observation.

Machine Observation

Predictive Networks

• Software to track every site a Web surfer visits

• Builds a digital silhouette or profile

• Plans to target news content based on user’s profile

Vividence Corporation

• Recruits Web surfers to fill out a profile sheet which

includes demographic and lifestyle information

• Uses it’s database to evaluate Web sites

• The Nature of Observation Research

• Human Observation

• Observation Research on the Internet

• Machine Observation

SUMMARY

The End

Copyright © 2004, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.