CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

UNIT VII : CONSUMER RESEARCH

Dr.ARAVIND SOUDIKAR Ph.D.

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 7.1 ROLE OR IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH IN
UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER BEHVIOUR
The success of an organization will greatly depend on the
constant efforts made by it to identify consumers unmet
needs and match them with suitable product or service
offerings. This is where marketing research (especially
consumer behaviour research) will play a big role in
providing it.
Marketing research is the collection and analysis of data
from a sample of individuals or organizations related to
their characteristics, behaviour, attitudes, opinions or
possessions. It includes all forms of research such as
consumer and industrial survey, psychological
investigations, observations and panel studies. (Market
Research Society, 1995)

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Consumer research, as mentioned earlier has developed as
an extension to the field of marketing research with more
emphasis on the consumer behavioural aspects. The
initial thrust on studying consumer behaviour, by
marketers was done for two reasons:
• To determine as to why consumers made the purchase
decisions.
• To understand how consumers would react to
promotional messages.
It was presumed that if they (the marketers) could have
access to all the information about the consumer decision
making process, it will help them in formulating various
marketing strategies and in developing appropriate
promotional messages, which could induce consumer’s to
take a positive purchase decision.
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Consumer research is very much an integral part of the
marketing research and helps the marketer by:
• Providing information on how the consumers are
behaving at the market place.
• Using it as a means of identifying future consumer
needs or marketing opportunities.
Thus consumer research will provide marketers with
vital information, which can help to form a good
marketing information system and also while
designing more effective and meaningful marketing
strategies and programmes.

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 7.2 CONSUMER RESEARCH PROCESS
The Importance of the Consumer Research Process:
• Marketers must understand customers to design effective:
– marketing strategies
– products
– promotional messages
The Consumer Research Process:
• Secondary research
• Primary research
– Qualitative
– Quantitative

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The Consumer Research Process

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 Developing Research Objectives
• Defining purposes and objectives helps ensure an
appropriate research design.
• A written statement of objectives helps to define the
type and level of information needed.
Secondary Data:
• Data that has been collected for reasons other than the
specific research project at hand
• Includes internal and external data

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 Types of Secondary Data

Internal Data External Data

• Data generated in-house • Data collected by an outside
• May include analysis of organization
customer files • Includes federal
• Useful for calculating government, periodicals,
customer lifetime value newspapers, books, search
engines
• Commercial data is also
available from market
research firms

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Designing Primary Research

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 Qualitative Research
• Consists of depth interviews, focus groups,
metaphor analysis, collage research, and
projective techniques.
• Administered by highly trained interviewer-
analysts.
• Findings tend to be subjective.
• Small sample sizes.

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 Qualitative Collection Method
Depth Interview
• Also called one-on-one interview
• Usually 20 minutes to 1 hour
• Nonstructured
• Interviewer will often probe to get more
feedback (see following slide for probing)
• Session is usually recorded

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Probing Options for Interviews

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 Qualitative Collection Method
Focus Group
A qualitative research method in which eight to ten
persons participate in an unstructured group interview
about a product or service concept.
• 8-10 participants
• Respondents are recruited through a screener
questionnaire
• Lasts about 2 hours
• Always taped or videotaped to assist analysis
• Often held in front of two-way mirrors
• Online focus groups are growing
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 Selected Portions of a Discussion Guide
1. Why did you decide to use your current cellular
company? (Probe)
2. How long have you used you current cellular
company? (Probe)
3. Have you ever switched services? When? What
caused the change? (Probe)
4. What do you think of the overall quality of your
current service? (Probe)
5. What are the important criteria in electing a cellular
service? (Probe)

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 Qualitative Collection Method
Projective Techniques
• Research procedures designed to identify
consumers’ subconscious feelings and
underlying motivations
• Consist of a variety of disguised “tests”

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 Common Projective Exercises
Description
Word The researcher has a list of words, some of them to be studied and some
Associations just as “filler.” The researcher asks the respondent(s) to react, one-at-a
time, to each word by stating or (in a focus group setting) writing on a
pad the first word that comes to mind, and to explain the link.

Sentence The researcher has a series of incomplete sentences that the

Completion respondent(s) needs to complete with a word or phrase.

Photo/Visual The researcher creates/selects a series of photos of consumers, different

for brands or products, range of print ads, etc., to serve as stimuli. The
Storytelling respondents are asked to discuss or tell a story based on their response
to a photo or some other visual stimulus.

Role Playing Is quite similar to storytelling; however, instead of telling a story, the
participant(s) will be given a situation and asked to “act out” the role(s),
often with regard to a product or brand, or particular selling situation.

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 Qualitative Collection Method
Metaphor Analysis
• Based on belief that metaphors are the most basic method of
thought and communication
• Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) combines
collage research and metaphor analysis to bring to the surface
the mental models and the major themes or constructs that
drive consumer thinking and behavior.
• Qualitative Collection Method “Looking-In”:
• Look at information from threads and postings on social
media, including blogs and discussion forums
• Methodology to capture consumers’ experiences, opinions,
forecasts, needs, and interests

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Designing Primary Research

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 Quantitative Research
• Descriptive in nature.
• Enables marketers to “predict” consumer
behavior.
• Research methods include experiments, survey
techniques, and observation.
• Findings are descriptive, empirical and
generalizable.

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 Data Collection Methods: Observational
Research
• Helps marketers gain an in-depth understanding of the
relationship between people and products by watching them
buying and using products
• Helps researchers gain a better understanding of what the
product symbolizes
Data Collection Methods Mechanical Observational Research:
• Uses mechanical or electronic device to record consumer
behavior or response
• Consumers’ increased use of highly convenient technologies
will create more records for marketers
• Audits are a type of mechanical observation which monitor
sales

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 Data Collection Methods: Experimentation

• Can be used to test the relative sales appeal of many

types of variables
• An experiment is usually controlled with only some
variables manipulated at a time while the others are
constant
• Test markets are conducted on a single market area
• Experimentation can be conducted in laboratories or
in the field

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Survey Data Collection Methods

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 Validity and Reliability
• Validity:
The degree to which a measurement instrument
accurately reflects what it is designed to measure.
If a study has validity, it collects the appropriate data for
the study.
• Reliability:
The degree to which a measurement instrument is
consistent in what it measures.
A study has reliability if the same questions, asked of a
similar sample, produce the same findings.

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 7.3 Motivational Research
Motivational research is carried out to identify the
reasons or motives for a person’s behaviour. It is
very difficult to determine consumer motives.
However, realizing that consumer motives play a
crucial role in influencing their purchase behaviour,
marketers are using motivational techniques to
identify the purchasing motives. Since the focus is on
uncovering people’s unconscious motives
motivational research involves application of Freud’s
psychoanalytic theory to marketing. The two most
frequently used motivational research techniques in
marketing are the depth interviews and projective
techniques.
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7.4 Attitude Measurement/Attitude Scales

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 Example of a Likert Scale
• Please place the number that best indicates how strongly
you agree or disagree with each of the following statements
about shopping online in the space to the left of the
statement.
1 = Agree Strongly
2 = Agree
3 = Neither Agree or Disagree
4 = Disagree
5 = Disagree Strongly

_____ a. It is fun to shop online.

_____ b. Products often cost more online.
_____ c. It is a good way to find out about new products.

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Semantic Differential Profiles of Three Pay-
Per-Movie Services
Poor

4
Neutral

3 DVD

Digital
2 Cable
DIVX
Excellent

1
Availability

Number of

Clarity of
Ease of
Access
Cost

Picture
Titles

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 Rank-Order Scales

Rank the following computer manufacturers in terms of

hotline help by placing a 1 next to the one who provides
the best telephone help, a 2 next to the second best, until
you have ranked all six.

_____ IBM _____Hewlett Packard

_____ Dell _____ Gateway
_____ Compaq _____ NEC

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7.5 Customer Satisfaction Measurement

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 Customer Satisfaction Measurement
• Customer Satisfaction Surveys
– Gap Analysis of Expectations versus Experience
• Mystery Shoppers
• Customer Complaint Analysis
• Critical Incident Technique
Product / Service Evaluation:
• Quality is what customer perceives to be.
• Customer needs goes on changes
• Quality level needs are to be improved
accordingly.
• ASQ survey ranked six customer perceptions.

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1. Performance
 Fitness for use
 Product/ service is ready for use.
 Availability
 Reliability
 Maintainability
2. Features
 Secondary character
 Extra facilities
3. Service
 Provide the service at right time, even though
the customer don’t complaint.

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4. Warranty
 Represents a promise of a quality product.
 Force the org to focus on customer needs.
 Forces the org to correct the action system.
 It attracts and build the market
5. Price
 Nowadays customer is ready to give high price
towards Quality.
 Expects to get good product in lower price.
 Customer’s perception of value is continuously
changing.
 To Succeed the org should identify, verify the
perception of value.

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6. Reputation
 Customer wills to buy product from a known
company.
 Reputation brings market to the Org.
 So org should strive for customer for life.
Customer Feedback:
• Comment Card.
• Customer Questionnaire.
• Focus Groups.
• Toll Free Telephone No.
• Customer Visits.
• Report Card.
• Internet & Computer.
• Employee Feedback.
• Customer complaints
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 Sampling and Data Collection
• Samples are a subset of the population used to
estimate characteristics of the entire population.
• A sampling plan addresses:
– Whom to survey
– How many to survey
– How to select them
• Researcher must choose probability or
nonprobabililty sample.

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 Probability Sampling Designs

Simple random Every member of the population has a known

sample and equal chance of being selected.
Systematic A member of the population is selected at
random sample random and then every “nth” person is
Stratified random selected.
The population is divided into mutually
sample exclusive groups (such as age groups), and
random samples are drawn from each group.
Cluster (area) The population is divided into mutually
sample exclusive groups (such as blocks), and the
researcher draws a sample of the groups to
interview.
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 Nonprobability Sampling Designs
Convenience The researcher selects the most accessible
sample population members from whom to obtain
information (e.g., students in a classroom)

Judgment sample The researcher uses his or her judgment to

select population members who are good
sources for accurate information (e.g., experts
in the relevant field of study).

Quota sample The researcher interviews a prescribed

number of people in each of several
categories (e.g., 50 men and 5 women).

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 Data Analysis and Reporting Findings
• Open-ended questions are coded and quantified.
• All responses are tabulated and analyzed.
• Final report includes executive summary, body,
tables, and graphs.

--------WISH YOU ALL THE BEST--------

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