Page 132 - Marketing Management

CONDUCTING MARKETING RESEARCH | CHAPTER 4 109

In other parts of the world, such restrictive legislation does not
exist. Because mobile phone penetration in Africa has risen from just
1 in 50 people in 2000 to almost one-third of the population in 2008,
cell phones in Africa are used to convene focus groups in rural areas
and to interact via text messages. 25

Personal Contacts Personal interviewing is the most versatile
method. The interviewer can ask more questions and record
additional observations about the respondent, such as dress and body
language. At the same time, however, personal interviewing is the
most expensive method, is subject to interviewer bias, and requires
more administrative planning and supervision. Personal interviewing
takes two forms. In arranged interviews, marketers contact
respondents for an appointment and often offer a small payment or
incentive. In intercept interviews, researchers stop people at a
shopping mall or busy street corner and request an interview on the
In parts of the developing world
spot. Intercept interviews must be quick, and they run the risk of including nonprobability samples.
such as Africa, the widespread
Online Contacts An approach of increasing importance, the Internet offers many ways to do penetration of cell phones allows
research. A company can embed a questionnaire on its Web site and offer an incentive to answer it, them to be used to conduct
or it can place a banner on a frequently visited site such as Yahoo!, inviting people to answer some marketing research.
questions and possibly win a prize. Online product testing, in which companies float trial balloons
for new products, is also growing and providing information much faster than traditional new-
product marketing research techniques. Here is how one small business is using the Internet to
conduct research on new-product development.

Local Motors Local Motors The Web site of Local Motors of Wareham, Massachusetts, a
small-scale automaker, lets anyone upload design ideas. The site occasionally hosts compe-
titions for cash prizes of up to $10,000 in which registered members—who include trained
design engineers and transportation experts—vote on the designs they like best, or other
decisions related to building the autos and running the company. The winning ideas are then
incorporated in the cars Local Motors builds. Members remain involved after the competitions, offering
criticism and suggestions throughout the cars’ development. Local Motors has been diligent about build-
ing its car design community by marketing the site on other sites that attract design enthusiasts and ex-
perts. To make sure outside contributors do not seek compensation if their ideas are adopted, Local
Motors requires members of its online community to sign a lengthy legal agreement. 26

Marketers can also host a real-time consumer panel or virtual focus group or sponsor a chat
room, bulletin board, or blog and introduce questions from time to time. They can ask customers
to brainstorm or have followers of the company on Twitter rate an idea. Online communities and
networks of customers serve as a resource for a wide variety of companies. Insights from Kraft-
sponsored online communities helped the company develop its popular line of 100-calorie
27
snacks. Here are two other examples.
• Del Monte tapped into its 400-member, handpicked online community called “I Love My Dog”
when it was considering a new breakfast treat for dogs. The consensus request was for something
with a bacon-and-egg taste and an extra dose of vitamins and minerals. Continuing to work with
the online community throughout the product development, the company introduced fortified
“Snausage Breakfast Bites” in half the time usually required to launch a new product. 28
• InterContinental Hotel Groups uses both surveys and communities to gather data on cus-
tomer satisfaction. Online surveys provide actionable and speedy results to correct customer
service issues; the online community provides a sounding board for more in-depth, longer-
term research objectives. 29

Online research was estimated to make up 33 percent of all survey-based research in 2006,
and Internet-based questionnaires also accounted for nearly one-third of U.S. spending on market