Page 134 - Marketing Management

CONDUCTING MARKETING RESEARCH | CHAPTER 4 111

will be away from home or otherwise inaccessible and must be contacted again or replaced. Other
respondents will refuse to cooperate. Still others will give biased or dishonest answers. Finally, some
interviewers will be biased or dishonest.
Internationally, one of the biggest obstacles to collecting information is the need to achieve con-
sistency. 36 Latin American respondents may be uncomfortable with the impersonal nature of the
Internet and need interactive elements in a survey so they feel they’re talking to a real person.
Respondents in Asia, on the other hand, may feel more pressure to conform and may therefore not
be as forthcoming in focus groups as online. Sometimes the solution may be as simple as ensuring
the right language is used.

Surveying and Engineering Leica Surveying and Engineering When Leica Surveying
Leica sought to gather competitive intelligence in its industry, it initially deployed surveys only in
and Engineering, a global provider of high-end surveying and measurement equipment,
English, because the company’s business was typically conducted in English, even across
several different European countries. However, the response rate was dismal, even though the
sample comprised individuals who had an affinity with the company. Closer review showed that the in-
country sales representatives conducted business in their native languages. Consequently, the company
redeployed its survey in various languages, such as Spanish and German, and the response rate doubled
almost overnight. 37

Step 4: Analyze the Information
The next-to-last step in the process is to extract findings by tabulating the data and developing
summary measures. The researchers now compute averages and measures of dispersion for the ma-
jor variables and apply some advanced statistical techniques and decision models in the hope of
discovering additional findings. They may test different hypotheses and theories, applying sensitiv-
ity analysis to test assumptions and the strength of the conclusions.

Step 5: Present the Findings
As the last step, the researcher presents findings relevant to the major marketing decisions facing
management. Researchers increasingly are being asked to play a more proactive, consulting role
38
in translating data and information into insights and recommendations. They’re also consider-
ing ways to present research findings in as understandable and compelling a fashion as possible.
“Marketing Insight: Bringing Marketing Research to Life with Personas” describes an approach
that some researchers are using to maximize the impact of their consumer research findings.
The main survey findings for the American Airlines case showed that:
1. Passengers’ chief reason for using in-flight Internet service would be to stay connected and
receive and send e-mails. Some would also pass the time surfing the Web. This entertainment
capability would require expensive broadband Internet access, but passengers stated they
would be able to charge the cost and their companies would pay.
2. At $25, about 5 out of 10 first-class passengers would use Internet service during a flight; about
6 would use it at $15. Thus, a fee of $15 would produce less revenue ($90 6 $15) than
$25 ($125 5 $25). Assuming the same flight takes place 365 days a year, American could
collect $45,625 ( $125 365) annually. Given an investment of $90,000, it would take two
years to break even.
3. Offering in-flight Internet service would strengthen the public’s image of American Airlines as
an innovative and progressive airline. American would gain some new passengers and cus-
tomer goodwill.

Step 6: Make the Decision
The American Airlines managers who commissioned the research need to weigh the evidence. If
their confidence in the findings is low, they may decide against introducing the in-flight Internet
service. If they are predisposed to launching the service, the findings support their inclination.