7/28/2019 MKT 512

1/12

1

USCMarshallSchool

MKT512:MARKETINGANDCONSUMERRESEARCH

ProfessorDinaMayzlin

Spring2013

Office:

HoffmanHall,

Room

619

Email:mayzlin@marshall.usc.edu

OfficeHours:Mon,Wed1112:00

AdministrativeAssistant:RuthJoya

rsantiag@marshall.usc.edu

CourseDescription

IntheCoreCourse,youlearnedabouttheimportanceofmarketsegmentation,targetingandpositioningin

formulatingmarketingstrategies.Butasamarketingstrategyconsultantorasabrandmanager,youarefacedwith

thequestion:Howdoesoneimplementthesestrategiesinpractice?

This

course

will

introduce

you

to

qualitative

and

quantitative

research

methodologies

that

are

critical

in

obtainingtherelevantmarketinformationtoaidmanagerialdecisionmaking. Thefirstpartofthecoursefocuseson

thedatacollectionprocess:bothexploratorymethods(suchasfocusgroupsandethnography)anddescriptive

methods(surveydesign). Thesecondpartofthecoursecoversmethodsofdataanalysis,suchasdiscriminantand

logitanalysis,clusteranalysis,factoranalysisandconjointanalysis.Thefinalprojectinvolvesallaspectsofthe

marketresearchprocess:conductingfocusgroups,designingaquestionnaire,collectingandanalyzingthedata.

LearningOutcomes

Thelearningoutcomesofthecourseareto:

Conductingexploratorymarketresearch:designingafocusgroupquestionnaire,conductingafocusgroup,collectingqualitativedataonline.

Conductingdescriptivemarketresearch:designingaquestionnairebasedoninterviewsanddatacollection,collectingwordofmouthdataonline.

Analyzingdata:marketsegmentationandtargetingtechniques(discriminantanalysis,factoranalysis,clusteranalysis),productdesigntechniques(conjointanalysis).

Drawingconsumerinsightsfromresearchfindings.CourseMaterials

LectureNotes(postedoncoursewebsite)required Readingpacketrequired Aaker,Kumar,Leone,andDay(2012),MarketingResearch(11th Edition),JohnWiley&Sonsoptional

CourseMethodology

Thecourseintroduceskeymarketresearchconceptsandtechniques. Thestudentslearnthroughclasslectures,

classnotesaswellashandsonassignments:cases,statisticalanalysisusingMinitabsoftware,aswellasagroup

project. Theprojectinvolvesallaspectsofmarketresearch:1)formulatingahypothesis,2)conductingqualitative

research,3)surveydesign,4)dataanalysis,and5)drawinginsightsfromthefindings.

7/28/2019 MKT 512

2/12

2

Grading

1) IndividualParticipation:10%2) Homeworksandcases:50%3) FinalProject:40%

LaptoporOtherCommunicationDevices

Youarerequiredtobringalaptoptosomeclasses(youwillbetoldinadvancewhichones)inordertoperform

statisticalanalysisinclass. Inallotherclassesallcommunicationdevices(includinglaptops,cellphones,etc)arenot

allowed.

LectureNotes(postedoncoursewebsite)required Readingpacketrequired Aaker,Kumar,Leone,andDay(2012),MarketingResearch(11th Edition),JohnWiley&Sonsoptional

AttendanceandParticipation

Attendance is expected. Class lectures are crucial to learning the material. You may miss up to two classes without

providing me with an excuse. Only excused medical absences are allowed beyond that. You are encouraged toparticipate in class, and there will be some cold-calling.

HomeworkAssignments

Homeworkassignmentsaregiventohelpyougaindeeperunderstandingofthematerialscoveredinclass.Youwill

alsogainconfidence in implementingtheanalysistechniquesonacomputer.While it isacceptable todiscuss theassignmentsandsolutionstrategieswithotherstudents,eachstudentmustdotheanalysisontheirownandsubmitindependentworktobegraded.Itisnotacceptabletodotheassignmentsjointlyandthensubmittheoutputofthegroupasindividualassignments.Assignmentsmustbeturnedinontheduedatesspecifiedinthesyllabus.Exceptintheeventofadocumentedmedicaldifficulty,lateassignmentswillnotbeaccepted.Homeworkassignmentsareall

postedonline.

CaseWriteUps

Similarlytohomeworkassignments,casewriteupsshouldbedoneindividually. (Discussingcaseswithclassmatesis

acceptable).Thecasequestionsaregivenbelow. Pleaseanswerallquestionsinyourwriteup.

Case:BostonFightsDrugs

Q1:Whatdidyouthinkoftheteamsmodeltofightdrugabuse?

Q2:Whatdoyouthinkofthedesignoftheprescreeningquestionnaireandfocusgroupinterviewprotocols?

Q3:Doyouagreewiththeteamsconclusionsonpage10,giventhedata?

Q4:Aretherealternativeconclusionstobedrawnfromthesameexhibits?

Case:TheSpringfieldNoreasters

Q1:WhatistheMDPandMRPofthecase?

Q2:Whatdoyouconsidertobethekeyfindingsoftheresearchsurvey?CommentonwhatBuckinhamlearned

aboutaprospectivecustomerprofile,pricing,andsingleticketversusseasonticketpackages.Whatconsiderations

7/28/2019 MKT 512

3/12

3

shouldtheNoreasterstakeintoaccountinestablishingapricepolicy?

Q3:DesignaticketpricingplanfortheNoreastersfirstseason. Beveryspecific,andbepreparedtoexplainthe

assumptions. Howshouldticketpricingvarybypackagetype?

Q4:UsingthepriceplanyouhavedesignedandgivenBuckinghamsassumptionsaboutconcessionsales(i.e.,39%

profitmargin

on

page

4),

will

the

team

reach

breakeven

in

the

first

year?

If

not,

what

options

does

Buckingham

have

toreachhistarget?

MinitabSoftware

MinitabisavailabletoMarshallcommunitythroughBusinessVirtualLab.

(https://apps.marshall.usc.edu/Citrix/XenApp/auth/login.aspx).WewilluseMinitabinclass,whichmeansthatyou

willhavetobringyourlaptopstothoseclasseswherewewillbeusingthesoftware.

GroupProject

Thecourse

involves

agroup

project

involving

teams

of

three

to

four.

Each

group

will

work

on

amodest

sized

marketingresearchstudyfortheirproject.Theprimaryobjectiveoftheprojectistoprovideyouwithexperiencein

applyingtheconceptsandmethodsofmarketingresearchtoarealmarketingproblem.

Theprojectwillbecompletedinfourstages:

Stage 1 Defining the Decision Problem and Research Problem: This will involve defining the marketing decision

problem facedbythemanager (e.g.,whatmarket toenter,what featurestooffer inaproduct)andtheresearch

problem (what informationwillbeneeded tohelpanswer themanagersquestion).Youshouldalsooutlineyour

broadresearchstrategy(e.g.,segmentationstudy,conjointstudy)forthisproject.

Stage 2 Exploratory Research: Develop a discussion guide for the focus group or indepth interviews for your

exploratoryresearch;

Stage3QuestionnaireDesign:Thiswill involvedevelopingaquestionnaire (thiswillbebasedonyourexploratory

researchfindings),pretestingitandrefiningthequestionnairebasedonyourpretests.

Stage4DataCollection,AnalysisandRecommendations: Thiswillinvolvecollectingthedata,analyzingthedataand

submittingthefinalreportwithrecommendations.

AdetaileddescriptionofthegroupprojectisprovidedinAppendixAC.Summariesofthethreestagesareprovided

below:

Stage1

Thegroupmustdecideonanorganizationandproduct/servicethatwillbefocusofitsresearch,anddecideonthe

decisionproblemandresearchobjectives.Ideally,speaktoadecisionmakerintheorganizationtogetasenseofa

strategicproblemthatmightbeofimportancetohim/her.Thispersoncouldbeavaluableresourceasyouproceed

furtherwithyourresearchforconsultation.

Stage2

Thegroupwilldevelopadiscussionguidefor itsfocusgroupsor indepth interviews for issues itneedsadditional

informationbeforeconductingasurvey.

7/28/2019 MKT 512

4/12

4

Stage3

The group then conducts either a focus group or depth interviews (see Appendix B for details) and prepares a

summaryofthefindings.Basedonthesefindings,thegroupwill identifyasetof informationneedsforthesurvey,

anddesignaquestionnaire. Thequestionnaireshouldbepretestedandthenmodified.

Stage4

Oncethequestionnairehasbeenfinalized,thegroupmustadministerthequestionnairetoatleast40respondents,

inputthedataintoacomputersystem,analyzethedata,andwriteareport(seeAppendixCforguidelinesonwriting

thereport).

_______________________________________________________________________

DetailedSchedule

ClassTopic Assignments ProjectTask

1 Mon 1/14 Introduction Read:"SpendADayintheLifeofYour

Customers"(HBR94103)

PickProjectTeam

1.ExploratoryResearch

2 Wed 1/16 FocusGroup Read:"DevelopingQuestionsforFocus

Groups","OutofFocus"

Comeupw/topic

ideas

Mon 1/21 NOCLASS

Comeupw/topic

ideas

Tues 1/22 Discuss2or3topicideas

3 Wed 1/23 FocusGroupCaseStudy Prep:BostonFightsDrugs FocusgroupdiscussioguideDue:CaseWriteUp

4 Mon 1/28 Speaker:BillDavis,CEOofDavisResearch FGdiscussionguide

Tues 1/29 Talkaboutdiscussionguide Due:FocusGroupDiscussionGuide

2.DescriptiveResearch

5 Wed 1/30 QuestionnaireDesignI Prep:QuestionnaireCase1 ConductFocusGroup

Interviews

6 Mon 2/4 Speaker:AdriannCocker,Sr.StrategicPlanneratGriecoGroup ConductFGInterview

Tues 2/5 Talkaboutfocusgroupresults

7 Wed 2/6 Case:TheSpringfield

Nor'easters

Prep:TheSpringfieldNor'easters; Workonquestionnair

Due:CaseWriteUp

8 Mon 2/11 QuestionnaireDesignII:

AttitudeMeasurement

Prep:QuestionnaireCase2

Workon

questionnaire

Tues 2/12 Talkaboutquestionnaire Due:QuestionnaireDraft

9 Wed 2/13 IdentifyingCustomerNeeds Read:"UnderstandingUserNeeds,"

"TheOneNumberYouNeedto

Revisequestionnaire

7/28/2019 MKT 512

5/12

5

Grow"

3.QuantitativeResearch

10 Mon 2/18 QuestionnairePreTest;

HypothesisTesting

Read:Chp17pp452458,Chp18,

pp471481

11 Wed 2/20 RegressionI Read:Chp19 Revisequestionnaire

Due:Revised

Questionnaires

12 Mon 2/25 RegressionApplications Due:Homework1(HypothesisTesting) CollectData

13 Wed 2/27 DiscriminantAnalysis

Read:Chp20:540553,Lecture

Notes CollectData

14 Mon 3/4 LogisticRegression Read:LectureNotes CollectData

Due:Homework2(Regression)

15 Wed 3/6 FactorAnalysis

Read:Ch21:561573,Lecture

Notes CollectData

16 Mon 3/11 FactorAnalysis:Perceptual

Mapping

Read:Ch22:592598,LectureNotes CollectData

Due:Homework3(Prediction)

17 Wed 3/13 Review CollectData

Mon 3/18

SpringBreakWed 3/20

18 Mon 3/25 ClusterAnalysisRead

Ch

21:

574

585,

Lecture

Notes Analyzedata

Due:Homework4(FactorAnalysis)

19 Wed 3/27

Cluster:Groupinginto

Segments Analyzedata

19 Mon 4/1 ConjointAnalysis

Read:Ch22:603611,Lecture

Notes Analyzedata

20 Wed 4/3 FractionalFactorialConjoint

Design,

Segmenting

the

Market

Read:LectureNotes Analyzedata

Due:Homework5(ClusterAnalysis)

21 Mon 4/8 Speaker:HilaryBienstock,PrincipalatHilaryUserExperience Analyzedata

Tues 4/9 Talkaboutdataanalysis

22 Wed 4/10

Listeningtothecustomer

online: Read:NMInciteWhitePaper,BlueFin

TechReview(gotobluefinlabs.com)

Analyzedata

TheoryandExamples

7/28/2019 MKT 512

6/12

6

Due:Homework6(ConjointAnalysis)

23 Mon 4/15 SettingupanOnlineTracking

System

Prep:Communispace WriteReport

24 Wed 4/17 Speaker:DavidSchrader,DirofMrktgandStrategyatTeradata WriteReport

25 Mon 4/22 OnlineExperimentation Read:bit.ly/TCU0I1 PreparePresentation

Due:Homework7(OnlineListening)

26 Wed 4/24 Review PreparePresentation

27 Mon 4/29 Presentations

28 Wed 5/1 Presentations Due:FinalReport

7/28/2019 MKT 512

7/12

7

AppendixA

GuidelinesfortheGroupProject

Overview

Theproject isintendedtoprovideyouwithfirsthandresearchexperienceandto illustratetheconcepts

andmethodsdiscussedintheclassroom. Itinvolves:

(a) selectingaproductorservicethatisbeingofferedbyanorganization(oranewproduct/servicethattheorganizationmaywishtooffer),

(b) identifyingsomemarketingdecisionthatneedstobemaderegardingthisproduct/service,suchasproductpositioningortargetmarketdefinition,

(c) determiningtheinformationneededtomakethatdecision,(d) designingaquestionnairetoobtainthenecessaryinformation,(e) collecting,codingandanalyzingthedata,and(f) writingareportandpresentingthefindings.

Therearemanydifferenttypesofstudiesthatcanbeconductedforthiscourse. Someexamplesare:

Behavioral Segmentation studies: developing profiles of heavy users and light users(users/nonusers)ofaproduct/servicebasedondemographics,lifestyles,shoppingbehavior,

benefitssought,andmediahabits.

Attitude/preference studies: studying consumers preferences and attitudes aboutcompetingproducts/services,identifyingtheattributesthatareimportant,anddetermining

whether consumer segments differ in their attitudes or in the attributes they consider

important.(e.g.,conjointstudies)

Image

studies:

comparing

the

brand

image

of

competing

products

or

services

along

a

number of dimensions, and determining whether different consumer segments have

differentimagesoftheproducts/services.(e.g.,perceptualmapping)

Customer Satisfaction studies: useful in studying the importance of different attributes ofproduct /service quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Also useful identification of

servicegaps.

Thesestudiesareusefulinmakingavarietyofmarketingdecisions,e.g.,inproductpositioningand

repositioning,newproductintroductions,marketingmixdecisions,markettargeting,etc. Youmay

chooseanykindofproductorserviceaslongasitisnottoodifficulttogetprimarydataaboutit.

Once

you

select

a

product/service

and

an

organization,

you

should

examine

secondary

sources

such

as

magazinesandnewspapersandtradejournalstogetbackgroundinformationonthenatureofthe

industry,therangeofproductsbeingoffered,andconsumercharacteristics. Thismaygiveyousome

ideasregardingthequestionsthatneedtoberesearched,andwillalsogiveyousomebasicinformation

thatyoumayneedfordesigningthequestionnaire,suchasthemajorcompetitorsforyour

product/service,theattributesalongwhichproductsareevaluated,etc.

Youshouldplanoncollectingdata fromat least40respondents. Notethatthisneednotbearandom

sampleorevenarepresentativesampleofthetargetpopulation. Aconveniencesamplemaybeused.

7/28/2019 MKT 512

8/12

8

Regardlessofthetypeofstudy,theproductclassandthesamplesize,youmustlinktheresearchtosome

managerialdecisionthatneedstobemade. Inotherwords,youmustbeclearaboutthepurposeofthe

study:whatdecisionwill this researchhelp theorganizationmake?This is importantbecauseafterthe

data have been analyzed and interpreted, you must make your recommendations to the organization

regardingwhatactionsitshouldtake.

7/28/2019 MKT 512

9/12

9

AppendixB

ExploratoryResearchforGroupProjectThiswillprimarilyconsistofafocusgroupordepthinterviews,supplementedbysecondarydata

sourcesandobservationofconsumersshoppingorconsumptionbehavior. Theobjectiveofthisresearch

istogiveyouinsightintotheresearchproblemandtohelpyoufocusonthekeyissues. Thiswillenable

youtodesignanappropriatequestionnaireforthemainsurvey.

Questions typically addressed in this type of research are: What, where, when and why do

people consume the product/service in questions? What are the important attributes in making a

purchase decision? What are consumers information sources? What are the influences on decision

making? Whatneedsdoproductsfulfill? Whatneedsdotheynotfulfill? Whatmoods/emotions/values

areassociatedwiththedifferentproducts? Whatbrandsarepreferredandwhy? Whatbrandsarenot

preferredandwhy? Thepossiblelistofquestionsisendless.

Thefocusgroupshouldconsistof6to8members(hint:recruit9forthegroup,toallowforno

shows)that

are

members

of

the

target

population

for

the

research

study.

The

discussion

should

last

for

60 90minutes. Thistask involves(1)decidingwhat information isrequiredfromthegroup (preparea

discussionguide,oralistofquestions/issuesthatneedtobefocusedon)andwhatthecompositionofthe

group should, be, (2) recruiting members for the focus group (this includes obtaining their consent to

having the discussion recorded), and giving them instructions on them/place for the meeting, and (3)

moderatinganddirectingthediscussion,andrecordingthediscussionasunobtrusivelyasfeasible.

Depth interviewsshouldbeofmembersofthetargetmarket,be theyconsumersordecision

makers. Eachinterviewshouldlast4560minutes,anditisessentialthattwointerviewersbepresent

onetoconductthe interviewandonetorecordtheanswers. Thetaskhere involves(1)whoshouldbe

interviewed, (2) obtaining interviewees consent to participate and setting up an appointment, (3)

conducting46interviews.

ASummaryofFindings(uptotwopages in length,doublespaced)oftheexploratoryresearch

mustbeprepared.

7/28/2019 MKT 512

10/12

10

AppendixC

ProjectReportandPresentation

Thisshouldbenomorethan12pages long (typed,doublespaced). Note that thepage limitdoesnot

includethetitlepage,tableofcontents,andappendices. Thereportshouldconsistof:

1. ExecutiveSummary(1page)Thisisaonepagenontechnicalsummaryofthewholeproject,includingthemethodologyused

andmajorfindings/implications.

2. Introduction(1page)This should explain the context of the study and include a clear statement of the researchobjectives. Thatis,whywasthestudyneeded. Inaddition,youneedtomentionthescopeofthe

study (i.e.,whatare the limitationse.g.,any issues that, though important to themarketing

decision,arenotaddressedinthestudy).

3. ResearchDesign(2pages)a. SamplingTechnique

Briefly describe the sampling technique you have used (dont just give a general

description, describe it as YOU have used it). Justify using it in the context of your

application.

Identify any inadequacies that may exist in your sampling technique, and briefly

describe how you would modify it to make it better (for example, if you had more,

resourcesi.e.time/money). Again,thisshouldbespecifictoyourapplication.

b. DataCollectionMethodDescribehowyoucollectedthedata forthisstudy (e.g., facetoface,telephone,mail,

Internetbased),whyyouselectedthismethod,andchangesyouwouldmakeifyouhad

moretime/money. Identifyanylimitationstoyourselectedmethod.

c. MeasurementIn this section, specify the kinds of information you needed to address the research

objectives of this study. Attach a copy of the questionnaire and cover letter (ifapplicable)inanappendix.

d. AnalysisProceduresBriefly describe the analytic procedures you used, the statistical package, and any

coding procedures which may be important (e.g.: coding openended questions). Do

notpresentanyresearchfindingshere.

4. Results(6pages)

7/28/2019 MKT 512

11/12

11

Thisshouldindicate,foreachresearchobjective,themainfindings. Combinethepresentationof

resultsfromthosequestionsthathangtogetherforaspecificresearchobjective. That is,try

andorganizethefindingsintosubsectionsbygroupingquestions(orvariables)thatarerelated.

Forexample,youmayhaveanumberofquestionsrelatedtoshoppinghabits(Howoftendoyou

shop? Whichstoresdoyoushop in? Whatdoyouspendonaveragepershoppingtrip? etc.);

theresponsestothesequestionscanbesummarizedinasubsectiontitledshoppingbehavior.

Use

your

imagination

and

common

sense

in

deciding

how

to

organize

your

findings.

Ifappropriate, briefly mention some of the implications of your findings so that the reader is

primedfortherecommendationsmadelater.

Thecompleteresultsneednotbediscussedherebutrathershouldbepresented intheformof

tables intheAppendix. Forexample, ifyouarediscussingtheresponsestoaquestionsuchas

howoftendoyoudrinkcoffee?, it issufficienttosummarizetheresponseswithastatement

likeOver40%oftherespondentsdrank lessthan2cupsaday,while10%drankmorethan5

cups a day. The complete information, of course, should be presented in a table in the

Appendix.

Make sure to interpret and discuss the findings that you describe in this section, rather than

merelyrecitingthenumbers. Indicate,whereappropriate,whetheryourfindingsarestatisticallysignificant.

5. Recommendations(2pages)Inthissectionyoushouldsummarizeyourmajorfindingsandpresentyourrecommendationsfor

management(naturally,thelattershouldbebasedontheformer).

6. AppendicesThisshouldcontain(i)Yourexploratoryresearchdiscussionguide,(ii)asummaryofexploratory

research findings (iii) a copy of the questionnaire with the basic results, and (iv) tables to

illustratethediscussionintheResultssection. Thereisnopagelimitforthissection.

Note:Youneed tonumber, titleyourappendices,and reference them in the text. Ifa team

failstodoso,Iwillreturnthereportandaskformodification.

The report will be graded on (i) quality of data analysis and interpretation of results, (ii) quality of

recommendations,and(iii)readability(clarityofwritingandorganizationofmaterial).

Somehintsoneffectivereportwriting:

1. Makethereportlookniceandreadable.2. Numberthepages.3. Dividethereportintosectionswithappropriateheadings.4. Haveatableofcontentswithpagenumbers.5. Donotgivetoomuchstatisticalinformationinthemainbodyofthereport. Haveaseparate

mathematicalappendixwithtablesofnumbers.

6. Avoidusing technical languageunlessneeded. This isparticularly importantwhenwritingtheexecutivesummary.

7/28/2019 MKT 512

12/12

12

7. Remember that your audience is relatively novice in terms of research they are mostinterestedinthefindingsandtheimplicationsthosefindingsholdfortheirbusiness.

ProjectPresentationGroundRules:

Aim for a 15minute presentation. The exact amount of time will depend on classenrollmentandwillbeannouncedinclass.

Use PowerPoint, transparencies (overheads), or handouts to summarizewhatyou plan tosay.

Bepreparedforquestionsfromtheaudience.Suggestedoutlineofpresentation:

1. Background(ontheindustry/company/productasappropriate)2. Researchpurposeandinformationneeds3. Survey methodology: sampling procedure, sample size, response rate, sample

representativeness.

4. Results(mainfindings)5. ManagerialrecommendationsPlanonspendingmostofyourtimeonthelasttwotopics.