Page 60 - DMGT408DMGT203_Marketing Management

Unit 2: Understanding the Marketplace and Consumers

disprove this, the researcher must try to hold constant all other variables in the experiment Notes
except X and Y. If a marketer wants to learn the influence of rising income and change in lifestyle
on purchases of a more expensive car model, the results may show that increasing income levels
and lifestyle changes favourably affect the sales. Daniel C. Smith and C. Whan Park reported a
study conducted to test the hypothesis that brand extensions increase new product market share.
The researchers found that brand extensions do in fact contribute positively to market share.

Such research may be conducted in a laboratory setting such as central location to respond to
experimental variables and might include interview rooms, one-way mirrors, video equipment,
tape recorders etc. Such studies are called laboratory experiment.

Example: To determine the effect of various levels of sweetness in a soft drink on
consumer taste preference, consumers may be invited to a taste room. The researchers would
ask respondents to taste different versions of the soft drink and afterwards would be asked to
rank the preference of each level of sweetness. In a laboratory setting, variables can be controlled.
However, a laboratory setting is different from the real world, where many factors affect the
choice in a market place.
A field experiment is undertaken in a natural setting such as a shopping centre. The field setting
allows researcher to have a more direct test of marketing decisions but the respondents may be
affected by factors not under the control of the researcher, such as weather conditions or other
events. Suppose respondents are asked to evaluate planned future advertisements, their evaluation
may be influenced and prejudiced by their earlier evaluation of competing advertisements. In a
field experiment, it is not possible for researchers to control all variables except a few.
2.7.3 Data Collection Approach

There are four basic methods for collecting data in marketing research. These include secondary
data, observation data, survey data, and experimental data. The nature of collected data can be
put under either secondary or primary category.

Figure 2.8: Data Collection Alternatives

Data Alternatives

Secondary Use Research Primary
Data Services Data

Internal Published Subscription One-Time Exploratory Primary
Records Reports to Service Purchase Research Study

2.7.4 Sampling Plan

A sample design addresses three questions: who is to be surveyed (sampling unit), how many to
survey (sample size), and how should the respondents be chosen (the sampling procedure).
Deciding whom to survey (sampling unit) requires that the researcher must define the target
population (universe) that would be sampled.

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