Consumer Research: Primary & Secondary Data

Introduction

• Two types of data are collected and analysed for marketing and consumer behaviour analysis: primary and secondary.
• Primary data is collected for its own purposes.
• Secondary data is collected by one entity for one purpose, then used by another entity for a different purpose.
• Most consumer research aims to understand consumer attitudes towards a product, preferences, likes, and dislikes.
• Research can be qualitative or quantitative.

Process of Consumer Research

• First, define the problem: Select a research topic, define the object and objectives.
• Second, review the existing literature on the topic.
• Third, make the problem precise by defining the objective and devising a research question.
• Fourth, select a research design and choose research methods.
• Fifth, collect data and record information & interpret the results
• Sixth, work out implications of the data collected.
• Finally, report the research findings, its significance and relation to previous findings.

Object of study

• The object of study is the research topic.
• In consumer behaviour, it is usually a good or service.
• The object and its nature should be properly defined.
• The objective of the study answers the question, "What do we want to study?"

Methods and Techniques: Surveys

• Surveys are based on the application of questionnaires.
• Different types of questions: open-ended, rating scale, multiple choice.
• Different types of surveys: conducted in person, through mail, phone, web, self-administered vs. assisted.
• Surveys offer the advantage of easy sampling and replication.
• A limitation is that unless the research environment is carefully controlled, results may be biased and descriptive.

Methods and Techniques: Interviews

• Interviews involve direct contact with consumers, more appropriate for sensitive topics.
• They research the relation between emotions, cognitions, language, and action, understand a brand's symbolic significance.
• Interviews are often recorded and provide long, in-depth explanations.
• Limitation: Sample, cost and training
• Interviewer qualities: Expert knowledge, gentleness, sensitivity, empathy, open-mindedness, criticality, good memory, analytical skill.
• When preparing take the time to create the questions, topics for discussion and the time and place.
• Semi-structured interviews are typically 20–30 minutes.
• At the beginning, introduce the topic, state why the participation is important, information is confidential and anonymous
• The interviewee is the protagonist. Listen more.
• Try to generate trust and distention with the interviewee.
• Tactics include simulating ignorance, using silence, and summarizing
• Afterwards importance of post-interview talk

Methods and Techniques: Focus Groups

• A focus group consists of 6 to 12 consumers discussing an issue or offering to reproduce social dynamics.
• Participants express their opinions.
• They provide qualitative insights into consumer attitudes.
• The advantage is that it provides interpretations and represents interaction between the group.
• The limitation is sample size.
• Stages include: Presentation, Warming-up, Development, Pooling, Closure
• To prepare, one must take time to decide who will participate and prepare the questions and topics for discussion. Time and Place should be planned.
• Recommended length of focus group is 1-2 hours.
• At the beginning, introduce the topic, explain the importance of participation, and state confidentiality and anonymity of answers.
• Basic rule: Saturation.
• Place: Neutral, closed, comfortable, with a round table.
• Participants: strangers between them, no previous experience.
• Moderator:
  • Avoid previous contact with participants
  • Avoid authoritarian style
  • Avoid giving personal opinion
  • Try to structure the talk
  • Foster participation

Methods and Techniques: Experiments

• Experiments are a research method for investigating cause and effect under controlled conditions.
• For example, designing an experiment to learn whether consumer attitudes toward a brand are affected by the brand name, as opposed to things like product features.
• It is important to set a control group with the same characteristics.

Methods and Techniques: Observations & Ethnographic Research

• Observations are a kind of ethnographic research
• Researchers do not interact with consumers, they only observe real situations of consumption.
• This method allows researchers to see what consumers actually do, not what they say they do.
• Observations can also be done through web tracking.
• Advantage: Realistic approach.
• Limitation: Privacy policies, Subjectivity.
• Alternative: Participant observation.

Other Methods and Techniques

• Other methods include using photography and pictures, purchase panels, diaries, database marketing, and big data analysis.

Methods and Techniques: Triangulation

• Triangulation combines different methods in order to contrast results and have more robustness in the research.
• Different types include of data, of researchers, of methods & of time periods
• It is recommended to use triangulation in order to reduce biases.
• Mixed methods involve using both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Consumer Culture Theory (CCT)

• Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) is not a theory, but a field studying consumption from an ethnographic, conceptual, and qualitative perspective.
• CCT focuses on the experiential and sociocultural dimensions of consumption that are not plainly accessible through experiments, surveys, or database modelling.
• The CCT papers can be seen as consumption phenomena and concepts in search of a theoretical understanding. Examples include:
  • Possession attachment
  • Experiential consumption
  • Extended self
  • Consumer-brand relationships
  • Consumer desire
  • Gift-giving
  • Sharing
  • Experience of place
  • Benign envy
  • Consumption rituals

Research Ethics

• Researchers must be technically competent and fair-minded in conducting their research.
• They must disclose all findings, without omitting significant data.
• They must point out various interpretations of data.
• They must inform consumers that they are objects of study.
• Researchers must never accept funding that seeks to influence the research process for its own purposes.