What are the advantages of using each research methodologies? They are in bold.
RESEARCH METhODOlOGIES Survey research, interviews, consumer panels, observation, and focus groups are some of the tools used to collect primary market data. these are the same tools used by marketers whose activities are not global; however, some adaptations and special considerations for global marketing may be required. Survey research utilizes questionnaires designed to elicit quantitative data (“how much would you buy?”), qualitative responses (“Why would you buy?”), or both. Survey research is often conducted by means of a questionnaire distributed through the mail, asked over the telephone, or asked in person. Many good marketing research textbooks provide details on questionnaire design and administration. In global market research, a number of survey design and administration issues may arise. When using the telephone as a research tool, it is important to remember that what is customary in one country may be impossible in others because of infrastructure differences, cultural barriers, or other reasons. For example, telephone directories or lists may not be available; also, important differences may exist between urban dwellers and people in rural areas. In China, for example, the Ministry of Information Industry reports that 77 percent of households in coastal areas have at least one fixed-line telephone; in rural areas, the number is only 40 percent. at a deeper level, culture shapes attitudes and values in a way that directly affects people’s willingness to respond to interviewer questions. Open-ended questions may help the researcher identify a respondent’s frame of reference. In some cultures, respondents may be unwilling to answer certain questions or they may intentionally give inaccurate answers. Recall that step 2 of the global market research process calls for identifying possible sources of SRC bias. this issue is especially important in survey research: SRC bias can originate from the cultural backgrounds of those designing the questionnaire. For example, a survey designed and administered in the United States may be inappropriate in non-Western cultures even if it iscarefully translated. this is especially true if the person designing the questionnaire is not familiar with the SRC. a technique known as back translation can help increase comprehension and validity; the technique requires that, after a questionnaire or survey instrument is translated into a particular target language, it is translated once again, this time into the original language by a different translator. For even greater accuracy, parallel translations—two versions by different translators—can be used as input to the back translation. the same techniques can ensure that advertising copy is accurately translated into different languages. Personal interviews allow researchers to ask “why?” and then explore answers with the respondent on a face-to-face basis. a consumer panel is a sample of respondents whose behavior is tracked over time. For example, a number of companies, including the Nielsen Media Research unit of Netherlandsbased VNU, aGB, GfK, and tNS, conduct television audience measurement (taM) by studying the viewing habits of household panels. Broadcasters use audience share data to set advertising rates; advertisers such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Coca-Cola use the data to choose programs during which to advertise. In the United States, Nielsen has enjoyed a virtual monopoly on viewership research for half a century. For years, however, the four major U.S. television networks have complained that they lose advertising revenues because Nielsen’s data collection methods undercount viewership. Nielsen has responded to these concerns by upgrading its survey methodology; the company now uses an electronic device known as a peoplemeter to collect national audience data. Peoplemeter systems are currently in use in dozens of countries around the world, including China; Nielsen is also rolling out peoplemeters to collect local audience viewership data in key metropolitan markets such as New York City. When observation is used as a data collection method, one or more trained observers (or a mechanical device such as a video camera) watch and record the behavior of actual or prospective buyers. the research results are then used to guide marketing managers in their decision making. For example, after Volkswagen’s U.S. sales began to slump, the company launched “Moonraker,” an 18-month effort designed to help its engineers, marketers, and design specialists better understand american consumers. Despite the presence of a design center in California, decision makers at headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, generally ignored feedback from U.S. customers. as Stefan Liske, director of product strategy at VW, acknowledged, “We needed a totally different approach. We asked ourselves, ‘Do we really know everything about this market?’” the Moonraker team visited the Mall of america in Minneapolis and the Rock and Roll hall of Fame in Cleveland; they also spent spring break in Florida observing college students. the experience was an eye-opener; as one designer explained, “In Germany, it’s all about driving, but here, it’s about everything but driving. People here want to use their time in other ways, like talk on their cell phone.” another member of the team, an engineer, shadowed a single mom as she took her kids to school and ran errands. the engineer noted that american drivers need a place to store a box of tissues and a place to put a bag of fast food picked up at a drivethrough window. “I began thinking about what specific features her car needed. It was about living the customer’s life and putting ourselves in their place,” he said.31 a marketer of breakfast cereals might send researchers to preselected householdsat 6 a.m. to watch families go about their morning routines. the client could also assign a researcher to accompany family members to the grocery store to observe their behavior under actual shopping conditions. the client might wish to know about the shoppers’ reactions to in-store promotions linked to an advertising campaign. the researcher could record comments or discretely take photographs. Of course, companies using observation as a research methodology must be sensitive to concerns about privacy issues. a second problem with observation is reactivity, which is the tendency of research subjects to behave differently for the simple reason that they know they are under study.