Exam 9: Decision Support Systems and Marketing Research

One advantage of an online focus group is that respondents tend to talk more freely about issues that might create inhibitions in a face-to-face group.

What are three advantages and three disadvantages inherent in the use of a mail survey? Distinguish between a mail survey and a mail panel.

One type of sampling error is _____,which is created when the sample actually interviewed differs from the sample drawn.

The best experiments are those in which one factor is held constant and the other factors of interest are deliberately manipulated.

Describe survey research and explain how it differs from observation research. Name six popular forms of survey research.

PetsMart,a large chain of pet shops,surveyed consumers and asked,"Do you ever buy holiday gifts for your pets?" Respondents checked "Yes" or "No" to answer this question.This is an example of a(n)_____ survey question.

Suppose the American Red Cross sent out a questionnaire that included the question "Why are so many people reluctant to donate blood?" This would be an example of a(n):

The three roles of marketing research are persuasive,reminder,and informative.

_____ provides market researchers with user-friendly virtual interview rooms,recruiting,and technical support for conducting virtual qualitative research.

A(n)_____ sample is characterized by every element in the population having a known statistical likelihood of being selected.

A _____ is a specially designed phone room used to conduct telephone interviewing.

A retailer of sporting goods equipment is interested in learning what peoples' attitudes,motivations,and feelings are about its product lines.All of the following are potential sources for this information EXCEPT:

Sav-More Supermarkets Observers of the supermarket industry see no letup in the use of checkout-counter-based target marketing. Sav-More supermarkets have installed an electronic marketing system in their stores. The system allows the stores to do more direct mail promotions by combining the current Sav-More's check cashing cards with the new Sav-More's Bonus Club frequent-shopper cards. The new system uses bar-code scanners and magnetic cards issued to shoppers to track all purchases. As with most customer databases, demographic information is gathered for subsequent offers to frequent-shopper club members, and psychographic information is tracked whenever customers use the magnetic strip cards to make purchases. Generally, marketing to these consumers achieves better results than free- standing insert (FSI) coupons. -Refer to Sav-More Supermarkets.Edisto decided to survey each customer who stops in front of the frozen orange juice section on Saturday.The type of sample Edisto used for his research project is called a _____ sample.

A university hospital is interested in getting a cross section of patients' opinions on proposed changes that will make the hospital stay more like a motel stay in terms of amenities.The cost of the new amenities will be reflected in higher rates.The university hospital used a random number table to select participants from the list of patients who are currently in the hospital.This is an example of a(n)_____ sample.

First Southern Community Bank has long tried to differentiate itself as,"your friendly,hometown bank." However,the bank president has been concerned about a number of recent customer service complaints.Which of the following approaches would probably be best to get a feel for how friendly her employees really are to customers?

Los Hermanos Cafe has successfully operated seven restaurants in the same community for 20 years.Management plans to introduce an egg and cheese breakfast burrito to three restaurants after having success with this product in its other four diners.Since management knows this market so well,Los Hermanos Cafe doesn't need to conduct research before introducing the new product in its remaining restaurants.

Callaway Golf Co. Callaway Golf Co. has long been a leader in women's golf equipment, but it wanted to expand its lead in this growing sector of the market. While Callaway's technical people knew what could be done with design, they did not know exactly what women wanted in their clubs. Callaway management decided what it needed to do was to bring the technicians and women golfer together. Beginning about three years ago Callaway sent a team of researchers, designers, and golf pros out to visit with 40 women golfers of various abilities in locations from California to Florida. In selecting the golfers to study Callaway decided to focus on women that were just beginning to play and experienced, competitive golfers that wanted to own the latest equipment. Callaway management felt that these two extreme groups of golfers had been overlooked by golf club manufacturers. Further, Callaway felt that if they could learn enough about these two groups they would also learn enough to serve the rest of the women golfer market. Basically the research team observed the women playing golf and listened to their comments and concerns. The information gathered by this research team was built into every aspect of the design of a new golf club, including the feel of the club, the length of the club shaft and size of the club head, and the weight of the club. When prototypes of the new clubs were completed they were sent to the women golfers to get their feedback. That feedback was then used to refine the club design. This process went on until the women said the new clubs worked. The entire process from original prototype to final product took a little less than one year. -Refer to Callaway Golf.An experimental approach to evaluating the quality of the new Callaway golf clubs would be to have the women golfers to play two rounds of golf,one with their own clubs and one with the new Callaway clubs.The golfers results for the two rounds could then be compared to help determine which clubs were the best.What is normally the most difficult aspect of conducting experimental research?

Which of the following is an interviewing method in which the interviewer reads the questions from a computer screen and enters the respondent's data directly into the computer?

Which of the following is an interviewing method in which a mall interviewer intercepts and directs willing respondents to nearby computers where the respondent reads questions off a computer screen and directly keys his or her answers into a computer?

When people are hired to record traffic patterns in a shopping mall,they are engaging in _____ research.