USCMarshallSchool MKT512:MARKETINGANDCONSUMERRESEARCH ProfessorDinaMayzlin Spring2013 Office:HoffmanHall,Room619 Email:mayzlin@marshall.usc.edu OfficeHours:Mon,Wed1112:00 AdministrativeAssistant:RuthJoya rsantiag@marshall.usc.edu CourseDescription IntheCoreCourse,youlearnedabouttheimportanceofmarketsegmentation,targetingandpositioningin formulatingmarketingstrategies.Butasamarketingstrategyconsultantorasabrandmanager,youarefacedwith thequestion:Howdoesoneimplementthesestrategiesinpractice? Thiscoursewillintroduceyoutoqualitativeandquantitativeresearchmethodologiesthatarecriticalin obtainingtherelevantmarketinformationtoaidmanagerialdecisionmaking.

king.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(11thEdition),JohnWiley&Sonsoptional CourseMethodology Thecourseintroduceskeymarketresearchconceptsandtechniques.Thestudentslearnthroughclasslectures, classnotesaswellashandsonassignments:cases,statisticalanalysisusingMinitabsoftware,aswellasagroup project.Theprojectinvolvesallaspectsofmarketresearch:1)formulatingahypothesis,2)conductingqualitative research,3)surveydesign,4)dataanalysis,and5)drawinginsightsfromthefindings.

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(11thEdition),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 to participate in class, and there will be some cold-calling. HomeworkAssignments Homework assignments are given to help you gain deeper understanding of the materials covered in class. You will also gain confidence in implementing the analysis techniques on a computer. While it is acceptable to discuss the assignments and solution strategies with other students, each student must do the analysis on their own and submit independent work to be graded. It is not acceptable to do the assignments jointly and then submit the output of the groupasindividualassignments.Assignmentsmustbeturnedinontheduedatesspecifiedinthesyllabus.Exceptin the event of a documented medical difficulty, late assignments will not be accepted. Homework assignments are all 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

shouldtheNoreasterstakeintoaccountinestablishingapricepolicy? Q3:DesignaticketpricingplanfortheNoreastersfirstseason.Beveryspecific,andbepreparedtoexplainthe assumptions.Howshouldticketpricingvarybypackagetype? Q4: Using the price plan you have designed and given Buckinghams assumptions about concession sales (i.e., 39% profitmarginonpage4),willtheteamreachbreakeveninthefirstyear?Ifnot,whatoptionsdoesBuckinghamhave toreachhistarget? MinitabSoftware MinitabisavailabletoMarshallcommunitythroughBusinessVirtualLab. (https://apps.marshall.usc.edu/Citrix/XenApp/auth/login.aspx).WewilluseMinitabinclass,whichmeansthatyou willhavetobringyourlaptopstothoseclasseswherewewillbeusingthesoftware. GroupProject The course involves a group project involving teams of three to four. Each group will work on a modestsized marketing research study for their project. The primary objective of the project is to provide you with experience in applyingtheconceptsandmethodsofmarketingresearchtoarealmarketingproblem. Theprojectwillbecompletedinfourstages: Stage 1 Defining the Decision Problem and Research Problem: This will involve defining the marketing decision problem faced by the manager (e.g., what market to enter, what features to offer in a product) and the research problem (what information will be needed to help answer the managers question). You should also outline your broadresearchstrategy(e.g.,segmentationstudy,conjointstudy)forthisproject. Stage 2 Exploratory Research: Develop a discussion guide for the focus group or indepth interviews for your exploratoryresearch; Stage 3 Questionnaire Design: This will involve developing a questionnaire (this will be based on your exploratory researchfindings),pretestingitandrefiningthequestionnairebasedonyourpretests. Stage 4 Data Collection, Analysis and Recommendations: This will involve collecting the data, analyzing the data and submittingthefinalreportwithrecommendations. AdetaileddescriptionofthegroupprojectisprovidedinAppendixAC.Summariesofthethreestagesareprovided below: Stage1 The group must decide on an organization and product/service that will be focus of its research, and decide on the decision problem and research objectives. Ideally, speak to a decision maker in the organization to get a sense of a strategic problem that might be of importance to him/her. This person could be a valuable resource as you proceed furtherwithyourresearchforconsultation. Stage2 The group will develop a discussion guide for its focus groups or indepth interviews for issues it needs additional informationbeforeconductingasurvey.

 Stage3 The group then conducts either a focus group or depth interviews (see Appendix B for details) and prepares a summary of the findings. Based on these findings, the group will identify a set of information needs for the survey, anddesignaquestionnaire.Thequestionnaireshouldbepretestedandthenmodified. Stage4 Once the questionnaire has been finalized, the group must administer the questionnaire to at least 40 respondents, inputthedataintoacomputersystem,analyzethedata,andwriteareport(seeAppendixCforguidelinesonwriting thereport). _______________________________________________________________________

DetailedSchedule
ClassTopic Assignments Read:"SpendADayintheLifeofYour Customers"(HBR94103) 1.ExploratoryResearch Read:"DevelopingQuestionsforFocus Groups","OutofFocus" ProjectTask PickProjectTeam Comeupw/topic ideas 1 Mon 1/14 Introduction

2 Wed 1/16 FocusGroup

1/21 1/22 1/23

NOCLASS Discuss2or3topicideas

Comeupw/topic ideas Focusgroupdiscussion guide FGdiscussionguide ConductFocusGroup Interviews ConductFGInterviews Workonquestionnaire

Mon Tues 3 Wed

FocusGroupCaseStudy

Prep:BostonFightsDrugs Due:CaseWriteUp

4 Mon 1/28 Speaker:BillDavis,CEOofDavisResearch Due:FocusGroupDiscussionGuide Tues 1/29 Talkaboutdiscussionguide 2.DescriptiveResearch 5 Wed 1/30 QuestionnaireDesignI Prep:QuestionnaireCase1

6 Mon 2/4 Tues 2/5 7 Wed 2/6

Speaker:AdriannCocker,Sr.StrategicPlanneratGriecoGroup
Talkaboutfocusgroupresults Case:TheSpringfield Nor'easters Prep:TheSpringfieldNor'easters; Due:CaseWriteUp

Workon questionnaire
Revisequestionnaire

8 Mon Tues 9 Wed

2/11 2/12 2/13

QuestionnaireDesignII: AttitudeMeasurement Talkaboutquestionnaire IdentifyingCustomerNeeds

Prep:QuestionnaireCase2

Due:QuestionnaireDraft

Read:"UnderstandingUserNeeds," "TheOneNumberYouNeedto

Grow"
3.QuantitativeResearch 10 11 Mon Wed 2/18 2/20 QuestionnairePreTest; HypothesisTesting RegressionI

Read:Chp17pp452458,Chp18, pp471481 Read:Chp19 Due:RevisedQuestionnaires

Due:Homework1(HypothesisTesting)

Revisequestionnaire

12 Mon 2/25 RegressionApplications 13 Wed 2/27 DiscriminantAnalysis

Read:Chp20:540553,Lecture Notes

CollectData
CollectData CollectData

14 Mon 3/4 15 Wed 3/6

LogisticRegression

Read:LectureNotes

FactorAnalysis

Due:Homework2(Regression) Read:Ch21:561573,Lecture Notes

CollectData

16 Mon 3/11 FactorAnalysis:Perceptual Mapping 17 Wed 3/13 Review Mon 3/18 Wed 3/20

Read:Ch22:592598,LectureNotes

CollectData

Due:Homework3(Prediction)

CollectData

SpringBreak

18 Mon 3/25 ClusterAnalysis Cluster:Groupinginto 19 Wed 3/27 Segments

ReadCh21:574585,Lecture Notes
Due:Homework4(FactorAnalysis)

Analyzedata Analyzedata

Read:Ch22:603611,Lecture Notes
Read:LectureNotes

19 Mon 4/1 20 Wed 4/3

ConjointAnalysis FractionalFactorialConjoint Design,Segmentingthe Market

Analyzedata Analyzedata

Due:Homework5(ClusterAnalysis)
Analyzedata Analyzedata

21 Mon 4/8 Tues 4/9

Speaker:HilaryBienstock,PrincipalatHilaryUserExperience Read:NMInciteWhitePaper,BlueFin TechReview(gotobluefinlabs.com)

Talkaboutdataanalysis Listeningtothecustomer 22 Wed 4/10 online: TheoryandExamples

Due:Homework6(ConjointAnalysis)
Prep:Communispace WriteReport WriteReport PreparePresentation PreparePresentation

23 Mon 4/15 SettingupanOnlineTracking System

24 Wed 4/17 Speaker:DavidSchrader,DirofMrktgandStrategyatTeradata 25 Mon 4/22 OnlineExperimentation 26 Wed 4/24 Review 27 Mon 4/29 Presentations 28 Wed 5/1 Presentations

Read:bit.ly/TCU0I1

Due:Homework7(OnlineListening) Due:FinalReport

AppendixA GuidelinesfortheGroupProject Overview The project is intended to provide you with firsthand research experience and to illustrate the concepts andmethodsdiscussedintheclassroom.Itinvolves: (a) selecting a product or service that is being offered by an organization (or a new product/service thattheorganizationmaywishtooffer), (b) identifying some marketing decision that needs to be made regarding this product/service, such asproductpositioningortargetmarketdefinition, (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 about competing products/services, identifying the attributes that are important, and determining 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 of product /service quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Also useful identification of servicegaps.

Thesestudiesareusefulinmakingavarietyofmarketingdecisions,e.g.,inproductpositioningand repositioning,newproductintroductions,marketingmixdecisions,markettargeting,etc.Youmay chooseanykindofproductorserviceaslongasitisnottoodifficulttogetprimarydataaboutit. Onceyouselectaproduct/serviceandanorganization,youshouldexaminesecondarysourcessuchas magazinesandnewspapersandtradejournalstogetbackgroundinformationonthenatureofthe industry,therangeofproductsbeingoffered,andconsumercharacteristics.Thismaygiveyousome ideasregardingthequestionsthatneedtoberesearched,andwillalsogiveyousomebasicinformation thatyoumayneedfordesigningthequestionnaire,suchasthemajorcompetitorsforyour product/service,theattributesalongwhichproductsareevaluated,etc. You should plan on collecting data from at least 40 respondents. Note that this need not be a random sample or even a representative sample of the target population. A convenience sample may be used.

Regardlessofthetypeofstudy,theproductclassandthesamplesize,youmustlinktheresearchtosome managerial decision that needs to be made. In other words, you must be clear about the purpose of the study: what decision will this research help the organization make? This is important because after the data have been analyzed and interpreted, you must make your recommendations to the organization regardingwhatactionsitshouldtake.

AppendixB ExploratoryResearchforGroupProject This will primarily consist of a focus groupor depth interviews, supplemented by secondary data

sourcesandobservationofconsumersshoppingorconsumptionbehavior.Theobjectiveofthisresearch is to give you insight into the research problem and to help you focus on the key issues. This will enable 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? What needs do products fulfill? What needs do they not fulfill? What moods/emotions/values are associated with the different products? What brands are preferred and why? What brands are not preferredandwhy?Thepossiblelistofquestionsisendless. The focus group should consist of 6 to 8 members (hint: recruit 9 for the group, to allow for no shows) that are members of the target population for the research study. The discussion should last for 60 90 minutes. This task involves (1) deciding what information is required from the group (prepare a 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 interviews should be of members of the target market, be they consumers or decision makers. Each interview should last 4560 minutes, and it is essential that two interviewers be present one to conduct the interview and one to record the answers. The task here involves (1) who should be interviewed, (2) obtaining interviewees consent to participate and setting up an appointment, (3) conducting46interviews. A Summary of Findings (up to two pages in length, doublespaced) of the exploratory research mustbeprepared.

AppendixC ProjectReportandPresentation This should be no more than 12 pages long (typed, doublespaced). Note that the page limit does not includethetitlepage,tableofcontents,andappendices.Thereportshouldconsistof: 1. ExecutiveSummary(1page) This is a one page nontechnical summary of the whole project, including the methodology used andmajorfindings/implications. 2. Introduction(1page) This should explain the context of the study and include a clear statement of the research objectives.Thatis,whywasthestudyneeded.Inaddition,youneedtomentionthescopeofthe study (i.e., what are the limitations e.g., any issues that, though important to the marketing 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. DataCollectionMethod Describe how you collected the data for this study (e.g., facetoface, telephone, mail, Internetbased),whyyouselectedthismethod,andchangesyouwouldmakeifyouhad moretime/money.Identifyanylimitationstoyourselectedmethod. c. Measurement In 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 (if applicable)inanappendix. d. AnalysisProcedures Briefly 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)

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Thisshouldindicate,foreachresearchobjective,themainfindings.Combinethepresentationof results from those questions that hang together for a specific research objective. That is, try andorganizethefindingsintosubsectionsbygroupingquestions(orvariables)thatarerelated. Forexample,youmayhaveanumberofquestionsrelatedtoshoppinghabits(Howoftendoyou shop? Which stores do you shop in? What do you spend on average per shopping trip? etc.); the responses to these questions can be summarized in a subsection titled shopping behavior. Use your imagination and common sense in deciding how to organize your findings. If appropriate, briefly mention some of the implications of your findings so that the reader is primedfortherecommendationsmadelater. The complete results need not be discussed here but rather should be presented in the form of tables in the Appendix. For example, if you are discussing the responses to a question such as how often do you drink coffee?, it is sufficient to summarize the responses with a statement like Over 40% of the respondents drank less than 2 cups a day, while 10% drank more than 5 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 merely reciting thenumbers. Indicate, where appropriate,whether your findingsare statistically significant. Recommendations(2pages) Inthissectionyoushouldsummarizeyourmajorfindingsandpresentyourrecommendationsfor management(naturally,thelattershouldbebasedontheformer). 6. Appendices This should contain (i) Your exploratory research discussion guide, (ii) a summary of exploratory research findings (iii) a copy of the questionnaire with the basic results, and (iv) tables to illustratethediscussionintheResultssection.Thereisnopagelimitforthissection. Note: You need to number, title your appendices, and reference them in the text. If a 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. Avoid using technical language unless needed. This is particularly important when writing theexecutivesummary. 5.

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 Remember that your audience is relatively novice in terms of research they are most interestedinthefindingsandtheimplicationsthosefindingsholdfortheirbusiness. ProjectPresentation GroundRules: Aim for a 15minute presentation. The exact amount of time will depend on class enrollmentandwillbeannouncedinclass. Use PowerPoint, transparencies (overheads), or handouts to summarize what you plan to say. Bepreparedforquestionsfromtheaudience. Suggestedoutlineofpresentation: 1. Background(ontheindustry/company/productasappropriate) 2. Researchpurposeandinformationneeds 3. Survey methodology: sampling procedure, sample size, response rate, sample representativeness. 4. Results(mainfindings) 5. Managerialrecommendations Planonspendingmostofyourtimeonthelasttwotopics. 7.

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