Download Fisher MBA Elective Course - Fisher College of Business

M&L 847 Analytical Methods in Marketing
Fall Quarter 2009
Thursday, 6:00 to 9:48 pm, Gerlach 365
Instructor: Larry M. Robinson
636 Fisher Hall
Ph.: 614-292-0680
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday, 10 to 2, Thursday 3 to 5, & by appointment
Course Description:
Marketing research is an organized way of developing and providing information for marketing
decisions. The quality of information gained from marketing research depends on the care exercised in
executing the marketing research process. The steps include problem formulation, research design,
data collection, data analysis, and reporting of findings.
Emphasis will be given to secondary and primary research methods, including qualitative and
quantitative tools. The course is focused on a managerial perspective for identifying marketing
information in a cost effective and timely way to assist managers to address substantive marketing
problems. Examples of problems and opportunities considered in this course include:
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marketing research methods/processes for analysis of marketing problems (Goldlion case)
measurement of quality and customer satisfaction (The Coop case)
ethnographic research determine how a product/service fits into a customer’s life (Peapod case)
marketing research in industrial design (Oxo International case)
trade-off research to determine what customers value most (Portland Trailblazers case)
methods to simulate/forecast sales potential for a new product (Nestle’s Contadina Pizza case)
marketing research in scenario analysis for a new product (Zenith HDTV case)
lead user research methodology for new product design breakthroughs (3M Corp. case)
For each of these research methods there will be a case, a reading, and for several of the research
methods there will be a guest speaker for the session following our discussion of concepts and a case..
Course Objectives:
1. To develop ability to define problem and opportunities so that research can be used to improve
decisions made by marketing managers
2. To develop a fundamental understanding of information sources and uses in decision making
by marketing managers
3. To introduce qualitative and quantitative research methods, including design considerations
associated with each method
4. To understand data analysis techniques to develop fact-based findings and recommendations
needed to improve decisions made by marketing managers
The course is focused on the manager who uses marketing research and who is responsible for
determining the scope and direction of research conducted by the company.
How we will achieve the objectives:
We will use a combination of readings, cases, guest lectures, class discussion and projects to achieve
the objectives. The course is organized by topics, including:
 marketing research overview/research design
 typical marketing research subjects
 basic research methods, secondary research, data mining, focus groups, depth interviews,
surveys, and trade-off choice analysis techniques
 other research methodologies, including lead user research, ethnographic research, sales
forecasting research
There will be four deliverables in this course, including: a group secondary research assignment, a
data mining analysis, a qualitative primary research task and a quantitative primary research task. The
assignments will be done by three person teams. Each team will become a marketing research group
for a specific organization. The assignments will be determined in consultation with the specific
organization for which the team will be doing marketing research.
 The group secondary research assignment will use secondary sources to identify information
about a specific marketing problem or opportunity. Example research questions that might be
included in this project are: analysis of: industry size, major competitors, industry growth by
market segment and region, industry growth drivers, key strategies of key competitors, major
market segments, new products – understandings which may be useful for specific research
tasks
 The data mining analysis project will start with existing internal data about customers or
revenues or both. The analysis will be guided by what management wants/needs to know and
for which there are data that already exist and which can be analyzed by the team. Such data
could include sales revenues by: time period, market segment, customer, transaction size, or
product. The team might determine top 10 or top 25 customers and/or identify customers who
have discontinued purchases or determine purchasing patterns such as recency, frequency,
and/or total expenditures.
 The qualitative primary research project will begin with a research question posed by the
management of the organization for which the market research team is doing work. The
purpose of the assignment is to gain understanding of a representative but small number of a
target group (eight or less). The task is to understand the needs, buying behaviors with respect
to the needs, issues important to the target group, language used by the target group to describe
their needs, emotions and decision processes. The understandings gained should become a
basis for the last project which is a quantitative primary research task.
 The quantitative primary research project will begin with a research question approved by the
management of the sponsoring organization for your research team. The project will use
insights gained from the secondary research, data mining, and qualitative research project. The
quantitative primary research project will be accomplished by internet survey using the
Zoomerang research tool (www.zoomerang.com).
The course site on Carmen includes articles and notes about marketing research and slides from your
instructor and slides from guest presentations. The home page of the course web site will be updated
following each week’s class session. Each week the instructor will provide a note posted on the course
web site to assist your preparation for the next session.
Grading:
The course has 125 possible points. Your highest 100 points will be used to determine your grade.
Grade components include:
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Class Contribution:
25 points
Secondary research project 25 points
Data mining project
25 points
Qualitative primary project 25 points
Quantitative primary project 25 points
Total:
125 points
Your grade will be modified by dropping the lowest 25 points to get your highest 100 points. If your
lowest score is in class contribution, it will count as 0 points as opposed to 25 points. If your lowest
score is for the secondary research project, it will count as 0 points as opposed to 25 points. If your
lowest score is for the data mining project, it will count as 0 points as opposed to 25 points. If your
lowest score is on the qualitative primary research project, it will count as 0 points instead of 25
points. If your lowest score is on the quantitative primary research project, it will count as 0 points as
opposed to 25 points. The final grade will be determined by your highest 100 points with this
breakdown:
>93%=A
90 to 92.99=A87 to 89.99=B+
84 to 86.99=B
80 to 83.99=B<80=C
The teams will be formed by students at the first class session on September 24, 2009. The
organizations that have agreed to work with the teams in this course will send a representative to
present to the class the marketing research questions/issues they want a team to work on for them.
Those brief presentations (five minutes or less) will begin at 8:00 pm on the first day of class. Then,
the teams will identify their preferences by rank ordering the five or six organizations of their choice.
The instructor will quickly review the rank order preferences. The first session will conclude with each
student team meeting briefly with the representative of the company/organization assigned to them by
the instructor. This first meeting will help the student team to begin their work with that sponsoring
organization.
Class contribution:
Three criteria will be used in reaching a judgment about your class contribution:
1. Depth and Quality of Contribution
The most important dimension of class contribution concerns what it is you are saying. A high quality
comment reveals depth of insight, rigorous use of case evidence, consistency of argument, and
realism.
Depth of insight—good comments are never trivial or obvious. They are not mere facts. They are
facts in conjunction with one another, bringing the class to a deeper level of understanding
Rigorous use of case evidence—assertions must be supported to be powerful. You should constantly
by looking to use qualitative or quantitative case information and analyses to diagnose the problem, to
support your position, or to challenge someone else’s conclusion and action plans.
Consistency—reflects the degree to which your argument is tied together.
Realistic implications—not every comment should be about the action plan. However, useful
comments tend to have implications for action.
To perform well on these criteria, it is important you come to class with a definite action plan and be
prepared to help your classmates appreciate the appropriateness of your plan.
2. Moving Your Peers’ Understanding Forward
Great ideas can be lost through poor presentation. A high quality presentation of ideas must consider
the relevance and timing of comments, and the flow and content of the ensuing class discussion. It
demands comments be concise and clear, conveyed with a spirit of involvement in the discussion at
hand.
Relevance—concerns the timing, fit, and placement of your comments. A relevant contribution joins
seamlessly with previous comments to build a coherent, focused discussion. Irrelevant comments
(either by topic or timing) can cause the discussion to digress through previously charted grounds, or
to change focus prematurely, resulting in disjointed communication and a fragmented learning
experience. Effective listening, a good sense of timing, and a willingness to either integrate the work
of others or challenge their ideas are the skills that lead to relevance. Occasionally, someone makes a
comment that changes the course of discussion. This can be effective too, but only if the comment is
properly timed.
Clarity and Conciseness—clarity involves speaking with urgency, vividness, and persuasiveness. To
be concise, make your best point in the shortest possible time. A long comment is not by definition a
good comment. Similarly, a good point buried in two poor points, tends to get lost.
Involvement—concerns the energy, interest, and enthusiasm you bring to class. Involvement shows in
thoughtful listening, concentration, tracking of the discussion, and a poised readiness to contribute
selectively. Involvement is discriminating: having a hand in the air regardless of the question posed or
the topical discussion underway signals you are not involved. However, noticing when class
discussion has gotten bogged down on a small point and finding a constructive way to move the
discussion forward often is a valuable form of involvement.
3. Frequency
Frequency refers to the attainment of a threshold quantity of contributions that is sufficient for making
a reliable assessment of comment quality. The logic is simple: if contributions are too few, one cannot
reliably assess the quality of your remarks. However, once threshold quantity has been achieved,
simply increasing the number of times you talk does not automatically improve your evaluation.
Beyond threshold, it is the quality of your comments that must improve. In particular, one must be
especially careful that in claiming more than your fair share of “airtime”, that quality is not sacrificed
for quantity. Finally, your attempts at participation should not be such that the instructor must “go
looking for you”. You should be attempting to get into the debate on a regular basis.
The instructor will make a judgment for each student’s contributions to class discussion at the end of
each class session. Students may review with the instructor their progress on their contribution score
by scheduling a meeting with the instructor for that purpose.
The class schedule for the course:
September 24: Intro to course and team formation
Reading: “Marketing Research: Listen and Learn”, Chapter 3, Marketer’s Toolkit: The 10
Strategies You Need To Succeed (Harvard Business School Press, 2006 (posted on Carmen)
Reading: Marketing Research Industry Sample Proposal (posted on Carmen)
October 1: Secondary Research capabilities at Fisher College of Business Library; discussion of
individual secondary project possibilities and review of examples from previous classes
Bring your lap top computer to class, so we can visit via computer the OSU Library research
data bases and other sources available for Fisher MBA students
October 8: Marketing Research Methods Used in New Product Development
Reading: Fareena Sultan, “Marketing Research”, Harvard Note 9-592-013
Case Study: The Coop: Market Research, Harvard Case 9-599-113
Guest Speaker: Liz Geraghty, Vice President, New Product Marketing, Wendy’s
October 15: Intro to Data Mining Marketing Research
Guest Speaker: Matt Nitzberg, Global Manufacturing Practice Leader, dunnhumbyUS
(tentative date)
October 22: Intro to Qualitative and Quantitative Primary Research
Guest Speaker: Marty Saperstein, CEO, Saperstein and Associates, “So You Want to Do A
Focus Group?”
Class will meet this date at a research facility where focus groups are held. Marty will lead the class in
a focus group discussion. Eight class members will be selected to participate in the focus group
session. The other class members will observe the focus group and will provide feedback to the group
at the end of the focus group session. Details about this evening’s session will be presented to the class
on October 15.
October 29: Trade-off Analysis Applied to Marketing Research:
Reading: Robert J. Dolan, “Conjoint Analysis: A Manager’s Guide”, Harvard Business Note 9-590059
Case Study: Portland Trailblazers
Guest Speaker: Greg Allenby, Helen C. Kurtz Professor of Marketing
November 5: Sales Forecasting Scenarios
Case Study: Nestle’s Refrigerated Foods: Contadina Pasta & Pizza (A), Harvard Case 9-595-035
Guest Speaker, Joseph Sebranek, Director, Client Consulting, BASES, A.C. Nielsen Company
accompanied by associate: Paul Lavelle
November 12: Ethnographic Marketing Research:
Reading: Jennifer McFarland, “Margaret Mead Meets Consumer Fieldwork”, Harvard Management
Update Newsletter, 2001. Article Reprint Number: U0108C
Case Study: Relating to Peapod: The Role Peapod Plays in the Lives of its Customers, Harvard Case
9-502-050
Guest Speaker: Chris Rockwell, CEO, Lextant Research
November 19: The Role of Marketing Research in Industrial Design
Case: Oxo International, Harvard Case 9-697-007
Guest Speaker: Raj Shroff, Business Director, Fitch
November 26: Thanksgiving Day Holiday
December 3: The Role of a Marketing Research Department
Case Study: Zenith: Marketing Research for HDTV, Harvard Case 9-591-025
Guest Speaker: Paul Nichols, Senior Marketing Research Analyst, The Scotts Company
Discussion questions for cases:
The Coop:
1. Does The Coop need to invest in marketing research?
2. How much should The Coop spend if they choose to invest in marketing research?
3. Which programs should they fund?
Relating to Peapod:
1. What was the Research Objective of the Peapod ethnographic study? What research questions
were explored in the study?
2. What was the research design? How were subjects selected? What information was developed
about each subject?
3. What did Peapod learn about Beatrice, Lester, Mitch/Clarisse, Veronique, and Leticia?
4. What can/should Peapod do with the information gained in this study?
Nestles Refrigerated Foods: Contadina Pizza (A):
1. What were the research objectives of the pre-BASES, BASES I, and BASES II studies?
2. How did the BASES research fit in with the Nestles product development process?
3. What other market research did Contadina do during the product development process for the
pizza product? What were the results?
4. What were the results of the BASES studies and how were the results used by Contadina in the
product launch?
5. Should Stephen Cunliffe launch a Pizza product? If so, which option? How large of a market
should he expect? What market share could he expect?
Zenith: Marketing Research for HDTV:
1. What was the research objective given to Bruce Huber by CEO Jerry Pearlman?
2. How much of existing information about TV buyers can be used to assess the market for
HDTV?
3. What are the forecasts for HDTV demand for 1992-2000? How to define pessimistic, most
likely, and optimistic scenarios? How to use historical information about other innovations to
help forecast adoption rate?
4. Should Zenith do the aspect ratio study?
5. What additional research should be done to assess the market potential and consumer
preference for HDTV?
Portland Trailblazers:
1. What was the objective of this research project with John Morton Company?
2. What was the research design?
3. What were the results of the research?
4. What should be recommended to Portland Trailblazers management?
Oxo International:
1. Why had Oxo outsourced its industrial design process for new products?
2. Why did CEO Paul Saxton think it “might be time to rethink the make or buy decision at
OXO”?
3. What was the relationship with Smart Design? How well did the relationship work for Oxo?
What issues, if any, need attention?
4. What would you recommend to CEO Saxton?