Chapter 7. Decision Support Systems and Marketing
Research
Featured URLs: http://www.deltafaucet.com
Conducting Research
Finding useful information for planning marketing strategies can be as simple as making observations as to which products and services seem to be enjoying the most sales. In Chapter Seven, you read about some of the factors to consider when doing investigating the marketplace. The following exercise is designed to help you hone your research skills.
Activity
Baiting the Hook
Marco's wife spotted a full page ad in the paper for a shelving unit at Ikea - they were impressed by the price and the picture showed a bookcase that looked to be perfect. It was a handsome looking unit with a walnut finish and it had been marked down to only $60. This could be just what was needed for their son Gino's bedroom makeover and could handle the stereo and books and other items he had to organize.
Marco and Gino jumped into the car and two Ikea stores later, they ended up buying not one piece of furniture but four - none of them the advertised walnut shelving unit. Why? Because in spite of its low price, the shelving unit matched no other furniture in the store (or in Gino's bedroom) that might be needed. In the end, Marco shelled out over $400.00 for various items of furniture (bookcase, TV stand, side table and desk) that they took home to furnish Gino's room.
Have you ever gone to the store because of a "lead" item you saw in an ad or commercial and ended up buying something different from what brought you into the store? Was what you bought more expensive than what you originally went to buy? Would you have gone to the store if it hadn't been for this item? Did you ever go into a store, lured by a bargain and come out with more items than you intended to buy?
Construct a research questionnaire or survey to determine best ideas for lead items for a store.
Choose from one of the following stores:
1. pet store
2. music store
3. sporting goods store
List ideas for products or services that could serve as "lead" items to bring in customers and have the people taking the survey rank the items from 1 to 10 (ten being the best idea). ALso ask a few open answered questions to solicit ideas you may not have thought of when you designed the questionnaire. Based on the results, decide which of the favoured items will also cause customers to buy more and spend more. Remember, you wouldn't want to "turn customers off" or make them angry when they see what you have for sale - you just want them to be attracted to other items as well or to buy more items while they are in the store.
Research Sites:
http://www.cyberdialogue.com
- conducts custom and industry research
http://www.decisionanalyst.com
- marketing research and marketing consulting firm
http://www.researchinfo.com
- free marketing research resources
http://www.surveysite.com -
online market research and web site evaluation
Instructors: Optional Activities
As with all of the Web exercises, the exercise for Chapter Seven can be used as suggested or certain parts can be adapted to better suit your student population. You will want to estimate how much time is required to complete any part or all of the parts. It will be helpful to give students a suggested time frame for completing their assignments. It will also help to determine how much credit might be given for the assignment.
1. Tapping into More Information
Consider the following questions and do some research to find answers that could affect the faucet marketing campaign you are about to launch. Look at Ikea and other sites about home furnishings like Home Depot and Home Hardware.
The Questions:
2. How's Your Appetite?
Conducting research using a variety of menus is the task at hand. The idea is to find out if customers will order differently because of visual cues or writing styles found on menus.
a. Create two menus. Put the same items on each one but change the illustrations or photos of various items on the menu. Conduct a survey to test which menu is more effective.
b. Create two menus using the same photos or illustrations on each menu but different descriptions of the dishes. On one, use the most tantalizing copy you can think of while on the other, use plain facts, nothing very descriptive. Conduct a study using these menus to see which is more effective.
What else could you do to research the effectiveness of various approaches for "marketing" to a hungry customer?
3. Home Sweet Home
Recently new products were developed to freshen the home. In the smelly world traditionally folks used incense or scented candles. More along contemporary lines there are aerosol spray room deodorizers, plug-ins and stick-ups. Now you can buy spray liquids like the product "Fabreze". On iVillage.com, two members rated this project.
User Number One gave it five stars and said "'I'm big on product testing.
I have a 13-year-old son who plays
roller hockey and football, so I'm always looking for a better way
to clean and maintain sports uniforms and equipment. My first love is Febreze.
Our son's hockey pads cannot be washed, so I rely very heavy on something
that will clean and remove that "gym bag" smell. I also use this on my
furniture to help with cigar and cigarette smoke. I have many types of
fabrics in my house and this product has worked fabulously on all of them.
(Of course, I would never try it on leather.) I highly recommend it". (Aug
28, 2000)
User Number Two gave it 4 and a half stars and said " It does take out the odors but leaves a distinct fragrance behind that can be annoying if used too often". by Anonymous (Feb 24, 2001)
Find a household cleaner, a beauty product or a food item for sale on the web that displays reviews by those who have used it. How can you best use these testimonials from customers in a marketing campaign?