Chapter+5

Chapter 5 New product idea generation and development Dynamics of purchase decision Investigating potential product positioning or marketing strategies Reactions to advertising and marketing campaigns In the application of social media The event must begin and end within a reasonably short time span (becuase its hard to observe processes that take a long time)
 * 1.1 Identify circumstances where qualitative research is applicable.**

The reason for this is because parents would change how they act and how they discipline their children if they knew they were being studied. You wouldn't be able to get true results unless you did a disguised observation of this situation. The four types of observation methods are; direct versus indirect, diguised vs undisguised, structured vs unstructured, and human versus mechanical.
 * 2.1 Indicate why disguised observation would be appropriate for a study on how parents discipline their children while dining out.**
 * 2.2 A national retail company wants to ensure that its sales staff are well trained and doing a good job. Outline an observation technique it could use to investigate this.**

In this situation I would suggest using a disguised observation method. This is when the subject is unaware that he or she is being observed. A perfect example of this at a retail store would be a "mystery shopper". The mystery shopper then fills out a report regarding how they were treated, if they were told about promotions, and there overall satisfaction of the visit. This will tell the retail company how if there employees know everything they are supposed to and if they are treating customers properly.


 * 4.1 Indicate how a focus group moderator of a traditional focus group should handle each of the following cases:**
 * **a loud, dominating participant**
 * Instead of asking open questions to the entire focus group, you could go to each participant in the focus group and ask the same question so each person has a chance to talk. This way you get input from everyone instead of just the one dominating participant.
 * **a participant who has coughing fits every few minutes**
 * Offer the participant some water and if the coughing fits do no stop, nicely ask the participant to leave. When working in a focus group, time is very valuable and it is not worth it to have constant interuptions for one more voice in the group.
 * **two participants who persist in having a private conversation about their children thoughout the focus group meeting**
 * This is a problem that obviously needs to be stopped right away. If two people are having a private conversation they will not be actively listening to what is going on. One way that could have many different results would be to nicely ask them to stop. you could also use the primary school technique and seperate them and out them on opposite sides of the table. If the conversatio continues, kindly ask one of the people to leave.
 * **a situation in which the only visible minority participant feels uncomfortable and refrains from talking**
 * With a focus group, getting input from this one minority would be very important as they in a way, represent that minority in the population. If they feel uncomfortable and is refraining from talking you have to find a way to make them feel more comfortable. You could do this by asking them very general questions about the product being discussed so they have a chance to open up and get more comfortable talking in the group.

//__ 5.2 A large national grocer has noticed that competitors are offering reusable bags to customers. The grocer is not certain to what extent their own customers are conscientious about recycling. Select two projective techniques and describe how they could be used to address this concern. __//

// To begin… // Involve situations in which participants undergo (are projected into) simulated activities in the hope that they will divulge things about themselves that they might not reveal under direct questioning. Exploring a consumers hidden motives when making a buying decision.
 * //__ Definition of Projective Techniques: __//**

// 1) // // The word-association test // // 2) // // The sentence-completion test // // 3) // // The picture test // // 4) The cartoon or balloon test // // 5) Role-playing activity //
 * // Five //**// projective techniques are commonly used by marketers: //

For this particular situation I believe that the **//sentence-completion test//** and **//role-playing//** would be suitable for addressing the concern that the grocer has about his customers’ awareness of recycling.

The respondents are given incomplete sentences and asked to complete them in their own words. The researched then inspects these sentences to identify themes or concepts. The notion here is that respondents will reveal something about themselves in their responses.
 * __ Definitions & Use __**
 * //__ Sentence-Completion Test: __//**


 * // How it could be used… //**

The following questions would be suitable for the focus group:

People who recycle When I shop I always try to bring ____ Someone who uses reusable bags is ____ Being “green” is _____

In a role-playing activity participants are asked to pretend they are a “third person,” such as a friend or neighbour, and to describe how they would act in a certain situation or react to a specific statement. By reviewing their comments, the researcher can spot latent reactions, positive or negative, conjured up by the situation. This method reveals some of the respondents’ true feelings and beliefs because they are pretending to be another individual.
 * //__ Role-Playing Activity: __//**


 * // How it could be used… //**

Subjects could be asked to assume the role of a close friend, and indicate what that person would say to a third person when asked about whether or not they use reusable grocery bags.

// 4.2 A prominent chocolate manufacturer is thinking of launching a new product. The product would be available in several flavours and shapes and will be named “chocolates.” The company decided to test the concept with focus groups. Describe in detail how participants of the focus groups should be recruited and what topics the moderator of each group should cover. //

// To begin… //


 * __ Definition of Focus Groups: __**

A popular method of conducting exploratory research is through focus groups. Focus groups are small groups of people brought together and guided by a moderator through an “unstructured,” spontaneous discussion for the purpose of gaining information relevant to the research problem. Although focus groups are intended to encourage openness on the part of the participants, the moderator’s task is to ensure that the discussion is “focused” on some general area of interest.

It is generally believed that the best focus groups are ones in which the participants share homogeneous characteristics. The selection of focus group participants is determined largely by the purpose of the group. For instance, since the purpose of this focus group is the launching of the new product “chocolates”, the participants must be consumers who eat chocolate. In addition to this, having all the participants similar in age is a great way to make them feel comfortable, while simultaneously honing in on information that is relevant to that specific age group. You can also group people by job situations, family composition, purchase experiences, or even leisure pursuits, to ensure that differences in these variables will be less likely to confuse the issue being discussed.
 * __ How Participants Should be Recruited: __**

Companies often provide customer lists for focus group recruiters to work from. Recruitment for online focus groups is an ongoing process, a database of prospective participants is generated and maintained by companies offering online focus groups.


 * __ Topics to be Covered: __**


 * Flavours that mix well with chocolate, could either be sweet or savoury – even a mix of both
 * Shapes that will attract different target markets
 * What flavours and shapes would suit which age groups