Chapter+1

Chapter 1 4.1 How is the MRIA an important organization for the marketing research industry in Canada? Be specific. The MRIA (Marketing Research and Intelligence Association) is a governing body that acts to improve the products and services that companies offer. The MRIA was formed on November 21, 2004 for the purpose of representing three other industries in the marketing world. Those industries were the **Professional Marketing Research Society (PMRS)**, **The Canadian Association of Market Research Organization (CAMRO)** and the **Canadian Survey Research Council (CSRC).** The MRIA’s mission states that they work //“to promote a positive environment that enhances the industry’s ability to conduct affairs effectively and to the benefit of the public and members”// The MRIA offers a number of different products and services that will help businesses to improve the overall quality of work they product and increase efficiency. Some of these products and services are as follows: - Certification - Professional Development - Publications - Advocacy and lobbying - Ethical and practical standards - Career and support services - Annual Conferences and trade shows I believe that the MRIA is a very beneficial group to be a part of because of all the different resources it gives you access to. Being a member gives you the ability to access a vast database of different information that you can use as a viable source of secondary information. By doing this companies can save time and resources by having a faster means of find the information required. Furthermore the MRIA also uses different surveys online to help bring awareness to the public of the importance of opinion research. By being a member of the MRIA businesses are also given access to different forms of training offered by the organization. Through the training individuals in the company can receive higher levels of accreditation which translate into a higher level of service from the companies employees.’ In conclusion I believe that the MRIA has a positive ongoing effect on the marketing industry. Not only will they help to raise the level of standardization that each business will need to adhere to but they also help to provide the training needed to reach that level.
 * 4.1 How is the MRIA an important organization for the marketing research industry inCanada? Be specific. **

5.1 Describe four main challenges the Canadian marketing research industry currently faces.

The four main challenges that the industry currently faces are: <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif';">1) Focusing on diagnosing the market <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif';">2) Speeding up marketing research by using information technology <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif';">3) Taking an integrative approach <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif';">4) Expanding their strategic impact __<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Focusing on diagnosing the market __ <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Current research collected by marketing professionals Vijay Mahajan and Yoram Wind states that companies are spending too much time using their current market research to test solutions, such as a product or service. They believe that more time should be spent on diagnosing the market to properly find out what the market is truly looking for. The example shown in the text was from the launch of “New Coke”. If the Coke-Cola Corporation had done their market research and focused more on what the market wanted then the product could have found more success rather than complete failure. __<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Speeding up marketing research by using information technology __ <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Too many companies are spending too much time when conducting their research, and the companies must realize that the more time they take to bring a product to the market the more money they will lose. By using information technology companies can speed up the research process and bring products or services out in a more time efficient manner. This will help to save companies money and also give them more time for the next project they will be working on. __<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Taking an integrative approach __ <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Companies have begun to separate data into more accessible files they call “silos”. These silos primarily separate quantitative date and qualitative data. While companies are doing this it is also being noticed that their projects will favour either form of data with lack of consideration for the other. Mahajan and Wind both believe that by integrating both of these types of data into projects will increase the quality of the results that could potentially solve the problems that different projects face. __<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Expanding their strategic impact __ <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Companies are using market research surveys that have very basic questions on them that really do not delve deep enough to actually find out critical information that could help a project really take off. By including more in depth questions into marketing research surveys companies can begin to find answers that will further benefit their project. By expanding their strategic impact and finding out more information companies can modify their product or service more and more to satisfy the needs and wants of the customer more fully.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">5.1 Describe four main challenges the Canadian Marketing Research Industry currentlyfaces. **

5.2 Comment on the ethical nature of each practice presented in the following list. Give reasons for your answers. a. A research company conducts a telephone survey and gathers information that it uses later to send a salesperson to the homes of potential buyers for the purpose of selling a product. It makes no attempt to sell the product over the telephone.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">I believe that this is not unethical because this company researched the potential customers while doing the survey, however the customers knew who was conducting the initial survey, making this ethical in my opinion.

b. Would your response to the preceding case change if you found out that the information gathered during the telephone survey was used as part of a legitimate marketing research report?
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">No, my response would not change, I believe that it is ethical and the company is able to use the information however they so choose as long as the clients answering the survey know what the survey is for.

c. A door-to-door salesperson finds that, by telling people that he is conducting a survey, they are more likely to listen to his sales pitch.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Yes I believe that this is unethical. I believe that it is unethical because the salesperson is knowingly lying to the customer just to pitch his idea, leading the customers to believe something totally untrue.

d. Greenpeace sends out a direct-mail piece described as a survey and asks for donations as the last question.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">No this is not unethical, I believe that this is a completely legitimate question, Greenpeace asks a yes or no question asking would you donate money to this organization. They can later follow up with a newsletter and a donation form then asking for a donation amount if you answered yes to donating money.

e. In the appendix of the final report, the researcher lists the names of all respondents who took part in the survey and places an asterisk beside the names of those who indicated a willingness to be contacted by the client's sales personnel.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">This is completely ethical, these people already want to be contacted so he is just marking down to keep track of who wants to be contacted.

f. A "list" of randomly generated telephone numbers is drawn in order to conduct a telephone survey. g. A "list" of randomly generated email addresses is generated using a "Spambot" (an electronic "robot" that searches the internet looking for and retaining email addresses) in order to conduct a random online research project.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">I believe that this is unethical because no one on this list has given consent to be contacted for the survey, however if these names were taken from a poll that people had entered their numbers themselves than that is entirely ok.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Yes I believe that this is unethical, none of these people have given consent, this runs along the same lines as the prior telephone question.

h. Students conducting a marketing research project randomly select email addresses of other students from the student directory in order to conduct their term project.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">I do not believe that this unethical due to the fact that these people being contacted will be completely unbiased and there is not a big enough audience or time to find new survey takers any other way.