Marketing research 179
Data sources may be classified into six
main groups:
Consumer data.
Wholesale data.
Advertising evaluation data.
Retail data.
Industrial data.
Media/audience data.
Advantages of panel research
Data are generated continuously, so trends such
as market share and brand switching etc. may
be established, and, as the need to keep
generating samples is reduced, the potential
effects of sampling error are lessened. Evidence
suggests that higher response rates will be
enjoyed when compared with rates from ad hoc
surveys, and the results are likely to be more
accurate as panel members become experi-
enced in recording their purchases. Data may
be generated for a comparatively smaller out-
lay, when compared with the costs of mounting
an ad hoc survey. Panels/syndicated research
can provide data on competitor activities.
Because of its continuous nature, this research
method is likely to produce results quicker than
with an ad hoc survey.
Disadvantages of panel research
The main disadvantages of panel research
rests with the sample itself; once the initial
sample has been selected, by whatever means
(usually probability-based sampling), selected
panellists may refuse to join, thus distorting
the representativeness of the sample. Of those
panellists that do agree to join, some, over
time, may drop out, again ‘upsetting’ the
sample’s representativeness, and it may be
difficult to find new panel members with
equivalent characteristics. Some panel mem-
bers may have to be replaced when they get
too old; age itself is not the problem, but the
panel organizers have to maintain a panel
that is representative of the general public’s
demographics. Panel members mayalter their
purchase patterns as a result of being sur-
veyed, but the effect may be reduced by (i) a
reasonable turnover of panel members and/or
(ii) disregarding their submissions for the first
2–3 months of membership.
One form of continuous research which is
rapidly gaining popularity is that of the ‘loyalty
card’ system operated by large supermarket
chains. Customers register with the company
by filling in an application form which asks for
details such as name, address, post-code, mar-
ital status, number of children etc. The mem-
bers of the scheme are rewarded with bonus
points for a set unit of expenditure; the custom-
ers are rewarded with discounts or products
redeemed by surrendering a certain number of
points, and the company gains access to a huge
database.Observation
All members of a society are observers, though
usually only on a casual basis – an insufficiently
scientific approach for it to be used as a
marketing research technique, as it may be
subject to large and unreliable amounts of
subjectivity and bias on the part of the observer.
Therefore, before observation may be used in
research, it must be made more objective and
rigorous. Observation may not immediately
spring to mind as a marketing research method,
but there are two situations where it may prove
most useful:1 Where it is the only way of gathering certain
types of data, e.g. it might be difficult for
respondents to remember their exact journey
through a multi-floored department store and
the amount of time they spent in each section,
but the answer could be obtained by using a
trained observer.
2 It may be used to confirm that the results
gathered by other methods are valid, though
here it may not be thought of as a technique
in its own right, rather as half of a
two-pronged investigation.