62 CHAPTER 3 MARKETINGRESEARCH:ANAIDTODECISIONMAKING
Eoncustomersengageina varietyofbehaviors.Examplesincludeshopping,purchase,return,
complaintbehavior, andsoforth.A local fastfoodmanagermightsimplyobservetheexpres-
siononcustomers'face~astheyeata newsandwich.M oreformalobservationtechniques
arealsoemployed.Videocamerasoraudiosystemscanbetargetedat customers.Researchers
canalsobehiredtodolicenseplate surveysinparkinglotsorsimplyrecordobservations
ina prescribedmanner.Thereareevenobservationaltechniquesthatarequiteintrusive.
Forinstance,inthecaseofapantry(cabinet)audit,the researchercomestotheconsumer's
homeandactuallytakesaninventoryofproducts found.Ethnographyrequiresthatthe
researcherpracticallymoveinwiththecon~umerandobservevariousrelevantbehaviors.
ThistechniqueisillustratedintheNewslineboxthatfollows.
NEWSLINE:WHERE'S TH EBEEF?
AwomaninsuburbanBaltimoreisshoppingforherfamily'smeals
fortheweek.Shecruisespastthepoultrysection,stoppingonly
momentarilytodropacoupleofpackagesofbonelesschickenbreasts
intohercart.Then,thedreadedseaofredloomsbeforeher.Tenta-
tively,shepicksupapackageofbeef."Thiscutlooksgood,nottoo
fatty,"shesays,jugglinghertwo-year-oldonherhip."But 1 don't
knowwhatitis.Idon'tknowhowtocookit,"sheconfesses,and
tradesitforasmallpackageofsirloinandherregularorderof
groundbeef.
Sceneslikethesearereplayeddailyinsupermarketsacrossthe
country.Butthistime,it'sbeingcapturedonvideotapebyNewYork
City-basedPortICoResearch,partofarecentethnographicstudyof
beefconsumersfortheNationalCattleman'sBeefAssociation(NCBA)
andmajorgroceryretailers.Anddueinparttothetrepidationofthis
onemotherinBaltimore,manygrocers'meatcasesarenowbeing
rearrangedtodisplaybeefbycookingmethod,ratherthanbycutsof
meat.Simple,three-stepcookinginstructionswillsoonbeprintedon
thepackages
Ethnographicresearch,whichcombinesintenseobservationwith
customerinterviews,showscompanieshowpeoplelivewith
products-howtheypurchaseandusethemintheireverydaylives.
KnowingwhatconsumersdowithbeefisvitaltotheNCBA.Thestudy
costt h e NCBAapproximately$60,000(studiesmightrangefrom
$5,000to$800,000).PortiCovideotapedconsumer'spurchasing
behavioraswellastheirpreparationhabitsathome.Theresearchers
interviewedthemeachstepofthewaywhattheythoughtaboutbeef,
whytheydid(ordidn't)selectparticularcuts,andhowtheyprepared
thefamilymeal.Theretailerscouldn'tbelievehowlittleconsumers
knewaboutsomethin gthatseemedasfamiliartothemassliced
breadorsoftdrinks.
Sources:KendraParker,"HowDoYouLikeYourBeef?"AmericanDemograph-
ics,January2000,pp.35-38;JenniferLach,"MeetYouinAisleThree,"Ameri-
canDemograpnics,April1999,pp.41-42.
TheobservationtechniquecanproVIdeimportantresearchinsights,especiallyifcon-
sistentpatternsarenoted.Thismethodisrelativelyinexpensiveandcanbeimplemented
