PROJECT 71
Historical/casemethod Relianceisplacedonpastexperiencesinseekingsolutionstocurrent
marketingproblems.
Surveyapproach Marketinginfonnation is collectedeitherfromobservationorbyquestionnaire
orinterview.
Secondarysourcedata Informationthathasbeenpreviouslypublishedandcancomefrom
withinoroutsidethebusiness.
Primaryinformation Informationgatheredtoaddressa particularproblem.
Dataprocessing Proceduresforsorting,assembling,andreportingdata.
DiscussionQuestions
1.Marketingresearchis sometimesreferredtoasa "problem-solvingtool."Explainwhatis meant
bythisstatement.
2.Itis oftenarguedthatonlysuchfieldsasphysics, chemistry,andmathematicsarereally"scien-
tific"andthatmarketingresearch,ascommon withallbehavioralresearch,cannotbescientific.
Howwouldyourespondtosomeonewhostatedthisopinion?
3.Doyouthinkthata distinctioncanbe madebetween"pure"and"applied"researchinmarketing?
4.Selecta localorcampusenterprisewithwhichyouarefamiliar.Identifya marketingproblem
thatit faces.(Youmayneedtointerviewthemanageroftheestablishment.)Translatethismar-
ketingproblemintoitsinformationalelements.Conducta small-scaleinformalinvestigation:
(a)Whattentativehypothesescanyoudevelop?
(b)Whattypesofresearchdesigndoyoubelievewouldbenecessarytotestthesehypotheses?
5.Asmallmanufacturerofhighlyspecializedmedicallaboratoryequipmentanda manufacturer
ofa proprietary(nonprescription) coldremedyneedinformationtoassistinplanningnewprod-
uctintroductions.Whatwouldbetheadvantagesanddrawbacksofusingprimaryversussec-
ondarymarketinginformationforeachfmn?
6.Youaretheadvertisingmanagerofa companythatmanufacturesprofessionalbaseballequip-
ment.Yourfirmemploys fiftyfieldsalespeoplewhomakeperiodiccallsonsportinggoodsdeal-
ers,largeschoolsandcolleges, andprofessionalathleticorganizations.Youalsoplacefull-page
advertisementsina tradepublicationforthesportinggoodsindustry,ScholasticCoach.Thepres-
identofyourcompanyhasquestionedtheuseofthispublicationandhasaskedyoutofindout
howeffectiveitisinincreasingawarenessaboutyourproductsandinstimulatingsales.How
wouldyougoaboutthistask?
7.In1970,FordMotorCo.introduceditssubcompactautomobile,thePinto.Supposeyouhadbeen
a marketingresearchanalystworkingforanothercarmanufacturer.Whatkindsofprimaryand
secondarymarketingresearchwouldyouhaveconductedtoevaluatethesuccessofthisnewprod-
uctintroduction?
Project
I)esigna shortquestionnaire(nomorethan 10 questions)intendedtorevealwhetherornotanother
3tudentisa goodprospectfora newlaptopcomputer.Assumethepurposeofthisquestionnaireisto
