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future, perhaps five to ten years off at this point, I think brain- scanning may well become a routine part of corporate marketing strategies.
CONCLUSION
Qualitative methods are favoured by marketers due to their low cost. After observing a casual relationship between a number of variables, a quantitative study is launched to test to see if the relationship is in fact statistically significant. If significance is determined, then the marketer should adjust the marketing mix to reflect this reality. In order to collect data, observational and association techniques are used. Group dynamics issues, bias, and, naturally, cost all play a factor in deciding which methods should be used. Today due to the decline in cost of computing power, simulators are starting to creep into the planning process as it provides a useful means of contingency planning. Eventually neuromarketing will have a place in the manager’s toolkit, but its promises are still a few years away.
SUMMARY
• The stimulus–response model is a basis from which to analyse consumer behaviour.
• Culture, social and personal factors all contribute to the purchasing decision.
• Leaders of a group influence the group’s tastes.
• Analysing demographic preferences provides insights about
future trends.
• Marketers use a variety of qualitative, quantitative and other
methods to learn what drives the purchasing decision.
• Rapid advances in computing and brain-imaging technology
are opening new horizons in marketing.
CRITICAL qUESTIONS
1 To which demographic cohort do you belong? What would you say are your personal values? Do they match those exhibited by your demographic?