Page 128 - Foundations of Marketing

Marketing Research and Information Systems | Chapter 4 95

Going Green

Green Marketing

Electric cars—both all-electric plug-ins and electric- a higher-than-expected price tag, buyers may not realize
gasoline hybrids—are being marketed as good for the how much money they’ll save on fuel expenditures over
environment and, in the long run, good for the buyer’s the life of the car. Nissan is addressing this issue by intro-
wallet. Unfortunately, as Nissan, General Motors, Ford, ducing a new Leaf priced 18 percent below the original
and other automakers have found out, these benefits model. At the other end of the price spectrum, General
haven’t yet translated into widespread acceptance of Motors is introducing an electric Cadillac for upscale
electric cars. Sales of Nissan’s Leaf are running well below drivers willing to pay for a green luxury car.
the company’s projections, and sluggish demand has Another reason consumers hesitate to buy plug-ins is
prompted General Motors to temporarily halt Volt produc- “range anxiety,” concern over the limited range an electric
tion on occasion. car can travel between charge-ups. Early electric cars had
Why aren’t sales of electric cars stronger, given the a range of less than 100 miles and required nearly eight
benefits? One reason, according to research, is “sticker hours to recharge. Thanks to technical advances, newer
shock.” A survey by the Indiana University School of electric vehicles have a longer range and recharge in only
Public and Environmental Affairs found that buyers tend a few hours—sometimes via wireless charging. By pro-
to underestimate how much more an electric car will cost moting these improvements, automakers hope to attract
compared to a traditional gas-powered car. Confronted by more eco-minded buyers in the coming years.
a

© iStockphoto.com/CRTd

Management, Advertising Age, Marketing Research, and Industrial Marketing publish general
information that can help marketers define problems and develop hypotheses. Many market-
ers also consult federal government publications such as the Statistical Abstract of the United
States and publications by the U.S. Census Bureau on Business, Agriculture, and the Population.
Marketers can use searchable online databases, available through the Census website, to gather
data on many different topics. Although the government only conducts its primary census every
10 years, it also conducts the American Community Survey (ACF), which is sent to population
samples annually. The ACF is not as comprehensive as the decennial Census, but it can provide
marketers with an up-to-date picture of the nation’s population. A company might use census
data to determine, for example, whether the demographics, education, and income levels of a
population in a specific area would make it a good place to construct a shopping mall.
The Internet is a very useful research tool. Search engines help marketers to locate quickly
many types of secondary data or news and scholarly information research topics of interest.
Of course, companies can also mine their own websites for useful information by using CRM
tools. Many online retailers, for example, track customer purchases in order to gain a more
complete understanding of their needs, desires, lifestyles, and income level. With this infor-
mation, companies are able to cater recommendations to individuals based on the customer’s
previous purchases. Such a marketing system helps companies track the changing desires and
buying habits of the most valuable customers. Furthermore, marketing researchers are increas-
ingly monitoring blogs to discover what consumers are saying about their products—both
positive and negative. Many retailers will send out products to popular bloggers with the hope
that they will use them and feature the products and a review on their websites.

Methods of Collecting Primary Data

Collecting primary data is a lengthier, more expensive, and more complex process than col-
lecting secondary data. To gather primary data, researchers use sampling procedures, survey
methods, and observation. These efforts can be handled in-house by the firm’s own research
department or contracted to a private research firm such as ACNielsen or SymphonyIRI Group.

Copyright 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.