Page 132 - Foundations of Marketing

Marketing Research and Information Systems | Chapter 4 99

Over time, the nature of personal interviews has changed. In the past, most personal inter-
views, which were based on random sampling or prearranged appointments, were conducted
in the respondent’s home. Today, many personal interviews are conducted in shopping malls
or other public areas. Shopping mall intercept interviews involve interviewing a percentage
of individuals who pass by an “intercept” point in a mall. Like any face-to-face interview-
ing method, mall intercepts have advantages. The interviewer is in a position to recognize
and react to respondents’ nonverbal indications of confusion. Respondents can view product
prototypes, videotapes of commercials, and other materials, and provide their opinions. Also,
the mall environment lets the researcher control for complex situational variables that may be
present in individuals’ homes.
An on-site computer interview is a variation of the shopping mall intercept interview in
which respondents complete a self-administered questionnaire displayed on a computer moni-
tor. A computer software package can be used to conduct such interviews. After a brief lesson
on how to operate the software, respondents proceed through the survey at their own pace.
Questionnaires can be adapted so that respondents see only those items (usually a subset of an
entire scale) that may provide useful information about their attitudes.

Online and Social Media Surveys As more and more consumers have Internet access and
connect regularly, the Internet has become an increasingly important research and marketing
resource. Internet surveys are quickly becoming the predominant tool for general population
sampling, in part because of their relatively low cost and ability to target specific samples. In
an online survey , questionnaires can be transmitted to respondents either through e-mail or
via a website. Marketing researchers often send these surveys to online panel samples pur-
chased from professional brokers or compiled by the company. E-mail is semi-interactive,
meaning recipients can ask for question clarification or pose questions of their own. The
potential advantages of online surveys are quick response time and lower cost than traditional
mail, telephone, and personal interview surveys, if the response rate is adequate. Increasingly,
firms use their websites to conduct surveys. They may include a premium, such as a chance to
win a prize, to encourage participation.
Social networking sites are also used to conduct surveys. Marketers can also utilize digital
media forums such as chat rooms, blogs, newsgroups, and research communities to iden-
tify trends in consumer interests and consumption patterns. However, using these forums
for conducting surveys has limitations. Consumers must choose to visit a particular social
media site or blog, which eliminates sample randomness, and it may be difficult to obtain
a representative sample size if site traffic or participation rates are low. On the other hand, shopping mall intercept
they can provide marketers with a general idea of consumer trends and preferences. Movies, interviews A research method
consumer electronics, food, and computers are popular topics in many online communities. that involves interviewing a per-
Indeed, by merely monitoring ongoing online conversations, marketers may be able to identify centage of individuals passing
new- product opportunities and consumer needs. Free and low-cost services, such as Google by “intercept” points in a mall
Analytics, can help a firm to monitor online traffic to a website and to track whether users on-site computer interview
have linked from a social networking site, such as Pinterest. Tracking consumer conversations A variation of the shopping mall
and movements on the Internet can help a firm better understand consumer needs and behav- intercept interview in which
iors, as well as how to target them better. A major advantage of online data is that it can be respondents complete a self-
administered questionnaire dis-
gathered at little incremental cost compared to alternative data sources.
played on a computer monitor
Crowdsourcing combines the words crowd and outsourcing and calls for taking tasks
usually performed by a marketer or researcher and outsourcing them to a crowd, or potential online survey A research
method in which respondents
market, through an open call. In the case of digital marketing, crowdsourcing is often used
answer a questionnaire via
to obtain the opinions or needs of the crowd (or potential markets). There are entire sites
e-mail or on a website
dedicated to crowdsourcing. DesignCrowd.com, for instance, is a website that allows firms to
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crowdsource product, website, and other design projects. Crowdsourcing is a way for mar- crowdsourcing Combines the
words crowd and outsourcing
keters to gather input straight from willing consumers and to actively listen to people’s ideas
and calls for taking tasks usu-
and evaluations on products. ally performed by a marketer
Marketing research will likely rely heavily on online surveys in the future, particularly as or researcher and outsourcing
negative attitudes toward other survey methods, such as telephone surveys, render them less them to a crowd, or potential
representative and more expensive. Internet surveys have especially strong potential within market, through an open call

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