Collection of primary marketing information. Primary data collection methods Marketing information collection methods examples
The primary information collection system provides for special marketing research. Their purpose is to obtain additional data related to the solution of specific marketing tasks. It should be noted here that the creation of a system for collecting primary information is not always available to many small enterprises. In this case, they seek help from firms specializing in this type of work. This is much cheaper than maintaining your own staff of researchers at the enterprise. Larger enterprises often collect primary marketing information themselves.
The main methods for collecting primary marketing data are:
Observation;
Experiment;
Simulation modeling.
The survey allows you to identify the system of preferences that the target market of consumers is guided by when choosing certain tourist products, evaluating various forms of service, and accessing the services of various companies. This is the most common data collection method in marketing. It is used in approximately 90% of studies.
The survey is based on an oral or written appeal to consumers and employees of the company with questions, the content of which represents the research problem.
According to the degree of coverage of potential buyers, surveys can be continuous and selective.
Continuous research can be carried out, for example, among visitors to the company or its stand at exhibition events.
In practice, the number of potential customers is usually large, which makes it impossible to conduct continuous surveys. In this regard, sample surveys are most acceptable, the essence of which lies in the fact that a part of the entire studied population is surveyed, selected by special scientifically based methods. If the sample set sufficiently fully reflects the properties of the general population, it is called representative (representative).
A special role in marketing when conducting sample surveys is given to the method of so-called focus groups.
In marketing practice, two main forms of survey are used: questionnaires and interviews.
During the survey, the respondent himself answers the questions in writing in the presence of the interviewer or without him. According to the form of conducting it can be individual or group. In the latter case, a large number of people can be interviewed in a short time (for example, an enterprise team, a student group). Questioning can also be face-to-face and by correspondence. The most common form of the latter is the mail survey. In its most general form, it consists in sending out questionnaires and receiving answers to them by mail.
Interviewing as a form of survey involves personal communication with the interviewee, in which the interviewer himself asks questions and records the answers. According to the form of conducting, it can be direct (personal) and indirect (for example, by telephone).
Personal interviews allow you to implement flexible survey tactics, supplement the answers with the interviewer's observations. The reliability of the information received is quite high. The disadvantages include the high cost and duration, the likelihood of the interviewer influencing the opinions of the respondents, the need for special training of interviewers.
If you need to get answers to a few and simple questions in the shortest possible time, you can use a telephone interview. It is often used in the implementation of preliminary studies that provide information for subsequent personal interviews. The advantages of a telephone interview are speed and high efficiency (80-90% of respondents agree to answer questions), as well as insignificant time and cost. At the same time, the lack of personal contact with the interviewee often complicates the work of the interviewer.
Thus, a survey as a method of obtaining primary marketing information can be carried out in various forms and varieties. Evaluation criteria for choosing one or another of them are given in Table 4.4.
A feature of the survey as a method of collecting primary marketing information is a rather high degree of refusal of respondents to participate in the study. There are two groups of reasons for failure. The first is connected with certain generalized feelings of suspicion and the desire not to allow anyone into your personal life. A certain category of people do not want to participate in any surveys. The second is determined by the specific circumstances of a particular survey. For example, some respondents are reluctant to discuss certain topics. The chosen form of the survey also affects the degree of willingness to participate in the survey. Thus, people find it more difficult to refuse to participate in a personal interview than in a mail survey. Usually, methods are used to stimulate the desire to take part in the study by providing small gifts (pens, key rings, lighters, promotional souvenirs, etc.).
The accuracy of the results of a survey conducted in any form depends to a large extent on the quality of the instrument (questionnaire or interview form).
A questionnaire (or questionnaire) is a system of questions united by a single research plan aimed at identifying the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of an object and subject of research.
There are a number of things to keep in mind when designing a questionnaire:
The effectiveness of the survey depends on what questions are asked, in what order, what possible answers are contained in them. All questions should be analyzed for their relevance and appropriateness;
The form of the question greatly influences the answer;
The questionnaire should be constructed in such a way that its clear internal logic can be seen.
There is always an introductory part on the first page of the questionnaire. It specifies who conducts the survey; What is the purpose of the survey? instructions for filling out the questionnaire are given. The introductory part should emphasize respect for the interviewees and make them willing to answer questions.
Further in the questionnaire are contact questions. Their task is to interest the interlocutor, introduce the problems under study, and conduct a “warm-up” of the respondents. These questions are relatively simple, easy to answer. They must convince the respondents that they can quite cope with the answers to the questions of the questionnaire. A contact question could be worded, for example, as follows: “Do you like to travel? ".
Each task must correspond to a block of basic questions, which can be divided into closed and open questions.
Closed questions require the choice of answers from the full set of options given in the questionnaire.
Open questions, unlike closed ones, do not contain hints, do not “impose” one or another option, but are designed to receive informal (non-standard) answers. In this case, the processing of the results seems to be more complicated. However, posing open questions in a number of cases is preferable, since the possible finding of an unexpected solution in this case is able to fully compensate for the costs.
A special role in the questionnaire belongs to control questions. Their purpose is to check the validity of the data. Let's say the main question is: “What characteristics of the services offered by the company most satisfied you? “The control question can be of the following type: “Have you used the services of the company? ". Comparison of the answers to these questions gives information about the sincerity of the respondent - It must be emphasized that the control question should never follow the question, the answer to which he controls. This is due to the fact that the respondent's answer to each subsequent question is influenced by the content and answer to the previous one.
When constructing a questionnaire, one should also take into account the fact that the most difficult questions that require analysis, reflection, and memory activation are placed in the middle of the questionnaire. By the end of the work with the questionnaire, the difficulty of the questions should decrease.
The survey ends with final questions. Their goal is to relieve the psychological stress of the respondent (for example, “Are you tired of our conversation?”). The last section of the questionnaire also includes questions to determine the socio-demographic portrait of respondents (gender, age, place of residence, social status, education, income level, etc.). At the end of the questionnaire, be sure to express gratitude to the interviewee for participating in the study.
The following methods are used to collect primary information:
quantitative and qualitative surveys;
panel studies (a special kind of survey);
observation;
experiments;
expert assessments.
1. A survey is an appeal to respondents with questions, the answers to which are of interest to the researcher.
Depending on the nature of the information of interest to the researcher, all surveys are divided into quantitative and qualitative. .
Quantitative surveys in most cases are structured, i.e. all respondents answer the same questions and are based on obtaining information from a large number of respondents.
Depending on the method of communication with respondents, their divided into 4 types:
Telephone surveys.
Oral or personal interviews.
Post surveys (written).
Electronic Polls.
Quantitative survey methods are not mutually exclusive. Often they are used as complementary.
Qualitative survey methods involve the collection of information according to a special loosely structured or unstructured, free method (when the interviewer asks questions depending on the answers received) and are based on a small sample size.
Qualitative methods are focused on identifying underlying motives, rational and irrational reasons for the behavior of respondents, their perception of individual events or objects. Indispensable for exploratory research, when it is necessary to understand the causes of the phenomenon, to build hypotheses Qualitative survey methods are divided into indirect and direct. depending on whether the respondent knows the true purpose of the study.
The direct approach to research is not masked by the researcher. Respondents are told about the purpose of the study, or it becomes obvious from the questions asked (focus groups, in-depth interviews).
With an indirect approach, respondents are not informed about the objectives of the study (projection methods).
There are the following types of qualitative survey methods:
- a) a focus group is an unstructured personal interview that a specially trained moderator takes from a small group of respondents, formed in accordance with specified criteria.
- b) in-depth interview - an unstructured, direct, personal interview, during which the interviewer interviews one respondent in order to determine his main motivations, emotions, attitudes, beliefs and feelings on a particular topic. In other words, this is a face-to-face interview using the probing technique - asking questions.
- c) protocol analysis - the essence of the method is to place the respondent in a certain situation in which he must make a decision. In this case, the respondent must verbally describe all the facts and arguments that influenced his choice. All arguments and proposed actions are recorded by him in chronological order in the protocol.
The use of the method is advisable when analyzing decisions, the time for making which is either long (purchase of pre-selection goods) or too short (purchase of goods of impulsive demand);
- d) projection methods are unstructured indirect survey methods based on special techniques that encourage the respondent to express their hidden motives, beliefs, attitudes, feelings regarding the problem under discussion. When using projection methods, the respondent is placed in a certain simulated situation in the hope that he will express information about himself that cannot be obtained in any other way. Moreover, the more ambiguous the situation, the brighter emotions and more accurate information are expressed).
- 2. Panel research is a repeated collection of data in the same group of people at regular intervals, and usually the subject and topic of the study are constant.
The panel itself is a group of respondents, which is a representative sample of objects in the general population, which regularly provides the researcher with information. Information from respondents can be obtained in various ways: through filling out questionnaires; interview; filling diaries, a combination of all methods.
Panel classification usually occurs on the basis of :
By time of existence panels are divided on the:
short-term(no more than a year);
long-term(up to five years).
According to the composition of respondents (units of population) in allocate:
consumer products aneli (individuals or households);
trading panels(enterprises of wholesale and retail trade);
production(Industrial enterprises, institutions);
specialist panels(doctors and other professionals).
According to the nature of the problems under study, there are:
t traditional panels, which consist of respondents who are interviewed regularly with a certain frequency (they answer the same questions).
non-traditional panels are polled irregularly for different research purposes.
Panels use to solve the following tasks:
clarification of buying habits, rules for making a purchase, the main trends in consumer preferences;
identifying ongoing changes in the behavior of consumers (respondents) under the influence of the external environment.
3. Observation is the process of third-party registration by the researcher of behavior patterns of subjects, certain processes and events that can be detected by the senses (the method is based on visual and auditory perception).
A characteristic feature of observation is that the researcher does not question or make contact with the people he is observing.
The subject of observation can be the properties and behavior of individuals (buyers, sellers, competitors) and features of processes (purchase of goods, use of devices, etc.).
According to the degree of standardization distinguish:
structured observation - the researcher determines in advance the object of observation, as well as methods for evaluating the results of observation.
unstructured observation provides for the registration of all events related to the object of observation, without their preliminary clarification. Registers everything that, from the point of view of the researcher, can be related to the subject of research.
According to the degree of openness of the process, there are:
hidden observation - respondents do not know that they have become the object of observation. At the same time, they behave in a natural way, they are not inclined to change their behavior.
open observation - respondents know that they are being observed. Experts disagree on the question of the extent to which the presence of an observer affects the behavior of the respondent.
By way of doing observations are:
personal observation - observation, in which the researcher personally registers all the events occurring with the object as they occur.
observation with the use of technical means - observation, during which the recording of the results is carried out by technical means.
Observation use when you need information:
directly during the process, events, for example, the process of choosing a product by the buyer;
in order to make a preliminary idea about the object (nothing is known at the beginning of the study);
to confirm data obtained using other methods, for example, during the survey, the respondent says one thing, but does another.
4. Experiment - a method of collecting primary information through the active intervention of the researcher in certain processes in order to establish the relationship between events.
The object of research is most often consumers, the subject of research is their reaction to marketing tools.
During the experiment, the researcher seeks to identify causal relationships between events, in other words, to determine how the independent variable affects the dependent. The independent variable is usually the elements of the marketing mix, the dependent variables are sales, profits, consumer attitudes, etc.
Experiment conditions:
only one independent variable is subject to change, the rest are fixed;
the external conditions of the experiment must be stable;
the period of the experiment should be sufficient to obtain reliable results.
Depending on the conditions of the experiments, they are classified into:
laboratory - experiments in artificially created conditions in accordance with the specified requirements;
field - experiments conducted in natural - real market conditions.
Experiments apply when it is necessary to justify marketing decisions on bringing new products to the market, on pricing, advertising messages, etc.
5. Expert assessments
Peer review is a method of collecting information based on interviews with people who are well versed in the subject of research, who express their individual or agreed opinion on a problem. Expert assessments are classified as heuristic methods, because they are based on the experience, knowledge and intuition of experts. Scientists, business leaders, wholesalers and retailers, sales managers, other specialists - librarians, doctors, etc. can act as experts. This method of collecting information is subjective, therefore, in order to obtain information of the required quality, it is important to attract independent, competent enough in the problem of specialists. In order to reduce the risk of subjectivity in individual assessments, groups of experts are used to discuss different opinions and come to an agreement.
So, expert opinions can be based on the methods of individual expert analysis, collective interaction and mixed discussion.
Individual expert methods involves the individual work of an expert without interaction with other specialists. Within this group, the following methods of collecting information are distinguished:
Method of analytical notes involves the independent work of an expert on the analysis of the problem, possible ways to solve it and the presentation of his conclusions in the form of an expert opinion. A variation of the method is, for example, commodity expertise.
Expert Interview Method consists in conducting a conversation with an expert in accordance with the objectives of the study.
Scenario method used in predictive studies to describe a dynamic model of the future, which describes the possible course of events with an indication of the probabilities of their implementation. The scenario describes the key environmental factors (causal factors) that can affect the event under study, indicates the ways in which these factors influence and the consequences of the influence.
Collective expert methods provide for the work of an expert in a team. The most well-known methods of group expert assessments are the Delphi method and the brainstorming method.
Delphi method. The essence of the method lies in the fact that anonymous answers of experts to certain questions are collected over several stages and, through the acquaintance of experts with intermediate results, they receive a group assessment of the event of interest.
Brainstorming method» is considered more efficient than the Delphi method. It is usually used when discussing controversial issues on which there is a significant spread of expert opinions. It is sometimes referred to as the "idea generation" method.
The collection of primary information provides for the conduct of Special Marketing Research. Their purpose is to obtain additional data related to the solution of specific marketing tasks. There are several methods for collecting primary marketing information. Let's consider them.
The survey is the main method of obtaining marketing information about consumers, their behavior in the market, preferences when choosing certain tourist products, evaluating various forms of service. This is the most common data collection method in marketing. It is used in about 90% of studies.
Poll - an oral or written appeal to the respondents with questions, the content of which constitutes the research problem. Surveys are classified according to a number of criteria.
Depending on the source (carrier) of primary information, there are mass and specialized surveys.
In a mass survey, the main source of information is various categories of the population whose professional activities are not related to the subject of analysis. Participants in mass surveys are called respondents (from Latin respondeo - to answer). In specialized surveys, the main source of information is competent persons whose professional activities are closely related to the subject of the study. Hence follows another widely used name for such surveys - expert surveys. They are most often used at the initial stage of marketing research, when it is necessary to identify a problem, and at the final stage, when it is necessary to check the information received and make a decision.
Depending on the frequency of conducting surveys, they are divided into accurate (one-time) and repeated. The latter make it possible to identify the main range of requests and preferences and the main trends in their changes over time for timely decision-making on activities in the market. Panels represent a special group of repeated surveys.
According to the degree of coverage of potential consumers, surveys are continuous and selective.
Continuous research can be carried out, for example, in relation to visitors to the company or its stand at exhibition events.
In practice, the number of potential customers of an enterprise is usually large, which makes it impossible to conduct continuous surveys. In this regard, the most acceptable are sample surveys, the essence of which lies in the fact that a part of the population under study, selected as a result of special scientifically based methods, is being interviewed. If the sample set sufficiently fully reflects the properties of the general population, it is called representative (representative).
A special role in marketing when conducting sample surveys is given to the method of so-called focus groups.
In marketing practice, two main forms of survey are used: questionnaires and interviews.
During the survey, the respondent answers questions in writing with or without the presence of the interviewer. According to the form of conducting it can be individual or group. In the latter case, a large number of people can be interviewed in a short time (for example, the workforce of an enterprise, a student group). Questioning can also be face-to-face and by correspondence.
Face-to-face questioning, in which the respondent himself answers questions in writing in the presence of the interviewer, is one of the most commonly used methods for collecting primary marketing information. According to the Bulgarian specialist S. Mikhailov, in face-to-face questioning, in comparison with other methods, "the difficulties that arise in ensuring the representativeness of information are minimal."
The advantages of face-to-face questioning are that the questionnaire has the ability to:
Explain to the respondent all aspects relating to the wording and substance of the questions;
Directly control the return of completed questionnaires and the completeness of the answers.
Face-to-face questioning can be carried out by visiting respondents at home or at work, as well as by polling in public places (on the street, in shops, restaurants, theaters, on transport, on the beach, etc.). The latter approach is the most popular, as it is extremely economical and allows for a quick set of primary marketing information. Practice shows that with such a survey at the same time, five times more respondents can be covered than with home surveys. Another important benefit of conducting surveys in public places is that they provide largely reliable information on purchases or consumption of services. The fact is that in this case the respondent gives "fresh" information, and his assessments are really spontaneous and his own, not influenced by other people. At the same time, the questionnaires should be extremely short, convenient for filling out.
In the practice of tourist activities, questioning on the beach is of undoubted interest. At the same time, almost one hundred percent return of questionnaires is achieved. The fact is that people during such a holiday most often look for something to “kill” time, and take part in such studies with pleasure.
The most common form of remote survey is the mail survey. In general, it is a mailing of questionnaires and receiving answers to them by mail.
Benefits of a mail survey:
Possibility of carrying out on a large territory, including in hard-to-reach areas;
The absence of a psychological barrier and the influence of the questionnaire on the answers;
No hard time limits.
Disadvantages of a mail survey:
The duration of waiting for answers;
Incomplete return of questionnaires (the number of unanswered questionnaires often reaches more than 90%);
Difficulties in determining the reliability of the information received.
In order to avoid non-return of questionnaires, it is very important to correctly think over the content and type of cover letter, which should convince respondents of the importance of the ongoing marketing research.
In addition, the cover letter must include:
Who conducts the research;
Research objectives;
Guarantees of preservation of anonymity of answers;
Deadlines for the return of completed questionnaires;
Preliminary gratitude for the possible participation of the respondent in the study.
It is very important that the letter contains some elements of suggestion: how important are the answers of this person; what benefits they will bring to the clients of the travel company. Some incentives may also be offered (for example, incentives for the fastest return of completed questionnaires; participation of all respondents who sent questionnaires before a certain deadline in the drawing of prizes in the form of tourist trips). A prerequisite for increasing the return of completed questionnaires is the provision of an empty envelope with a stamp and a return address, which will greatly facilitate the work of respondents.
One of the varieties of the mail survey is the so-called press survey. In this case, the questionnaire is printed in a newspaper or magazine. However, as experience shows, in this case, the return of questionnaires is extremely low. In addition, the questionnaire is usually answered by the most active readers. In this regard, one should be quite careful in interpreting the results obtained.
The Internet is a promising direction of correspondence questioning. It can serve as an extremely useful tool for enterprises to collect not only secondary, but also primary marketing information. So, a survey of visitors to the Web server can be conducted. To do this, it is necessary to develop an appropriate questionnaire, place it on the server and ask its users to answer questions of interest to the researcher. For example, questions in the questionnaire of the hotel chain "Hilton" change every two weeks. At the same time, clients are given the opportunity to get acquainted with the results of the study.
It is also possible to conduct a survey on teleconferences. To do this, you must: select a teleconference with the audience of interest; follow the discussions for a while; take an active part in the discussion of problems; put forward questions on the teleconference that need to be answered.
Interviewing as a form of survey involves personal communication with the interviewee, in which the interviewer himself asks questions and records the answers. According to M. Graivitz, "an interview is a research procedure based on verbal communication to collect information, taking into account the goal."
The advantage of the interview, in comparison with other methods of collecting primary data in tourism, is that it is possible to reveal the socio-psychological mechanisms of the studied phenomena - the motivations, interests and predisposition of tourists to the proposed tourist products and their prices, the reasons for customer dissatisfaction with the structure and quality of the proposed services.
According to the form of the interview, it can be direct and indirect (for example, by telephone).
Direct interviews allow you to implement a flexible survey tactics, supplement the answers with the interviewer's observations. The reliability of the information obtained in this case is quite high. The disadvantages include a rather high cost, duration, the likelihood of the interviewer influencing the opinions of the respondents, the need for special training of interviewers.
If the answers to a few and simple questions need to be obtained in the shortest possible time, a telephone interview can be used. It is often used in the implementation of preliminary studies that provide information for subsequent personal interviews. The advantages of a telephone interview are efficiency and high efficiency. At the same time, the lack of personal contact with the interviewee often complicates the work of the interviewer.
There are three types of interview techniques:
structured;
semi-structured;
Unstructured.
A structured (standardized) interview involves a detailed development of the entire survey procedure, i.e. includes a general plan of the conversation, a sequence of questions and answer options. In this case, the interviewer is given a predominantly performing role. The respondent must, after carefully listening to the question, choose from the pre-proposed set the most suitable answer option for him. In this case, the influence of the interviewer on the quality of the data is minimized. The reliability of the information received depends primarily on the conscientiousness and punctuality of the respondent.
A structured interview, depending on the purpose of its conduct and focus, is divided into clinical (long, deep) and focused (short-term). The purpose of a clinical interview is to obtain the most complete information about the internal motives, motives, inclinations, and characteristics of the interviewee. A focused interview is aimed at obtaining information about a specific problem, situation or phenomenon.
A semi-structured interview involves a detailed development of the survey procedure, which provides for a strictly mandatory sequence of questions. Unlike a structured interview, in this case, the respondent is not offered answers. He answers questions freely. The task of the interviewer is to complete and clearly record the answers, the method of fixing which is standard and provided for by the instructions. This may be a verbatim recording with the preservation of the vocabulary of the respondent (including shorthand or tape recording) or direct coding of responses during the survey.
An unstructured (free) interview is characterized by minimal standardization of the interviewer's behavior. It is conducted without pre-prepared questions or a developed conversation plan. Only the topic is determined, which is offered to the respondent for discussion. The direction of the conversation, its logical structure, the sequence of questions, their wording - all this depends on the individual characteristics of the interviewer, his ideas about the subject of discussion and the ability to adapt to the conditions of a particular situation. Unlike the results of mass surveys, the information obtained in this case does not need to be unified for subsequent statistical processing. Its value is determined precisely by its uniqueness.
Most often, a free interview is used to study the image of tourism enterprises. The image consists of two separate, but indivisible components (components): the characteristics of the object and the characteristics of consumers. The study of the image of a particular travel company cannot be carried out only by quantitative methods, but must be supplemented by deeper technologies, such as unstructured interviews.
It should be emphasized that the optimal form of the interview is a calm, relaxed conversation. According to Prof. Uta Gerhardt from the University of Cologne, the situation in any interview in the social field is very similar to the situation in making a diagnosis in medicine. On the one hand, we have a patient (i.e., an interviewee who is a source of information), on the other, a doctor (interviewer) who conducts a conversation in order to collect the necessary information about the symptoms, causes, and motives of the respondent's actions. In any case, the reliability of information is directly dependent on the tact and ease of the interviewer, who must call the respondent to a frank and full-fledged conversation.
Thus, a survey as a method of obtaining primary marketing information can be carried out in various forms.
A feature of the survey is a fairly high degree of refusal of respondents to participate in the study, based on two main reasons. The first is connected with people's feeling of a certain suspicion and unwillingness to let anyone into their personal lives. The second reason is determined by the specific circumstances of a particular survey. For example, some respondents are reluctant to discuss certain topics. The form of the survey also affects the degree of desire to participate in the study.
The accuracy of the results of a survey conducted in any form depends to a large extent on the quality of the instrument (questionnaire or interview form).
Questionnaire development
A questionnaire is a system of questions united by a single research concept that allows you to obtain the information necessary to develop solutions to the problem under study. The preparation of the questionnaire is preceded by a large research work described in works on sociology.
The questionnaire is not just a list of questions. It is a very thin and flexible research tool. The formulation of questions, their number and sequence, the correctness of the wording are important in it. The list of possible questions does not lend itself to strict regulation. Each researcher, depending on the goals, the object of research and his own capabilities, proposes and formulates them himself. The development of the questionnaire, as rightly noted by G.A. Churchill, "continues to be more of an art than a science." At the same time, there are certain rules and recommendations, following which ensures that the respondent’s psychology is taken into account, predicting his reaction to one form or another of the question, the degree of sincerity and the opportunity to formulate an unambiguous answer.
There are a number of things to keep in mind when designing a questionnaire:
The effectiveness of the survey depends on what questions are asked, in what order, what possible answers are contained in them. All questions should be analyzed for their relevance and appropriateness;
The form in which the question is posed greatly influences the answer;
The nature of the answers largely depends on the correct and unambiguous wording of the questions;
The questionnaire should be constructed in such a way that its clear internal logic can be seen.
The questionnaire always begins with an introductory part. It indicates who conducts the survey and for what purpose, gives instructions for filling out the questionnaire, and describes how to return the completed questionnaires. The introductory part should emphasize respect for the interviewees and make them want to answer questions.
Further in the questionnaire are contact questions. They are designed to interest the interlocutor, introduce the problems being studied, and conduct a “warm-up”. Contact questions should show the respondent that he can easily answer them. The contact question can be formulated, for example, as follows: “Do you like to travel?”
Each set task corresponds to a block of basic questions, which are divided into closed, open and semi-closed.
Closed questions require the choice of answers from the full set of options given in the questionnaire. The main advantage of using this type of questions is that they allow the use of machine data processing. However, at the same time, they hide a significant drawback: the choice of an answer on the part of the respondent is limited. That is why, when using closed questions, it is mandatory that the significant aspects of the problem under study be reflected in the response options offered to the respondent.
There are two types of closed questions:
Alternative (dichotomous);
With a selective answer (multiple choice).
A multiple-choice question requires a choice of three or more answers. To raise such questions, measurement scales are used, which are a tool for bringing heterogeneous qualitative features to comparable quantitative ones: nominal, ordinal, interval, ratios.
The nominal scale (sometimes called the scale of names) has only the characteristic of description and is a simple enumeration of answer options without any hint of ordering and comparison. For example, if it is necessary to identify the reasons why tourists in a given resort relatively rarely buy the offered excursions, then the question using a nominal scale can be formulated as follows:
Specify the reasons why you refuse to purchase the proposed excursions:
Lack of interest;
High price;
Limited choice;
Lack of awareness of the excursions offered;
Other.
The ordinal scale (sometimes called the rank scale) consists of categories that differ from each other by conventional concepts or qualitative features, in which the presence of order in some form is implied. In order for scale estimates to differ from numbers in the ordinary sense, they are called ranks at the ordinal level. Ordinal scales are commonly used when formulating questions about relationships, ratings, overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the characteristics of a tourism product, the likelihood of a new visit to a particular holiday destination, hotel, restaurant, etc.
Since marketing professionals are extremely interested in the future behavior of the firm's customers, they are forced to develop forecasts about this circumstance. For this purpose, information is collected about the prevailing customer attitudes towards a particular product, as well as the factors that determine them. On the other hand, it must be taken into account that the willingness of clients to act is not always a guarantee of their actual behavior.
For specialists of a particular tourist complex, not only individual aspects and consumer reactions are of interest, but also their more generalized characteristics. For example, depending on the program and purpose of marketing research, information can be collected on whether a tourist buys excursions in the country and abroad, whether he visits entertainment programs and events, what are his expenses for the purchase of additional services, etc. These are, in essence, separate manifestations of tourist activity. The question arises: is it possible to formulate one generalized indicator of tourist behavior, if we keep in mind that it covers many individual qualities and actions of a tourist. It turns out it's possible. One of the most effective methods for obtaining such an indicator is to use a complex ranking scale. It combines information according to several features that characterize the most general quality, in which the latter are its varieties, elementary components.
Interval, the scale consists of numerical values that can be physically measured. A classic example of this is the temperature scale (the interval between numerical values is known and has constant dimensions - temperature in degrees Celsius). A prerequisite for the development of an interval scale is the selection of a certain unit for measuring the characteristics under study, which, in turn, requires the determination of the highest and lowest scores and the same distance between the individual degrees of the scale. The entire possible measurement area is divided into intervals. The interval scale usually presents questionnaire questions about age, income, expenses, prices, etc., which makes sense only if quantitative measurement is used.
The scale of relations differs from the interval one in that it assumes the presence of a natural or absolute zero, the absence of a measurable feature, in respect of which there is a common opinion about its location. Obvious examples are height and weight. On this scale, you can make a quantitative comparison of the results obtained. For example, a respondent may be 2 times older, spend 3 times more money on vacation, fly an airplane 4 times more often than another respondent.
There are a large number of options for scales built on the basis of the basic principles outlined above.
The most commonly used questions for formulating closed questions are:
Likert scale;
semantic differential;
Stapel scale;
Mnemonic scale.
Likert scale is, in fact, a kind of ordinal. When using it, a number of statements are developed that relate to the problem or object of study. Respondents are asked to indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement with each of the statements.
In practice, the five-digit Likert scale is widely used. Its meaning lies in the fact that two intermediate answers (“agree” and “disagree”) are introduced in addition to two extreme answers (“strongly agree”, “strongly disagree”) and neutral. Numerical designation of statements is often used, the value of which corresponds to the degree of evaluation of the relationship. Thus, absolute agreement (“strongly agree”) is rated as 5, and radical disagreement (“strongly disagree”) corresponds to a score of 1. Summing up the numerical indicators, you can get the average value of the degree of agreement with the above statements, as well as build statistical distributions. Here are examples of questions using the Likert scale.
On the basis of the data obtained as a result of processing the answers to such questions, it is possible to analyze the profile of two or more tourism enterprises.
The semantic differential is a series of bipolar characteristics that determine the properties of the object under study. The semantic scale consists of a large number of antonyms ("bad - good", "convenient - inconvenient", "useful - useless", "cheap - expensive", "like - not stored", etc.). On such a scale, boundary definitions are applied, and the entire space between them is divided into seven ranges that characterize the degree of proximity of the respondent's opinion to a particular definition. For ease of processing, scales with digital designations are used. The respondent must mark the number corresponding to his attitude to the problem under study. Since many marketing stimuli are based on mental associations and relationships that are not explicitly expressed, this type of scale is especially effective in researching the image of an enterprise, brand or product offered. Let's give an example of a question using a semantic differential.
After receiving estimates from all respondents, the arithmetic mean is calculated for each pair of antonyms.
The results of the study of consumer opinions based on the semantic differential scale can be represented graphically.
It can be seen from the figure that restaurant X is viewed as a fast-food establishment that is luxuriously furnished, more conveniently located, but also more expensive than restaurant Y.
The popularity of semantic differential scales in the formulation of closed questions can be explained by the ease with which they are created, the clarity with which they give results, and the ability to take into account wavering opinions, vague feelings and expectations.
The Stapel scale is, in fact, a modification of the semantic differential. The difference is as follows: 1) adjectives as bipolar pairs are tested separately and not simultaneously; 2) there are 10 separate positions on the scale, not 7. Supporters of the Stapel scale argue that it not only frees the researcher from such a difficult task as the development of bipolar pairs, but also allows for more detailed differentiation in the measured relationships. Even though the Stapel scale is used less frequently than the semantic differential.
Mnemonic (drawn) scales are used both to facilitate the formulation of answers to questions, and to simplify the choice of answers by respondents.
Open questions, unlike closed ones, do not contain hints, do not “impose” one or another answer option, but are designed to receive an unformalized (non-standard opinion. At the same time, processing the results seems more difficult. However, posing open questions in some cases turns out to be preferable, since the possible finding of an unexpected solution in this case is able to fully compensate for the costs.
Semi-closed questions, in addition to a certain number of answer options, contain the position “other - indicate which one” or “other - indicate which ones”. This gives the respondent the opportunity to complete a response that was not previously provided in the questionnaire. Here is an example of a semi-closed question.
A special role in the questionnaire belongs to control questions. Their purpose is to check the validity of the received data. Let's say the main question is: "Which characteristics of the services offered by the company most satisfied you?" The control question may be the following: “Have you used the services of the company?” Comparing the answers to these questions provides information about the sincerity of the respondent. It should be emphasized that a control question should never follow the question for which it controls the answer. This is due to the fact that the respondent's answer to each subsequent question is influenced by the content of the answer to the previous one.
The survey ends with final questions. Their purpose is to relieve the psychological tension of the respondent (for example, "Are you tired of our questionnaire?"). The last section of the questionnaire also includes questions to determine the socio-demographic portrait of respondents (gender, age, place of residence, social status, education, income level, etc.).
At the end of the questionnaire, be sure to express gratitude to the interviewee for participating in the study.
To improve the quality of questionnaires and successfully conduct data collection with their help, a number of recommendations have been formulated that can be very useful in obtaining primary marketing information:
1. Compliance with the fundamental requirements for the formulation of questions.
Questions should be simple and clear;
Questions should be unambiguous;
Questions should be neutral (do not direct the answer in a certain direction);
Each question should be as specific as possible;
Use of common terminology.
2. Compliance with the principles of constructing questionnaires:
Instructions and directions should be placed before the relevant questions;
The order of questions: from simple to complex, from general to special, from non-binding to sensitive;
Too many different instruments should not be used (for example, first five and then a seven-step scale);
Credibility questions are placed first, then substantive questions, then perhaps control questions, and finally personality questions;
The most difficult questions requiring analysis, reflection, memory activation are placed in the middle of the questionnaire. By the end of the questionnaire, the complexity of the questions should decrease.
3. Choosing the optimal volume of questionnaires:
Cumbersome questionnaires cause a large number of refusals to answer;
Short questionnaires, in turn, create the impression of the insignificance of the problem under discussion or the very fact of appealing to the opinion of a particular person;
The maximum time required to fill out the questionnaire, with a mail survey, should not exceed 20-30 minutes.
4. Preliminary assessment of the quality of questionnaires:
The developed questionnaires are subjected to logical control, all questions and answers are checked, as well as the composition of the questionnaire as a whole;
A trial survey of a small (10-15 people) group of people is conducted, on the basis of which the questionnaire is refined and refined.
5. Ensuring the attractiveness of profiles:
The appearance of the questionnaire has an impact on the respondent's propensity to cooperate (especially when conducting mail surveys);
Use of a clear and legible typeface, spacing between individual questions;
Availability of free space for answers to open-ended questions.
6. Increasing the return rate of questionnaires for mail surveys:
Encouragement (but you need to consider the costs, as well as the possible embellishment of answers out of gratitude);
Cover letter (awakening of interest, guarantee of anonymity);
Telephone warning about sending questionnaires;
Attachment of a marked and signed envelope for a response;
Interesting topic, attractive design of the questionnaire.
Expert Methods
Due to the limited possibilities of using economic and mathematical methods in marketing, the lack or insufficient volume of statistical information, the impossibility or inappropriateness of using measuring or calculation methods, heuristic (informal) techniques play an important role in obtaining marketing information. Among them, a special place is occupied by expert assessments based on the foresight and intuition of qualified specialists.
An expert assessment is an average, or modal, characteristic of the opinions expressed by a group of competent specialists about a phenomenon (process), provided that it was possible to achieve consistency or closeness of views.
There are two levels of use of expert assessments: qualitative and quantitative. If the use of expert assessments at a qualitative level (determining possible areas of market activity, choosing measures to implement marketing communications, justifying a pricing strategy, etc.) is not in doubt, then the possibility of using them for quantitative (mainly scoring) assessments is often criticized. At the same time, it is rightly noted that the scores of experts often hide the inability or inability to evaluate certain actions, phenomena, events, etc. in a qualified manner.
At the same time, peer reviews are perhaps the only source of marketing information in the following situations:
When forecasting the market situation in the absence of statistical data or their insufficient volume;
When quantifying events for which there are no other ways to measure (for example, when choosing the marketing goals of a tourism enterprise);
When substantiating (together with other methods) the adoption of optimal marketing decisions under conditions of market uncertainty.
In expert methods, an important role belongs to the personality of the expert. The reliability of the estimates of the latter depends on a number of factors, including his qualifications, working conditions, the methods used for processing and analyzing his judgments, the perfection of the organization of decision-making, taking into account the opinions (conclusions) of the expert, etc.
To obtain marketing information, expert assessments of managers and employees of the tourist enterprise itself are widely used. In an environment that requires the adoption of particularly responsible decisions, it is advisable to involve independent specialists.
The advantage of expert methods is their relative simplicity, as well as their applicability for forecasting almost any situation, including in conditions of incomplete information. An important feature of these methods is the possibility of predicting the qualitative characteristics of the market.
At the same time, they have some disadvantages: firstly, the lack of guarantees that the data obtained as a result of a survey of experts is actually reliable, and secondly, certain difficulties in conducting a survey of experts and processing the results. If the second drawback is methodologically overcome, then the first one is of fundamental importance. The existing statistical approaches for determining the reliability of expert assessments are based on the assumption that if the opinions of experts are consistent, the reliability of these opinions is guaranteed. In reality, there is often a situation where individual experts who do not agree with the point of view of the majority give the most correct estimates. Thus, the consistency of expert opinions is not always a criterion for the reliability of the information received. Hence the need for careful selection of experts. Without exaggeration, such a selection can be called the most important decision that the organizers of the peer review must make.
The main requirements for experts are: competence, interest in participating in the work of the expert commission, efficiency and objectivity.
The competence of an expert extends to the object (professional competence) and methodology (qualimetric competence) of the assessment. Professional competence includes knowledge of various aspects of the functioning of the tourism industry, the state and prospects for the development of the market, consumer requirements, the conditions and nature of the consumption of a tourist product, etc. Qualimetric competence provides a clear and unambiguous understanding of the principles and methods of peer review by a specialist, as well as the practical ability to use them.
The interest of an expert in participating in the work of the expert commission depends on his individual abilities, the workload of the main work, the goals of the assessment and the possibility of using its results in his own practice.
The efficiency of an expert includes such qualities as self-discipline, the ability to quickly switch from one problem to another; contact (the ability to work with people when solving problems in a conflict situation), non-conformism (the ability to resist the opinion of the majority while being sure that one is right), efficiency, validity and motivation of the assessments and judgments made, the ability to clearly formulate one's thoughts.
The objectivity of an expert consists in making judgments that characterize the actual state of the problem under consideration.
A fairly common approach to determining the suitability of an expert is based on taking into account the degree of reliability of this specialist. It is understood as the relative frequency of cases when the expert attributed a higher probability to events that were subsequently confirmed in practice. On this basis, it is believed that the more often the expert was right, the higher his authority.
The specificity of the peer review method requires a special approach not only to the professional knowledge of experts, but also to the originality of their thinking and intuition. After all, sometimes "excessive professionalism" can be the cause of "professional blindness", a striking tendency not to notice anything that goes beyond the established ideas. But in marketing, paradoxical (at first glance) and unexpected decisions play an extremely important role.
Determination of the size of the expert group can be carried out both on the basis of using the methods of mathematical statistics (they are quite fully and comprehensively considered in the relevant literature), and by applying a "pragmatic" approach. Practice shows that the optimal number of experts is 7-12.
Expert assessments can be carried out using the following approaches:
Open discussion of the issues raised, followed by open or closed voting;
Closed discussion followed by closed voting or filling out expert demand questionnaires;
Free speech without discussion and voting.
Practice shows that the traditional open discussion of the issues raised, followed by open or closed voting (the first type of expert surveys) is not optimal due to the mutual influence of experts' opinions and their unwillingness to give up their previously publicly expressed points of view. Therefore, the second and third types of group expert assessments can be considered applicable.
One of the most common and effective methods for obtaining information from experts is the Delphi method. Its name comes from the ancient Greek city of Delphi, which became famous in ancient times as a center of predictions. The essence of the method lies in the development of agreed opinions by repeated repetition of an individual written survey of the same experts. After the first round of the survey and the generalization of its results, the latter are communicated to the members of the expert group. Then the second round of the survey is held, during which the experts either confirm their point of view expressed at the previous stage, or change the assessment in accordance with the opinion of the majority. This is repeated 34 times. In the course of such a procedure, an agreed assessment is developed. At the same time, the researcher should not ignore the opinion of those who, after several rounds of the survey, remained in their position.
The Delphi method can be effectively used in the marketing activities of a tourist enterprise, in particular for studying and forecasting the market, evaluating new product ideas.
The next type of group expert assessments is the method of collective generation of ideas, or brainstorming, proposed by the American advertising consultant A. Osborne. When implementing this method, a group of highly qualified specialists is also selected, but at the same time, assessments and conclusions are already made during the discussion. The main principle of the method lies in the uncontrolled generation and spontaneous interweaving of ideas by the participants in the group discussion of the problem. On this basis, chains of associations arise that can lead to an unexpected solution to the problem.
For the successful application of this method, a number of conditions must be met:
The meeting is attended by 7 to 12 people;
The optimal length of a meeting is between 15 and 30 minutes;
The number of offers is more important than their quality;
Criticism in any form is prohibited; logic, experience, arguments "against" only interfere;
The decision made is the result of a joint effort;
The hierarchical level of participants should not differ greatly, otherwise psychological barriers may arise that interfere with communication and association building.
Ideas received during the meeting are recorded and then evaluated.
The brainstorming method has many implementation options, one of which is the "6.3.5" method. Its essence lies in the fact that 6 specialists in 5 minutes offer 3 forecast options for the development of the market and the promotion of products on it. This method is extremely important for obtaining random results. Experts write their answers on forms specially distributed for this purpose. Five minutes later, the next six employees are invited for the same procedure. Thus, in half an hour the company receives 108 new proposals! The 6.3.5 method is especially fruitful for finding new product ideas. Numerous proposals accumulated in a short time are then carefully analyzed and discussed.
Another type of brainstorming method is the Branstorming method, the essence of which is as follows:
Each expert selects for discussion a team consisting of 15 managers of the same level of management;
The general manager explains a situation that needs their expertise (for example, increasing the firm's sales), after which the team members express their opinions on the problem posed to them;
Another manager also recruits his own team, which expresses its doubts, negative opinions about the assessments and proposals put forward by the first team.
According to the Gordon method, brainstorming participants are not given a specific task (for example, “What needs to be done to increase sales of our company’s services?”). It is only necessary to outline the general side of the problem. In our example, this can be formulated as follows: “What ways to increase sales of our company's services have been used before and are being used now?”. After discussing this problem, expert experts draw specific conclusions already on a specific task.
The group discussion method, as another type of brainstorming, invites the participation of people who know little or no knowledge of the problem at all. Anyone can participate in the group discussion. As a result, it is possible to obtain a large amount of new interesting information, non-standard and original ideas. After some time, invited experts get acquainted with the ideas put forward and choose from them those that can be implemented. It is considered normal if specialists reject 90% of the ideas proposed by the participants in the group discussion.
In the practice of marketing research, the method of synectics is also used (combinations of various elements that obviously do not correspond to each other). The essence of the method is that specialists from different fields of activity are invited for peer review. Each of them contributes a pre-conceived idea. In the future, there is a selection and screening out of ideas that have not stood up to criticism (the synectics method, unlike classical brainstorming, allows critical statements). A more realistic idea is adopted, with the support of the majority.
Panel
Single surveys are characterized by significant shortcomings. First, they do not allow sufficiently reliable study of dynamic processes. Secondly, such surveys are fragmentary, since one survey, as a rule, solves one problem, and in order to move on to another, another set of respondents has to be surveyed. Third, ad hoc surveys do not provide data that reveals a complete picture of market relationships and patterns. Panel studies are largely devoid of these shortcomings.
Panel - a sample of surveyed units subjected to repeated surveys. The term "panel" is borrowed from the practice of American jurisprudence, where it means a list of jurors.
The panel has the following main features:
Permanent subject of study;
Systematic or periodic data collection;
A permanent set of objects of study - individuals, families (households), enterprises.
The most common is the consumer panel, which includes individuals, families or households. The main purpose of forming such a panel is to systematically or periodically obtain information about the socio-economic characteristics, demand and factors that determine it, behavior, tastes, requests and preferences of consumers.
The consumer panel is based on the polling method. It can help you get the following information:
Social and professional characteristics of family members;
The number of family members and its gender and age structure;
The total cash and in-kind income of the family;
Sources of income;
Net cash income per family member;
Housing conditions of the family;
The total amount of consumer spending;
Volume and structure of consumption and purchase of goods and services;
Preferred prices and types of goods and services;
Buying behavior;
consumption profile;
consumption habits.
In traditional forms of the panel, respondents are asked to constantly answer the same questions of the questionnaire, which ensures the comparability of information in the analysis of dynamics. In another form of the panel, the omnibus, the objectives of the study are changed and various questions are asked to the panel members (usually a small number of questions for a large number of respondents). In one omnibus survey questionnaire, there may be questions about different goods and services (including vacation preferences, planned trips, etc.).
Panel studies, although not very often, are used in the marketing activities of tour operators. Some of them form a sample of regular customers, who are interviewed, as a rule, on the eve of the summer and winter seasons. The panel as a method of obtaining primary marketing information is characterized by methodological and practical problems. The most significant of them are the need to ensure the representativeness of the panel being formed (it is important to ensure not only a sufficient number of the panel, but also the representativeness of all types of respondents in it). There are also problems caused by non-cooperation of panel members. To reduce the negative impact of this process, the latter usually receive a small reward. In addition, panel members, feeling in control, may consciously or unconsciously change their habitual behavior.
Focus group method
Focus groups are one of the most interesting and creative methods of collecting primary marketing information. It allows you to get not quantitative, but mainly qualitative information based on the collection, analysis and interpretation of data from a sample survey (observation of behavior) of a small number of consumers.
The focus group method is a carefully planned discussion aimed at collecting opinions on a specific topic in a relaxed atmosphere.
It is mainly used for the following tasks:
Generation of ideas (for example, to justify the directions for improving the tourism products offered to the market);
Studying the "colloquial vocabulary" of consumers, which can be extremely useful when conducting promotional activities, compiling questionnaires, making personal sales, etc.;
Acquaintance with the needs of consumers, their perception and attitude to the tourist product, its structure, communication methods, which is extremely important when conducting marketing research;
Studying the emotional and behavioral reactions of consumers to certain types and means of advertising distribution;
Gathering information that may be useful in developing questionnaires.
Usually, the work of focus groups is recorded using audio-video technical means, and its results serve as the basis for conducting mass consumer surveys.
According to experts, the optimal size of focus groups ranges from 8 to 12 people. With a smaller number of participants, no conditions are created for productive, dynamic work. When the size of the group exceeds 12 people, there are problems starting productive discussions, the group can be divided into subgroups, and a limited number of participants can take part in the discussion itself. To ensure an effective, uninhibited discussion of the problems under study, it is advisable to form the composition of focus groups based on the principle of homogeneity of its participants (by age, type of professional activity, marital status, etc.).
The choice of specific group members is determined primarily by the purpose of the study. So, if the goal is to generate ideas about improving the tourism product, consumers who have used the services of a tourism enterprise are invited as participants. It is undesirable to involve people who have previously participated in such studies in the work of focus groups. The fact is that such individuals often begin to behave like “experts” and do not allow others to actively and creatively participate in the discussion and feel at ease. It is advisable to avoid the formation of such groups in which friends or relatives participate, since they prefer to have a discussion with each other, and not with all participants, which also reduces the effectiveness of this event.
Focus group discussion provides an opportunity to uncover the subjective causes of human behavior. For this, the projective method and the projective techniques arising from it are used.
The projective method is characterized by the creation of a situation that allows a plurality of possible interpretations when perceived by the respondents. Behind each such interpretation, a system of personal characteristics and characteristics of a person emerges.
The projective method allows you to answer questions that are difficult to obtain information with the help of direct questions, due to the fact that very often the real state of things is not realized by a person, as it is hidden from his consciousness with the help of psychological protection. The latter is a special regulatory system for stabilizing the personality, aimed at eliminating or minimizing the feeling of anxiety associated with negative, traumatic experiences.
Practical experience shows that psychological protection most often works in the following situations:
Consumers are often embarrassed to speak negatively about a product (company), as they are subconsciously afraid of offending the presenter;
A negative attitude towards a particular product may be associated with the inability of respondents for financial reasons to purchase the latter;
In some cases, respondents cannot verbalize the motives of their own behavior, because are not aware of them;
Respondents are often embarrassed to discuss intimate issues related to health, family life, etc.
Projective techniques allow, in a certain sense, to “deceive” a person’s consciousness and bypass psychological protection.
Thus, it becomes possible to find out:
Why do customers like or dislike certain products;
What influences their decision when choosing a particular product;
What image of the product and (or) the company has developed in the eyes of customers;
What heroes (characters) can be used in advertising, etc.
Another important aspect of using projective techniques is their entertainment. The originality and unexpectedness of stimuli or tasks introduces an element of the game into the group discussion, and the respondents are happy to join it.
Various classifications of projective techniques are known. According to the classification adopted in marketing practice, projective methods are divided into five groups:
1) associative;
2) to complete the task;
3) designing;
4) expressive;
5) ranking.
Associative methods suggest that respondents are asked to say, write or choose from the proposed something that they associate with the subject under study.
There are various options for associative methods:
Word associations (both oral and written) used to clarify the attitude of respondents to a particular product, advertising message, etc.;
Personification - verbal and non-verbal (using portraits), used to determine the type of a regular consumer of the product under study (when selecting actors for advertising), as well as the features of the image of the product or company that has developed in the eyes of consumers;
Pictures and words (associations to visual stimuli).
Completion techniques involve asking respondents to complete unfinished sentences, stories, drawings, etc.
Constructive techniques invite respondents to create (verbally or non-verbally) something (for example, a certain situation).
The methods in this group include:
A modified thematic apperception test used to study the underlying motives of consumer behavior in a given situation, as well as to study the image of a brand or product that has developed in the eyes of the consumer. Respondents are shown pictures depicting a situation (for example, a purchase situation), and are asked to talk about what the characters in this picture think and feel, what happened to them before (after) the situation depicted in the picture;
A collage that helps the researcher to find out the peculiarities of the perception of consumers of tourist products and (or) the company, as well as allowing for a targeted selection of visual symbols when creating advertising;
Projective questions that allow respondents to explain their behavior in a veiled form. The question begins with a statement supposedly made by other respondents. Next, the focus group participants are asked to explain the reasons that prompted the false respondent to this statement, as well as to express their own point of view.
Expressive methods are focused on determining the emotional perception of consumers of the product under study. They make it possible to reveal not only the attitude of people towards the latter, but also the images associated in their minds with a particular product.
Expressive techniques include:
Psycho drawings (respondents are asked to draw a product in such a way as to display the graphic elements that they associate with this product);
Role-playing games that allow, for example, to reveal not only what consumers say about a particular product, but also exactly how they do it. When applying the methodology, respondents are asked on behalf of a product (firm) to address consumers in the manner (voice, tone, language) that this product (firm) could use.
Ranking suggests the use of more structured incentives. This technique has many modifications. For example, respondents are asked to select the most relevant characteristics from those offered for a particular product or ad message. In another case, respondents are asked to rank the characteristics according to one or another attribute (for example, according to the degree of importance).
Below we give an example of the use of projective techniques at the stage of developing an advertising campaign.
Description of the situation. The target audience of consumers has expanded. Company X, a tour operator, needed to develop an advertising campaign aimed at a new consumer. It was decided to use a focus group.
The purpose of the study: to identify the main motives for purchasing tourism products?
Research objectives:
1) determine the group of motives for the acquisition of tourist products;
2) identify the main motives for the acquisition of tourism products;
3) analyze the image of company X, which provides tourism products;
4) identify the characters that could be involved in the advertising campaign.
It should be noted that such a study should not be limited to the use of projective techniques. However, in this case, they are the subject of interest.
The physical environment is very important for a successful discussion. It should stimulate the free expression of opinions and assessments, as well as the creative thinking of the participants. Preference is given to a room adapted for such discussions (it is desirable to have the respondents at a round table).
To stimulate group members, both monetary form of payment for their labor and in-kind payment can be used, in the form of free provision of certain services, discounts on subsequent purchases, presentation of souvenirs and gifts, etc.
The efficiency and productivity of the focus group is largely determined by the activities of the moderator, who, based on a deep understanding of the goals and objectives of the discussion, without direct intervention in its course, should manage the conduct of this event. The facilitator needs to organize the discussion in such a way as to touch on all the objects and tasks of the study. At the same time, interaction between group members should be stimulated and encouraged. One of the indicators of the success of the focus group is how deeply the participants were able to discuss the problem with each other, and not just with the leader.
Basic requirements for a focus group leader:
Professionalism and the ability to learn quickly, as well as combine new information with your way of thinking;
Sociability. The facilitator should quickly enough (within 10 minutes) establish contact with the group and appear before her as a person with whom it is pleasant to have an ordinary casual conversation;
Awareness. The facilitator should clearly inform the group that he has some understanding of the subject of research, but is not an expert on this issue. If the focus group participants realize that this is not the case, then they are more likely to ask him questions rather than answer and discuss their own views;
Having an excellent memory to be able to link together all the statements, to remember the key information expressed by each participant during the discussion, so that the later statements of the respondents are cross-checked for compliance with the sequence of the position of one or another participant;
Sensitivity. The facilitator should clearly respond to the course of the developing discussion. Its depth is achieved only when it contains emotional responses and reactions, and not just intellectual information and purely informative responses;
Understanding that the facilitator should be able to understand the nervousness that some participants experience due to being interviewed earlier than others in the course of the conversation. If the respondent is sure that the facilitator understands his position, then he will be more willing to take an active part in the group discussion;
Tolerance. During the discussion, the leader should be tolerant of individual minor “deviations” on the part of certain participants, and not seek to immediately make comments and give instructions;
Ability to think big. The facilitator should be able to separate important conclusions from less significant ones in order to bring all the results together in the final part of the discussion.
The problem of the leader's gender is debatable. Some experts believe that it should match the gender of the majority of focus group participants. Others believe that the gender difference between the facilitator and most of the group will be a stimulating factor for the participants to give more detailed clarifying and in-depth answers.
When analyzing the results of the work of the focus group, it is necessary to take into account a number of fundamental points. First, a correct, adequate "translation" of the statements and answers of the participants in the discussion into the language of the categories and concepts of the problem under discussion is required. Secondly, it is expedient to determine the degree of consistency of opinions of the respondents. Thirdly, it is necessary to determine the extent to which the opinions, judgments and characteristics of the focus group participants are typical for consumers of the studied target market.
The main advantages of the focus group method are as follows:
Opportunity for participants to express their opinions and generate ideas honestly and freely;
The manifestation of the "snowball" effect (a single comment by one of the participants leads to a chain of answers and statements from the rest);
Generation of original ideas (it is during group discussions that interesting and useful opinions are put forward);
The possibility of obtaining information that cannot be obtained in the course of more structured, formal studies (for example, due to the refusal of respondents to take part in a survey).
The disadvantages of this method include the possible non-representativeness of the results, their rather subjective interpretation, as well as the relatively high cost per participant.
The use of modern communication technologies can significantly expand the range of use of focus groups to obtain primary marketing information (for example, by ensuring the interaction of two groups located in different localities).
Observation
Observation is usually used in exploratory marketing research and is a method of collecting primary marketing information about the object under study by observing selected groups of people, actions and situations.
At the same time, observation is considered as a process that:
Pursues a specific research goal;
It takes place systematically and systematically;
It serves not only to collect interesting facts, but also to develop generalizing judgments;
Subject to constant monitoring in terms of reliability and accuracy.
Compared to a survey, observation has its advantages:
Simplicity and low implementation costs;
Independence from the desire of the object to cooperate and its ability to verbally express the essence of the matter;
Possibility to provide higher objectivity;
Ability to perceive unconscious behavior;
The naturalness of the research environment.
Disadvantages of observation compared to a survey:
It is difficult to ensure representativeness (for example, only visitors to the company's office can be observed, random sampling of objects is impossible);
Subjectivity of perception of the observer;
The motives of consumer behavior, their interests and factors that determine behavior are not taken into account;
It is impossible to unambiguously explain the behavior of the object of observation;
The behavior of objects may differ from the natural one if the observation is carried out in an open way (observation effect).
Various forms of observation are used in marketing practice, which can be classified as follows:
According to the nature of the environment, observation is field (in a natural setting) and laboratory (in an artificially created situation). The advantage of the first form lies in the naturalness of the observed behavior, but the second allows you to maintain more stable observation conditions and use technical means;
According to the method of implementation, observation is covert (direct observation of the behavior of, say, customers in the office of a tourist enterprise) and open (assuming that people know that they are being observed);
According to the degree of standardization, standardized and free observation are distinguished. Standardization implies the inventing of certain categories of behavior, schemes of actions. When conducting a standard observation, the observer determines in advance what he will observe and record. All other behaviors are ignored. In the process of free observation, the researcher records all types of behavior in the episode under study;
According to the form of perception of the object, personal observation (carried out by non-visual observation) and non-personal (with the help of devices or by registering traces of behavior) are distinguished;
According to the place of the observer, observation with the direct participation of the researcher (included observation) and observation from outside are distinguished.
Observation is carried out in accordance with a previously developed plan, where the place is indicated; time, the object of observation, methods for establishing the characteristics of the object, fixing the results, etc.
For successful observation, certain conditions must be met. First, these activities should be carried out in a relatively short period of time. Secondly, the observed processes, phenomena must be accessible. Thirdly, only such behavior, which is not based on frequently repeated, systematic activity, should be subjected to observations.
In most cases, the observation method is used in conjunction with other methods. The data obtained in this way complement and control each other. But often observation is the only way to obtain the necessary information.
Observation reveals, for example:
Interest of certain groups of visitors of exhibitions and fairs to the offers of certain companies;
Which stand or exposition at the exhibition attracts the most attention;
How long pedestrians linger at a particular billboard;
The process of customer behavior when choosing services and making a purchase decision;
The most important characteristics of the offered services for the client, etc.
Widespread use in tourism has received the observation of bringing customers in the implementation of the purchase of tourist services. For this, hidden video cameras are often used, which record the actions of visitors while they are in the office of a tourist enterprise.
With this observation, the following indicators are analyzed:
How and how many times advertising materials are viewed and read;
What is the average time spent by a client in the office;
What questions do visitors ask most often, etc.
In the hotel business, another practice is also used: placing their employees in a competing hotel for direct observation of its practical activities. The same approach is used by tour operators. Their representatives can purchase a tour of a competing organization in order to evaluate the level of service, see the reactions of customers, and determine the positive and negative sides of the organization of the trip. In the restaurant business, the role of observer-researchers can be performed by specially trained waiters (for example, to study the reaction of customers to new dishes).
The most effective form of studying the behavior, motivation and activity of tourists during a trip is observation with the direct participation of the researcher (participant observation). At the same time, tourists should not know that they are the object of observation.
For example, a specially trained observer records the behavior and assessments of tourists during an excursion in relation to the following factors:
Selection of places and objects to visit;
The story of the guide and his behavior;
Transport support and catering;
duration of the tour, etc.
Observation is a very time-consuming method of obtaining information. Drawing up the results sometimes takes several times more time than the event itself.
Observation difficulties fall into two categories:
Subjective (associated with the personality of the observer);
Objective (not dependent on the observer).
Subjective difficulties include:
The ability of an observer to understand and interpret the behavior and actions of other people through the prism of his own "I", his system of value orientations, as well as the emotional coloring of human perception;
The inevitability of the influence of the researcher's past experience on the results of observation.
Objective difficulties are determined mainly by the limited time of observation, the time of the event. In addition, not all factors of interest are directly observable.
Experiment
Decisions in marketing can be defined as the evaluation and selection of alternatives in terms of their contribution to the achievement of goals. To make decisions, it is necessary to have information about the expected success of individual alternatives. Such information can be obtained through experimentation.
An experiment is the manipulation of independent variables in order to determine their influence on dependent variables while maintaining control over the influence of other, not studied parameters. Independent variables (eg, prices, advertising costs, etc.) can be changed at the discretion of the experimenter. At the same time, dependent variables (sales volume, change in market share) are practically not in the sphere of his direct control.
Allocate experiments with one or more variables. The former involve studying the impact of a change in one marketing factor on the marketing, advertising and other activities of the company. So, the company can evaluate how the price reduction of the tourist product will affect the sales volume.
Experiments with several variables involve studying the dependence of changes in the results of a firm on the interaction and interrelationships of several marketing factors. Such studies are very complex, but they make it possible to measure and evaluate the impact on certain processes and phenomena not only of individual factors, but of their complex.
Experiments are divided into two groups:
Laboratory, taking place in an artificial environment (for example, various product tests, prices, advertising);
Field, taking place in real conditions (for example, a market test).
When conducting laboratory experiments, certain artificial conditions are created to exclude the influence of side factors. Thus, to assess the reaction of customers to various types of advertising, you can invite consumers representative in terms of gender, age, income levels, social status, etc. Laboratory experiments control confounding factors and are also cheaper and less time consuming to implement.
As an example, we present the results of an experimental study of the levels of memorization of advertising messages.
As can be seen from the figure, the proportion of consumers who retain the impression of advertising changes geometrically over time. However, the rate of decline in the ability to remember advertising varies significantly depending on the individual components of the latter. So, the arguments underlying the advertising appeal are the least remembered. The ability to remember both the topic and the source and arguments of an advertising message drops sharply during the first week after its appearance. Consequently, the advertiser has a relatively short period of time to justify the cost of advertising, after which the advertising message requires repetition.
Field experiments are carried out in real conditions and do not exclude the influence of side factors. Moreover, it is almost impossible to take into account and evaluate the degree of this influence. In addition, field experiments require a significant investment of time and money for their implementation.
Many types of field experiments are known as trial marketing. The object of study in conducting test marketing are various markets, so this activity is often called market testing.
There are the following types of market testing:
Standard;
Controlled.
In the process of standard testing, a tourism enterprise tests its products and other elements of the marketing mix through its own distribution channels. This type of testing is quite expensive. In addition, it cannot be called confidential.
Controlled market testing is carried out by specialized research firms.
One of the main disadvantages of market testing is the high cost of the experiment. In addition, the tested product becomes known to competitors. The latter can quickly offer a similar tourist product to the market and take a leading position. In addition, there is a certain time delay between the conduct of experiments and the adoption of marketing decisions, while this factor is in many cases decisive. Marketing policy
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The most common methods for collecting primary information include surveys, questionnaires, expert methods, panels, focus groups, observations and experiments.
1. Poll- the main and most common method of obtaining primary marketing information (Table 3.2).
In the practice of tourist activity, questioning on the beach is of interest, where an almost complete return of questionnaires is achieved.
Advantage interview in comparison with other methods in tourism is that it is possible to reveal the socio-psychological mechanisms of the studied phenomena - the motivation and predisposition of tourists to tourist products and their prices, the reasons for dissatisfaction with the structure and quality of the services offered.
Table 3.2
Survey classification
2. Development of the questionnaire continues to be, according to a number of experts, more of an art than a science, but a number of circumstances should be taken into account:
the effectiveness of the survey depends on what questions are asked, in what sequence;
the form in which the question is posed greatly influences the answer;
the nature of the answers largely depends on the correct and unambiguous wording of the questions;
the questionnaire should be built in such a way that its clear internal logic is visible.
The main questions in the questionnaire are divided into closed, open and semi-closed.
There are two types of closed questions: alternative (dichotomous); with a selective answer (multiple choice).
Alternative question involves a choice of two response options such as “yes” or “no”.
Multiple Choice Question involves a choice of three or more answers. To ask these questions, we use measurement scales: nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio scale.
Nominal scale represents a simple enumeration of answer options, without any ordering or matching. For example: lack of interest; high price; limited choice; lack of awareness.
ordinal scale(rank) consists of categories that differ from each other by conditional concepts or qualitative features.
For example, answer the question, will you use the services of this firm next time:
Yes......................................
probably yes....................
probably not............
No....................................
Interval scale consists of numerical values that can be physically measured.
In this case, indicate how much money you spent on the purchase of sports services during your stay at the resort:
less than $50 ..............
from 50 to 100 dollars.............
from 100 to 150 dollars..........
more than 150 dollars...........
Relationship scale implies the presence of a natural, or absolute, zero. On this scale, you can make a quantitative comparison of the results obtained. Most often, the following are used to formulate closed questions: Likert scale; semantic differential; Stapel scale; mnemonic scale.
A 5-digit scale is often used as a Likert scale, for example: “strongly agree”; "I agree"; "ns can say"; "disagree"; "completely disagree."
The question: “Indicate whether you are satisfied with the state of service in the hotel according to the following indicators” can be answered on a Likert scale (Table 3.3). Circle the number corresponding to your level of agreement.
Table 3.3
Likert scale example
Based on the database obtained as a result of processing the answers to such questions, it is possible to analyze the profile of two or more travel companies, presented in Table. 3.4.
Table 3.4
The results of a comparative assessment of the work of two hotels
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Index | |||||
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The quality of tourism products |
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Location |
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Working hours |
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Variety of additional services |
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Qualification personnel |
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Relationships between staff and clients |
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semantic differential represents a series of polar characteristics, and the scale consists of a large number of antonyms (“bad” - “good”, “convenient” - “uncomfortable”, “useful” - “useless”, “like” - “dislike”, etc. .). Circle the number of points that corresponds to your opinion.
Table 3.5
An example of a semantic differential for rating restaurants in points
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service |
Slow service |
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Traditional |
Vanguard |
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Good kitchen |
bad kitchen |
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Famous |
little known |
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Elegantly furnished |
Poorly equipped |
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Convenient location |
Inconvenient location |
The Stapel scale is a modification of the semantic differential.
Example. Based on the table. 3.6 indicate how accurately each statement describes the travel agency. It is necessary to choose numbers with a plus for statements that characterize the travel agency, and numbers with a minus sign for indicators that do not correspond to this company.
An example of the Stapel scale
Table 3.6
Mnemonic drawn scales are used both to facilitate the formulation of answers to questions, and to simplify the choice of an answer by respondents (Fig. 3.1).
The pictures clearly show the respondents' reactions to a particular question.
Open questions do not impose one or another answer option, do not contain hints and are designed to receive an unformalized opinion. In this case, the processing of the results is more complicated (Table 3.7).
semi-closed questions in addition to a certain number of answer options, contain the position "other - specify which one". This will enable the respondent to complete the answer that was not previously provided in the questionnaire. Semi-closed questions are useful in conducting marketing research on the effectiveness of destination advertising, helping to generate ideas for the most successful definitions, keywords and characteristics that can be used in the formation of the image of travel agencies.
Table 3.7
Types of open questions
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The essence of the question |
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unstructured question |
Allows any verbal form of response |
What is your opinion of firm A? |
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verbal associations |
The respondent is called individual words in order to clarify the associations that arise in him |
What associations does firm A evoke in you? |
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Completion suggestions |
Proposed to complete an unfinished sentence |
I use travel agency A because... |
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Completion story |
It is proposed to complete the unfinished story |
You visited the office of travel agency A, and this caused you the following feelings... |
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Completion |
The respondent is asked to imagine himself in the place of one of the characters in a usually playful drawing and, on his behalf, write his own opinion on the drawing. |
The figure shows two interlocutors. One says: "I will use the services of travel agency A." Imagine yourself in the place of another interlocutor. What would you say in response? |
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Thematic Apperception Test |
It is proposed to come up with a story based on the proposed picture |
test questions designed to verify the accuracy of the data obtained.
For example, let the main question be: “What characteristics of the services offered by the firm most satisfied you?” The security question might be: “Have you used the services of the firm?”
3. Expert assessments. A special place among expert methods is occupied by expert assessments based on the foresight and intuition of qualified specialists (experts).
Peer review is called the average characteristic of the opinions expressed by a group of competent specialists about a phenomenon, provided that their views are close.
Expert assessments are practically the only source of marketing information when forecasting the market situation (when there is not enough statistical data), when substantiating (together with other methods) the adoption of optimal marketing decisions under conditions of market uncertainty. The main requirements for experts are competence, interest in participation, efficiency and objectivity
There are several methods for obtaining information from experts.
Delphi method. The essence of this method is to develop agreed opinions by repeating the survey of the same experts (usually 3-4 times). After each round of surveys, the results are summarized and reported to the experts. As a result of such a procedure, a consistent estimate is developed.
Brain attack. This method is based on the collective generation of ideas. On the basis of uncontrolled generation and spontaneous interweaving of the ideas expressed, chains of associations arise that can lead to an unexpected solution to the problem.
Gordon method is that the participants are not set a specific task, but only need to outline the general side of the problem.
group discussion method. This method involves the participation of people who have little or no knowledge of the problem at all. This sometimes makes it possible to obtain a large amount of new interesting information, non-standard and original ideas.
Synectics method. It consists in attracting specialists from different fields of activity; as a result of the discussion, a selection and screening out of ideas that have not withstood criticism takes place, and a real idea is accepted that has received the support of the majority.
4. Panels. They are a collection of interviewees who are subjected to repeated surveys. According to American practice, a panel means a list of jurors and has the following main features:
a permanent subject of research;
systematic or periodic data collection;
a constant set of objects of study (individuals, families, households, enterprises).
The most common is the consumer panel. With the help of a survey on this panel, demographic, socio-economic data are obtained, which are necessary for evaluating the consumer basket. In traditional panel forms, respondents are asked to repeatedly answer the same questions in the questionnaire to ensure comparability of information in the analysis of dynamics. Panel studies are also used in the marketing activities of tour operators, when they form a sample of regular customers, who are surveyed, as a rule, on the eve of the summer and winter seasons.
5. Focus group method- one of the most interesting and creative methods of collecting primary information (mainly qualitative). It is a carefully planned discussion on a specific topic in a relaxed atmosphere and is used to solve the following tasks:
generating ideas (for example, to develop and improve tourism products);
study of requests, perception and attitude to the tourist product;
clarifying the colloquial vocabulary of the "consumer", which may be useful in promotions when compiling questionnaires.
Usually, the work of focus groups (the optimal composition is from 8 to 12 people) is recorded using audio-video equipment. The choice of specific focus group participants is determined by the purpose of the research. The main requirements for a focus group leader are:
professionalism and ability to learn quickly;
sociability;
awareness of the subject of research; having a good memory to link all statements; the ability to quickly respond to the course of the discussion; tolerance for uncomfortable and harsh statements; ability to think big, i.e. the ability to separate the important from the unimportant.
Disadvantages of the focus group method include: possible unrepresentativeness (unrepresentativeness) of the results;
a rather subjective interpretation of the events and facts under consideration;
high cost per participant.
6. Surveillance commonly used in marketing research of an exploratory nature and is a method of collecting primary information about the object under study by observing selected groups of people, actions and situations. The advantages of surveillance include: simplicity and low implementation costs; independence from the object of observation; ensuring higher objectivity; the ability to perceive unconscious behavior; naturalness of the research environment.
Observation disadvantages include: difficulty in ensuring representativeness; the subjectivity of the observer himself; the impossibility of taking into account the motives of consumer behavior.
For successful observation, certain conditions must be met.
- 1. Activities should be carried out in a fairly short period of time.
- 2. Monitored processes must be accessible.
- 3. Observations should be made on those consumers whose behavior is not based on a frequently repeated systematic activity.
The observation of the behavior of customers when buying tourist services has become widely used in tourism, for which hidden video cameras are used that record the actions of visitors in the office of a travel agency.
In a restaurant, specially trained waiters can play the role of observers. The same is true during tourist trips.
7. Experiment- this is the manipulation of independent variables (price, advertising costs, etc.) in order to determine their influence on dependent variables (sales volume, change in market share) while maintaining control over the influence of other parameters that are not currently studied. Experiments are divided into two groups: laboratory, conducted in an artificial environment (for example, various tests for products, prices, advertising);
field, conducted in real conditions (for example, a test of the market), sometimes they are called test marketing.
The primary information collection system provides for special marketing research. Their purpose is to obtain additional data related to the solution of specific marketing tasks. It should be noted here that the creation of a system for collecting primary information is not always available to many small enterprises. In this case, they seek help from firms specializing in this type of work. This is much cheaper than maintaining your own staff of researchers at the enterprise. Larger enterprises often collect primary marketing information themselves.
The main methods for collecting primary marketing data are:
Observation;
Experiment;
Simulation modeling.
The survey allows you to identify the system of preferences that the target market of consumers is guided by when choosing certain tourist products, evaluating various forms of service, and accessing the services of various companies. This is the most common data collection method in marketing. It is used in approximately 90% of studies.
The survey is based on an oral or written appeal to consumers and employees of the company with questions, the content of which represents the research problem.
Depending on the source (carrier) of primary information, there are mass and specialized surveys.
In a mass survey, the main source of information is various categories of the population whose professional activities are not related to the subject of analysis. Participants in mass surveys are usually called respondents (from the Latin word gezropaeo - I answer). In turn, in specialized surveys, the main source of information is competent persons whose professional activities are closely related to the subject of the study. Hence, another widely used name for such surveys is expert surveys. They are most often used in the initial stages of marketing research, when it is necessary to identify a problem, and at the final stage, when it is necessary to check the information received and make a decision (see paragraph 4.5).
Depending on the frequency of the surveys, they can be point (one-time) and repeated. The latter make it possible to identify the life cycle of requests and preferences and the main trends in their changes over time for timely decision-making about activities in the market.
According to the degree of coverage of potential buyers, surveys can be continuous and selective.
Continuous research can be carried out, for example, among visitors to the company or its stand at exhibition events.
In practice, the number of potential customers is usually large, which makes it impossible to conduct continuous surveys. In this regard, sample surveys are most acceptable, the essence of which lies in the fact that a part of the entire studied population is surveyed, selected by special scientifically based methods. If the sample set sufficiently fully reflects the properties of the general population, it is called representative (representative).
A special role in marketing when conducting sample surveys is given to the method of so-called focus groups.
In marketing practice, two main forms of survey are used: questionnaires and interviews.
During the survey, the respondent himself answers the questions in writing in the presence of the interviewer or without him. According to the form of conducting it can be individual or group. In the latter case, a large number of people can be interviewed in a short time (for example, an enterprise team, a student group). Questioning can also be face-to-face and by correspondence. The most common form of the latter is the mail survey. In its most general form, it consists in sending out questionnaires and receiving answers to them by mail.
Interviewing as a form of survey involves personal communication with the interviewee, in which the interviewer himself asks questions and records the answers. According to the form of conducting, it can be direct (personal) and indirect (for example, by telephone).
Personal interviews allow you to implement flexible survey tactics, supplement the answers with the interviewer's observations. The reliability of the information received is quite high. The disadvantages include the high cost and duration, the likelihood of the interviewer influencing the opinions of the respondents, the need for special training of interviewers.
If you need to get answers to a few and simple questions in the shortest possible time, you can use a telephone interview. It is often used in the implementation of preliminary studies that provide information for subsequent personal interviews. The advantages of a telephone interview are speed and high efficiency (80-90% of respondents agree to answer questions), as well as insignificant time and cost. At the same time, the lack of personal contact with the interviewee often complicates the work of the interviewer.
Thus, a survey as a method of obtaining primary marketing information can be carried out in various forms and varieties. Evaluation criteria for choosing one or another of them are given in Table 4.4.
A feature of the survey as a method of collecting primary marketing information is a rather high degree of refusal of respondents to participate in the study. There are two groups of reasons for failure. The first is connected with certain generalized feelings of suspicion and the desire not to allow anyone into your personal life. A certain category of people do not want to participate in any surveys. The second is determined by the specific circumstances of a particular survey. For example, some respondents are reluctant to discuss certain topics. The chosen form of the survey also affects the degree of willingness to participate in the survey. Thus, people find it more difficult to refuse to participate in a personal interview than in a mail survey. Usually, methods are used to stimulate the desire to take part in the study by providing small gifts (pens, key rings, lighters, promotional souvenirs, etc.).
The accuracy of the results of a survey conducted in any form depends to a large extent on the quality of the instrument (questionnaire or interview form).
A questionnaire (or questionnaire) is a system of questions united by a single research plan aimed at identifying the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of an object and subject of research.
There are a number of things to keep in mind when designing a questionnaire:
The effectiveness of the survey depends on what questions are asked, in what order, what possible answers are contained in them. All questions should be analyzed for their relevance and appropriateness;
The form of the question greatly influences the answer;
The questionnaire should be constructed in such a way that its clear internal logic can be seen.
There is always an introductory part on the first page of the questionnaire. It specifies who conducts the survey; What is the purpose of the survey? instructions for filling out the questionnaire are given. The introductory part should emphasize respect for the interviewees and make them willing to answer questions.
Further in the questionnaire are contact questions. Their task is to interest the interlocutor, introduce the problems under study, and conduct a “warm-up” of the respondents. These questions are relatively simple, easy to answer. They must convince the respondents that they can quite cope with the answers to the questions of the questionnaire. A contact question could be worded, for example, as follows: “Do you like to travel? ".
Each task must correspond to a block of basic questions, which can be divided into closed and open questions.
Closed questions require the choice of answers from the full set of options given in the questionnaire.
Open questions, unlike closed ones, do not contain hints, do not “impose” one or another option, but are designed to receive informal (non-standard) answers. In this case, the processing of the results seems to be more complicated. However, posing open questions in a number of cases is preferable, since the possible finding of an unexpected solution in this case is able to fully compensate for the costs.
A special role in the questionnaire belongs to control questions. Their purpose is to check the validity of the data. Let's say the main question is: “What characteristics of the services offered by the company most satisfied you? “The control question can be of the following type: “Have you used the services of the company? ". Comparison of the answers to these questions gives information about the sincerity of the respondent - It must be emphasized that the control question should never follow the question, the answer to which he controls. This is due to the fact that the respondent's answer to each subsequent question is influenced by the content and answer to the previous one.
When constructing a questionnaire, one should also take into account the fact that the most difficult questions that require analysis, reflection, and memory activation are placed in the middle of the questionnaire. By the end of the work with the questionnaire, the difficulty of the questions should decrease.
The survey ends with final questions. Their goal is to relieve the psychological stress of the respondent (for example, “Are you tired of our conversation?”). The last section of the questionnaire also includes questions to determine the socio-demographic portrait of respondents (gender, age, place of residence, social status, education, income level, etc.). At the end of the questionnaire, be sure to express gratitude to the interviewee for participating in the study.
Observation is usually used in exploratory marketing research and is a method of collecting primary marketing information about the object under study by observing selected groups of people, actions and situations. At the same time, observation is considered as a process that:
Serves a specific research purpose;
It takes place systematically and systematically;
Not only is it a collection of interesting facts, but also serves to develop generalizing judgments;
Subject to constant monitoring in terms of reliability and accuracy.
Forms of observation:
according to the nature of the environment, observation can be field (in a natural setting) and laboratory (in an artificially created situation). The advantage of the first form lies in the naturalness of the observed behavior. The second form allows you to maintain more stable observation conditions and use technical means;
according to the method of implementation, observation can be covert (using special cameras, a system of mirrors, etc.) and open (with the direct participation of the observer);
according to the degree of standardization, standardized and free observation are distinguished. Standardization here implies the assignment of certain categories of behavior, schemes of actions. When conducting a standardized observation, the observer determines in advance what he will observe and record. All other behaviors are ignored. In the process of free observation, the researcher records all types of behavior in the episode under study.
Observation is carried out in accordance with a pre-developed plan, which indicates the place, time, object of observation, methods for establishing the characteristics of the object of observation, the method of fixing the results, etc.
For successful observation, certain conditions must be met. First, observations must be carried out over a relatively short period of time. Secondly, the observed processes and phenomena must be available for observation. Thirdly, only behavior that is not based on a frequently repeated systematic activity should be observed.
In most cases, the observation method is used in conjunction with other methods. The data obtained in this way complement and control each other. In some cases, observation is the only way to obtain the necessary information.
An experiment is the manipulation of independent variables in order to determine their influence on dependent variables while maintaining control over the influence of other, not studied parameters. Independent variables (for example, prices, advertising costs, etc.) can be changed at the discretion of the experimenter. At the same time, dependent variables (for example, sales volume, change in market share) are practically not under his direct control.
Allocate experiments with one or more variables. Experiments with one variable involve studying the effect of changing one marketing factor on the sales, advertising and other activities of the firm.
Experiments with several variables involve studying the dependence of changes in the results of a firm on the interaction and interrelationships of several marketing factors. Such studies are very complex, but they make it possible to measure and evaluate the impact on certain processes and phenomena not only of individual factors, but also of their complex.
Experiments are divided into two groups:
Laboratory, taking place in an artificial environment (for example, various product tests, prices, advertising);
Field, taking place in real conditions (for example, a market test).
When conducting laboratory experiments, certain artificial conditions are created in order to exclude the influence of side factors. Thus, in order to assess the reaction of customers to various types of advertising, such consumers can be invited so that they are representative in terms of gender, age, income levels, social status, etc. Laboratory experiments, in addition to controlling side factors, are also cheaper and require less time to implement.
As an example, we present the results of an experimental study of the levels of remembering and forgetting advertising messages.
Field experiments are carried out in real conditions, but do not exclude the influence of side factors. Moreover, it is almost impossible to take into account and evaluate the degree of this influence. In addition, field experiments require significant time to implement and are costly.
In the standard testing process, a tourism enterprise tests its products and other elements of the marketing mix through its usual distribution channels. This type of testing is quite expensive. Also, it is not confidential.
Controlled market testing is carried out by specialized research firms.
One of the main disadvantages of market testing is the high cost of the experiment. In addition, the tested product becomes known to competitors. The latter can quickly offer a similar tourist product to the market and take a leading position in the market. Finally, there is a certain time lag between experimentation and marketing decisions. At the same time, the time factor in many cases is decisive.
When conducting any experiment, at least two problems arise: how much the changes in the dependent variable can be attributed to the independent ones (how unambiguously the results of the experiment can be interpreted); how suitable are the results of the experiment for other environmental conditions (representativeness of the experiment).
Laboratory experiments allow you to control extraneous factors. Field experiments are carried out in real conditions, but do not exclude uncontrolled extraneous influences.
A promising method for collecting primary marketing information is simulation modeling. It consists in building a mathematical, graphical or other model of controlled and uncontrolled factors that determine the strategy and tactics of the company, and in subsequent experiments on the model in order to study the influence of changes in these factors on the object of study.
Expert assessments as a source of marketing information
Due to the limited possibilities of using economic and mathematical methods in marketing, the lack or insufficient volume of statistical information, the impossibility or inappropriateness of using measuring or calculation methods, heuristic (informal) techniques play an important role in obtaining marketing information. Among them, a special place is occupied by expert assessments based on the experience, foresight, and intuition of qualified specialists.
There are two levels of use of expert assessments: qualitative and quantitative. If the use of expert assessments at a qualitative level (determining possible areas of market activity, choosing measures to implement marketing communications, justifying a pricing strategy, etc.) is not in doubt, then the possibility of using them for quantitative (mainly scoring) assessments is often criticized. At the same time, it is rightly noted that the scores of experts often hide their inability or inability to evaluate certain actions, phenomena and events in a qualified manner.
At the same time, peer reviews are perhaps the only source of marketing information in the following situations:
To predict the market situation in the absence of statistical data or their insufficient volume;
To quantify such events for which there are no other means of measurement (for example, when choosing the marketing goals of a tourism enterprise);
To substantiate (together with other methods) the adoption of optimal marketing decisions in conditions of market uncertainty.
In expert methods, an important role belongs to the personality of the expert. The reliability of expert assessments depends on a number of factors, including how qualified the experts are, what are the conditions for their work, what methods of processing and analyzing expert judgments are used, how perfect is the organization of decision-making, taking into account the opinions (conclusions) of experts.
To obtain marketing information, expert assessments of managers and employees of the tourist enterprise itself are widely used. In an environment that requires the adoption of particularly responsible decisions, it is advisable to involve independent qualified experts.
Expert assessments are organically inherent in a number of shortcomings. On the one hand, there are no guarantees that the data obtained as a result of a survey of experts are actually reliable. On the other hand, there are certain difficulties in conducting a survey of experts and processing the results. If the second drawback is methodologically overcome, then the first one is of fundamental importance. The existing statistical approaches to determining the reliability of expert assessments are based on the assumption that if the opinions of experts agree, their reliability is guaranteed. In reality, situations are often observed when some experts, who disagree with the opinion of the majority, give the most correct estimates. Thus, the consistency of expert opinions is not always a criterion for the reliability of the information received. Hence the need for careful selection of experts. Without exaggeration, we can say that the selection of experts is the most important task that the organizers of the peer review must solve.
The main requirements for experts: competence, interest in the participation of the expert commission, efficiency and objectivity.
