Exam 2: The Marketing Research Industry

Very few of the largest firms (sales volumes in excess of $500 million)have their own marketing research departments,but they usually have at least one person responsible for conducting marketing research.

External supplier firms may be classified into the two categories of full-service and field data service firms.

In 2004,Mack Mitchell,owner of Mitchell Helicopters,decided he needed marketing research conducted before he made a decision that would change the total strategic direction of his company.Mack was convinced that the future market was not for the large,very expensive helicopters the industry had been providing the market for more than 50 years.Rather,he envisioned a significant market of small,single-seat helicopters that would be used by high-income business executives to commute in large cities where commuting was becoming increasingly difficult.To be successful,Mitchell knew that this involved much more than designing and building a small helicopter.It also meant that buyers would have to make infrastructure changes by installing safe-landing pads at home and at work.If he was right,Mitchell would be embarking on a major change for the company;a change that would put the financial stability of the company at risk.Because it was such a major decision,Mitchell wanted research to confirm or disconfirm his decision.Remember we are assuming this situation occurred several years ago in 2004.In 2004,Mitchell would have been hampered in deciding which marketing research firm to hire for this important decision because:

General Mills has a research department that provides for the function of marketing research at the company.This is an example of what we mean by an external supplier firm.

A research firm that uses only one technique,such as eye movement research or taste testing,would be called:

In evaluations conducted on the performance of the marketing research industry,the conclusions have been consistent in saying that the industry is plagued with so many problems that it has not been able to operate at any level other than "unsatisfactory."

The issue of ________ continues to be dominant in today's world of "scraping" websites to gather information.

Internal supplier firms organize the research function by using either committees or by assigning individuals the responsibility.They do not have their own departments of marketing research.

Several industry initiatives are directed at keeping the public informed about the value of research,the appropriateness of research methods,and the ethics the industry uses in collecting research information.

The basic function of formal marketing research departments is to provide information to internal decision makers.

Customized service firms tailor research services to each client's specific needs.

Marketing research firms classified as "market segment specialists" and "field services" firms are categorized as being full-service supplier firms.

While you can go directly into marketing research after college,a graduate degree is highly desirable.

In discussing the structure of the marketing research industry,the authors define an internal supplier firm as one that:

Examples of "online research services firms" include Toluna,Knowledge Networks,and Mindfield Internet Panels.

Which of the following is the fastest growing country,in terms of net growth revenue gains for market researchers from 2009 to 2010?

Which of the issues below best illustrates researchers falsifying data in order to make the findings consistent with predetermined points of view?

Some critics of the marketing research industry believe that the industry is too "tool" oriented,and often the problem is defined in terms of being compatible with an existing tool.Thus,researchers fail to consider focusing on the more complex strategic issues facing the firm.

World revenues for the marketing research industry are about $300 billion annually.

A common ethical code among major associations is to ensure that researchers will not collect information for more than one client at the same time without explicit permission from the clients involved.This code falls into the category of: