Deck 4: Conducting Marketing Research

Question 1

________ are data that were collected for another purpose and already exist somewhere.

A) Secondary data
B) Primary data
C) Ordinate
D) Tertiary data
E) Inordinate

Answer 1

A

Question 2

As a marketing research manager you have begun calculations on the costs of a proposed marketing research project. During which stage of the marketing research process are such calculations most likely to take place?

A) Stage 4 analyze the information
B) Stage 5 present the findings
C) Stage 2 develop the research plan
D) Stage 1 define the problem and objectives
E) Stage 3 collect the information

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following types of marketing research firms would best be described as being one that gathers consumer and trade information which they sell for a fee (e.g., Nielsen Media Research)?

A) syndicated-service research firms
B) nonprofit marketing research firms
C) custom marketing research firms
D) general-line marketing research firms
E) specialty-line marketing research firms

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The first step in the marketing research process is to

A) contact a professional consultant.
B) develop a research plan.
C) define the problem and research objectives.
D) analyze the internal environment.
E) read marketing research journals.

Question 5

If a marketing research firm sells its field interviewing services to other firms, it would be called an example of a

A) custom marketing research firm.
B) specialty-line marketing research firm.
C) syndicated-service research firm.
D) systematic marketing research firm.
E) general-line marketing research firm.

Question 6

Marketing research is now about a ________ billion industry globally.

A) $16.5
B) $50
C) $7.5
D) $21.5
E) $29

Question 7

A ________ is a gathering of six to ten people who are carefully selected based on certain demographic, psychographic, or other considerations and brought together to discuss at length various topics of interest.

A) Nielsen sample family
B) market maven
C) consumer dyad
D) virtual research market
E) focus group

Question 8

Which one of the following decisions should be made before designing the research plan?

A) research instruments
B) research approaches
C) data sources
D) drafting research objectives
E) sampling plans

Question 9

Anne, a beautician by profession, owns a salon in the small town of Franklin, New Jersey. Every weekend, she makes it a point to visit the other salons in Franklin to find out about the beauty services they offer to customers. Anne is attempting to conduct market research by _______.

A) engaging professors to design and carry out projects
B) checking out rivals
C) forming alliances with competing firms
D) studying customer behavior
E) checking out rivals

Question 10

Companies normally budget marketing research at ________ percent of company sales.

A) 6.5
B) 2 to 3
C) 1 to 2
D) 4
E) 10 to 12

Question 11

The most scientifically valid research is ________ research.

A) observation
B) survey
C) experimental
D) focus group
E) behavioural data

Question 12

Before Sandra Labelle opened her floral shop she read all she could on the industry. She also reviewed library data banks on growth patterns in the local area with particular interest in the location of florists throughout the city. This ________ assisted her in deciding where to locate her store.

A) tertiary information
B) secondary data
C) guerilla marketing data
D) non-personal information
E) primary data

Question 13

Which of the following is considered to be the last step in the marketing research process?

A) Analyze the information.
B) Draft the report.
C) Control the environment.
D) Present the findings.
E) Make the decision.

Question 14

The marketing manager needs to know the cost of the research project before approving it. During which of the following stages of the marketing research process would such a consideration most likely take place?

A) Step 1 creating decision alternatives
B) Step 3 information collection.
C) Step 1 drafting the research objectives
D) Step 2 develop the research plan
E) Step 1 defining the problem

Question 15

Companies undertake surveys to learn about people's knowledge, ________, preferences, and satisfaction, and to measure these magnitudes in the general population.

A) intelligence and literacy
B) beliefs
C) deepest secrets
D) inner id
E) psyche

Question 16

Assume that you are a marketing research director for a medium-sized manufacturing firm and you would like to engage an outside marketing research firm to conduct your field interviews. Which of the following options would be your best choice to achieve your objective?

A) a brand-management specialty research firm
B) a custom marketing research firm
C) a syndicated-service research firm
D) a specialty-line marketing research firm
E) a global research management firm

Question 17

Primary data can be collected in several ways. Which of the following primary data collection methods would be exemplified by constructing see-through mirrors in a retail store whereby consumers' actions could be recorded?

A) behavioural data
B) surveys
C) focus groups
D) experiments
E) observation

Question 18

Fuji Photo Film uses a combination of marketing-research resources to study their industries, competitors, audiences, and channel strategies. When they purchase data from the NRG Group, they have

A) engaged students to design and carry out a research project.
B) used the Internet to monitor chat rooms.
C) hired a custom marketing-research firm.
D) been checking out company rivals.
E) used the services of a syndicated-service research firm.

Question 19

The most common instrument used to collect primary data is the

A) human eye.
B) bar code reader.
C) Internet.
D) video camera.
E) questionnaire.

Question 20

________ is the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company.

A) Marketing research
B) Marketing intelligence
C) MIS (marketing information system)
D) Marketing management
E) Demographics

Question 21

Online research has grown significantly in the last several years. It is estimated that online research is estimated to make up ________ of all survey-based research.

A) three-quarters
B) one-quarter
C) two-fifths
D) one-third
E) one-half

Question 22

The main drawback to the ________ is that the interviews have to be short and not too personal.

A) online interview
B) telephone interview
C) secondary interview
D) mail questionnaire
E) personal interview

Question 23

The goal of ethnographic research is to ________.

A) capture cause-and-effect relationships by eliminating competing explanations of the observed findings
B) understand consumers' behavior by observing a sample groups discussing various topics of interest at length
C) immerse the researcher into consumers' lives to uncover unarticulated desires that might not surface in any other form of research
D) study demographic variables such as age, gender, income, education, and so on, in relation to consumer buying patterns
E) analyze customers' purchasing behavior through catalog purchases and customer databases

Question 24

Which of the following is an appropriate guideline for questionnaire design?

A) Rely on hypothetical questions.
B) Make the questions vague enough to cover several topics.
C) Incorporate jargon and shorthand.
D) Make questions as complex as possible.
E) Desensitize questions by using response bands.

Question 25

Some marketers prefer more ________ methods for gauging consumer opinion because consumer actions do not always match their answers to survey questions.

A) subliminal
B) quantitative
C) covert
D) psychographic
E) qualitative

Question 26

In the Air Canada research, a broad question "How do you feel about first-class air travel?" is asked to start with. Which particular research approach is it to collect primary data?

A) scanners
B) focus groups
C) experiments
D) in-store interviews
E) surveys

Question 27

If a questionnaire designer decides to use a scale that connects two bipolar words wherein the respondent selects the point that represents his or her opinion, the designer is most likely using what is called

A) a multiple-choice question.
B) word association question.
C) a dichotomous question.
D) the semantic differential.
E) a Likert scale.

Question 28

Which of the following types of tests matches to a question that shows a picture and respondents are asked to make up a story about what they think is happening or may happen in the picture?

A) story completion
B) completely unstructured question
C) thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
D) word association
E) holistic association

Question 29

If a marketing researcher wished to reach people who would not give personal interviews or whose responses might be biased or distorted by the interviewers, he or she should choose the ________ as the best way to reach people.

A) mail questionnaire
B) focus group interview
C) online interview
D) telephone interview
E) cell phone interview

Question 30

One of the don'ts of questionnaire construction is to ensure that fixed responses do not overlap. Which of the following is the best illustration of this questionnaire "don't"?

A) A question has three possible responses: yes, no, or maybe.
B) A consumer is asked to describe a recent event will driving.
C) A consumer must describe a cartoon about buying a car.
D) An income question asks for an income designation in one of the following income categories: $0-$20 000, $20 000-$40 000, or $40 000 and above.
E) A consumer is asked whether or not he or she could spy on another consumer's shopping experience.

Question 31

One set of consumers, during a focus group session, indicated that Dell computers reminded them of a surfer, Apple Computer was equated to a mad-scientist, and IBM computers to Scrooge from the Dickens' tale. Which of the following qualitative research approaches matches to the approach described above?

A) brand personification
B) laddering
C) pyramiding
D) projective techniques
E) visualization

Question 32

________ approach uses concepts and tools from anthropology and other social science disciplines to provide deep cultural understanding of how people live and work.

A) Cognitive research
B) Inductive research
C) Archaeological research
D) Ethnographic research
E) Deductive research

Question 33

If a questionnaire says "Small college classes are better places to learn effectively: (choose) 1__ Strongly disagree, 2__ Disagree, 3__ Neither agree nor disagree, 4__ Agree, 5__ Strongly agree," the researcher would be using which of the following to discover data?

A) Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT)
B) multiple choice
C) Likert scale
D) semantic differential
E) dichotomous question

Question 34

________ is a qualitative research approach for getting inside a consumer's mind and finding out what they are thinking or feeling (e.g., a consumer says that the John Deere brand makes them think of a rugged Midwestern male who is hard-working and trustworthy).

A) A projective technique
B) Word association
C) Brand personification
D) Visualization
E) Laddering

Question 35

With respect to the sampling plan, three decisions must be made. The decisions include: the sampling unit how many people should be surveyed; and

A) sample cost how much does sampling cost
B) sampling procedure how should the respondents be chosen
C) sample supervisor who will lead the sampling effort
D) surveyor skill who will do the surveying
E) sample security how to protect the sample data

Question 36

Which of the following is considered to be the most versatile of the questioning or interviewing methods?

A) cell phone interview
B) mail questionnaire
C) telephone interview
D) online interview
E) personal interview

Question 37

Which of the following is used to assess people's knowledge, beliefs, preferences, and satisfaction and to measure these magnitudes in the general population?

A) observational research
B) descriptive research
C) quantitative research
D) experimental research
E) survey research

Question 38

Mechanical devices are occasionally used in marketing research. For example, ________ flashes an ad to a subject with an exposure interval that may range from one hundredth of a second to several seconds. After each exposure, the respondent describes everything he or she recalls.

A) an audiometer
B) the galvanometer
C) an eye-tracking camera
D) a tachistoscope
E) a pupilometer

Question 39

Why must the researchers avoid generalizing from focus-group participants to the whole market?

A) Participants' responses are not reliable.
B) Most of the participants are likely to be ignorant about the topic of discussion.
C) Most of the participants are likely to exhibit similar tastes and preferences.
D) The size of the group is too small and the sample is not drawn randomly.
E) The participants usually come from diverse backgrounds.

Question 40

If a marketing researcher chooses to use a word association question (e.g., "what is the first word that comes to your mind when you hear the following: airline...Air Canada...travel, et cetera), the researcher has chosen which of the following type of question for his or her research questionnaire?

A) open-end question
B) Likert scale question
C) semantic differential question
D) rating scale question
E) closed-end question

Question 41

Marketers must be able to justify marketing _________ to senior management.

A) product quotas
B) personal character traits
C) expenditures
D) own training
E) employees

Question 42

A question that respondents can answer in an almost unlimited number of ways is called a ________.

A) structured question
B) closed-end question
C) dichotomous question
D) completely unstructured question
E) multiple choice question

Question 43

In spite of the rapid growth of marketing research, many companies still fail to use it sufficiently or correctly. Which of the reasons listed below involves research conducted without a careful definition of the problem or of the decisions facing management?

A) uneven caliber of researchers
B) a narrow conception of the research
C) personality and presentational differences
D) poor framing of the problem
E) late and occasionally erroneous findings

Question 44

Which of the following can be truly considered an advantage of online research?

A) Online research involves small and skewed samples.
B) Online research is prone to technological problems and inconsistencies.
C) Online research is more costly than a conventional survey.
D) Online research takes more time to conduct.
E) People tend to be more honest online than in other interviewing methods.

Question 45

A ________ has been defined as being a coordinated collection of data, systems, tools, and techniques with supporting software and hardware by which an organization gathers and interprets relevant information from business and environment and turns it into a basis for marketing action.

A) marketing information system
B) marketing research system
C) marketing intelligence system
D) database management system
E) marketing decision support system

Question 46

If a company actively tracks the performance of its suppliers, banks, and distributors, it is using what is called a

A) variance scorecard.
B) stakeholder-performance scorecard.
C) mission/objectives scorecard.
D) management scorecard.
E) customer-performance scorecard.

Question 47

If a marketing researcher were to use careful observation, hypotheses, prediction, and testing to ensure that his or her marketing research efforts were of the highest quality, the researcher would have then used ________ characteristic of good marketing research to assist in the research effort.

A) ethical marketing
B) the scientific method
C) interdependence of models and data
D) multiple methods
E) research creativity

Question 48

________ is(are) the set of measures that helps firms to quantify, compare, and interpret their marketing performance.

A) Demographics
B) Marketing diagnostics
C) Marketing metrics
D) Marketing intelligence
E) Psychographics

Question 49

________ is designed to capture cause-and-effect relationships by eliminating competing explanations of the observed findings.

A) Focus group research
B) Descriptive research
C) Experimental research
D) Behavioral research
E) Observational research

Question 50

Which of the following rules must be kept in mind while framing a questionnaire?

A) Use broad and loosely defined words in the questions.
B) Allow for the answer "other" in fixed-response questions.
C) Avoid using response bands.
D) Ensure that fixed responses overlap.
E) Frame hypothetical questions.

Question 51

A summary set of relevant internal and external measures can be assembled in a ________ marketing dashboard for synthesis and interpretation.

A) marketing metric
B) customer-performance scorecard
C) marketing dashboard
D) microsales analysis
E) stakeholder-performance scorecard

Question 52

________ consists of measuring and evaluating actual sales in relation to goals.

A) ROI analysis
B) Trend lines
C) Demand
D) Sales analysis
E) Performance reviews

Question 53

Two complimentary approaches to measure marketing productivity are ________ and marketing-mix modelling to estimate casual relationships and how marketing activity affects outcomes.

A) distributor satisfaction surveys
B) quality ratios
C) end-user samples
D) salesperson satisfaction scales
E) marketing metrics to assess marketing effects

Question 54

A ________ records how well the company is doing year after year on customer-based measures (e.g., percentage of new customers to average number of customers).

A) management scorecard
B) variance scorecard
C) customer-performance scorecard
D) mission/objectives scorecard
E) stakeholder-performance scorecard

Question 55

Which of the following should be considered as a disadvantage by a marketing researcher as he or she considers whether or not to use online research as a means of gathering data?

A) Online can suffer from technological problems and inconsistencies.
B) Online research is often slow.
C) Online research is usually expensive.
D) Online research is one-dimensional.
E) Online research suffers from a poor reputation.

Question 56

Which of the following characteristics of good marketing research keeps researchers alert to the problems caused by "marketing myths"?

A) research creativity
B) ethical marketing
C) healthy skepticism
D) the scientific method
E) multiple methods

Question 57

________ allow respondents to answer in their own words and often reveal more about how people think.

A) Dichotomous questions
B) Open-end questions
C) Likert scale questions
D) Multiple choice questions
E) Semantic differential questions

Question 58

The ________ phase of marketing research is generally the most expensive and the most prone to error.

A) data collection
B) research objectives
C) questionnaire design
D) research planning
E) interview design

Question 59

Which of the following ways to measure market share would be seen as the company's sales expressed as a percentage of total market sales?

A) overall market share
B) delayed market share
C) served market share
D) designed market share
E) relative market share

Question 60

Which of the following is true of qualitative research?

A) It is a structured measurement approach that permits a range of possible responses.
B) It requires large sample sizes.
C) Its results can be easily generalized to broader populations.
D) It is indirect in nature, so consumers may be less guarded.
E) It generally results in similar results and conclusions across researchers.

Question 61

There are several methods for assessing market potential. Which of these methods do business marketers prefer?

A) purchase-profitability index
B) multiple-factor index method
C) brand-development index method
D) market-buildup method
E) market-test index

Question 62

A national shoe brand wishes to use financial analysis to find profitable strategies beyond sales building. To calculate return on net worth they must understand that financial leverage is equal (=) to

A) net profits divided by net worth.
B) total assets divided by net worth.
C) net sales divided by total assets.
D) net profits divided by net sales.
E) net profits divided by total assets.

Question 63

If a marketing researcher chooses to use word associations, the researcher is using ________.

A) closed-end questions
B) Likert scale questions
C) open-end questions
D) rating scale questions
E) semantic differential questions

Question 64

According to the financial model of return on net worth, return on assets times (×) financial leverage equals (=)

A) profit margin.
B) sales expenses.
C) asset turnover.
D) the acid test ratio.
E) rate of return on net worth.

Question 65

A ________ can be used to track period-to-period fluctuations in each ratio (e.g., marketing expense-to-sales ratio) used assist in annual-plan control.

A) control chart
B) time chart
C) Likert scale
D) profitability chart
E) Gantt chart

Question 66

Marisol is reviewing how to re-figure a variety of expenses and costs associated with a recent marketing effort. Her first task is to identify the direct costs associated with that effort. Which of the following would be the best example of a direct cost associated with a marketing effort?

A) rent
B) sales commissions
C) top management salaries
D) interest on debt
E) taxes

Question 67

If a company's profit and loss statement showed that sales for the month were $60 000 and cost of goods sold were $39 000, what would be the gross margin?

A) $99 000
B) 65 percent
C) $21 000
D) 153.84 percent
E) Would be unable to calculate given the problem's figures.

Question 68

Annual-plan control requires making sure that the company is not overspending to achieve sales goals. The key ratio to watch is the

A) marketing profitability ratio.
B) marketing sales ratio.
C) marketing expense-to-sales ratio.
D) share of mind ratio.
E) marketing deliverables ratio.

Question 69

Pieter Rabinovich, a marketing exec at Michelin, is comparing the current level of market demand for snow tires to the potential demand level. A high market penetration index will suggest to Pieter that

A) a substantial growth potential exists for all firms in the market.
B) it would be great time to expand distribution outlets.
C) mistakes have been made in selecting the correct promotional alternatives.
D) the price of the product or service is too high with respect to competition.
E) there will be increased costs in attracting the few remaining prospects.

Question 70

A manager observes that his last month's salaries were $9300, rent was $3000, and supplies used by the company were $3500. Considering that his company's gross margin was $21 000, what would be his net profit for the period?

A) $36 800
B) $5200
C) $10 400
D) $60 000
E) Would be unable to calculate given the problem's figures.

Question 71

________ for a product is the total volume that would be bought by a defined customer group in a defined geographical area in a defined time period in a defined marketing environment under a defined marketing program.

A) Market potential
B) Market supply
C) Market share
D) Market penetration
E) Market demand

Question 72

A Canadian candy manufacturer has seen market share for their most popular chocolate bar fluctuate. A useful way for it to analyze market share movements is in terms of four components where overall market share equals (=) customer penetration times (×) customer loyalty times (×) customer selectivity times (×)

A) brand loyalty.
B) distribution opportunities.
C) cultural affinity.
D) promotion sensitivity.
E) price selectivity.

Question 73

Advocates of this approach to marketing-profitability analysis argue that all costs must ultimately be imputed in order to determine true profitability.

A) marketing-mix model
B) expense-to-sales
C) financial leverage
D) full-cost
E) simplified profit-and-loss

Question 74

Which of the following would be considered to be a direct cost?

A) public relations expenditures
B) rent
C) sales commissions
D) leasing of business space
E) corporate image expenditures

Question 75

A marketing manager, during an annual planning meeting, would like to have the department's staff examine the set of consumers who have interest, income, and access to the company's offers. The staff will need to examine information about the ________ in order to do what it has been asked to do.

A) penetrated market
B) target market
C) available market
D) potential market
E) re-positioned market

Question 76

If Dell computer was seen as having a 120 percent market share and a close competitor was seen as having 90 percent market share, the market share analysis (measurement) would be expressed as

A) served market share.
B) overall market share.
C) top dog market share.
D) relative market share.
E) dual market share.

Question 77

A marketing research firm intends to ask consumers a question that reads "Do you intend to buy a automobile within the next six months?" Consumers could respond in several ways including no chance, slight possibility, fair possibility, good possibility, high possibility, and certain. Which of the following terms most accurately categorizes the type of scale that the marketing researcher will want to use to aid their forecasting?

A) behavioural scale
B) buying ratio scale
C) market-test scale
D) attitude scale
E) purchase probability scale

Question 78

Which of the following components of a method (formula) that can analyze market share movements represents the size of the average customer purchase from the company?

A) customer selectivity
B) customer penetration
C) competitor loyalty
D) customer loyalty
E) price selectivity

Question 79

Jason is examining a recent breakdown of his company's West Coast market. The terms in the report are somewhat confusing since there was no attached vocabulary key to assist the uninformed reader. Jason is looking for the set of consumers who are currently buying his company's products. Which of the following terms will assist him in finding the right column for his data query?

A) available market
B) bi-lateral market
C) target market
D) penetrated market
E) potential market

Question 80

Net profits divided by net sales equals (=)

A) financial leverage.
B) profit margin.
C) rate of return on net worth.
D) return on assets.
E) asset turnover.