Basic Marketing Research with Excel 3rd Edition by Alvin Burns,Ronald Bush

Exercise 22

Your Integrated Case
Advanced Automobile Concepts
Cory Rogers presented his interpretations of the focus groups he had subcontracted for Nick Thomas of Advanced Automobile Concepts to get a feel for what American consumers wanted in global warming initiatives, gasoline prices, alternative fuels, hybrid automobiles, and other aspects of the AAC division's mission. Thomas was impressed with the amount of information that had been collected from just a few focus groups. "Of course," noted Rogers, "we have to take all of this information as tentative because we talked with so few folks, and there is a good chance that they are just a part of your target market. But we do have some good exploratory research that will guide us in the survey." Thomas agreed with Rogers's assessment, and asked, "What's next?" Rogers replied, "I need to think about how we will gather the survey data. That is, in order to make an informed decision as to the type(s) of new automobiles to manufacture and market, it is important to understand the worries, beliefs, preconceptions, and preferences of potential automobile buyers. In other words, there must be a survey of prospective automobile purchasers, and it is time to start thinking about the method of data collection."
While specifics are still being hammered out, it is agreed upon by everyone involved that there should be a survey that reaches a large number of American households, perhaps 1,000 to 2,000 households. Again, with the details to come, the survey will include between forty and seventy-five questions on a variety of topics including demographics of the household, inventory of currently owned automobiles, beliefs about global warming, gasoline usage, reactions to various "new technology" automobiles, and all of the other constructs and questions identified in the research project objectives. The survey will be directed to either the male or female head of the household using a 50/50 split so both are equally represented. Other than this factor, the overriding objective of the survey method decision is to choose a method that will ultimately yield a respondent profile that reflects the demographic and automobile ownership profile of the American public. It is possible to purchase lists of American households in just about any quantity desired-hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands. These lists can be in the form of mailing addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, or any combination. Following are questions that Rogers must answer.
Compare the use of an in-home method to the use of an online method for Advanced Automobile Concepts survey. What are the relevant pros and cons of each one? Indicate which one you would recommend and why.