Archive for Market Research

The Case for Focus Groups

June 26, 2012 / MHBAdmin / No comments

By: Jeanne Ngo

Focus groups are a market research tool that market researchers use to gain knowledge about products or ideas from real-world consumers. Focus groups accomplish this task by facilitating a conversation with a group of 6-8 people for several hours, and probing them the entire time with questions to uncover and understand their opinions. This method has been a mainstay in the industry for some time now, but that does not mean that everyone is a fan of their use. I recently read an article that criticized focus groups, and advised researchers to find “better” ways of communicating with, and learning from, consumers.

I do agree that there are some lack of features within the research method. However, I think that focus groups serve a great purpose depending on your objective.

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Brand Equity: Crucial Yet Expendable

May 16, 2012 / MHBAdmin / One comment

By: Jenny Shi

Having a high brand equity is like having a good reputation: people tend to like you, have positive attitudes towards you, or even want to be associated with you. With that being said, brands with higher equity are usually associated with luxury, quality, or class. Brands such as Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, and Chanel (among some of the highest brand equities) are pretty much the A-list celebrities of the business realm.

You’d think market researchers would have brand equity all figured out since it’s such a critical component to making a brand or product flourish. On the contrary, brand equity is rather immeasurable, despite the many efforts to quantify and analyze it. The general definition is simply that it is the value of the brand, which might encompass consumers’ awareness and attitudes of the brand, or even its stock value.

For some companies, brand equity is what brings on the sales. We see this occur especially in high fashion and luxury brands. People buy Louis Vuitton purses because they want to feel wealthy and chic and look their best.  People also buy these products to fulfill a deeper need – perhaps they want to feel successful and superior, or they might anticipate wearing these products might get them noticed by others. Brand equity can also be an influence in decision-making of brand product purchases. For instance, you might find yourself in a supermarket trying to purchase chocolate. The selection provides Hershey, Russell Stover, and Lindt. Unless if you’re a masochist, you’ll probably go for Lindt, the most premium choice out of the three, presumably because of the name and the high quality of chocolate that it ensures.

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Integrating Mathematical Psychology with Marketing

April 18, 2012 / MHBAdmin / No comments

By: Jenny Shi

When most people hear of the word “mathematical”, they usually cower and go into the fetal position. Yes, it’s true that math is a tough discipline; calculus was never my favorite subject. But a number of the useful techniques and analyses that successful companies employ for marketing purposes are often integrated with various mathematical and statistical methods. In this week’s post, we’ll cover some of the most popular math methods used in marketing research: conjoint analysis, factor analysis, and Bayesian statistics.

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Tracking Consumer Cell Phones to Create More Sales

March 26, 2012 / MHBAdmin / One comment

By: Kelly Pugh

We know that cell phones now come with tracking devices, but who knew our phones could be used for understanding shopping patterns in malls? Throughout last year’s holiday shopping seasons, a mall in Southern California and another in Virginia both tracked cell phone signals to collect data concerning consumer shopping patterns.  The data included information about which stores were most popular, how much time was spent in each store, and which stores complimented each other in terms of shopping patterns.

Shoppers were notified of the data collection via posters throughout the mall, but as the article mentions, “… it’s unlikely that customers will turn off their main device for communication and busy shoppers may miss the notifications posted within the mall” (Source).

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Speaker Series: Brian Kushnir

April 29, 2011 / MHB Students / No comments

Each Friday, the MHB program hosts an industry pro with insight into career opportunities, marketplace trends and new ideas who engages students for two hours of class time. On April 8th, 2011, the speaker series featured Mr. Brian Kushnir, the executive vice president and managing director of Added Value, a market research firm located in Los Angeles.

Mr. Kushnir provided an expansive and penetratingly informative view of market research, which he has been involved in professionally since graduating from the University of California in San Diego. His previous positions in the industry have included research management at Infoplan, strategy at McCann-Erickson Japan, consumer research at Gateway Japan and directive planning at BBDO Japan. He has lived and worked in Tokyo, so his expertise spans diverse consumer segments as well as cultural populations — a continuing influence on his job at Added Value, which has branched into international territories including Asia following its domestic success.

Mr. Kushnir examined the Added Value approach to market research, which goes beyond simple statistical analysis by providing consultative suggestions to its clients. Its ideas have inspired campaigns for Audi, Yamaha, Advil, Virgin and Levi’s, and it maintains a socially-active and environmentally-friendly workplace both here and abroad. He navigated the evolution from entry-level employment to management within the market research industry, which provided students with a model for future planning and relative expectations. Ultimately, Mr. Kushnir showed how personal pursuits — like his own passions for international relations and the Japanese language — can be effectively incorporated into a full-time career.

Continue reading for more on Mr. Kushnir, as well as his social media profile.

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