More Guerrilla Marketing Research: Asking the Right People, the Right Questions, the Right Way, and Effectively Using the Answers to Make More Money

369 Pages·2009·1.7 MB·English

by  Robert J. Kaden

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MORE
GUERRILLA
MARKETING
RREESSEEAARRCCHH
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MORE
GUERRILLA
MARKE TING
RREESSEEAARRCCHH
Asking the right people, the right
questions, the right way and effectively
using the answers to make more money
Robert J. Kaden
Gerald Linda
and Jay Conrad Levinson
London and Philadelphia
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Publisher's note
Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in
this book is accurate at the time of going to press, and the publishers and
authors cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, however
caused. No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting,
or refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be
accepted by the editor, the publisher or any of the authors.
First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2009 by Kogan Page
Limited
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or
criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any
form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or
in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and
licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these
terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses:
120 Pentonville Road 525 South 4th Street, #241
London N1 9JN Philadelphia PA19147
United Kingdom USA
www.koganpage.com
© Robert J Kaden, Gerald Linda and Jay Conrad Levinson, 2009
The right of Robert J Kaden, Gerald Linda and Jay Conrad Levinson to be iden-
tified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN 978 0 7494 5547 7
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
ACIPrecord for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kaden, Robert J.
More guerrilla marketing research : asking the right people, the right ques-
tions, the right way, and effectively using the answers to make more money /
Robert J. Kaden, Gerald Linda, Jay Conrad Levinson.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-7494-5547-7
1. Marketing research. 2. Small business—Management. 3. Success in
business. I. Linda, Gerald. II. Levinson, Jay Conrad. III. Title.
HF5415.2.K245 2009
658.893—dc22 2009017052
Typeset by Saxon Graphics Ltd
Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt Ltd
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Bob Kaden and Jay Conrad Levinson would like to dedicate this book to
the 2005 Chicago White Sox, who brought us a world championship
and the blissful peace that comes with the end to a lifetime of hoping.
And Gerry Linda dedicates this book to:
My family: Claudia, Jonathan and Jessica, who always said of me,
sometimes teasingly and other times less so, ‘You ask him a question
and you get a pageant.’
My teachers at Boston Latin School, Northeastern University, and the
University of Michigan, who kindled a lifelong love of learning,
marketing and, yes, marketing research.
My colleagues at Tatham Laird & Kudner, Marsteller and Kapuler
Research, where my skills were honed and polished.
And my clients at Kurtzman Slavin Linda and Gerald Linda &
Associates, for whom it has been a privilege to serve.
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Contents
About the authors xi
Foreword xv
Acknowledgements xvii
Introduction 1
1. Marketing research – why should you care? 5
What does listening to consumers really mean? 6;
Do customers really tell you the truth? 9; What if
consumers say one thing and do another? 11; Will I really
learn anything I don't already know? 12; Insights 14;
Does research work for all types of businesses? 15;
Digging deeper 17
2. Setting research goals and objectives 19
Where are your greatest opportunities for making more
money? 21; Understanding the needs of your customers
and prospects 23; Turning research questions into research
goals and objectives 24; Refining research goals and
objectives 26; What actions might you take? 27;
Digging deeper 29
3. What Guerrillas can learn from large-company research 33
Strategic vs tactical research 35; Which comes first – a
strategic or tactical study? 37; What kinds of studies do
viii (cid:2) Contents
large companies conduct? 39; Test market research 43;
Developing new products 44; Conclusion 45
4. How to get started 47
Understanding current and potential opportunities 47;
Knowing what questions to ask – revisited 49; Attitudes vs
behavior 50; Determining the best research approach from
the options available 52; Which comes first? 54;
Determining whether the product meets customer
expectations 55; Generating more business from current
customers 57; Taking customers away from the
competition 58; Increasing the size of the market 59
5. How to set a research budget 61
Determining a meaningful research budget 63; Coming to
grips with a budget 64; What business are you in? 66;
Digging deeper 67
6. Using research professionals 73
Should Guerrillas try DIYresearch? Maybe! 73; How to
judge credentials 73; Are research suppliers or consultants
really all that necessary? 76; Understanding supplier
pricing 77; Costing a project 77; Are research suppliers
worth what they charge? 87; Being a good client 88
7. How much research should you do? 91
Alittle cango a long way 91; Research can have a long
shelf life 92; How to maximize the return on research 93;
So how much research should you do? 95; How much
research, really? 97
8. The research plan 99
What is a research plan? 99; Developing your plan 100;
The overall goal 101; Specific objectives 102; Target market
respondents 104; Afinal word 108
9. Secondary research 109
What is secondary information? 109; The attractiveness of
secondary information 111; Common valuable sources of
secondary information 112; Which comes first – primary or
secondary research? 114
10. Brainstorming and other ideation processes 115
Conducting a brainstorming session 116; Other ideation
processes 117
Contents (cid:2) ix
11. Focus groups and qualitative research 121
What are they really? 121; Can focus groups alone provide
the basis for a marketing decision? 123; Focus groups and
brainstorming 127; Setting up focus groups 131; How to
be an effective focus group moderator 141; Group
exercises 155; Pre-group homework 157; Building from
one group to another 158; Recall respondents 158; Types of
qualitative research 159; “Qualiquant” 164; Creative
consumers 165; Digging deeper 167
12. Research into emotions 171
Alittle more history 173; Evoking emotions in
marketing 174; The researcher's dilemma 175; Where are
we today? 177; It's not all or nothing 178; Where to go
next 179; Digging deeper 180
13. Surveys and quantitative research 187
Types of surveys 189; Strategic study goals and
objectives 191; Determining your target respondents 192
14. Types of surveys 197
The internet 197; Telephone interviewing 201; Mail
surveys 204; In-person interviewing 207; Panels 208;
Digging deeper 210
15. Writing questionnaires 213
Types of questions 214; Questionnaires for telephone and
personal interviewing 215; 1. The cooperation phase 215;
2. The respondent qualification phase 217; 3. The main
body phase 220; 4. The demographic phase 246; 5. The
thank you phase 247
16. Customer satisfaction research 249
Approaches to assessing customer satisfaction 249; Why
customer satisfaction measures are important 250; How
often is enough? 251; The cost factor 252; Defining
customer satisfaction research 253; Measuring customer
satisfaction 254; Importance of performance variables 257;
Net promoter score 258; Digging deeper 259
17. Sampling 261
Sampling, error range and making predictions 263;
Determining sample size 266; Achieving good response
rates 269; Sampling guidelines 270; Sources of samples 272