The Handbook
The objective for this Handbook, targeted at users,
managers and providers of Market Research, is motivated by the extensive
lack of use of MR studies even after they have been conducted and by the
widespread misapplication of MR techniques. The glorious days when Market
Research readily revealed customer preferences, attitudes or behavioral
intentions are now gone. In
recent years, response rates have been terrifyingly low and response
accuracy and validity have been perhaps even more questionable. A very biased sample answers
Market Research's long questionnaires, and “professionals” now participate
in focus groups and other qualitative research techniques. Data gathered by Market
Researchers are increasingly being questioned by clients.
Additional motivation for
this book stems from the recent developments in the philosophy of managing
of organizations. The
overarching business philosophy of customer or market focus has received
significant acceptance. As
firms move toward implementing this philosophy, they are beginning to rely
on Market Research to provide the insights required for making
decisions. Additionally, they
want to view the supplier of market research as a trusted advisor – a role in which
the market researcher provides more high quality value-added information
and recommendations for decision-making.
The
objectives, hence, of the Handbook of Market Research are to provide the
reader with 1) a broad and comprehensive understanding, including
usefulness and pitfalls, of all the market research techniques of data
gathering and analysis; 2) a process of conducting research that will
ensure the proper conceptualization, execution and usage of research; 3)
ideas for structuring the market research department such that insights
are available in real time; and 4) prescriptions for growth of market
research professionals to trusted advisors. By making the user an informed
user of market research, the level of the complete discipline of market
research is enhanced. This
not only prevents market research from being purchased under the wrong
expectations and from being misused, but also elevates expectations and,
therefore, the deliverables from market research. The book will enable the
eco-system to start designing market research that meets higher levels of
expectations for the discipline.
The
contents will be articulated in a very reader-friendly,
applications-oriented and non-mathematical fashion. Besides slicing the cake in the
traditional mode of techniques, the handbook will also contain several
chapters on the applications in market research, e.g., segmentation,
marketing mix, life-time value, brand equity,
models.
Since
the scope of the Handbook is very extensive and requires varied and deep
experience in the practical usage of techniques, the goal of the Handbook
can be achieved only by having a variety of high-quality individual
contributors. Also, the
nature of authors will necessarily have to encompass experience in both
the business and academic worlds.
Target Market
The
primary target markets for this book are the users, managers and providers
of market research. We
anticipate that a copy of this book will be on the shelves of many market
researchers and users of market research in the Marketing and Marketing
Research Departments of larger companies as well as market research
suppliers around the world.
As
mentioned earlier, the impetus for this work comes from fact-based
decision-making that is gaining a foot-hold in the majority of
companies. It is rare to find
market academicians who have all the necessary knowledge in every domain
of market research. Thus, the
Handbook will be a ready reference, especially since it will be firmly
grounded in the business realities, to academicians. Finally, libraries will be more
apt to purchase a unique handbook of this sort rather than conventional
textbooks on the subject.
Competitive
Books
There are two
categories of books in the market research discipline. None of the books in both of these
categories can be considered as true competitors. The first category consists of
books that are traditionally used as textbooks in universities. While there are many excellent
books to serve the needs of the teachers and students, these books do not
go the next step to educate practitioners and users of market research
regarding the caveats of market research techniques.
The
second category consists of books that contain data and statistics on
particular industries or geographical areas around the world. These books are often named
handbooks. For example, one
can find handbooks on market research on the Gaming Industry, Health Care
Industry or Restaurant and Food Services Industry and on states in the
US. Since these consist of data and
statistics, they will not compete with our handbook of techniques,
conceptualizations and philosophies.
Template for Chapters (Analysis & Modeling)
- Outline of the Method/Model - What is it - What does it yield
- What are the underlying assumption - and why you should care about
these
- How and when to use it (including a check list of important issues
to think about)
- How to evaluate and validate the results (if possible)
- How and when NOT to use it
- Example of a successful and unsuccessful marketing applications
- Miscellaneous (new developments, other thoughts, etc.)
Biographies
Dr. Rajiv Grover, Department Head & holder of the
C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry Chair in Marketing, Terry
College of Business
Dr. Rajiv Grover is the Head of the Department and holder of the Terry
Chair of Marketing at the Terry College of Business, The University of
Georgia in Athens , Georgia . Prior to assuming the current academic
administrative position, Dr. Grover was the SVP of Business Development
and Marketing with a high-tech start-up for two years in the Silicon
Valley . His research and teaching philosophy focuses on resolution of
managerial problems. His interests lie in the areas of strategic market
research; market-focused management and strategy; creativity and new
product development; customer satisfaction; and organizational networks
and relationships. Dr. Grover has received several honors for his research
and teaching efforts. He has received the prestigious O'Dell award for the
best paper in the Journal of Marketing Research . He has authored
the book, Theory and Simulation of Market-Focused Management ,
published by Dryden Press, and was the founding editor of The Journal
of Market Focused Management , that was published by Kluwer Academic
Publishers. He has distinguished himself as a teacher both in formal
academic settings, having won the Hugh O. Nourse Outstanding MBA Teacher
Award, as well as in the corporate environment. He has consulted with and
conducted seminars and executive education programs in leading
organizations such as AT&T, ALCOA, KPMG, PNC Bank, PPG, Texas
Instruments, Citibank, IBM, GM, and Microsoft. Dr. Grover received his
Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1983. He has an
Electronics Engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology and
an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management. Prior to joining The
University of Georgia, Dr. Grover was a faculty member at the University
of Pittsburgh and before that, at Penn State University . He has been a
visiting Professor at Johns Hopkins University , Duke University and
Stanford University .
Dr. Marco Vriens, Group Research Manager,
Microsoft Corp.
Dr. Marco Vriens is Group Research Manager
at Microsoft Corp. Prior to joining Microsoft, he was the Chief Research
Officer at Millward Brown IntelliQuest and Sr. Vice President at Research
International. Prior to that, he was Professor of Marketing Research in
the Netherlands . He has co-authored several seminal papers on market
segmentation, conjoint analysis, and choice modeling. His current
interests are in the areas of strategic market research and market
research organizational issues. In total, he has published more than 50
papers in a wide variety of journals including the Journal of
Marketing Research , Marketing Science , International
Journal of Research in Marketing , the Journal of Product
Innovation Management , Journal of Marketing Management ,
European Journal of Marketing , Marketing Letters ,
Canadian Journal of Marketing Research , and the Marketing
Research Magazine . He has received several Best Paper awards
including the David K. Hardin memorial award. He is also an author of the
book “Conjoint Analysis in Marketing” (1995). He has been a consultant to
many leading companies such as IBM, Intel, Dell, and Philips. He received
his Masters in Psychology in 1987 from Leyden University and his Ph.D. in
Business Administration from the University of Groningen (1995).
