Joe Spivey is president of Advantage Research, Inc. The firm specializes in customized research for clients in a variety of industries via computer-assisted mall interviews in five of the largest malls in the United States. It operates a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) facility with 100 calling stations. Housed in this facility is an interactive voice response (IVR) capability. Its Advantage Online division specializes in online surveys and has recruited over 200,000 panel members residing in North America. There is a database with over 250 pieces of information (demographic, lifestyle, possessions, etc.) gathered and stored for every Advantage Online panel member. If necessary, Joe will subcontract the services of other research firms in order to provide his client with the most appropriate data collection method. In a daily meeting with his project directors, Joe discusses each client’s special situation. Here is a summary of the major points of today’s three client discussions.

Client 1: A furniture tools manufacturer has created what it considers to be the perfect ergonomic desk and chair set.

The chair has a high back made of breathable mesh, with lumbar support and adjustable arms and seat. The desk has an adjustable height, including stand-up with adjustable keyboard station and moveable monitor mount. After extensive testing of the desk and chair set and conducting several focus groups with company purchasing agents, the client is now ready for more information on sales presentation methods.

The project director and the client have developed several different sales presentation formats. The client wishes to have some market evaluation of these presentations before launching a nationwide training program of the company’s 125-person sales force.

Client 2: A regional bakery markets several brands of cookies and crackers to supermarkets throughout California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. The product category is very competitive, and competitors use a great deal of newspaper and television advertising, with the most progressive competitors moving into social media advertising.

The bakery’s vice president of marketing desires more analytics to use in making promotional decisions for the firm. She has lamented that while she spends several million dollars a year on promotions in the four states, she has no way to evaluate the effectiveness of these expenditures.

Advantage Research’s project director has recommended a study that will establish baseline measures of top-of-mind brand awareness (called TOMA, this measure of awareness is achieved by asking respondents to name the first three brands that come to mind when thinking of a product or service category, such as “cookies”), attitudes, and preferences.

Client 3: An inventor has developed a new device that sanitizes a toothbrush each time the brush is used. The device uses steam to sanitize the brush, and lab tests have shown the mechanism to be very effective at killing virtually all germs and viruses. There is an app that communicates with the toothbrush sanitizer, tracking its use and effectiveness, and notifies the user when it is time to replace the cleaning filters and fluids. The inventor has approached a large manufacturer that has expressed interest in buying the rights to this device. However, the manufacturer first wants to know if people have any concerns with toothbrush sanitization, and whether or not they would be willing to purchase a countertop, plug-in device with app to keep their toothbrush sterile.

The project director states that the manufacturer is interested in a survey that covers the United States and Canada using a sample size of 3,000 representative respondents. The inventor is anxious to supply this information very quickly before the manufacturer loses interest in the idea.

1. For each client’s survey, take each of the nine data collection methods identified in this chapter and specify what you think are the strongest and weakest aspects of using that data collection method for the client’s survey situation.

2. Based on your analysis from the preceding question, and taking into consideration any other relevant aspects, decide which is the best data collection method for each client’s survey. Defend your choice in each case.

3. Assume that you are the project director recommending the data collection method you have chosen for each client’s survey in the preceding question, but during the next daily meeting, Joe and the other project directors vote your recommendations down. What is the next best data collection method in your mind for each client’s survey? Defend your choice in each case.