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Home | Marketing Research White Papers
Marketing Research White Papers |
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| Free white papers and articles on different marketing research
techniques. Topics range from advertising research, to innovation, to concept
testing and product testing, to win-loss evaluation. These articles detail the
best practices for research. All articles were written by marketing research
professionals. |
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Our article archives are organized into the following categories:
- Marketing Research Techniques
(advertising research, concept testing, package testing, product testing, win-loss
evaluation, customer satisfaction, etc.)
- Advanced Analytics (choice
modeling, market segmentation, sales forecasting, analytical modeling, etc.)
- Data Collection Methodologies
(online research, qualitative research, tracking research, online ethnography,
etc.)
- Research Results (white
papers using the data collected in syndicated and other surveys)
- Marketing and Strategy
(general marketing, positioning, strategy, trends, etc.)
- Contracting Business Articles
Below is a list of the more popular articles. You can view each article by
clicking on the title or you can open/download the article in pdf format by clicking
on the pdf icon.
- Advertising
Effectiveness by Jerry W. Thomas
The advertising industry, as a whole, has the poorest quality-assurance systems
and turns out the most inconsistent product (their ads and commercials) of any
industry in the world. Unlike most of the business world, which is governed by
numerous feedback loops, the advertising industry receives little objective, reliable
feedback on its advertising.
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- Advertising Tracking
by Jerry W. Thomas
The promise of media advertising is great. It's an opportunity for a brand to
tell its story directly to the ultimate consumer. It's an opportunity to build
awareness and project a powerful brand image.
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- Comparison of Segmentation
Approaches by Beth Horn and Wei Huang
Segmentation approaches can range from throwing darts at the data, to human judgment,
to advanced cluster modeling. We will explore four such methods: factor segmentation,
k-means clustering, TwoStep cluster analysis, and latent class cluster analysis.
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- Concept Testing (and the “Uniqueness”
Paradox) by Jerry W. Thomas
A well-designed, new product concept testing system, overseen by experienced and
knowledgeable researchers, can vastly improve a company's ability to develop successful
new products or services. This article suggests some guidelines and best practices
on improving new product concept testing.
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 Customer
Satisfaction Mythologies and Other Tales by Jerry W. Thomas
A company's marketing, positioning, and advertising can have powerful effects
on customers' perceptions of satisfaction. It's really important to align a company's
positioning and marketing strategy with customer satisfaction and loyalty strategies,
so that all these elements are working together synergistically. This article
explores the truisms, mythologies and best practices for Customer Satisfaction
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- Endcap Optimization by Mike Humphrey and John Colias, Ph.D.
PepsiCo and Decision Analyst recently presented the results of ground-breaking endcap optimization research at a large annual U.S. conference (TMRE, The Marketing Research Event, by IIR). The goal of the research was to identify endcap displays (by type and mix of SKUs) that would maximize sales of PepsiCo’s snack and beverage products in a major U.S. retail chain.
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- Market Segmentation
by Jerry W. Thomas
When the term "market segmentation" is used, most of us immediately think of psychographics,
lifestyles, values, behaviors, and multivariate cluster analysis routines. Market
segmentation is a much broader concept, however, and pervades the practice of
business throughout the world.
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- Marketing Mix Modeling by
Jerry W. Thomas
A look at how marketing mix modeling can assist in making specific marketing decisions
and tradeoffs, and also create a broad platform of knowledge to guide strategic
planning.
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- Mobile
Analytics by Jerry W. Thomas
The earth is shifting beneath our feet. Smartphones, iPads, and tablet computers
combined have surpassed PCs in number of units shipped annually. These highly
portable devices, and the new technologies embedded in them, represent tectonic
shifts in research possibilities. Despite the shock and rubble of tectonic upheaval,
new opportunities are visible through the clouds of confusion.
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- Motivational Research
by Jerry W. Thomas
An explanation of motivational research and how it is conducted.
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- New Product Sales Forecasting
by Jerry W. Thomas
The development and introduction of a new product is an inherently risky venture.
In an effort to reduce the risks associated with new products, the forecasting
of year-one sales has become an established practice within the marketing research
industry. The goal of this article is to take a bit of the mystery out of the
methods used to derive year-one sales forecasts for new consumer packaged goods.
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- Product Testing by Jerry
W. Thomas
A summary of product testing techniques and guidelines for testing consumer products.
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- Qualitative
Package Design Research by Jerry W. Thomas
While many quantitative methods are utilized in package design research, sometimes
we overlook the importance of the softer side of research—the qualitative techniques.
So, the purpose of this article is to share some basic ideas and best practices
for the use of qualitative research as a component in the package-design research
plan.
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- Revitalizing
U.S. Economic Growth in the 21st Century by Jerry W. Thomas
The U.S. economy, the greatest the world has ever known, is slowly losing its
prowess. This article explores some ideas about how we might be able to build
and sustain a high-growth U.S. economy.
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If you would like more information on Marketing Research, please contact Jerry W. Thomas by emailing jthomas@decisionanalyst.com
or calling 1-817-640-6166.
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