Week 9 Reading Reflection

I was surprised by the chapter’s section on inhibitors to market research and reporting. Specifically, the writing on mistaken beliefs that inhibit the use of such research intrigued me. I was under the impression (after taking two statistics classes), that gathering research data was in fact expensive and complex. I guess I didn’t consider that, relative to the post-feedback benefit of research, the initial cost really isn’t substantial. I was confused by the description of changing priorities and purchases in the family life cycle. It seems to me that it is outdated information from 1994. Some examples: People are immersing themselves in entertainment from an earlier age, people are putting off marriage and families until later in life, and the digital age is opening up investment opportunities for all ages. I would ask the author how to best gauge a customer’s need for a product/service. Also, is there a way to subconsciously increase a customer’s perceived need for non-essential products/services? I think that gauging and then increasing a customer’s perceived need for something is the most effective marketing tactic. I disagree with asking customers the simplest questions first, as I think that the questions should vary in difficulty throughout a survey (easy, hard, easy).