Introduction
Marketing research is vital in any business environment that needs to understand its consumers. According to Bova and Sun (n.d.), market research refers to the procedure for collecting, evaluating, and interpreting data about a market, a product or service that will be available for purchase in that industry, and about ancient times, present, and prospects customers for the item or service; investigations into the traits, spending patterns, destination, and wants of your company’s target audience, the sector as a whole, and the specific competitors you face. In a nutshell, it is gathering and studying information regarding a good or service and clients’ sentiments toward it. There are several factors to consider when deciding how researchers will collect this data. Before acquiring and analyzing data, marketing researchers must consider several factors, including ethics, methodology, and tactics.
Hypothesis and Major Research Question
Studies show that minorities make much less investment than whites. According to a Chicago Tribune article, 57% of minorities and 76% of whites participate in stocks or stock mutual funds (MarksJarvis, 2020). The report also revealed that almost half of black Americans avoid the stock market and save considerably less for retirement than white Americans (MarksJarvis, 2020). The poll found that a third of minority investors thought equities and mutual funds were the most significant overall investments. Failing in real estate was favoured by 50% of those polled, even though it typically offers returns far lower than those of equities (MarksJarvis, 2020). Disparities in investment habits are caused by education and cultural barriers. We want to understand why this is the case and how we might persuade more Black, Latino/Hispanic, Native Americans, and Asian Americans to make more significant investments.
Ethics in Marketing Research
A study by Praveen Aggarwal, Rajiv Vaidyanathan, and Stephen Castleberry investigated how marketing research specialists have a terrible image. They assess the ethical perspectives of marketing researchers and look at how attitudes and views in this field have changed over time (Aggarwal et al., 2012). The trio discovered throughout their inquiry that marketing professionals are frequently viewed as unethical and dishonest. Due to their many research strategies and scandalous exploitation of research data, market researchers have been identified as the main offenders. Although perceptions about marketing research procedures have evolved since these tests were conducted forty years ago, the general contempt for marketing researchers has generally not altered.
The Marketing Research Association created the Code of Marketing Research Standards to encourage an ethical culture in the marketing research industry. The MRA states that the profession’s success is supported by honesty, professionalism, fairness, and secrecy (Insight Association, n.d). This code is meant to provide the moral behaviour benchmark for MRA members. Our marketing research strategy will incorporate the MRA’s code of ethics to ensure we behave honourably, honestly, and ethically. The regulation mandates that members respect the general public’s rights as respondents and foster trust in the validity of research to increase participation. The code also covers marketing researchers’ obligations to one another, the general public, and anybody who stands to gain from the study and the actions that result from it. We shall ensure always to conduct ourselves professionally and treat participants with the utmost respect. The freedom to decline to participate in any step of the study process is one of the rights we will uphold for participants. We will not try to sway the participants’ ideas, and we will respect their right to privacy by keeping any information and data we gather private.
Qualitative Research Methods
A focus group is a small group of 10 individuals or less who have agreed to participate in a discussion about a product or concept so that researchers may gather information based on their responses. We may collect information and data on these groups using various qualitative research techniques to understand why they invest at a lesser rate than educated white individuals. Each has benefits and drawbacks, and I will talk about the three most common approaches so we can choose the one that will work best for your company. Though effective for gauging customer reactions, focus groups lack the depth of one-on-one interviews (Writing, 2017). The method is less effective overall, and the respondents to the poll may be swayed by what their peers think. Additionally, it is more expensive than polls or questionnaires, and biased moderators may unintentionally influence the discussion’s conclusion.
Direct, one-on-one interaction is required for the qualitative data collecting technique known as depth interviews. These are some benefits of this approach:
- Building a relationship with participants so they feel more at ease and can express their ideas and opinions with more depth.
- It allows the interviewer to ask any follow-up questions, giving them the chance to learn more.
- The one-on-one engagement diminishes any peer pressure that a person would experience in a group situation.
- Interviewers can assess participants’ tone, body language, and facial expressions.
- The data and samples gathered are often of higher quality.
Even though it has numerous advantages, conducting depth interviews takes time and money. Participants may also be prejudiced and hope to get compensation for participating in the study. A qualitative approach to data collection and analysis called observation involves seeing individuals in a simulated or natural setting. Data is less corrupted since researchers may see their subjects in their natural habitat. Participants’ willingness to participate in the study is not considered; observation techniques are affordable and help get untampered findings. Participants are also not influenced by the person watching them. Although this approach may yield the most reliable results, it can be time-consuming and shallow. The Observational Research Method, which entails monitoring respondents in their natural context to provide more reliable data and legitimate conclusions, is something I strongly endorse. The Observation approach has drawbacks, much like the other methods we’ve studied, but they are outweighed by the value of the data it produces and its affordability. Additionally, some observation techniques may induce researchers to behave unethically or negligently, prompting subjects to file legal claims.
Likert Scale and Exploratory Research Methods
This study aims to learn the honest opinions of African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, and non-college graduates. We created a Likert Scale questionnaire to understand these minority groups’ views and opinions and how we may encourage them to become more enthusiastic investors (Dobronte, 2017). We’ve chosen a 9-point scale for this survey, ranging from “I strongly agree” to “I strongly disagree.” The 9-point scale was determined because, by providing more alternatives, we feel it more appropriately captures the attitudes and opinions of the public.
Before delving into our customers’ thoughts regarding investing, we want to identify trends in their demography. We have chosen to employ nominal and ordinal measures for this survey. The poll would ask for information on gender identity, race and ethnicity, age, location, income, and the most significant level of education attained before asking about our nominal scale.
For this questionnaire, examples of questions and statements include:
- I like getting my money’s worth right away.
- I am familiar with the nuances of stock and company investment.
- Minority groups in the US have less opportunity to accumulate money.
- I believe in the economy and am sure my investments will pay off.
- I think making investments is a better strategy for growing my finances.
- Educating youngsters about money matters will increase their propensity to make investments as adults.
- Economics and financial lessons ought to be taught in elementary schools.
The first phase in our research methodology is this Likert Survey. After analyzing the data, our marketing research team will conduct one-on-one interviews with 100 survey respondents. The 100 participants will discuss their thoughts, views, and worries regarding investing with an interviewer. Although these individuals will be picked randomly, they will have “opted in” to future research contact.
We are confident that the samples obtained from this kind of qualitative data collecting approach are of the highest quality, even though conducting these in-depth interviews can be time-consuming and expensive. This is because interviewers may establish a relationship with the participants, examine body language, and ask follow-up questions without worrying about a person giving in to social pressure or falling victim to groupthink.
Conclusion
A combination of surveys and in-depth interviews will be employed to determine why minorities are investing at a lesser rate and how we might try to increase their investment rate. All of the techniques we’ll use abide by the criteria and code of ethics established by the MRA. We are confident that our dedication to ethical research and the methods we use to collect and analyze data will help us better understand the issue above to launch our marketing campaign specifically aimed at this market.
References
Aggarwal, P., Vaidyanathan, R., & Castleberry, S. (2012). Managerial and Public Attitudes toward Ethics in Marketing Research. Journal of Business Ethics, 109(4), 463- 481. Web.
Bova, D., & Sun, C. (n.d.). Market Research Definition – Entrepreneur Small Business Encyclopedia. Web.
Dobronte, A. (2017). Likert Scales vs Slider Scales in Commercial Market Research. Web.
MarksJarvis, G. (2020). The Racial Divide in Savings. Web.
Insight Association. (n.d.) MRA Code of Marketing Research Standards | Insights Association. Web.