Microsoft's New Ad Target: Windows 7-MICROSOFT WINDOWS SHOWING NEW FACE

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2387116/microsofts_new_ad_target_windows_7microsoft.html?cat=15

"The new Windows Theme Experience and Windows Personalization Gallery in Windows 7 allow consumers to customize their technology to reflect the things in life they are most passionate about,"

The Windows Personalization Gallery offers a desktop branding experience for users throughout the operation of their Windows 7-based PC, including backgrounds, slide shows, borders, and application audio elements.

Microsoft's pitch is that the program will allow consumers to connect with brands they particularly like.

for detail please visit the link showed above.

Tobii Market Research Eye Tracking

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y2aXrlZcWY

The New Class Format

I really enjoyed the Marketing Research class yesterday. Somehow it seemed at a more personal level and my concentration was much better. It was a good change from the regular class room and I think that learning was much better in the new environment. I'm sure many others will agree. And Sir also gets to stay away from the bees :p

10-20-30 Rule of Presentation by Guy Kawasaki

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liQLdRk0Ziw

NIKE Crimes

This is a clip that relates to the Nike case we talked about a few weeks ago.
Nike was basically keeping these people like prisoners.
Have a Look

7 rules of social networking marketing effectiveness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-qmF7vgBZ8&feature=channel

The difference between Market Research and Marketing Research

Market research and marketing research are often confused. 'Market' research is simply research into a specific market. It is a very narrow concept. 'Marketing' research is much broader. It not only includes 'market' research, but also areas such as research into new products, or modes of distribution such as via the Internet. Here are a couple of definitions:
"Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information - information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process. Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the methods for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes, and communicates the findings and their implications."
American Marketing association - Official Definition of Marketing Research

Whats a reperesentative sample?

In todays class we talked about 'representative sample'. I didn't get it. Because, as far I know, sample is the representative of the population. Then whats the difference between 'representative sample and sample'?

Especially, I want Zubair you to contribute in it, because you answered it today :)

Windows 7 tops Vista in early consumer sales by more than 200%

Why Windows Vista wasn't a success story? Why couldn't it meet user expectations? Was it a failure to understand consumer needs? Did Microsoft understood those needs in a much better way before launching Windows 7?
These questions were in my mind. I was browsing for answers while I found this article. This may not be fully relevant with Marketing Research but probably depicts how critical market research can be even in the case of Microsoft, which somehow enjoys monopoly in OS market.
This article is by Alex Pham written on November 7, 2009

It wasn't a high bar, but Windows 7 cleared it.

Consumer retail sales of Microsoft Corp.'s newest computer operating system topped those of Vista by 234% on a unit basis within the first few days of Windows 7's Oct. 22 launch, according to a report released Friday by market research company NPD Group. The report did not include sales to businesses and large organizations.

News that Windows 7 was outperforming Vista, the previous Windows OS version, in sales was not too surprising. The buzz for Windows 7 was relatively positive and largely void of the savage language that reviewers heaped on Vista when it was launched in January 2007.

This time, Microsoft also attempted to woo reluctant buyers with discounts and specials, such as a 50% discount on a copy of the software when buyers spring for a new PC, or a free upgrade from Vista for those who bought a PC after June 26.

"We definitely saw the results of aggressive pricing," said Stephen Baker, NPD's computer software analyst.

Though helpful in pushing volume, the discounts may have crimped Microsoft's revenue from the product. The NPD report was mum on the effect on Microsoft's top line.

It may be too early to say whether the software will help ignite sales of personal computers. With consumers making do with their old computers or opting for ultra-cheap netbooks, average PC prices have dropped about 20% since last year, Baker said.

Although unit sales of Windows 7 software were up in the first days of launch over those of Vista, sales of computers with Windows 7 were down 4% compared with sales of Vista-based computers when Vista launched.

But the comparison is not a fair one, Baker cautioned, because Vista launched in January, when PC sales tend to do better, and Windows 7 launched in October, one of the slowest months for PC sales.

Still, the slow economy may have helped Windows 7 sales in one respect, said Richard Shim, a PC analyst with the technology research company IDC.

"Usually upgrades are not very popular. People have tended to buy new PCs when new operating systems come out," Shim said.

"Windows 7 seems to be an exception," he said. "One reason is that it can work well with older computers because it's designed to be streamlined."

In other words, instead of spending $500 for a new computer, some consumers are spending the $120 to $220 for Windows 7 upgrades and souping up their old machines.

The Five Basic Methods of Market Research

1. Surveys. With concise and straightforward questionnaires, you can analyze a sample group that represents your target market. The larger the sample, the more reliable your results will be.

• In-person surveys are one-on-one interviews typically conducted in high-traffic locations such as shopping malls. They allow you to present people with samples of products, packaging, or advertising and gather immediate feedback. In-person surveys can generate response rates of more than 90 percent, but they are costly. With the time and labor involved, the tab for an in-person survey can run as high as $100 per interview.
  
• Telephone surveys are less expensive than in-person surveys, but costlier than mail. However, due to consumer resistance to relentless telemarketing, convincing people to participate in phone surveys has grown increasingly difficult. Telephone surveys generally yield response rates of 50 to 60 percent.
  
• Mail surveys are a relatively inexpensive way to reach a broad audience. They're much cheaper than in-person and phone surveys, but they only generate response rates of 3 percent to 15 percent. Despite the low return, mail surveys remain a cost-effective choice for small businesses.
  
• Online surveys usually generate unpredictable response rates and unreliable data, because you have no control over the pool of respondents. But an online survey is a simple, inexpensive way to collect anecdotal evidence and gather customer opinions and preferences.

2. Focus groups. In focus groups, a moderator uses a scripted series of questions or topics to lead a discussion among a group of people. These sessions take place at neutral locations, usually at facilities with videotaping equipment and an observation room with one-way mirrors. A focus group usually lasts one to two hours, and it takes at least three groups to get balanced results.

3. Personal interviews. Like focus groups, personal interviews include unstructured, open-ended questions. They usually last for about an hour and are typically recorded.

Focus groups and personal interviews provide more subjective data than surveys. The results are not statistically reliable, which means that they usually don't represent a large enough segment of the population. Nevertheless, focus groups and interviews yield valuable insights into customer attitudes and are excellent ways to uncover issues related to new products or service development.

4. Observation. Individual responses to surveys and focus groups are sometimes at odds with people's actual behavior. When you observe consumers in action by videotaping them in stores, at work, or at home, you can observe how they buy or use a product. This gives you a more accurate picture of customers' usage habits and shopping patterns.

5. Field trials. Placing a new product in selected stores to test customer response under real-life selling conditions can help you make product modifications, adjust prices, or improve packaging. Small business owners should try to establish rapport with local store owners and Web sites that can help them test their products.

Google's Chrome Launch Ignites Browser Buzz

Written by Nielsen

September 17th 2008 - New York Google’s Chrome Browser Attracts Nearly Two Million U.S. Visitors During First Week of Availability, Nielsen Online Reports Chrome Launch Ignites Browser Buzz Nielsen Online, a service of the Nielsen Company, today reported that between Sept. 1 and Sept. 7, 2008, more than 1.9 million unique visitors in the U.S., 73 percent of them male, visited the “Thank You” page associated with Google Chrome, Google’s new Web browser. Nearly 1.4 percent of all U.S. users who went online during the week from home or work visited the page, which typically indicates a download. In addition, consumers immediately – and in great numbers – took to the blogosphere to discuss the new offering, Men dominated traffic to the Chrome “Thank You” page, with males 35-49 accounting for 39 percent of overall traffic. Female visitors were more likely to be in the 18-34 age group. Online Buzz Buzz about Chrome spiked on Sept. 2nd, the first day of availability, and peaked the following day, with 0.92 percent of online consumer discussion, outpacing buzz about competitor browsers: Firefox (0.4 percent), Internet Explorer (0.2 percent), Safari (0.09 percent) and Opera (0.07 percent). “The interest in all things ‘Google’ was apparent in the online discussion surrounding the somewhat unexpected Chrome launch,” said Jon Stewart, research director, technology and search, Nielsen Online. “The browser was mentioned in nearly one percent of all online discussions the day after its launch – a respectable slightly-more-than-half of what the highly anticipated iPhone 3G generated when it launched earlier this summer.”

Candy is Dandy for Hershey's: Questions

We have found that some of the questions given at the end of this case study are out of our present knowledge about Marketing Research as my group is facing some confusion in answering them. May be our prior knowledge about Marketing Research is almost zero. However, after sharing this with some other groups, we have found out that we can attempt first 4 questions only. Even Question 2 is giving us a hard time.

We want the opinion of the rest of the groups on this. Please leave your views.

Thanks!

hey everyone, as my first blog i would like to share some interesting facts I found. I believe it is the basics of conducting marketing research.

Top 10 Market Research Mistakes

Market research is essential to understanding your customers and your competition. Market research can also identify trends that affect sales and profitability. But successful market research takes planning and strategy. Here are some of the most common mistakes businesses make in conducting market

1. Overspending. If you are smart about it, performing market research does not require a huge budget. But in their haste, many business owners shell out big bucks on the first market research firm that promises to provide them with all the data they could ever want on their target audience. If you are hiring an outside firm, shop around for the best deal.
2. Not knowing what you are looking for. Doing market research in the hopes of discovering something (anything!) about your customers can be an exercise in futility. You should know what information you need before you even begin. Have questions ready for which you are seeking answers, such as "What are the specific needs of my customers?" or "How much would my customers be willing to spend on this product?"
3. Poor choice of reference materials. The Internet is a great place to start your research. Business libraries are also worth visiting. But you must consider the source of the information you are getting. This is particularly a problem on the Internet, where sites can include dated or biased material. Research your research materials; check dates and double-check pertinent information.
4. Not thoroughly researching the competition. Get as much information about your competition as you can. The more you know about how they are conducting business, their pricing, and their strengths and weakness, the more effectively you can establish your competitive edge.
5. Not researching price information. If done properly, your market research should tell you what customers expect to spend and how high they will go to purchase a product or service like yours.
6. Researching the wrong group. Before accumulating first-hand research from your customers, you need to have an idea of who they are. For example, a focus group must meet your demographic needs, and a survey must be answered by prospective customers. Often businesses make the mistake of gathering random data, much of which does not apply to their business needs.
7. Not honing a good research instrument. Just handing out a questionnaire is not good enough. You need to be sure that your survey will provide you the answers you need. Take the time to hone a solid research instrument that helps you find out about your customer base.
8. Not being aggressive enough in your research efforts. The best surveys or questionnaires are useless if you do not get customers to answer them. Businesses are often not aggressive enough and end up with piles of unanswered survey forms stacked up by the cash register.
9. Relying on one set of data. Whether it is the U.S. Census or a survey you personally conducted, one set of data is rarely enough to get an overview of your target audience. Use various data, including information from primary and secondary resources.
10. Ignoring your market research. The only thing worse than not doing market research at all is spending money on it and not utilizing the results. Some business owners also tend to toss good research aside just because it did not support the answers they wanted to see.

source:

http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing/market-research/3970-1.html

Anum Rehman

How financial crisis have changed these people's lives...

Some people are actually thankful for their financial crisis. No they're not crazy. They have just adopted a different outlook towards life. Click on the link below to read the whole article.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091030/lf_nm_life/us_money_survey;_ylt=AkexsUx9QbI7WxBRRHwWXt2qQLN_;_ylu=X3oDMTJrNTIydHZyBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMDkxMDMwL3VzX21vbmV5X3N1cnZleQRwb3MDOQRzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3RoYW5raGVhdmVucw--

Entrepreneuring: The Ten Commandments

I wanted to start off with sharing very simple yet valuable knowledge since it is my fist post. Here are some tips that can help set up and run a successful enterprise:

1. First Commandment:

Picking Business Partners
2. Second Commandment:

What Business Are You In?
3. Third Commandment:

Focus, Focus, Focus
4. Fourth Commandment:

Preparing a Business Plan
5. Fifth Commandment:

Hiring Smart
6. Sixth Commandment:

Rewarding Performance
7. Seventh Commandment:

Walk Before You Run
8. Eighth Commandment:

Go With the (Cash) Flow
9. Ninth Commandment:

Health is Wealth
10. Tenth Commandment:

Seeing Around Corners

This material is taken from http://www.scbrandt.com/scbmain/Ten_Commandments.html

Elaboration of these steps is given on the link provided.

Why doesn't Service broadcast its chapal ads, when Don Carlos is advertised frequently...

In the last class we discussed that; a pair of chapal is a necessity for every Pakistani, and when Service has low priced chapals, then why doesn't it advertise it?

Well, being a customer of Service, and a student of business, I believe that they don't want tom dick and harry to shop from their outlets. Because, now as Service has advanced to, Shoe Plant and Service Mega store, where you have all the big brands, under one roof. And all of them are very BIG, like Nike, Hush Puppies, Urban Sole, and many other local and international footwear brands. they don't want to disturb their positioning in the minds of their existing customers.

Although, Service is loosing a big segment of potential customers, but, it is retaining the segment of customers, for whom they have advanced to Shoe Plant and Service Mega Store. That's why Service advertise Don Carlos, than its chapals.

This is what I believe, is the reason of not advertising chaplas...

So you think prolonged internet usage is bad...Think again!

I just found this article on Yahoo! that claims that if we surf more online, then our brain functions better and we learn more as well. I think this will make a good read for yourself as well as your parents (if they complain about you spending excess time on the internet).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20091020/hl_hsn/websurftosaveyouragingbrain;_ylt=Al2kL3dlM5fhyjzF0DpxnI9TXbN_;_ylu=X3oDMTE2aGpqN2NlBHBvcwMyBHNlYwN5bl9mZWF0dXJlZARzbGsDc2F2ZXlvdXJicmFp