Deck 5: Listening to Customers Through Research

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a benefit of conducting research on the Internet?

A) Higher response rate
B) Control of data quality
C) Ability to target hard to reach populations
D) Opportunity to use multimedia to present video and audio
E) All of the above are benefits of conducting research on the Internet.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

SwissAir made some unwise investments to pay for a planned expansion.As a result,the company had to make some cost-cutting moves that alienated its customers.Eventually the company declared bankruptcy,regrouped and found itself able to resume business.Its board of directors announced the company would resume flying within the next two years if it could prove the airline could regain at least 75 percent of its lost customers.It decided to allot $50,000 to determine the probability that its former customers would fly on the airline again and what methods requiring little or no money could be used to increase that probability.Which of the following two methods are low-cost research methods SwissAir could use to reach its research objectives?

A) Critical incident studies and lost customer research
B) Future expectations research and lost customer research
C) Complaint solicitation and service expectation meetings and reviews
D) Database marketing research and customer panels
E) Customer panels and complaint solicitation

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Clark participated in a research study conducted by Red Lobster restaurants in which he was asked to provide a verbatim story about a satisfying and dissatisfying service encounter he had at Red Lobster.Which of the following types of research studies did Clark participate in?

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Critical incidents studies
C) Relationship surveys
D) Trailer calls
E) Customer panels

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following statements about complaint solicitation is true?

A) Customer complaints provide an adequate source of information about customers' perceptions and expectations of services
B) The technique of soliciting customer complaints is only used for services
C) Research on customer complaints is one of the most difficult research techniques to use
D) Research on customer complaints allows companies to improve failure points and to improve or correct the performance of contact personnel
E) No major companies would depend on customer complaints as its only source of information on its customers' perceptions and expectations of its services

Question 5

Benford Bank hired marketing researchers when it noticed many people who had savings accounts with the bank did not have checking accounts and credit cards with it.The first task of the market researchers was to learn if the bank wanted to know how its customers perceived the bank as a service provider,if it were more interested in what customers thought was superior about its savings account,if the bank thought some customer expectations were not being met or if what the bank really wanted to know was how it could change its service to better meet customer expectations.The first thing the research company did was to:

A) Help Benford Bank define the problem and establish research objectives
B) Determine with the bank's help who should be surveyed
C) Use data mining to see if there were any connections between customers who used all three services and those who used only one of the services the bank offered
D) Determine what research methodology it would use
E) Decide how data analysis techniques

Question 6

To be effective,complaint solicitation requires:

A) The same complaint be mentioned at least ten times before any action is taken
B) An individual complainer to have no more than one complaint
C) The company to treat the complaint as a snapshot of its service
D) Valid and reliable service questions
E) Rigorous recording of numbers and types of complaints through many channels

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a form of qualitative research?

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Critical incident studies
C) Requirements research
D) Trailer calls
E) Customer panels

Question 8

The new owner of the Atlanta Falcons football team wanted to know why game attendance was low.Former purchasers of season tickets were asked to provide an anecdote about a satisfying and a dissatisfying experience at a Falcon game.The researchers used:

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Critical incidents studies
C) Relationship surveys
D) Trailer calls
E) Customer panels

Question 9

The health industry in the U.S.is an $840 trillion business.

A) Qualitative
B) Functional
C) Inferential
D) Secondary
E) Quantitative

Question 10

All of the following are among the criteria for an effective service research program EXCEPT:

A) Includes perceptions and expectations
B) Includes measures of loyalty or behavioral intentions
C) Measures priorities or importance
D) Considers only qualitative research
E) Occurs with appropriate frequency

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT a form of qualitative research?

A) Process checkpoint evaluations
B) Mystery shopping
C) Trailer calls
D) Requirements research
E) Relationship surveys

Question 12

If you own a small advertising agency and have limited funding and even less time to spend on service marketing research,which of the following types of research would you be LEAST likely to use?

A) Process checkpoint evaluations
B) Future expectations research
C) Trailer calls
D) Critical incidents studies
E) Complaint solicitations

Question 13

Benford Bank hired marketing researchers when it noticed many people who had savings accounts with the bank did not have checking accounts and credit cards with it.The researchers would conduct _____ research if they wanted to test the hypothesis that customers do not like the checking account and credit card services of Benford Bank.

A) Functional
B) Exploratory
C) Quantitative
D) Secondary
E) Qualitative

Question 14

The most critical stage in the service marketing research process is when the marketing researcher:

A) Implements the research program
B) Reports his or her findings
C) Defines the problem and research objectives
D) Collects and tabulates data
E) Develops a services measurement strategy

Question 15

Which of the following statements describes a benefit of critical incident studies?

A) The method provides abstract data
B) The method provides data that is readily quantifiable
C) The research method is especially useful when the service is new
D) The research method is especially useful for services in the maturity stage of their product life cycle
E) All of the above statements describe a benefit of critical incident studies

Question 16

_____ research is conducted to clarify problem definition and prepare for more formal empirical research.

A) Functional
B) Quantitative
C) Primary
D) Secondary
E) Qualitative

Question 17

Which of the following types of research is NOT done on a continuous basis?

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Relationship surveys
C) Social media
D) Customer panels
E) Lost customer research

Question 18

Which of the following types of research has a high monetary cost?

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Critical incident studies
C) Mystery shopping
D) Lost customer research
E) Future expectations research

Question 19

One of the most frequently measured _________ is willingness to recommend the service.

A) Behavioral intentions
B) Customer priorities
C) Preferences
D) Future expectations
E) Individual requirements

Question 20

In the first stage in the service marketing research process,the researcher:

A) Implements the research program
B) Reports his or her findings
C) Defines the problem and research objectives
D) Collects and tabulates data
E) Develops a services measurement strategy

Question 21

Which of the following types of research is unique to services?

A) Trailer calls
B) Market-oriented ethnography
C) Mystery shopping
D) Database marketing research
E) Critical incident studies

Question 22

Sunoco is readying a chain-wide set of marketing initiatives designed to improve its image with women drivers and win more return business to its service station outlets throughout Ontario.It refurbished all of its restrooms and tried to hire friendly personalities and real customer service skills instead of "just who was available".It hired an outside research organization to send people to Sunoco service stations twice monthly to grade staff on their customer interaction skills.What research method did Sunoco use to make sure that each station was implementing the new service strategy?

A) Market-oriented ethnography
B) Trailer calls
C) Mystery shoppers
D) Requirements research
E) Customer panels

Question 23

One benefit of _____ is that it identifies failure points and common problems in the service and can help establish an early-warning system for future defectors.

A) Failure ethnography
B) A survey of buyers' intentions
C) Focus groups
D) Lost customer research
E) Future expectations research

Question 24

Boston Symphony Orchestra realized the classic music market was generally becoming older and needed to learn how to appeal to younger concert-goers.It hired a research agency to identify the positive and negative attributes of going to concerts.In other words,the research agency conducted a:

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Requirements research
C) Relationship survey
D) Trailer call
E) Process checkpoint evaluation

Question 25

Which type of research is most reminiscent of an exit interview that would ask a question such as,"What exactly could we have done to keep you from leaving the company?" and "Is there anything we can do to keep you from resigning from your position"?

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Critical incidents studies
C) Relationship survey
D) Post transaction survey
E) Lost customer research

Question 26

The Learning Academy provides tutoring for children who are having trouble mastering some skill in school - whether it is math,reading,studying or something else.It wants to monitor and determine the strengths and weaknesses of The Learning Academy's curriculum.Which of the following types of research should The Learning Academy use to realize this objective?

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Critical incidents studies
C) Relationship surveys
D) Key client studies
E) Trailer calls

Question 27

The Canfields want to landscape their 15-acre yard.The couple plans a herb garden in back that will lead to an English cottage garden.In the west side yard,they are planning on a Japanese garden and a rose garden will be located in the east side yard.They have hired a landscaper to draw the design and to do the actual planning.The Canfields want input on the landscaping.They have asked the landscaper to set up several points where they can give their inputs,correct anything they do not like and make changes before the plan is finalized.Most landscapers would be bothered with this seeming interference,but the landscaper the Canfields chose has used this method for years as a way to measure his company's customer service performance.The landscaper is using a method of gathering customer information most similar to which of the following methods?

A) Trailer calls
B) Market-oriented ethnography
C) Process checkpoint evaluations
D) Requirements research
E) Critical incidents studies

Question 28

When Tom and Ruth checked out of the Marriott Hilton Head Resort,they were each given a brief postage paid survey to complete and return through the mail.The survey asked 15 questions about their stay at the Marriott Resort.It covered such attributes as overall satisfaction,check-in speed/efficiency,cleanliness,decor and comfort of their room,friendliness and efficiency of the staff,quality of dining experience,quality of merchandise/gift shop,intention to return and willingness to recommend to friends.Which of the following types of research did Marriott conduct?

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Critical incidents studies
C) Relationship surveys
D) Trailer calls
E) Lost customer research

Question 29

The Limited recognizes sales associates who provide excellent customer service by rewarding them with a "Hero Award," which is displayed in the store where the sales associate is employed.To measure a sales associate's service performance,which type of research should The Limited use?

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Critical incidents studies
C) Relationship surveys
D) Mystery shopping
E) Lost customer research

Question 30

A week after Kim cancelled her First USA MasterCard,she received a survey in the mail asking questions about First USA's service quality,its performance versus other credit card companies,her level of satisfaction with different dimensions of First USA's service and her reasons for canceling her account.Which of the following types of research did First USA conduct?

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Critical incidents studies
C) Relationship survey
D) Trailer calls
E) Lost customer research

Question 31

Trailer calls are also called:

A) Prospecting calls
B) Post transaction surveys
C) Buyers' intentions surveys
D) Lost customer calls
E) Follow-up surveys

Question 32

Key Energy was a company that provided quality oilfield construction,drilling and other services.The company's top management felt stakeholders did not have a clear image of the company and were considering changing the name to clarify the organization's position in the market.The company conducted an hour long interview with four of its largest customers.Only 25 questions were asked and much probing was done to find out exactly what the participants meant.This is an example of a:

A) Research requirement survey
B) Ethnographic survey
C) Critical incident study
D) Trailer call
E) Service expectation meeting and review

Question 33

PSE&G,a utility company located in New Jersey is conducting a service marketing research study to assess its service performance.It will measure the gaps between customer expectations and perceptions along the five dimensions of service quality.Which of the following types of research should PSE&G use?

A) Critical incident studies
B) Requirements research
C) SERVQUAL surveys
D) Trailer calls
E) Customer panels

Question 34

Which of the following statements about relationship surveys is true?

A) Relationship surveys are not statistically valid even though they are very useful to service providers
B) Relationship surveys should be conducted weekly
C) SERVQUAL is a type of relationship survey
D) With relationship surveys,the same respondents should be used each time the survey is administered
E) To be reliable and valid,the relationship survey should be administered to all of the service provider's customers

Question 35

Customer panels:

A) Are conducted on an annual basis
B) Have moderate time costs
C) Have high monetary costs
D) Are statistically valid
E) Cannot be used to monitor changing customer expectations

Question 36

The new owner of the Atlanta Falcons football team had research conducted to learn why game attendance was low.The research revealed several reasons,including shortage of toilet paper and straws,high prices for bad seats and inadequate parking.Once all the problems were fixed,the team owner did not want to have any future attendance problems.He set up kiosks in the football stadium where attendees could give the team and the arena a "report card".This would be an example of:

A) A trailer call
B) A critical incident study
C) Market-oriented ethnography
D) Requirements research
E) A SERVQUAL survey

Question 37

The University of Leeds in the U.K.released findings of its study of television viewing behaviors.Seventeen families had permission for cameras with sound to be placed in the main living areas of their homes for two three-week periods over two years to watch them watch television.The University of Leeds used _____ to determine that people who have specifically chosen to watch a program are more likely to remain present for the commercial breaks within it.

A) Multicultural surveys
B) Market-oriented ethnography
C) Process checkpoint evaluations
D) Requirements research
E) Diversity studies

Question 38

Boston Symphony Orchestra realized the classic music market was generally becoming older and needed to learn how to appeal to younger concert-goers.It hired a research agency to identify the positive and negative attributes of going to concerts.One type of research conducted by the agency was to interview former symphony season ticket holders who were no longer attending the concerts.In other words,the agency used:

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Critical incidents studies
C) Relationship survey
D) Trailer calls
E) Lost customer research

Question 39

One significant difference between the U.S.and Japanese culture is the love and respect the Japanese give their elders.A service provider who is trying to cater to the needs of the elderly might talk to some Japanese-Americans to gather some ideas on how to improve service quality.The cultural difference should make the service provider view providing service to the elderly from a different perspective.This sort of service research is called:

A) Multicultural surveys
B) Market-oriented ethnography
C) Process checkpoint evaluations
D) Requirements research
E) Diversity studies

Question 40

_____ involves identifying the benefits and the attributes that customers expect in a service.

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Requirements research
C) A relationship survey
D) A key client study
E) A customer panel

Question 41

One of the benefits of conducting marketing research on the Internet is the composition of the survey samples.

Question 42

Research used to track overall service quality that will be used for bonuses and salary increases of salespeople should have statistical validity.

Question 43

An effective services research program includes either quantitative or qualitative research,but never both.

Question 44

In business-to-business situations in which large accounts are involved,senior members of the account team commonly conduct service expectation meetings and reviews.

Question 45

Features research and lead user research are both categorized as types of:

A) Post transaction surveys
B) Database marketing research
C) Process checkpoint surveys
D) Future expectations research
E) Relationship surveys

Question 46

The University of Central Florida's Incentive/Efficiency Program encourages employees to submit tangible ideas or suggestions that will result in savings or generate additional revenue for the University of Central Florida.The person who suggests an adopted proposal receives a cash reward equal to 10 percent of the first year's net savings or generated revenues.The University of Central Florida's Incentive/Efficiency Program is designed to achieve which of the following research objectives?

A) Gain first-hand knowledge about customers
B) Improve internal service quality
C) Gain first-hand knowledge of employees
D) Obtain ideas for service improvement
E) Gain first-hand knowledge about competitors

Question 47

SERVQUAL is a type of requirements research.

Question 48

A(n)_____ is a composite of the perceptual satisfaction or service quality measures collected in an organization.

A) Zone of tolerance chart
B) Salience of dimensions and attributes graph
C) Gap scores tracking tool
D) Importance/performance matrix
E) Customer satisfaction index

Question 49

Century Business Systems,Inc.offers all of the non-technical support a business would need to operate successfully - everything from auditing to management consultant to financing to marketing advice.Which of the following types of interaction activities is it likely to use to gain information about its business customers and still be able to have only a minimal investment of time and money in the research?

A) Employee suggestions
B) Employee internal satisfaction surveys
C) Research on intermediate customers
D) Executive listening approaches
E) Executive visits to customers

Question 50

Which of the following types of interaction activities in a service organization is used to obtain ideas for service improvement?

A) Employee suggestions
B) Employee internal satisfaction surveys
C) Research on intermediate customers
D) Executive listening approaches
E) Executive visits to customers

Question 51

One of the most useful forms of analysis in marketing research is the _____,which combines information about customer perceptions and importance ratings.

A) Zone of tolerance chart
B) Hierarchical needs matrix
C) Importance/performance matrix
D) Perception/expectation hierarchy
E) Quality/satisfaction chart

Question 52

US Franchise System,Inc.(USFS)franchises its brand names such as Microtel Inns & Suites,Hawthorn Suites and Best Inns to independent hotel owners and operators.Every three months,employees from a different franchise overseen by USFS conduct customer satisfaction telephone surveys.Among the employees who regularly participate in the survey process are senior managers,who are trained and certified to conduct survey interviews.Which type of interaction activity is USFS using to improve upward communication?

A) Employee suggestions
B) Employee internal satisfaction surveys
C) Research on intermediate customers
D) Executive listening approaches
E) Executive visits to customers

Question 53

Which of the following is NOT a research objective for improving upward communication in a service organization?

A) Gain first-hand knowledge about customers
B) Improve internal service quality
C) Gain first-hand knowledge of employees
D) Obtain ideas for service improvement
E) Gain first-hand knowledge about competitors

Question 54

Research done by a financial services company asked the respondents to describe the company using the brand name of an automobile.This is obviously an example of quantitative research.

Question 55

Requirements research is very basic and essential because it determines the type of questions that will be asked on surveys and ultimately the improvements that will be attempted by the firm.

Question 56

An important trend in services research is to measure only the negative consequences of service quality and ignore the positive because it does not need improvement.

Question 57

A services research program can be defined as the composite of separate research studies and types needed to address research objectives and execute an overall measurement strategy.

Question 58

Complaint solicitation research requires a substantial investment in both time and money.

Question 59

Key Energy Co.provides quality oilfield construction,drilling and other services.The company's top management feels that stakeholders do not have a clear image of the company and are considering changing the name to clarify the organization's position in the market.Senior management is interviewing the company's salespeople to learn how they feel about selling Key Energy's services.As part of examining the corporate image,the company is using:

A) Upward communication
B) Market-oriented ethnography
C) Lead user research
D) SERVQUAL surveys
E) Relationship surveys

Question 60

_____ are used to report the findings from a service marketing research study that collected data on the two levels of customer expectations - desired service and adequate service - along with customer perceptions of company performance.

A) Zone of tolerance charts
B) Salience of dimensions and attributes graphs
C) Gap scores tracking graphs
D) Importance/performance matrices
E) Customer satisfaction indices

Question 61

Even though she was not moving,Katherine dropped her membership at a local church.She received a call from one of the church's representatives wanting to know why she had quit.She was asked to describe the moment in which she decided she no longer wanted to be a member of the church.What type of research is being conducted in this example?

Question 62

CompuMark is a company that provides marketing and computer expertise to companies who want to set up their own Web sites.The owners of the company believe they need to improve customers' perceptions of the service provided by CompuMark.As a result,the owners hired a service marketing research company to conduct research about its customers' expectations.The research was appropriately designed,executed and presented to the owners.Discuss the two most likely occurrences at this point in the research process.What is the role of the service marketing research company in determining what the owners of CompuMark will do next?

Question 63

Discuss conducting marketing research for a national car rental company.

Question 64

List the two types of future expectations research.

Question 65

Importance/performance matrices typically combine information about customer perceptions of service encounters with a company with how the company rates in each of the five service dimensions.

Question 66

The data have been gathered.It is now time to analyze these data and interpret them.What is the primary goal of this part of the marketing research process?

Question 67

What are the two types of interactive activities that an organization can use to improve upward communications? Provide an example of each type.

Question 68

What type of qualitative research is used to monitor changes in customer expectations and to provide a forum for customers to suggest and evaluate new service ideas?

Question 69

Which type of qualitative research has as its primary objective to identify customer requirements as input for quantitative research?

Question 70

Lead user research brings in customers who are opinion leaders or innovators and asks them what requirements existing products or services are not currently meeting.

Question 71

What is another name for post transaction surveys?

Question 72

What kind of research is being used when an insurance company representative sits down with people who have lost their homes to tornadoes and asks,"What could have been done to better handle your needs immediately after the storm"?

Question 73

George was asked by an employee of a local do-it-yourself store to describe in detail his experiences in the store as he bought house paint,caulk,and brushes.He later learned several of his acquaintances had been asked to do the same thing.What research method was being used by the do-it-yourself store?

Question 74

Describe the form of service research known as mystery shopping and discuss its potential benefits to service organizations.

Question 75

When companies collect data on desired and adequate service levels along with performance data,they can convey the information concisely on zones of tolerance charts.

Question 76

What kind of a research technique is SERVQUAL?

Question 77

Imagine you have been hired to work an internship in a resort hotel in Hilton Head,South Carolina,for the summer.The manager learns you have had this service marketing class.In talking with you,she states that she feels the hotel is not always providing satisfactory service and may be performing in some areas below customer expectations.She stops talking and looks at you.Remember your future career may be riding on your answer.What do you tell her?

Question 78

Process checkpoint evaluations are commonly used in service industries in which the services are provided quickly on a one-time only basis.

Question 79

One of the biggest challenges facing a marketing researcher is converting a complex set of data into a form that can be read and understood quickly by executives,managers,and other employees who will make decisions from the research.

Question 80

What is the first step in designing service marketing research?