Let list all the copy-test methods which we Included in our research programme. One of the methods has been used since 1961 in our agency, the other tests are such offered by market research institutes as standardised methods. The tests described in this paper are divided into pre-test methods and post-test methods according to the order of sequence at which they were examined during this research programme.
The statistical sampling technique is nowadays generally used in surveys on the particular conditions and problems of the market for several products as well as in opinion surveys. The sampling technique is to supply the "most efficient" results by complying both with the necessity of exact information and of a minimised cost. The latter condition can be realised using the smallest sample size for the requirements of the research. For this purpose, the stratification appears to be a useful means by which the survey's field can be divided in sufficiently homogeneous segments, so as to obtain a smaller sample that the one obtainable with a simple random sample at the same level of statistical significance. More detailed aspects are to be taken into consideration, such as the necessity of attributing to the single strata a non-proportional weight; this situation can also exist after effecting the survey since more interviews can fail in some strata: A non-proportional, i.e. a biased sample, entails the problem of evaluating the reliability of the results obtained, for the purpose of assessing the correct estimate. This particular aspect will be dealt with in this note.
Since the end of the war, French municipalities have been obliged to carry out town planning operations in order to overcome a serious housing crisis. First of all, there was the construction of groups containing only a few buildings and then, under the pressure of need, the operations assumed ever increasing dimensions resulting in completely new urban areas, the population of which is greater than that sous-prefectures and even of certain prefectures. We shall here confine ourselves to two aspects, which are necessarily partial ones, of surveys in connection with the planning of new districts: 1. the psycho-sociological surveys; 2. the surveys in connection with the planning of new shopping centres,
This report intends to show how an Italian company has set up and carried out a development program taking as a basis the results obtained from a marketing research plan. No special methodologies were used for each separate research but taken as a whole they form a good example of an organised and sufficient collection of the information necessary to reduce the risk involved when making decisions of importance for the future of the company. This report describes, the characteristics of the individual researches and the utilisation of the results obtained. It is also pointed out bow the researches carried out have inspired the management and employees of the firm to have confidence in the programs and in their own capacities and will to improve showing that these researches have an effect on the people concerned and on whom the success of the firm depends. In the case described, marketing research has assumed, besides the well known instrumental function, an active role as catalyst and stimulant of the firm's activities.
The main purpose of this paper is to encourage a reassessment of the contribution psychologists are making and could make to the marketing process. It is probably unwise to generalise about the function of psychologists in various countries and most of the remarks I make must be taken to relate mainly to marketing in my own country. It is becoming fashionable in sane quarters to question whether there is such a thing as a professional body of psychologists or whether each graduate becomes more closely allied to the particular disciplines with which he associates himself in his career than with any common body of psychological knowledge. It seems that to refer to an individual as a psychologist is to refer to his basic university training, to the collection of subjects he took in his first degree, rather than to say anything specifically about his present activities, his Interests or the techniques he uses in his daily work. It Is probably more true, however, to say that the psychologist takes with him a certain basic approach to the study of human behaviour, and In learning the particular techniques of his area of study, contributes to it from this basic approach.
This report is aimed at pointing out the influence and relevance of the group-reference theory on consumption and at indicating a subject for study which, if properly analysed and deepened by marketing and advertising experts, may turn out an essential instrument in deciding whether to adopt of to refuse certain consumption patterns and in solving operative problems.
As Research Office of a large Company of organised distribution including a chain of Department Stores, Variety Stores and Supermarkets we have been visited in the last years by a great number of businessmen from foreign countries who were faced with the problem of estimating the Italian market from the point of view either of the potential sales of an entirely new product or of a product with certain new characteristics such as brand, packaging etc. These operators came to us after having found out how very little help they could get from official statistics as these' never seemed to give them sufficiently detailed and specific information on the particular problem they had to solve in order to reduce as far as possible the risks of their initiative. Let us give a few examples of the type of information that businessmen who: came to visit us were seeking for and could not find. A producer of terry cloth bath linen wanted to know the structure of the Italian market in terms of volume of sales analysed by; a) various articles of terry cloth bath linen sold; b) sales by sizes of these various articles; c) sales by colour.
Italian demand of ball-bearings has been examined considering first setting demand apart from replacement demand. We assume as: First-setting demand s that part, part of total consumption of ball-bearing destined to industries producing goods in which the ball-bearing may be regarded as productive factor of those goods; 2. Replacement demand: that part of total consumption of ball-bearings destined to substitute the used up ones.
Selecting points of sales is a problem which many concerns, dealing with large consumption products, have to face frequently, either when they want their products to be sold in first class stores or when they want to start a promotional action with selected retailers or even when they want to launch a new product. Such selection is usually made in their commercial departments which dispose of a network of agents visiting regularly present and potential clients. But sometimes firms needing to make that kind of selection do not dispose of the proper equipment and they have to call in external sales forces or research companies. Sometimes ago, I had the opportunity to take part in an experience which I think would be interesting to be reported here. With some improvements and adjustments, it can be applied to other cases. At first I shall try to report the problem as it actually occurred and draw the main lines of the method and then I shall give the main results that were obtained.