Observational Marketing Research

In order to determine who their target audience is, Kellogg’s must determine what drives consumer decisions when purchasing breakfast cereal. Primary market research carried out using the behavioral observation method would effectively dictate what drives consumer buying decisions. The goal of the observation method would be to target those who purchase cereal and determine how big of a role their children play in cereal choice.

The primary advantage of the observational method is that it is almost completely objective. It avoids the issues that arise through questionnaires, surveys, and interviews. When self-reporting, biases often present themselves. In many spheres of social life there are socially desirable ways of behaving and, consciously or unconsciously, individuals will tend to respond in that way, although in the 'real world' they might behave differently. Parents may report that their children do not influence cereal purchasing decisions, when in fact they do. Thus by observing parents grocery shopping with their children, non subjective market information can be obtained.

Setting up video observation in numerous supermarkets would allow Kellogg’s to determine what influences cereal purchases. The target consumers are parents shopping with their children. In analyzing the video, both audio and visual cues are important in determining outcomes. Video footage should be taken for 6 weeks to ensure adequate observation of the target consumer. Important observations include time spent choosing a cereal and more importantly how often the parent went with the child’s choice. Once it is determined the role the child plays in the purchasing decision, Kellogg’s can target its commercial at the most appropriate demographic.

If video observation is not permitted in some supermarkets, direct observers will need to be used. In this case, the observers must have a thorough understanding of the demographic they are observing and must fill out a form with...