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The collection of primary information involves conducting Special Marketing Research. Their goal is to obtain additional data related to solving specific marketing problems. There are several methods for collecting primary marketing information. Let's look at them.

A survey is the main method of obtaining marketing information about consumers, their behavior in the market, preferences when choosing certain tourism products, and evaluating various forms of service. This is the most common data collection method in marketing. It is used in approximately 90% of studies.

A survey is an oral or written appeal to respondents with questions, the content of which constitutes the research problem. Surveys are classified according to a number of criteria.

Depending on the source (media) of primary information, a distinction is made between mass and specialized surveys.

In a mass survey, the main source of information is various categories of the population whose professional activities are not related to the subject of analysis. Participants in mass surveys are called respondents (from the Latin respondeo - to answer). In specialized surveys, the main source of information is competent individuals whose professional activities are closely related to the subject of the study. This leads to another widely used name for such surveys: expert surveys. They are most often contacted at the initial stage of marketing research, when it is necessary to identify a problem, and at the final stage, when it is necessary to check the information received and make a decision.

Depending on the frequency of conducting surveys, they are divided into precise (one-time) and repeated. The latter make it possible to identify the main range of requests and preferences and the main trends in their changes over time for timely decision-making on activities in the market. Panels represent a special group of repeated surveys.

Depending on the degree of coverage of potential consumers, surveys can be continuous or selective.

Continuous research can be carried out, for example, in relation to visitors to a company or its stand at exhibition events.

In practice, the number of potential clients of an enterprise is usually large, which makes it impossible to conduct continuous surveys. In this regard, the most acceptable are sample surveys, the essence of which is that a part of the population being studied is surveyed, selected as a result of special scientifically based techniques. If a sample population sufficiently fully reflects the properties of the general population, it is called representative.

A special role in marketing when conducting sample surveys is given to the method of so-called focus groups.

In marketing practice, two main forms of surveys are used: questionnaires and interviews.

During a survey, the respondent answers questions in writing in the presence of the surveyor or without him. Depending on the form, it can be individual or group. In the latter case, a large number of people can be interviewed in a short time (for example, the workforce of an enterprise, a student group). Questioning can also be done in person or by correspondence.

Face-to-face questioning, in which the respondent himself answers questions in writing in the presence of the questionnaire, is one of the most commonly used methods of collecting primary marketing information. According to the Bulgarian specialist S. Mikhailov, with face-to-face questioning, in comparison with other methods, “the difficulties that arise in ensuring the representativeness of information are minimal.”

The advantages of face-to-face questioning are that the surveyor has the opportunity to:

Explain to the respondent all aspects related to the wording and substance of the questions;

Directly control the return of completed questionnaires and the completeness of responses.

In-person surveys can be carried out by visiting respondents at home or work, as well as by surveying in public places (on the street, in shops, restaurants, theaters, on transport, on the beach, etc.). The latter approach is the most popular, as it is extremely economical and allows for rapid collection of primary marketing information. Practice shows that with such a survey, five times more respondents can be covered in the same time than with a home survey. Another important benefit of conducting surveys in public places is that they provide largely reliable information about purchases or service consumption. The fact is that in this case the respondent provides “fresh” information, and his assessments are truly spontaneous and his own, not influenced by other people. At the same time, the questionnaires should be extremely short and easy to fill out.

In the practice of tourism activities, surveys on the beach are of undoubted interest. In this case, almost one hundred percent return of questionnaires is achieved. The fact is that during such a vacation, people most often look for something to do to “kill” time, and are happy to take part in such research.

The most common form of correspondence survey is a postal survey. In general, it involves sending out questionnaires and receiving responses to them by mail.

Advantages of a postal survey:

Possibility of carrying out over a large area, including in hard-to-reach areas;

The absence of a psychological barrier and the influence of the questionnaire on the answers;

No strict time limits.

Disadvantages of a postal survey:

Waiting time for responses;

Incomplete return of questionnaires (the number of unanswered questionnaires often reaches more than 90%);

Difficulties in determining the reliability of the information received.

To avoid non-return of questionnaires, it is very important to carefully consider the content and type of cover letter, which should convince respondents of the significance of the marketing research being conducted.

In addition, the covering letter must indicate:

Who is conducting the research;

Objectives of the study;

Guarantees of maintaining anonymity of answers;

Deadlines for returning completed forms;

Preliminary thanks for the possible participation of the respondent in the study.

It is very important that the letter contains some elements of suggestion: how important the person’s answers are; what benefits will they bring to the clients of the travel company. Some incentives may also be offered (for example, an incentive for the fastest return of completed questionnaires; participation of all respondents who sent questionnaires before a certain deadline in a drawing for prizes in the form of tourist trips). A prerequisite for increasing the return of completed questionnaires is the provision of an empty stamped envelope with a return address, which will greatly facilitate the work of respondents.

One type of postal survey is the so-called press survey. In this case, the questionnaire is printed in a newspaper or magazine. However, as experience shows, in this case the return of questionnaires is extremely low. In addition, the most active readers usually respond to the questionnaire. In this regard, the results obtained should be interpreted quite carefully.

A promising direction for correspondence surveying is the Internet. It can serve as an extremely useful tool for businesses to collect not only secondary, but also primary marketing information. Thus, a survey of Web server visitors can be conducted. To do this, it is necessary to develop an appropriate questionnaire, place it on the server and ask its users to answer questions of interest to the researcher. For example, questions in the Hilton hotel chain questionnaire change every two weeks. At the same time, clients are given the opportunity to get acquainted with the results of the study.

It is also possible to conduct surveys via teleconferences. To do this you need to: select a teleconference with the audience of interest; follow the progress of the discussions for a while; take an active part in discussing problems; propose questions during the teleconference that need answers.

Interviewing as a form of survey involves personal communication with the respondent, in which the interviewer himself asks questions and records the answers. According to M. Greivitz, “an interview is a research procedure that is based on verbal communication to collect information taking into account the stated purpose.”

The advantage of interviews, compared to other methods of collecting primary data in tourism, is that it is possible to reveal the socio-psychological mechanisms of the phenomena being studied - the motivations, interests and predispositions of tourists to the offered tourist products and their prices, the reasons for customer dissatisfaction with the structure and quality of the offered services.

The form of the interview can be direct or indirect (for example, by telephone).

Direct interviews allow you to implement flexible survey tactics and supplement answers with observations from the interviewer. The reliability of the information obtained in this case is quite high. Disadvantages include the rather high cost, duration, the likelihood of the interviewer influencing the respondents’ opinions, and the need for special training for interviewers.

If answers to a few and simple questions need to be obtained as quickly as possible, you can use a telephone interview. It is often used when conducting preliminary research that provides information for subsequent personal interviews. The advantages of a telephone interview are efficiency and high efficiency. At the same time, the lack of personal contact with the interviewee often makes the interviewer's job more difficult.

Based on the interview technique, interviews are divided into three types:

Structured;

Semi-structured;

Unstructured.

A structured (standardized) interview involves a detailed development of the entire interview procedure, i.e. includes a general outline of the conversation, a sequence of questions and answer options. In this case, the interviewer is assigned a primarily performing role. The respondent must, after listening carefully to the question, choose the most suitable answer option from a pre-suggested set. In this case, the interviewer's influence on the quality of the data is minimized. The reliability of the information received depends primarily on the conscientiousness and punctuality of the respondent.

A structured interview, depending on the purpose of its conduct and focus, is divided into clinical (long, in-depth) and focused (short-term). The purpose of a clinical interview is to obtain the most complete information about the internal motivations, motives, inclinations, and characteristics of the interviewee. A focused interview is aimed at obtaining information about a specific problem, situation or phenomenon.

A semi-structured interview involves a detailed development of the interview procedure, providing for a strictly mandatory sequence of questions. Unlike a structured interview, in this case the respondent is not offered answer options. He answers questions freely. The interviewer’s task is to completely and clearly record answers, the method of recording which is standard and provided for in the instructions. This may be a verbatim recording preserving the interviewee's vocabulary (including shorthand or tape recording) or direct coding of responses during the survey.

An unstructured (free) interview is characterized by minimal standardization of the interviewer's behavior. It is conducted without pre-prepared questions or a developed conversation plan. Only the topic is determined and offered to the respondent for discussion. The direction of the conversation, its logical structure, the sequence of questions, their wording - all this depends on the individual characteristics of the interviewer, his ideas about the subject of discussion and the ability to adapt to the conditions of a particular situation. Unlike the results of mass surveys, the information obtained in this case does not need to be unified for subsequent statistical processing. Its value is determined precisely by its uniqueness.

Most often, free interviews are used to study the image of tourism enterprises. The image consists of two separate but indivisible parts (components): the characteristics of the object and the characteristics of consumers. The study of the image of a particular tourism company cannot be carried out only by quantitative methods, but must be supplemented by more in-depth technologies, for example, unstructured interviews.

It should be emphasized that the optimal form of interview is a calm, relaxed conversation. According to Professor Uta Gerhardt from the University of Cologne, the situation during any interview in the social field is very similar to the situation when making a diagnosis in medicine. On the one hand, we have the patient (i.e., the interviewee, who is the source of information), on the other, the doctor (interviewer) conducting the conversation in order to collect the necessary information about the symptoms, reasons, and motives of the respondent’s actions. In any case, the reliability of the information is directly dependent on the tact and ease of the interviewer, who must call the respondent to a frank and full conversation.

Thus, a survey as a method of obtaining primary marketing information can be carried out in various forms.

A distinctive feature of the survey is the fairly high degree of respondents’ refusal to participate in the study, based on two main reasons. The first is associated with people’s feeling of a certain suspicion and reluctance to let anyone into their personal lives. The second reason is determined by the specific circumstances of a particular survey. For example, some respondents do not want to discuss certain topics. The degree of willingness to participate in the study is also influenced by the form of the survey.

The accuracy of the results of a survey conducted in any form depends largely on the quality of the instrument (questionnaire or interview form).

Questionnaire development

A questionnaire is a system of questions united by a single research plan that allows you to obtain the information necessary to develop solutions to the problem under study. The preparation of the questionnaire is preceded by extensive research work, described in works on sociology.

The questionnaire is not just a list of questions. This is a very subtle and flexible research tool. It is important to pose questions, their number and sequence, and correct wording. The list of possible questions does not lend itself to strict regulation. Each researcher, depending on the goals, object of research and his own capabilities, proposes and formulates them himself. Development of the questionnaire, as G.A. rightly notes. Churchill, "continues to be more an art than a science." At the same time, there are certain rules and recommendations, following which ensures taking into account the psychology of the respondent, predicting his reaction to one or another form of the question, the degree of sincerity and the ability to formulate an unambiguous answer.

When compiling a questionnaire, a number of circumstances should be taken into account:

The effectiveness of conducting a survey depends on what questions are asked, in what sequence, and what possible answer options are included in them. All issues should be analyzed for their relevance and feasibility;

The form in which the question is posed greatly influences the answer;

The nature of the answers largely depends on the correct and unambiguous wording of the questions;

The questionnaire should be structured in such a way that its clear internal logic is visible.

The questionnaire always begins with an introductory part. It indicates who is conducting the survey and for what purpose, provides instructions for filling out the questionnaire, and describes how to return completed questionnaires. The introductory part should emphasize respect for the respondents and make them want to answer questions.

Next in the questionnaire are contact questions. They are designed to interest the interlocutor, introduce them to the problems being studied, and conduct a “warm-up”. Contact questions should show the respondent that he can answer them without difficulty. A contact question can be formulated, for example, as follows: “Do you like to travel?”

Each assigned task corresponds to a block of basic questions, which are divided into closed, open and semi-closed.

Closed-ended questions require choosing answers from a full set of options given in the questionnaire. The main advantage of using this type of question is that it allows for machine processing. However, they hide a significant drawback: the choice of answer on the part of the respondent is limited. That is why it is mandatory when using closed questions that significant aspects of the problem under study be reflected in the answer options offered to the respondent.

There are two types of closed questions:

Alternative (dichotomous);

With a selective answer (multiple-choice).

A multiple choice question requires choosing from three or more answer options. To pose such questions, measurement scales are used, which are a tool for bringing heterogeneous qualitative characteristics to comparable quantitative ones: nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio.

The nominal scale (sometimes called the naming scale) has only the characteristic of description and is a simple listing of answer options without any hint of ordering or comparison. For example, if it is necessary to identify the reasons why tourists at a given resort relatively rarely buy the offered excursions, then the question using a nominal scale can be formulated as follows:

Please indicate the reasons why you refuse to purchase the offered excursions:

Lack of interest;

High price;

Limited selection;

Lack of awareness of the excursions offered;

Other.

An ordinal scale (sometimes called a rank scale) consists of categories that differ from each other by conventional concepts or qualitative features, which imply the presence of order in some form. In order for scale ratings to differ from numbers in the ordinary sense, they are called ranks at the ordinal level. Ordinal scales are usually used when formulating questions about attitudes, assessments, overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the characteristics of a tourism product, the likelihood of a new visit to a certain vacation spot, hotel, restaurant, etc.

Since marketing professionals are extremely interested in the future behavior of a firm's customers, they are forced to develop forecasts regarding this circumstance. For this purpose, information is collected about the prevailing attitudes of clients towards a particular product, as well as the factors that determine them. On the other hand, it must be taken into account that clients’ readiness to act is not always a guarantee of their actual behavior.

For specialists of a particular tourist complex, not only individual aspects and reactions of consumers are of interest, but also their more generalized characteristics. For example, depending on the program and purpose of marketing research, you can collect information about whether a tourist buys excursions in the country and abroad, whether he attends entertainment programs and events, what his expenses are for the purchase of additional services, etc. These are, in essence, individual manifestations of tourist activity. The question arises: is it possible to formulate one generalized indicator of tourist behavior, bearing in mind that it covers many individual qualities and actions of a tourist. It turns out it's possible. One of the most effective methods for obtaining such an indicator is to use a complex ranking scale. It combines information according to several characteristics that characterize the most general quality, in which the latter are its varieties, its elementary components.

Interval scale consists of numerical values ​​that can be physically measured. A classic example of this is the temperature scale (the interval between numerical values ​​is known and has constant dimensions - temperature in degrees Celsius). A precondition for developing an interval scale is the selection of a certain unit for measuring the characteristics under study, which, in turn, requires determining the highest and lowest scores and the same distance between the individual degrees of the scale. The entire possible measurement area is divided into intervals. The interval scale usually presents survey questions about age, income, expenses, prices, etc., which makes sense only if a quantitative measurement is used.

The ratio scale differs from the interval scale in that it presupposes the presence of a natural or absolute zero, the absence of a measured characteristic in relation to which there is a consensus on its location. Obvious examples are height and weight. Using this scale, you can make a quantitative comparison of the results obtained. For example, a respondent may be 2 times older, spend 3 times more money on vacation, or fly 4 times more often than another respondent.

There are a large number of scale options built on the basis of the basic principles outlined above.

The most common methods used to formulate closed questions are:

Likert scale;

Semantic differential;

Stapel scale;

Mnemonic scale.

The Likert scale is essentially a type of ordinal scale. When using it, a series of statements are developed that relate to the problem or object of study. Respondents are asked to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with each statement.

In practice, the five-item Likert scale is widely used. Its meaning is that two intermediate answers are introduced (“agree” and “disagree”) in addition to the two extreme ones (“completely agree”, “completely disagree”) and neutral. Numerical designations of statements are often used, the value of which corresponds to the degree of assessment of the attitude. Thus, absolute agreement (“totally agree”) is assessed with a value of 5, and radical disagreement (“totally disagree”) corresponds to a value of 1. By summing up the digital indicators, one can obtain the average value of the degree of agreement with the given statements, as well as construct statistical distributions. Here are examples of questions using a Likert scale.

Based on the data obtained as a result of processing answers to such questions, it is possible to analyze the profile of two or more tourism enterprises.

The semantic differential is a series of bipolar characteristics that determine the properties of the object being studied. The semantic scale consists of a large number of antonyms (“bad - good”, “convenient - inconvenient”, “useful - useless”, “cheap - expensive”, “liked - not stored”, etc.). On such a scale, boundary definitions are plotted, and the entire space between them is divided into seven ranges, characterizing the degree of closeness of the respondent’s opinion to one or another definition. For ease of processing, scales with digital symbols are used. The respondent must mark the number corresponding to his attitude to the problem under study. Since many marketing stimuli are based on mental associations and relationships that are not explicitly expressed, this type of scale is especially effective when studying the image of an enterprise, brand or product offered. Here is an example of a question using a semantic differential.

After receiving ratings from all respondents, the arithmetic mean is calculated for each pair of antonyms.

The results of studying consumer opinions based on a semantic differential scale can be presented graphically.

It can be seen from the figure that Restaurant X is viewed as a quick service establishment, luxuriously appointed, more conveniently located, but also more expensive than Restaurant Y.

The popularity of semantic differential scales in the formulation of closed-ended questions can be explained by the ease with which they are created, the clarity with which they produce results, and the ability to accommodate varying opinions, uncertain feelings and expectations.

The Stapel scale is, in essence, a modification of the semantic differential. The difference is as follows: 1) adjectives as bipolar pairs are tested separately, and not simultaneously; 2) there are 10 separate positions on the scale, rather than 7. Proponents of the Stapel scale argue that it not only frees the researcher from such a difficult task as developing bipolar pairs, but also allows for more detailed differentiation in the relationships measured. Despite the fact that the Stapel scale is used less frequently than the semantic differential.

Mnemonic (drawn) scales are used both to facilitate the formulation of answer options to questions and to simplify the choice of answer by respondents.

Open questions, unlike closed ones, do not contain hints, do not “impose” one or another answer option, but are designed to obtain an unformalized (non-standard) opinion. In this case, processing the results seems more complicated. However, asking open questions in a number of cases! turns out to be preferable, since the possible discovery of an unexpected solution in this case is able to fully compensate for the costs.

Semi-closed questions, in addition to a certain number of answer options, contain the position “other - indicate which” or “others - indicate which”. This gives the respondent the opportunity to complete an answer that was not previously provided in the questionnaire. Let's give an example of a half-closed question.

A special role in the questionnaire belongs to control questions. Their purpose is to verify the reliability of the received data. Let’s say the main question is: “What characteristics of the services offered by the company most satisfied you?” A security question could be the following: “Have you used the services of the company?” A comparison of answers to these questions provides information about the sincerity of the respondent. It must be emphasized that a control question should never follow the question for which it controls the answer. This is due to the fact that the respondent’s answer to each subsequent question is influenced by the content of the answer to the previous one.

The questionnaire ends with final questions. Their goal is to relieve the psychological stress of the respondent (for example, “Did our questionnaire tire you?”). The last section of the questionnaire also includes questions to determine the socio-demographic portrait of respondents (gender, age, place of residence, social status, education, income level, etc.).

At the end of the questionnaire, you should definitely express your gratitude to the respondent for participating in the study.

To improve the quality of questionnaires and successfully conduct data collection with their help, a number of recommendations have been formulated that can be very useful in obtaining primary marketing information:

1. Compliance with the fundamental requirements for formulating questions.

Questions should be simple and understandable;

Questions should be unambiguous;

Questions should be neutral (not direct the answer in a certain direction);

Each question should be as specific as possible;

Use of generally accepted terminology.

2. Compliance with the principles of constructing questionnaires:

Instructions and directions should be placed before the relevant questions;

The order of questions: from simple to complex, from general to specific, from non-binding to sensitive;

Too many different instruments should not be used (for example, first a five and then a seven-step scale);

Credibility questions are placed first, then substantive questions, then perhaps control questions, and finally personality questions;

The most difficult questions that require analysis, reflection, and memory activation are placed in the middle of the questionnaire. Towards the end of the questionnaire, the difficulty of the questions should decrease.

3. Selecting the optimal volume of questionnaires:

Cumbersome questionnaires cause a large number of refusals to respond;

Short questionnaires, in turn, create the impression of the insignificance of the problem being discussed or the very fact of appealing to the opinion of a specific person;

The maximum time required to fill out the questionnaire for a postal survey should not exceed 20-30 minutes.

4. Preliminary assessment of the quality of questionnaires:

The developed questionnaires are subject to logical control, all questions and answer options are checked, as well as the composition of the questionnaire as a whole;

A trial survey of a small (10-15 people) group of people is conducted, on the basis of which the questionnaire is finalized and clarified.

5. Ensuring attractiveness of questionnaires:

The appearance of the questionnaire influences the respondent’s propensity to cooperate (especially when conducting postal surveys);

Use of a distinct and clear font, the presence of distances between individual questions;

Availability of free space for answers to open questions.

6. Increasing the percentage of questionnaires returned during postal surveys:

Encouragement (but you need to take into account the costs, as well as possible embellishment of answers out of gratitude);

Cover letter (awakening interest, guaranteeing anonymity);

Telephone warning about sending questionnaires;

Enclose a stamped and signed response envelope;

Interesting topic, attractive design of the questionnaire.

Expert methods

Due to the limited possibilities of using economic and mathematical methods in marketing, the absence or insufficient volume of statistical information, the impossibility or inappropriateness of using measurement or calculation methods, heuristic (informal) techniques play an important role in obtaining marketing information. Among them, a special place is occupied by expert assessments based on the foresight and intuition of qualified specialists.

An expert assessment is the average, or modal, characteristic of the opinions expressed by a group of competent specialists about any phenomenon (process), provided that it was possible to achieve consistency or similarity of views.

There are two levels of using expert assessments: qualitative and quantitative. If the use of expert assessments at a qualitative level (determining possible areas of market activity, selecting measures for marketing communications, justifying a pricing strategy, etc.) is not in doubt, then the possibility of using them for quantitative (mainly scoring) assessments is often criticized. At the same time, it is rightly noted that expert scores often hide the inability or inability to qualifiedly evaluate certain actions, phenomena, events, etc.

At the same time, expert assessments are perhaps the only source of marketing information in the following situations:

When forecasting the market situation in the absence of statistical data or insufficient volume;

In the quantitative analysis of events for which there are no other measurement methods (for example, when choosing the marketing goals of a tourism enterprise);

When justifying (together with other methods) the adoption of optimal marketing decisions in conditions of market uncertainty.

In expert methods, a large role belongs to the personality of the expert. The reliability of the latter’s assessments depends on a number of factors, including his qualifications, working conditions, the methods used for processing and analyzing his judgments, the perfection of the organization of decision-making taking into account the opinions (conclusions) of the expert, etc.

To obtain marketing information, expert assessments of managers and employees of the tourism enterprise itself are widely used. In situations that require particularly critical decisions to be made, it is advisable to involve independent specialists.

The advantage of expert methods is their relative simplicity, as well as their applicability for predicting almost any situation, including in conditions of incomplete information. An important feature of these methods is the ability to predict the qualitative characteristics of the market.

At the same time, they have some disadvantages: firstly, there is no guarantee that the data obtained from a survey of experts is actually reliable, and secondly, there are certain difficulties in conducting a survey of experts and processing the results obtained. If the second drawback is methodologically surmountable, then the first is of fundamental importance. Existing statistical approaches to determining the reliability of expert assessments are based on the assumption that if the opinions of experts are consistent, the reliability of these opinions is guaranteed. In fact, there is often a situation where individual experts who disagree with the point of view of the majority give the most correct assessments. Thus, the consistency of expert opinions is not always a criterion for the reliability of the information received. This implies the need for careful selection of experts. Without exaggeration, such selection can be called the most important decision that the organizers of the peer review must make.

The main requirements for experts are: competence, interest in participating in the work of the expert commission, efficiency and objectivity.

The expert’s competence extends to the object (professional competence) and methodology (qualimetric competence) of the assessment. Professional competence includes knowledge of various aspects of the functioning of the tourism industry, the state and prospects for market development, consumer requirements, conditions and nature of consumption of the tourism product, etc. Qualimetric competence ensures a specialist’s clear and unambiguous understanding of the principles and methods of expert assessment, as well as practical ability to use them.

An expert’s interest in participating in the work of an expert commission depends on his individual abilities, workload, the goals of the assessment and the possibility of using its results in his own practical activities.

The expert’s efficiency includes such qualities as composure, the ability to quickly switch from one problem to another; contact (the ability to work with people when solving problems in a conflict situation), nonconformism (the ability to resist the opinion of the majority while confident in one’s rightness), efficiency, validity and motivation of the assessments and judgments made, the ability to clearly formulate one’s thoughts.

The objectivity of the expert lies in making judgments that characterize the actual state of the problem under consideration.

A fairly common approach to determining the suitability of an expert is based on taking into account the degree of reliability of a given specialist. It refers to the relative frequency of cases in which the expert attributed a higher probability to events that were subsequently confirmed in practice. On this basis, it is believed that the more often an expert was right, the higher his authority.

The specificity of the expert assessment method requires a special approach not only to the professional knowledge of experts, but also to the originality of their thinking and intuition. After all, sometimes “excessive professionalism” can be the cause of “professional blindness,” an amazing tendency not to notice anything that goes beyond the scope of established ideas. But in marketing, paradoxical (at first glance) and unexpected solutions play an extremely important role.

Determining the size of the expert group can be done both by using the techniques of mathematical statistics (they are quite fully and comprehensively reviewed in the relevant literature) and by applying a “pragmatic” approach. As practice shows, the optimal number of experts is 7-12.

Expert assessments can be carried out using the following approaches:

Open discussion of the issues raised, followed by open or closed voting;

Closed discussion followed by closed voting or filling out expert questionnaires;

Free expression without discussion or voting.

Practice shows that the traditional open discussion of the issues raised, followed by open or closed voting (the first type of expert polls) is not optimal due to the mutual influence of expert opinions and their reluctance to renounce their previously publicly expressed points of view. Therefore, the second and third types of group expert assessments can be considered applicable.

One of the most common and effective methods of obtaining information from experts is the Delphi method. Its name comes from the ancient Greek city of Delphi, which became famous in ancient times as a center of predictions. The essence of the method is to develop consensus opinions by repeatedly repeating an individual written survey of the same experts. After the first round of the survey and generalization of its results, the latter are communicated to the participants of the expert group. Then a second round of the survey is conducted, during which the experts either confirm their point of view expressed at the previous stage or change the assessment in accordance with the majority opinion. This is repeated 34 times. During this procedure, an agreed estimate is developed. At the same time, the researcher should not ignore the opinion of those who, after several rounds of the survey, remained in their position.

The Delphi method can be effectively used in the marketing activities of a tourism enterprise, in particular for studying and forecasting the market, evaluating ideas for new products.

The next type of group expert assessments includes the method of collective idea generation, or brainstorming, proposed by the American advertising consultant A. Osborne. When implementing this method, a group of highly qualified specialists is also selected, but assessments and conclusions are made during the discussion. The main principle of the method is the uncontrolled generation and spontaneous interweaving of ideas by participants in a group discussion of a problem. On this basis, chains of associations arise that can lead to an unexpected solution to the problem.

To successfully use this method, a number of conditions must be met:

From 7 to 12 people take part in the meeting;

The optimal duration of the meeting is from 15 to 30 minutes;

The quantity of offers is more important than their quality;

Criticism of any kind is prohibited; logic, experience, arguments “against” only get in the way;

The decision made is the result of joint efforts;

The hierarchical level of the participants should not differ greatly, otherwise psychological barriers may arise that interfere with communication and the building of associations.

Ideas received during the meeting are recorded and then evaluated.

The brainstorming method has many implementation options, one of which is the “6.3.5” method. Its essence is that 6 specialists in 5 minutes each offer 3 forecast options regarding the development of the market and the promotion of products on it. This method is extremely important for obtaining random results. Experts write their answers on forms specially distributed for this purpose. Five minutes later, the next six employees are invited for the same procedure. Thus, in half an hour the company receives 108 new proposals! The 6.3.5 method is especially fruitful for finding new product ideas. The numerous proposals accumulated in a short time are then carefully analyzed and discussed.

Another type of brainstorming method is the Brainstorming method, the essence of which is as follows:

Each expert recruits a team for discussion consisting of 15 managers of the same management level;

The general manager explains a situation that needs their expertise (for example, increasing the company's sales volume), after which the team members express their opinions on the problem posed to them;

Another manager also recruits his team, which expresses its doubts and negative opinions about the assessments and proposals put forward by the first team.

According to the Gordon method, brainstorming participants are not given a specific task (for example, “What needs to be done to increase sales of our company’s services?”). It is only necessary to outline the general side of the problem. In our example, this can be formulated as follows: “What ways to increase sales of our company’s services have been used previously and are being used now?” After discussing this problem, specialist experts draw specific conclusions on a specific task.

The group discussion method, as another type of brainstorming, invites the participation of people who have little or no knowledge of the problem. Anyone can take part in the group discussion. As a result, it is possible to obtain a large amount of new interesting information, non-standard and original ideas. After some time, invited specialists get acquainted with the ideas put forward and select those that can be implemented. It is considered normal for experts to reject 90% of the ideas proposed by group discussion participants.

In the practice of marketing research, the method of synectics is also used (combining various elements that obviously do not correspond to each other). The essence of the method is that specialists from different fields of activity are invited for expert assessment. Each of them brings a pre-conceived idea. Subsequently, there is a selection and elimination of ideas that do not stand up to criticism (the synectics method, unlike classical brainstorming, allows for critical statements). A more realistic idea that receives majority support is adopted.

Panel

One-time surveys have significant shortcomings. Firstly, they do not allow us to study dynamic processes reliably. Secondly, such surveys are fragmented, since with the help of one survey, as a rule, one problem is solved, and in order to move on to another, it is necessary to survey a different set of respondents. Thirdly, one-time surveys do not provide data that allows us to identify a complete picture of the relationships and patterns of the market. Panel studies are largely free from these disadvantages.

Panel - a sample of surveyed units subjected to repeated surveys. The term "panel" is borrowed from the practice of American jurisprudence, where it means a list of jurors.

The panel has the following main features:

Constant subject of research;

Systematic or periodic data collection;

A permanent set of research objects - individuals, families (households), enterprises.

The most common is the consumer panel, which includes individuals, families, or households. The main purpose of forming such a panel is to systematically or periodically obtain information about socio-economic characteristics, demand and the factors that determine it, behavior, tastes, demands and preferences of consumers.

The consumer panel is based on a survey method. With its help you can obtain the following information:

Social and professional characteristics of family members;

The number of family members and its gender and age structure;

Total cash and natural income of the family;

Sources of income;

Net cash income per family member;

Family living conditions;

Total amount of consumer spending;

Volume and structure of consumption and purchase of goods and services;

Preferred prices and types of goods and services;

Buying behavior;

Consumption profile;

Consumption habits.

In traditional panel forms, respondents are asked to answer the same survey questions over and over again, which ensures comparability of information when analyzing dynamics. In another form of panel, the omnibus, the objectives of the study are changed and panel members are asked various questions (usually a small number of questions for a large number of respondents). One omnibus survey questionnaire may contain questions about different goods and services (including vacation preferences, planned trips, etc.).

Panel studies, although not very often, are used in the marketing activities of tour operators. Some of them form a sample of regular customers, surveyed, as a rule, on the eve of the summer and winter seasons. The panel as a method of obtaining primary marketing information is characterized by methodological and practical problems. The most significant of them are the need to ensure the representativeness of the formed panel (it is important to ensure not only a sufficient number of the panel, but also the representativeness of all types of respondents in it). There are also problems caused by panel members not cooperating. To reduce the negative impact of this process, the latter usually receive a small reward. In addition, panelists, feeling in control, may consciously or unconsciously change their habitual behavior.

Focus group method

A focus group is one of the most interesting and creative methods for collecting primary marketing information. It allows you to obtain not quantitative, but mainly qualitative information based on the collection, analysis and interpretation of data from a sample survey (observation of behavior) of a small number of consumers.

The focus group method is a carefully planned discussion aimed at collecting opinions on a specific topic in a relaxed atmosphere.

It is mainly used to solve the following problems:

Generating ideas (for example, to justify directions for improving tourism products offered to the market);

Studying the “colloquial vocabulary” of consumers, which can be extremely useful when conducting advertising events, drawing up questionnaires, carrying out personal selling, etc.;

Familiarization with the needs of consumers, their perception and attitude towards the tourism product, its structure, communication methods, which is extremely important when conducting marketing research;

Studying the emotional and behavioral reactions of consumers to certain types and means of advertising;

Collect information that may be useful in developing questionnaires.

Typically, the work of focus groups is recorded using audio-video technology, and its results serve as the basis for conducting mass consumer surveys.

According to experts, the optimal size of focus groups ranges from 8 to 12 people. With a smaller number of participants, conditions for productive, dynamic work are not created. When the group size exceeds 12 people, problems arise in starting productive discussions; the group can be divided into subgroups, and a limited number of participants can take part in the discussion itself. To ensure an effective, uninhibited discussion of the problems being studied, it is advisable to form the composition of focus groups based on the principle of homogeneity of its participants (by age, type of professional activity, marital status, etc.).

The choice of specific group members is determined primarily by the purpose of the study. So, if the goal is to generate ideas for improving the tourism product, consumers who have used the services of a tourism enterprise are invited as participants. It is not advisable to involve people who have previously participated in similar studies in focus groups. The fact is that such individuals often begin to behave like "experts" and do not allow others to actively and creatively participate in the discussion and feel at ease. It is advisable to avoid forming groups that include friends or relatives, since they prefer to discuss with each other rather than with all participants, which also reduces the effectiveness of this activity.

A focus group discussion provides an opportunity to reveal the subjective reasons for a person’s behavior. For this purpose, the projective method and the projective techniques resulting from it are used.

The projective method is characterized by the creation of a situation that allows for a plurality of possible interpretations as it is perceived by respondents. Behind each such interpretation, a system of personal characteristics and characteristics of a person emerges.

The projective method allows you to answer questions that are difficult to obtain information using direct questions, due to the fact that very often the real state of affairs is not realized by a person, since it is hidden from his consciousness with the help of psychological defense. The latter is a special regulatory system of personality stabilization, aimed at eliminating or minimizing the feeling of anxiety associated with negative, traumatic experiences.

Practical experience shows that psychological defense most often works in the following situations:

Consumers are often embarrassed to speak negatively about a product (company), because they are subconsciously afraid of offending the presenter;

A negative attitude towards a particular product may be due to the inability of respondents for financial reasons to purchase the latter;

In some cases, respondents cannot verbalize the motives for their own behavior, because are not aware of them;

Interviewees are often embarrassed to discuss intimate problems related to health, family life, etc.

Projective techniques allow, in a certain sense, to “deceive” a person’s consciousness and bypass psychological defenses.

This makes it possible to find out:

Why customers like or dislike certain products;

What influences their decision when choosing a particular product;

What image of the product and (or) company has developed in the eyes of customers;

What heroes (characters) can be used in advertising, etc.

Another important point in using projective techniques is that they are entertaining. The originality and unexpectedness of stimuli or tasks introduces an element of play into the group discussion, and respondents are happy to join in.

There are various classifications of projective techniques. According to the classification adopted in marketing practice, projective techniques are divided into five groups:

1) associative;

2) to complete the task;

3) constructing;

4) expressive;

5) ranking.

Associative techniques suggest that respondents are asked to say, write or select from a list what they associate with the subject under study.

There are various options for associative techniques:

Verbal associations (both oral and written), used to determine the attitude of respondents to a certain product, advertising message, etc.;

Personification - verbal and non-verbal (using portraits), used to determine the type of regular consumer of the product under study (when selecting actors for advertising), as well as the characteristics of the image of the product or company that has developed in the eyes of consumers;

Pictures and words (associations to visual stimuli).

Task completion techniques involve asking respondents to complete unfinished sentences, stories, drawings, etc.

Construction techniques ask respondents to create (verbally or nonverbally) something (for example, a certain situation).

Methods in this group include:

A modified thematic apperception test used to study the underlying motives of consumer behavior in a given situation, as well as to study the image of a brand or product that has developed in the eyes of the consumer. Respondents are shown pictures that depict a situation (for example, a purchasing situation), and are asked to talk about what the characters in this picture think and feel, what happened to them before (after) the situation depicted in the picture;

A collage that helps the researcher find out the peculiarities of the perception of consumers of tourism products and (or) a company, and also allows for a targeted selection of visual symbols when creating advertising;

Projective questions that allow respondents to explain their behavior in a veiled form. The question begins with some statement purportedly made by other respondents. Next, focus group participants are asked to explain the reasons that prompted the false respondent to make this statement, as well as to express their own point of view.

Expressive techniques are focused on determining consumers’ emotional perception of the product under study. They make it possible to identify not only people’s attitude towards the latter, but also the images associated in their minds with a particular product.

Expressive techniques include:

Psycho-drawings (respondents are asked to draw a product in such a way as to display the graphic elements that they associate with this product);

Role-playing games, which allow, for example, to reveal not only what consumers say about a particular product, but also how exactly they do it. When applying the technique, respondents are asked, on behalf of a product (firm), to address consumers in the manner (voice, tone, language) that this product (firm) could use.

Ranking suggests the use of more structured incentives. This technique has many modifications. For example, respondents are asked to select the most appropriate characteristics from those offered for a particular product or advertising message. In another case, respondents are asked to rank the characteristics according to one or another attribute (for example, by degree of importance).

Below we will give an example of the use of projective techniques at the stage of developing an advertising campaign.

Description of the situation. The target audience of consumers has expanded. Company X, a tour operator, has a need to develop an advertising campaign aimed at a new consumer. It was decided to use a focus group.

Purpose of the study: to identify the main motives for purchasing tourism products?

Research objectives:

1) determine the group of motives for purchasing tourism products;

2) identify the main motives for purchasing tourism products;

3) analyze the image of company X, which provides tourism products;

4) identify characters that could be involved in the advertising campaign.

It should be noted that such research should not be limited to the use of projective techniques. However, in this case, they are the subject of interest.

The physical setting is very important for a successful discussion. It should stimulate the free expression of opinions and assessments, as well as creative thinking of participants. Preference is given to a room adapted for such discussions (it is advisable to place respondents at a round table).

To stimulate group members, both monetary and in-kind payment for their work can be used, in the form of free provision of certain services, discounts on subsequent purchases, presentation of souvenirs and gifts, etc.

The effectiveness and productivity of a focus group is largely determined by the activities of the leader (moderator), who, based on a deep understanding of the goals and objectives of the discussion, without direct interference in its course, must manage the conduct of this event. The facilitator needs to organize the discussion in such a way as to address all the objects and objectives of the study. At the same time, interaction between group members should be stimulated and encouraged. One of the indicators of the success of a focus group is how deeply its participants were able to discuss the problem posed with each other, and not just with the facilitator.

Basic requirements for a focus group leader:

Professionalism and the ability to learn quickly, as well as combine new information with your way of thinking;

Communication skills. The presenter must quickly (within 10 minutes) establish contact with the group and appear before it as a person with whom it is pleasant to have an ordinary casual conversation;

Awareness. The facilitator must clearly inform the group that he has some understanding of the subject of the study, but is not an expert on this problem. If focus group participants realize that this is not the case, they will most likely ask him questions rather than answer and discuss their own views;

Having an excellent memory required to be able to link all statements together, to recall key information expressed by each participant during the discussion, so that later statements of respondents are cross-checked for consistency in the position of one or another participant;

Sensitivity. The presenter must clearly respond to the progress of the developing discussion. Its depth is achieved only when it contains emotional responses and reactions, and not just intellectual information and purely informative answers;

The understanding is that the facilitator must be able to empathize with the nervousness that some participants experience as a result of being interviewed before others in the conversation. If the respondent is confident that the leader understands his position, then he will be more willing to actively participate in the group discussion;

Tolerance. When conducting a discussion, the facilitator should be tolerant of individual minor “deviations” on the part of certain participants, and not strive to immediately make comments and give instructions;

Ability to think big. The facilitator must be able to separate important conclusions from less significant ones in order to bring together all the results obtained in the final part of the discussion.

The issue of the presenter's gender is debatable. Some experts believe that it should match the gender of the majority of focus group participants. Others believe that the gender difference between the leader and the majority of the group will be a stimulating factor for participants to give more detailed, explanatory and insightful answers.

When analyzing the results of a focus group, it is necessary to take into account a number of fundamental points. Firstly, a correct, adequate “translation” of the statements and answers of the discussion participants into the language of the categories and concepts of the problem under discussion is required. Secondly, it is advisable to determine the degree of consistency of the opinions of the respondents. Third, it is necessary to determine the extent to which the opinions, judgments and characteristics of the focus group participants are typical of consumers in the target market being studied.

The main advantages of the focus group method are as follows:

Opportunity for participants to express their opinions and generate ideas honestly and freely;

Manifestation of the “snowball” effect (a single comment from one of the participants leads to a chain of answers and statements from the rest);

Generating original ideas (it is during group discussions that the generation of interesting and useful opinions is achieved);

The ability to obtain information that cannot be acquired through more structured, formal research (for example, due to respondents’ refusal to take part in a survey).

The disadvantages of this method include the possible non-representativeness of the results, their rather subjective interpretation, as well as the relatively high cost per participant.

The use of modern communication technologies can significantly expand the range of use of focus groups to obtain primary marketing information (for example, by ensuring interaction between two groups located in different localities).

Observation

Observation is usually used in exploratory marketing research and is a method of collecting primary marketing information about the object being studied by observing selected groups of people, actions and situations.

In this case, observation is considered as a process that:

Pursues a specific research goal;

It proceeds systematically and systematically;

Serves not only to collect interesting facts, but also to develop generalizing judgments;

Subject to constant monitoring in terms of reliability and accuracy.

Compared to a survey, observation has its advantages:

Simplicity and low implementation costs;

Independence from the object’s desire to cooperate and its ability to verbally express the essence of the matter;

Ability to provide greater objectivity;

Possibility of perception of unconscious behavior;

Naturalness of the research setting.

Disadvantages of observation compared to survey:

It is difficult to ensure representativeness (for example, only visitors to the company’s office can be observed, a random sample of objects is impossible);

Subjectivity of the observer's perception;

The motives of consumer behavior, their interests and factors determining behavior are not taken into account;

It is impossible to unambiguously explain the behavior of the observed object;

The behavior of objects may differ from natural if observation is carried out in an open way (observation effect).

In marketing practice, various forms of observation are used, which can be classified as follows:

Depending on the nature of the environment, observation can be field (in a natural setting) and laboratory (in an artificially created situation). The advantage of the first form is the naturalness of the observed behavior, but the second allows you to maintain more stable observation conditions and use technical means;

According to the method of implementation, observation can be hidden (direct observation of the behavior of, say, clients in the office of a tourist enterprise) and open (assuming that people know that they are being watched);

Based on the degree of standardization, a distinction is made between standardized and free observation. Standardization involves coming up with certain categories of behavior and patterns of action. In a standard observation, the observer determines in advance what he will observe and record. All other types of behavior are not taken into account. In the process of free observation, the researcher records all types of behavior in the episode being studied;

According to the form of perception of an object, personal observation (carried out by non-visual observation) and non-personal observation (using instruments or by recording traces of behavior) are distinguished;

Based on the place of the observer, a distinction is made between observation with the direct participation of the researcher (participant observation) and observation from the outside.

Observation is carried out in accordance with a pre-developed plan, where the location is indicated; time, object of observation, methods of establishing the characteristics of the object, recording the results, etc.

For successful observations, certain conditions must be met. Firstly, these activities should be carried out in a relatively short period of time. Secondly, the observed processes and phenomena must be accessible. Thirdly, only behavior that is not based on frequently repeated, systematic activity should be observed.

In most cases, the observation method is used in conjunction with other methods. The data obtained in this way complements and controls each other. But often observation is the only way to obtain the necessary information.

Through observation, for example, it is revealed:

The interest of certain groups of visitors to exhibitions and fairs in the offers of certain companies;

Which stand or exposition at the exhibition attracts the most attention;

How long do pedestrians linger at a particular billboard;

The process of customer behavior when choosing services and making a purchase decision;

The most important characteristics of the services offered for the client, etc.

Observation of customer communication when purchasing tourist services has become widely used in tourism. For this purpose, hidden video cameras are often used, which record the actions of visitors while they are in the office of a tourist enterprise.

With this observation, the following indicators are analyzed:

How and how many times advertising materials are viewed and read;

What is the average time a client spends in the office;

What questions do visitors ask most often, etc.

Another practice used in the hotel business is to place its employees in a competing hotel to directly observe its practical activities. Tour operators also use the same approach. Their representatives can purchase a tour from a competing organization in order to evaluate the level of service, see customer reactions, and determine the positive and negative aspects of the trip organization. In the restaurant business, the role of observer-researchers can be performed by specially trained waiters (for example, to study customer reactions to new dishes).

The most effective form of studying the behavior, motivation and activity of tourists during travel is observation with the direct participation of the researcher (participant observation). At the same time, tourists should not know that they are the object of surveillance.

For example, a specially trained observer records the behavior and assessments of tourists during an excursion regarding the following factors:

Selection of places and objects to visit;

The guide's story and his behavior;

Transport provision and catering;

Duration of the excursion, etc.

Observation is a very labor-intensive method of obtaining information. Preparation of the results sometimes takes several times longer than the event itself.

Difficulties in conducting observations are divided into two types:

Subjective (related to the personality of the observer);

Objective (independent of the observer).

Subjective difficulties include:

The ability for an observer to understand and interpret the behavior and actions of other people through the prism of one’s own “I”, one’s own system of value orientations, as well as the emotional coloring of human perception;

The inevitability of the influence of the researcher’s past experience on the results of observation.

Objective difficulties are determined mainly by the limited time of observation and the time of the event. In addition, not all factors of interest can be directly observed.

Experiment

Decisions in marketing can be defined as the evaluation and selection of alternatives in terms of their contribution to achieving goals. To make decisions, it is necessary to have information about the expected success of individual alternatives. Such information can be obtained through experiment.

An experiment is the manipulation of independent variables in order to determine their effect on dependent variables while maintaining control over the influence of other, not studied parameters. Independent variables (for example, prices, advertising costs, etc.) can be changed at the discretion of the experimenter. At the same time, dependent variables (sales volume, change in market share) are practically not within the scope of his direct control.

Experiments with one or more variables are distinguished. The first involves studying the impact of changes in one marketing factor on the sales, advertising and other activities of the company. Thus, an enterprise can assess how a reduction in the price of a tourism product will affect sales volume.

Experiments with several variables involve studying the dependence of changes in a firm's performance on the mutual effects and relationships of several marketing factors. Such studies are very complex, but they make it possible to measure and evaluate the impact on certain processes and phenomena not only of individual factors, but of their complex.

Experiments are divided into two groups:

Laboratory tests taking place in an artificial environment (for example, various tests of products, prices, advertising);

Field tests taking place in real conditions (for example, market tests).

When conducting laboratory experiments, certain artificial conditions are created to eliminate the influence of side factors. Thus, to assess customer reactions to various types of advertising, you can invite consumers representative in terms of gender, age, income levels, social status, etc. Laboratory experiments control for confounding factors and are also cheaper and less time-consuming to implement.

As an example, we present the results of an experimental study of the levels of memorization of advertising messages.

As can be seen from the figure, the proportion of consumers who retain an impression of an advertisement varies geometrically over time. However, the rate of decline in the ability to recall advertisements varies significantly depending on the individual components of the advertisement. Thus, the arguments underlying the advertising appeal are the least remembered. The ability to remember both the topic and the source and arguments of an advertising message drops sharply during the first week after its appearance. Consequently, the advertiser has a relatively short period of time to justify advertising costs, after which the advertising message requires repetition.

Field experiments take place in real conditions and do not exclude the influence of side factors. Moreover, the degree of this influence is almost impossible to take into account and evaluate. In addition, field experiments require a significant investment of time and money for their implementation.

Many types of field experiments are known as “test marketing.” The object of study when conducting test marketing is various markets, so this activity is often called market testing.

The following types of market testing are distinguished:

Standard;

Controlled.

In the process of standard testing, a tourism enterprise tests its products and other elements of the marketing mix through its own distribution channels. This type of testing is quite expensive. In addition, it cannot be called confidential.

Controlled market testing is carried out by specialized research firms.

One of the main disadvantages of market testing is the high cost of the experiment. In addition, the tested product becomes known to competitors. The latter can quickly offer a similar tourism product to the market and take a leading position. In addition, there is a certain time delay between conducting experiments and making marketing decisions, while this factor is decisive in many cases. Marketing policy

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Have you ever wondered why a manufacturer so easily guesses the desires of consumers, knows when to offer the right product and at a certain moment offers something completely new, but so necessary for every person? It's simple - the manufacturer studies its consumer, or rather, conducts it with the goal of being one step ahead of the buyer.

What is marketing research

If we give a clear and short explanation of what marketing research is, then it is the search for the necessary information, its collection and further analysis in any field of activity. For a broader definition, it is worth analyzing the main stages of the research, which sometimes lasts for years. But in the final version, this is the beginning and end of any marketing activity in an enterprise (product creation, promotion, line expansion, etc.). Before a product hits the shelves, marketers research consumers, first conducting initial information gathering and then desk research to draw the right conclusion and move in the right direction.

Research objectives

Before conducting research, you need to understand what problem the enterprise has or what strategic goals it wants to achieve in order to name it and understand how to find a solution, which means conducting desk research and field research, while initially setting certain tasks. In general terms, the following tasks are distinguished:

• Collection, processing and analysis of information.
• Market research: capacity, supply and demand.
• Assessing your capabilities and competitors.
• Analysis of manufactured goods or services.

All these tasks must be solved step by step. There will definitely be highly specialized or generalized questions. Depending on the task, those that go through certain stages will be selected.

Stages of marketing research

Despite the fact that marketing research is carried out frequently, and they are all different from each other, there is a certain plan that everyone should adhere to, which means conducting the study in stages. There are about 5 stages:

1. Identifying problems, formulating goals and finding a way to solve problems. This also includes setting tasks.
2. Selection to analyze and solve a problem using desk research. As a rule, companies, based on their data, can identify what problem they have and understand how to solve it without going out into the field.
3. If the existing data of the enterprise is not enough, and new information is needed, then it will be necessary to conduct field research, determining the volume, structure of the sample and, of course, the object of research. It is necessary to write about these two important stages in more detail.
4. After collecting the data, it is necessary to analyze it, first by structuring it, for example, in a table, to make the analysis easier.
5. The last stage is, as a rule, the conclusion drawn, which can be in a short form or in an expanded form. These can be both recommendations and wishes on what is best to do for the company. But the final conclusion is made by the head of the enterprise after reviewing the research.

Types of information collection for research

As mentioned above, there are two types of information collection, and you can use them both at once or choose just one. There are field research (or collection of primary information) and desk research (i.e. collection of secondary information). Every self-respecting enterprise, as a rule, conducts both field and desk collections of information, although a considerable budget is spent on this. But this approach allows you to collect more necessary data and draw more accurate conclusions.

Primary information and methods of its collection

Before you set out to collect information, you need to determine how much you need to collect and what method is best for solving the problem. The researcher participates directly himself and uses the following methods of collecting primary information:

• A survey is written, oral by telephone or via the Internet, when people are asked to answer several questions, choosing an option from those proposed or giving a detailed answer.
• Observation or analysis of people's behavior in a given situation in order to understand what motivates a person and why he performs such actions. But there is a drawback of this method - actions are not always analyzed correctly.
• Experiment - studying the dependence of some factors on others; when one factor changes, it is necessary to identify how it affects all other connecting factors

Methods for collecting primary information allow you to obtain data on the state of demand for a service or product at a certain time and place with individual consumers. Further, based on the data obtained, certain conclusions are drawn that can help solve the problem. If this is not enough, then it is worth conducting additional research or using several methods and types of research.

Desk research

Secondary information is already available data from various sources, on the basis of which an analysis can be made and certain results can be obtained. Moreover, the sources of their receipt can be both external and internal.

Internal data includes the data of the company itself, for example, turnover, statistics of purchases and expenses, sales volume, costs of raw materials, etc. - everything that the enterprise has must be used. Such desk marketing research sometimes helps to solve a problem where it was not visible and even find new ideas that can be implemented.

External sources of information are available to everyone. They can take the form of books and newspapers, publications of general statistical data, works of scientists on the achievement of something, reports on events held, and much more that may be of interest to a particular enterprise.

Pros and cons of collecting secondary information

The desk research method has its advantages and disadvantages, and therefore, when conducting research, it is recommended to use two types at once in order to obtain more complete information.

Advantages of obtaining secondary information:

• lower research costs (sometimes they only equal the time spent);
• if the research tasks are quite simple, and the question of creation is not raised, then, as a rule, secondary information is sufficient;
• quick collection of materials;
• obtaining information from several sources at once.

Disadvantages of obtaining secondary information:

• data from external sources is available to everyone, and competitors can easily use it;
• the information available is often general and not always suitable for a specific target audience;
• information quickly becomes outdated and may not be complete.

The most common methods for collecting primary information include surveys, questionnaires, expert methods, panels, focus groups, observations and experiments.

1. Survey- the main and most common method of obtaining primary marketing information (Table 3.2).

In the practice of tourism, it is of interest to conduct questionnaires on the beach, where almost complete return of questionnaires is achieved.

Advantage interview in comparison with other methods in tourism is that it is possible to reveal the socio-psychological mechanisms of the phenomena under study - the motivation and predisposition of tourists to tourist products and their prices, the reasons for dissatisfaction with the structure and quality of the services offered.

Table 3.2

Classification of surveys

2. Questionnaire development continues to remain, according to a number of experts, more of an art than a science, but a number of circumstances should be taken into account:

the effectiveness of conducting a survey depends on what questions are asked and in what sequence;

the form in which the question is posed greatly influences the answer;

the nature of the answers largely depends on the correct and unambiguous wording of the questions;

the questionnaire should be structured in such a way that its clear internal logic is visible.

The main questions in the questionnaire are divided into closed, open and semi-closed.

There are two types of closed questions: alternative (dichotomous); with a selective response (multiple-choice).

Alternative question involves choosing from two answer options such as “yes” or “no”.

Multiple choice question involves choosing from three or more answer options. To ask such questions, use measurement scales: nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio scale.

Nominal scale represents a simple listing of answer options, without any ordering or comparison. For example: lack of interest; high price; limited choice; lack of awareness.

Ordinal scale(rank) consists of categories that differ from each other by conventional concepts or qualitative characteristics.

For example, answer the question whether you will use the services of this company next time:

Yes......................................

probably yes....................

probably not......

No....................................

Interval scale consists of numerical values ​​that can be physically measured.

In this case, indicate what funds you spent on sports services during your stay at the resort:

less than $50...................

from 50 to 100 dollars............

from 100 to 150 dollars.........

more than 150 dollars................

Relationship scale assumes the presence of a natural, or absolute, zero. Using this scale, you can make a quantitative comparison of the results obtained. The following are most often used to formulate closed questions: Likert scale; semantic differential; Stapel scale; mnemonic scale.

A 5-point scale is often used as a Likert scale, for example: “strongly agree”; "agree"; “I can’t say”; “disagree”; “I completely disagree.”

The question: “Indicate whether you are satisfied with the state of service in the hotel according to the following indicators” can be answered on a Likert scale (Table 3.3). Circle the number that represents your level of agreement.

Table 3.3

Likert scale example

Based on the database obtained as a result of processing answers to similar questions, it is possible to analyze the profile of two or more travel companies, presented in Table. 3.4.

Table 3.4

Results of a comparative assessment of the work of two hotels

Index
Quality of tourism products
Location
Working hours
Variety of additional services
Qualification personnel
Relationships between staff and clients

Semantic differential is a series of polar characteristics, and the scale consists of a large number of antonyms (“bad” - “good”, “convenient” - “inconvenient”, “useful” - “useless”, “like” - “dislike”, etc. .). Circle the point number that corresponds to your opinion.

Table 3.5

An example of a semantic differential for rating restaurants in points

service								Slow service
Traditional								Vanguard
Good kitchen								Bad kitchen
Famous								Little known
Luxuriously furnished								Poorly equipped
Convenient location								Inconvenient location

The Stapel scale is a modification of the semantic differential.

Example. Based on table 3.6 indicate how accurately each statement describes the travel agency. It is necessary to select numbers with a plus sign for statements that characterize the travel agency, and numbers with a minus sign for indicators that do not correspond to this company.

Example of Stapel scale

Table 3.6

Mnemonic hand-drawn scales are used both to facilitate the formulation of answer options to questions and to simplify the choice of answer by respondents (Fig. 3.1).

The pictures clearly show the reaction of respondents to a particular question.

Open questions they do not impose one answer or another, do not contain hints and are designed to receive an unformalized opinion. In this case, processing the results turns out to be more complex (Table 3.7).

Half-closed questions in addition to a certain number of answer options, they contain the position “other - please indicate which one”. This will enable the respondent to supplement the answer that was not previously provided in the questionnaire. Semi-closed questions are useful when conducting marketing research regarding the effectiveness of advertising of tourist centers, helping to generate ideas regarding the most successful definitions, keywords and characteristics that can be used in shaping the image of travel agencies.

Table 3.7

Types of open questions

	The essence of the question
Unstructured question	Allows any verbal form of response	What is your opinion about firm A?
verbal associations	Individual words are called to the respondent in order to clarify the associations that arise in him	What associations does Company A evoke in you?
Completion offers	Suggested completion of unfinished sentence	I use travel agency A because...
Completion story	It is proposed to complete the unfinished story	You visited the office of travel agency A, and it gave you the following feelings...
Completion	The respondent is asked to imagine himself in the place of one of the characters in a usually humorous drawing and, on his behalf, to write his own opinion on the drawing.	The picture shows two interlocutors. One says: “I will use the services of travel agency A.” Imagine yourself in the shoes of another interlocutor. What would you say in response?
Thematic apperception test	It is proposed to come up with a story based on the proposed picture.

Control questions designed to verify the accuracy of the data obtained.

For example, let the main question be: “What characteristics of the services offered by the company most satisfied you?” A security question could be: “Have you used the services of the company?”

3. Expert assessments. A special place among expert methods is occupied by expert assessments based on the foresight and intuition of qualified specialists (experts).

Expert assessment is called the average characteristic of opinions expressed by a group of competent specialists about any phenomenon, provided that their views are similar.

Expert assessments are practically the only source of marketing information when forecasting the market situation (when there is insufficient statistical data), when justifying (together with other methods) the adoption of optimal marketing decisions in conditions of market uncertainty. The main requirements for experts are: competence, interest in participation, efficiency and objectivity

There are several methods for obtaining information from experts.

Delphi method. The essence of this method is to develop consensus opinions by repeating the survey of the same experts many times (usually 3 - 4 times). After each round of surveys, the results are summarized and reported to experts. As a result of such a procedure, an agreed assessment is developed.

Brain attack. This method is based on the collective generation of ideas. Based on uncontrolled generation and spontaneous interweaving of expressed ideas, chains of associations arise that can lead to an unexpected solution to a problem.

Gordon method is that the participants are not given a specific task, but only need to outline the general side of the problem.

Group discussion method. This method involves the participation of people who have little or no knowledge of the problem. This sometimes makes it possible to obtain a large amount of new interesting information, non-standard and original ideas.

Synectics method. It consists of attracting specialists from different fields of activity; As a result of the discussion, the selection and elimination of ideas that have not withstood criticism occurs, and a real idea that has received the support of the majority is adopted.

4. Panels. They represent a population of interviewed individuals who are subject to repeated surveys. According to American practice, a panel means a jury list and has the following main features:

permanent subject of research;

systematic or periodic data collection;

a permanent set of research objects (individuals, families, households, enterprises).

The most common is the consumer panel. Using a survey on this panel, demographic, socio-economic data necessary for assessing the consumer basket are obtained. In traditional panel forms, respondents are asked to answer the same survey questions over and over again to ensure comparability of information when analyzing trends. Panel studies are also used in the marketing activities of tour operators, when they form a sample of regular customers, surveyed, as a rule, on the eve of the summer and winter seasons.

5. Focus group method- one of the most interesting and creative methods of collecting primary information (mostly qualitative). It is a carefully planned discussion on a specific topic in a relaxed atmosphere and is used to solve the following problems:

generating ideas (for example, for the development and improvement of tourism products);

studying requests, perceptions and attitudes towards the tourism product;

clarification of the colloquial vocabulary of the “consumer”, which may be useful during advertising campaigns when drawing up questionnaires.

Typically, the work of focus groups (the optimal composition is from 8 to 12 people) is recorded using audio-video means. The choice of specific focus group participants is determined by the purpose of the research being conducted. The main requirements for a focus group leader are:

professionalism and ability to learn quickly;

communication skills;

awareness of the subject of research; having a good memory to connect all statements; ability to quickly respond to the course of a discussion; tolerance for uncomfortable and harsh statements; ability for large-scale thinking, i.e. the ability to separate the important from the unimportant.

The disadvantages of the focus group method include: possible lack of representativeness (non-representativeness) of the results;

a rather subjective interpretation of the events and facts in question;

high cost per participant.

6. Observation usually used in exploratory marketing research and is a method of collecting primary information about the object being studied by observing selected groups of people, actions and situations. The advantages of monitoring include: simplicity and low implementation costs; independence from the object of observation; ensuring higher objectivity; the ability to perceive unconscious behavior; naturalness of the research setting.

Disadvantages of observation include: difficulty in ensuring representativeness; the subjectivity of the observer himself; impossibility of taking into account the motives of consumer behavior.

For successful observations, certain conditions must be met.

• 1. Activities should be carried out in a fairly short period of time.
• 2. Observable processes must be accessible.
• 3. Observations should be carried out on those consumers whose behavior is not based on frequently repeated systematic activity.

Observation of customer behavior when purchasing tourist services is widely used in tourism, for which hidden video cameras are used to record the actions of visitors in the office of a travel agency.

In a restaurant, specially trained waiters can play the role of observers. The same thing happens during tourist trips.

7. Experiment- this is the manipulation of independent variables (price, advertising costs, etc.) in order to determine their influence on dependent variables (sales volume, change in market share) while maintaining control over the influence of other parameters not currently being studied. Experiments are divided into two groups: laboratory, conducted in an artificial environment (for example, various tests on products, prices, advertising);

field, conducted in real conditions (for example, market test), sometimes called test marketing.

The system for collecting primary information provides for special marketing research. Their goal is to obtain additional data related to solving specific marketing problems. It should be noted here that creating a system for collecting primary information is not always available to many small enterprises. In this case, they turn to companies that specialize in performing this type of work for help. This is significantly cheaper than maintaining your own research staff at the enterprise. Larger enterprises often collect primary marketing information themselves.

The main methods for collecting primary marketing data are:

Observation;

Experiment;

Simulation modeling.

The survey allows us to identify the system of preferences that the target market of consumers focuses on when choosing certain tourism products, evaluating various forms of service, and accessing the services of various companies. This is the most common data collection method in marketing. It is used in approximately 90% of studies.

The survey is based on an oral or written appeal to consumers and employees of the company with questions, the content of which represents the research problem.

Depending on the degree of coverage of potential buyers, surveys can be continuous or selective.

Complete research can be carried out, for example, among visitors to a company or its stand at exhibition events.

In practice, the number of potential clients is usually large, which makes it impossible to conduct continuous surveys. In this regard, the most acceptable are sample surveys, the essence of which is that a part of the entire population being studied is surveyed, selected by special scientifically based techniques. If a sample population sufficiently fully reflects the properties of the general population, it is called representative.

A special role in marketing when conducting sample surveys is given to the method of so-called focus groups.

In marketing practice, two main forms of surveys are used: questionnaires and interviews.

During a survey, the respondent himself answers questions in writing, in the presence of the questionnaire or without him. Depending on the form, it can be individual or group. In the latter case, in a short time it is possible to interview a large number of people (for example, an enterprise team, a student group). Questioning can also be done in person or by correspondence. The most common form of the latter is a postal survey. In its most general form, it consists of sending out questionnaires and receiving responses to them by mail.

Interviewing as a form of survey involves personal communication with the respondent, in which the interviewer himself asks questions and records the answers. According to the form of conduct, it can be direct (personal) and indirect (for example, by telephone).

Personal interviews allow you to implement flexible survey tactics and supplement your answers with observations from the interviewer. The reliability of the information received is quite high. Disadvantages include high cost and duration, the likelihood of the interviewer influencing the opinions of respondents, and the need for special training of interviewers.

If you need to get answers to a few and simple questions as quickly as possible, you can use a telephone interview. It is often used when conducting preliminary research that provides information for subsequent personal interviews. The advantages of a telephone interview are speed and high efficiency (80-90% of respondents agree to answer questions), as well as insignificant expenditure of time and money. At the same time, the lack of personal contact with the interviewee often makes the interviewer's job more difficult.

Thus, a survey as a method of obtaining primary marketing information can be carried out in various forms and varieties. The evaluation criteria for choosing one or another of them are given in Table 4.4.

A peculiarity of a survey as a method of collecting primary marketing information is a fairly high degree of refusal of respondents to participate in the study. Two groups of reasons for refusal can be distinguished. The first is associated with certain generalized feelings of suspicion and the desire not to allow anyone into your personal life. A certain category of people does not want to participate in any surveys. The second is determined by the specific circumstances of a particular survey. For example, some respondents do not want to discuss certain topics. The survey form chosen also influences the level of willingness to participate in the survey. Thus, people find it more difficult to refuse to participate in a personal interview than in a mail survey. Typically, methods are used to stimulate the desire to participate in the study by providing small gifts (pens, key rings, lighters, promotional items, etc.).

The accuracy of the results of a survey conducted in any form depends largely on the quality of the instrument (questionnaire or interview form).

A questionnaire (or questionnaire) is a system of questions united by a single research plan aimed at identifying the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the object and subject of research.

When compiling a questionnaire, a number of circumstances should be taken into account:

The effectiveness of conducting a survey depends on what questions are asked, in what sequence, and what possible answer options are included in them. All issues should be analyzed for their relevance and feasibility;

The form of the question greatly influences the answer;

The questionnaire should be structured in such a way that its clear internal logic is visible.

The first page of the questionnaire always contains an introductory part. It indicates who is conducting the survey; what is the purpose of the survey; Instructions are given for filling out the questionnaire. The introductory part should emphasize a respectful attitude towards the respondents and create a desire in them to answer questions.

Next in the questionnaire are contact questions. Their task is to interest the interlocutor, introduce them to the problems being studied, and “warm up” the respondents. These questions are relatively simple, easy to answer. They must convince respondents that they can fully cope with answering the survey questions. The contact question could be formulated, for example, as follows: “Do you like to travel? ".

Each assigned task must correspond to a block of basic questions, which can be divided into closed and open.

Closed-ended questions require choosing answers from a full set of options given in the questionnaire.

Open questions, unlike closed ones, do not contain hints, do not “impose” one option or another, but are designed to receive informal (non-standard) answers. In this case, processing the results seems more complicated. However, posing open questions in some cases turns out to be preferable, since the possible discovery of an unexpected solution in this case is able to fully compensate for the costs.

A special role in the questionnaire belongs to control questions. Their purpose is to check the reliability of the data. Let’s say the main question is: “What characteristics of the services offered by the company most satisfied you? “A security question could be of the following type: “Have you used the services of the company? ". Comparison of answers to these questions provides information about the sincerity of the interviewee - It must be emphasized that the control question should never follow the question to which he controls the answer. This is due to the fact that the respondent’s answer to each subsequent question is influenced by the content and answer to the previous one.

When constructing a questionnaire, one should also take into account the fact that the most difficult questions that require analysis, reflection, and memory activation are placed in the middle of the questionnaire. By the end of working with the questionnaire, the difficulty of the questions should decrease.

The questionnaire ends with final questions. Their goal is to relieve the respondent’s psychological stress (for example, “Did our conversation tire you?”). The last section of the questionnaire also includes questions to determine the socio-demographic portrait of respondents (gender, age, place of residence, social status, education, income level, etc.). At the end of the questionnaire, you should definitely express your gratitude to the respondent for participating in the study.

The following methods are used to collect primary information:

quantitative and qualitative surveys;

panel studies (a special type of survey);

observation;

experiments;

expert assessments.

1. A survey is an appeal to respondents with questions, the answers to which are of interest to the researcher.

Depending on the nature of the information the researcher is interested in, all surveys are divided into quantitative and qualitative .

Quantitative surveys in most cases are structured, i.e. All respondents answer the same questions and are based on obtaining information from a large number of respondents.

Depending on the method of communication with respondents, their divided into 4 types:

Telephone surveys.

Oral or personal interviews.

Postal surveys (written).

Electronic surveys.

Quantitative survey methods are not mutually exclusive. They are often used complementarily.

Qualitative survey methods involve collecting information using a special weakly structured or unstructured, free technique (when the interviewer asks questions depending on the answers received) and are based on a small sample size.

Qualitative methods are focused on identifying underlying motives, rational and irrational reasons for respondents’ behavior, and their perception of individual events or objects. Indispensable in exploratory research, when it is necessary to understand the causes of a phenomenon and build hypotheses Qualitative survey methods are divided into indirect and direct depending on whether the respondent knows the true purpose of the study.

The direct approach to research is not disguised by the researcher. Respondents are told the purpose of the study, or it becomes obvious from the questions asked (focus groups, in-depth interviews).

In the indirect approach, respondents are not informed of the purpose of the study (projection methods).

There are the following types of qualitative survey methods:

• a) a focus group is an unstructured personal interview that a specially trained facilitator (moderator) takes from a small group of respondents formed in accordance with specified criteria.
• b) in-depth interview - an unstructured, direct, personal interview during which the interviewer questions one respondent in order to determine his basic motives, emotions, attitudes, beliefs and feelings on a certain topic. In other words, this is a face-to-face interview using probing techniques - asking questions.
• c) protocol analysis - the essence of the method is to place the respondent in a certain situation in which he must make a decision. In this case, the respondent must verbally describe all the facts and arguments that influenced his choice. All reasoning and proposed actions are recorded by him in chronological order in the protocol.

The use of the method is advisable when analyzing decisions whose making time is either long (purchase of pre-selection goods) or too short (purchase of impulse goods);

• d) projection methods are unstructured indirect survey methods based on special techniques that encourage the respondent to express their hidden motives, beliefs, attitudes, and feelings regarding the problem being discussed. When using projection methods, the respondent is placed in a specific simulated situation in the hope that he will express information about himself that cannot be obtained in any other way. Moreover, the more ambiguous the situation, the more clearly the emotions are expressed and the more accurate the information).
• 2. Panel research is the repeated collection of data from the same group of people at regular intervals, and usually the subject and topic of the study are constant.

The panel itself is a group of respondents, which is a representative sample of objects in the general population, which regularly provides the researcher with information. Information from respondents can be obtained in various ways: through filling out questionnaires; interview; filling out diaries, combining all methods.

Panel classification usually occurs according to signs :

By lifetime panels are divided on the:

short-term(no more than a year);

long-term(up to five years).

According to the composition of respondents (population units) in highlight:

consumer goods anels (individuals or households);

trading panels(wholesale and retail trade enterprises);

production(Industrial enterprises, institutions);

panels of specialists(doctors and other professionals).

Based on the nature of the problems being studied, the following are distinguished:

T radiation panels, which consist of respondents surveyed regularly with a certain frequency (answering the same questions).

non-traditional panels interviewed irregularly for different research purposes.

Panels use to solve the following problems:

identifying purchasing habits, purchasing rules, and main trends in consumer preferences;

identifying ongoing changes in the behavior of consumers (respondents) under the influence of the external environment.

3. Observation is the process of third-party registration by the researcher of behavioral patterns of subjects, certain processes and events that can be detected by the senses (the method is based on visual and auditory perception).

A characteristic feature of observation is that the researcher does not question or come into contact with the people being observed.

The subject of observation can be the properties and behavior of individuals (buyers, sellers, competitors) and features of processes (purchase of goods, use of devices, etc.).

According to the degree of standardization distinguish:

structured observation - the researcher determines in advance the object of observation, as well as methods for assessing the results of observation.

unstructured surveillance involves recording all events related to the object of observation, without their preliminary clarification. Registers everything that, from the researcher’s point of view, may relate to the subject of research.

According to the degree of openness of the process, they are distinguished:

hidden observation - respondents do not know that they have become the object of observation. At the same time, they behave in a natural way and are not inclined to change their behavior.

open observation - respondents know that they are being observed. Experts disagree on the extent to which the presence of an observer influences the respondent's behavior.

By method of implementation observations are:

personal observation - observation in which the researcher personally records all events occurring with the object as they occur.

surveillance using technical means - observation, during which the results are recorded by technical means.

Observation is used when you need to get information:

directly during the process, event, for example, the process of choosing a product by the buyer;

in order to form a preliminary idea about the object (nothing is known at the beginning of the study);

to confirm data obtained using other methods, for example, during a survey, a respondent says one thing but does something else.

4. Experiment - a method of collecting primary information through the active intervention of a researcher in certain processes in order to establish a relationship between events.

The object of research is most often consumers, the subject of research is their reaction to marketing tools.

During the experiment, the researcher seeks to identify cause-and-effect relationships between events, in other words, to determine how the independent variable influences the dependent variable. The independent variable is usually the elements of the marketing mix, the dependent variables are sales volume, profit, consumer attitudes, etc.

Experiment conditions:

only one independent variable is subject to change, the rest are fixed;

the external conditions of the experiment must be stable;

The period of the experiment must be sufficient to obtain reliable results.

Depending on the conditions of conduct, experiments are classified into:

laboratory - experiments in artificially created conditions in accordance with specified requirements;

field - experiments conducted in natural - real market conditions.

Experiments apply when it is necessary to justify marketing decisions on introducing new products to the market, on pricing, advertising messages, etc.

5. Expert assessments

Expert assessments are a method of collecting information based on interviews with people who are well versed in the subject of research, who express their individual or consensus opinion on any problem. Expert assessments are classified as heuristic methods, because they are based on the use of experience, knowledge and intuition of experts. Experts can be scientists, business managers, wholesale and retail traders, sales managers, other specialists - librarians, doctors, etc. This method of collecting information is subjective, therefore, to obtain information of the required quality, it is important to involve independent people who are sufficiently competent in the subject matter being studied. problem of specialists. In order to reduce the risk of subjectivity in individual assessments, groups of experts are used to discuss different opinions and come to an agreement.

So, expert assessments may be based using the methods of individual expert analysis, collective interaction and mixed discussion.

Individual expert methods involve individual work of an expert without interaction with other specialists. Within this group, the following methods of collecting information are distinguished:

Method of analytical notes involves independent work by an expert to analyze the problem, possible ways to solve it and present his conclusions in the form of an expert opinion. A variation of the method is, for example, commodity examination.

Expert interview method consists of conducting a conversation with an expert in accordance with the objectives of the study.

Scripting method used in forecasting studies to describe a dynamic model of the future, which describes the possible course of events, indicating the probabilities of their implementation. The scenario describes key environmental factors (causal factors) that can influence the event being studied, indicates the ways in which these factors influence and the consequences of the influence.

Collective expert methods involve the work of an expert in a team. The most well-known methods of group expert assessments are the Delphi method and the brainstorming method.

Delphi method. The essence of the method is that anonymous responses from experts to certain questions are collected over several stages and, through the experts’ familiarization with the intermediate results, a group assessment of the event of interest is obtained.

Brainstorming method"is considered more efficient than the Delphi method. It is usually used when discussing hotly debated issues on which there is a significant range of expert opinions. It is sometimes called the “idea generation” method.