New Features :

• An excellent continuing case throughout the book illustrates concepts using a realistic example. The Santa Fe Grill case centers on two college students opening their own business and now includes a competitive restaurant, Jose's Southwestern Café. The addition of a competitor enables students to make comparisons of customer experiences in each of the two restaurants and to apply their research findings in devising the most effective marketing strategies for the Santa Fe Grill.
• A new feature, The Marketing Research Dashboard, has been included in all chapters. One or more discussion boxes were added in each chapter that focus on timely, thought-provoking issues in marketing research. Examples of topics covered include ethics, privacy and online data collection, particularly click stream analysis, the role of Twitter in marketing research, and improving students' critical thinking skills.
• The Second Edition of Essentials of Marketing Research offers a complete chapter on qualitative research that includes a sample report on a qualitative research project to help students better understand the differences in quantitative and qualitative reports.
• Coverage of quantitative data analysis is clearer and more extensive than in other texts. Specific step-by-step instructions are included on how to use SPSS software to execute data analysis for all statistical techniques. The Second Edition includes additional material on selecting the appropriate statistical technique and extensive coverage of interpreting data analysis findings.

Retained Features:

• The book extensively covers the proper techniques for conducting a literature review, emphasizing online resources (such as Google and Yahoo) familiar to students.
• This text strongly emphasizes the role of secondary data (both from within the firm as well as from external sources such as syndicated studies), particularly as part of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) strategy.
• Chapter 2 features extensive treatment of preparing research proposals, including examples.
• Marketing Research In Action boxes allow students to understand how marketing research is applied in businesses today. The topic of each Marketing Research in Action is set up in the introductory vignette and then revisited just before the Summary, allowing the information to “bookend” each chapter.
• A Closer Look at Research boxes (1-2 per chapter) come in three varieties—Using Technology, Small Business Implications, and In the Field—and are intended to expose students to real-world issues.
• Ethics boxes (1-2 per chapter) make students aware of the ethical issues that face managers charged with carrying out market research.
• Global Insights (1 per chapter) direct students toward the global implications of, and opportunities for, marketing research.
• Marginal Definitions (10-12 per chapter) reinforce the definitions provided in the narrative and make reviewing for exams easier.
• Experience the Internet exercises (1-2 per chapter), which are a part of the end-of-chapter questions, give students hands-on experience in using the Web for marketing research.