In this glossary, the most important market research terms from this database and the textbooks are simply explained
In market research, different scales are used to capture consumers’ opinions, attitudes and behaviors. The different characteristics are: Nominal scale: This scale is used to categorize characteristics without indicating a ranking or spacing between categories. An example of this would be the question about gender (male, female, other).
Ordinal scale: In this scale, characteristics are arranged according to their order or ranking, but without quantifying exact distances between categories. An example of this would be rating customer satisfaction on a scale of “very dissatisfied,” “dissatisfied,” “neutral,” “satisfied,” and “very satisfied.”
Interval scale: This scale allows the measurement of intervals between characteristic values and has a fixed unit, but no absolute zero. An example of this would be a rating scale of 1 to 10.
Ratio scale: This scale is similar to the interval scale, but contains an absolute zero representing both an absence and a quantitative value. Examples would be scales measuring weight or sales.
Sensory testing measures the characteristics of products such as taste, odour, appearance, texture and sometimes sound. These tests are an important component of product development and marketing strategy to ensure that products meet consumer expectations and are successful in the marketplace.
To ensure this, test persons are given samples of the product and asked to rate their reactions to the sensory characteristics. This can be done through ratings on scales or verbal descriptions.
Controlled test conditions, such as the temperature of food, are important in this context. Sensory studios are therefore the ideal environment for such studies. They ensure that the products are always tested under the same conditions (e.g. portion size, uniform consistency and temperature).
Social media monitoring software is a tool designed to collect, analyze and monitor information from social media. It allows companies, organizations or individuals to track activity on social networks to gain insights into opinions, sentiments, trends and other relevant information about their brand, products, competitors or specific topics.
The main role of social media monitoring software is to monitor and analyze social media content and activity. This includes tracking mentions of their own brand or company, identifying relevant hashtags and trending topics, analyzing consumer opinions and sentiments, gathering competitive intelligence, and capturing general trends in social media.