Marketing Metrics & Buyer Behaviour
Research Outcomes 2007
Head: Professor Malcolm Wright
This is the core research group of the Institute, involving most researchers. The work on uncovering law-like patterns in buyer behaviour (and the marketing metrics that reflect this behaviour) is probably what the Institute is most known for. At the behest of our Advisory Boards we began work in 2007 on a book (“How Brands Grow”) covering this work, and its implications for marketing practice. We expect publication in late 2008.
This was also a significant year for the group as we released, to our corporate members, a comprehensive analysis of marketing’s famous ‘Pareto Law’. While we confirmed the existence of the Pareto principle, we have overturned the folklore that it involves a ratio of 80:20.
We produced important findings in the area of purchase intentions and 11-point probability scales, demonstrating that these are, in fact, unbiased measures when used correctly. Our preliminary academic results were published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and we plan to combine these with other new research in reports for our members in 2008.
Other significant activities in 2007 include:
- the ongoing development and use of our new metric for latent-loyalty, derived from the beta-binomial distribution;
- involvement in the corporate reports on measuring brand equity and analysing price promotions, (as discussed elsewhere);
- the extension of our NBD-estimation software to provide
benchmarks for period-to-period repeat purchase by Heavy, Medium
and Light buyers.
Finally, we were pleased in 2007 to recruit Professor Malcolm Wright to a full-time position in Adelaide, and he has taken on the leadership of this group.