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Posted by Randy Hill on June 30, 1998 at 10:25:40:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Banner Ad / Online Survey Combinations posted by Mike Curtis on June 29, 1998 at 15:31:44:
Mike,
First let me say that I agree with you in principle. There is no known probability of participation, and this type of survey lacks external validity. And so obviously we can't generalize the results, make inferences, etc., but what I find interesting is that for so many years - long before current scientific methods were employed in the marketing research field - marketers "got by" just fine with this type of surveying.
I remember when my dad, who was in marketing and finance before getting into construction management, would talk about how they discovered markets using the old 40s and 50s economic models, which are SO aggregated as to appear to have no relevance other than predicting either a complete industry or entire economy. They would also simply talk to the average guy on the street to uncover new ideas, product changes and enhancements, etc. Neither of these methods have external validity or inferential probablities. But how did these guys figure out how to market to more and more niche areas before the advent of the current scientific method? Luck? Intuition? These methods are certainly not scientific!
Don't get me wrong - I am definitely a scientific-method-kinda-guy. However, I do feel sometimes, that in our search for the "absolute truth", we miss what might point to a "creative truth", and after all, isn't that what marketing really is?
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Banner Ad / Online Survey Combinations