ABSTRACT AN ANALYSIS OF THE DECISION PROCESS UTILIZED BY LONG DISTANCE MOBILE FAMILIES IN SELECTING NEW SOURCES OF SUPPLY FOR GOODS AND SERVICES by James E. Bell, Jr. Data compiled since 1948 reveal that each year ap- proximately twenty per cent of the nation's population moves from one place of residence to another. Nearly 37 million persons living in the United States in March, 1966, had been living at a different address in March, 1965. The Bureau of Census classification of movers indicates that nearly one—third of all moves take individuals into a different county. The long distance or inter-county mover group included over twelve million individuals in the 1965 to 1966 period. After completing a long distance move mobiles are faced with rebuilding sources of supply for family goods and services. The research was devoted to an investiga- tion and analysis of the decision process by which family suppliers were chosen from among competing institutions upon completion of a long distance move. The research investigated the following supply areas: food, clothing, James E. Bell, Jr. beauty parlor services, dry cleaning, furniture, appli- ances, insurance, financial institutions and medical ser— vices. Hypotheses for the research covered the following areas: 1. The differences between each purchase category pertaining to information sources used, family decision responsibility, time taken to select suppliers and number of potential suppliers visited. 2. Investigation of the impact socio-economic factors have upon the division of decision re- sponsibility within families and upon the in- formation sources used to select suppliers. 3. Effect education and past moves have upon the time taken to select new suppliers. Comprehensive interviews were held with housewives in 147 families. Housewives contacted had been in the community an average of twenty-three weeks. The sample was drawn from among the long distance mobile families moving into a standard metropolitan statistical area April through July, 1966. Data were analyied using a chi-square computer program. Research findings indicated that: 1. Mobiles are an identifiable, homogeneous market segment. The mobile family is typically posi- tioned early in the life cycle, possesses above average income and education. The household head is generally employed in the managerial or professional occupational categories. 2. Mobiles exhibited distinct patterns in rebuilding shopping habits in each purchase category inves- tigated. Personal information tended to be used most frequently in selecting suppliers. James E. Bell, Jr. A division was found within each family of the re- sponsibility for selecting family suppliers. The number of potential suppliers contacted be- fore choosing a supplier varied depending upon the nature of the good or service being acquired. 3. Mobiles exhibited a tendency to carry-over brand and store loyalty from one community to another. Credit played a major role in tying consumers to Specific firms and locally owned firms initially received little patronage from the mobile families. 4. Within ten weeks of arrival mobiles had rebuilt sources of supply for family needs. The time taken to acquire new suppliers varied from an al- most immediate selection of supermarkets and banks to nine weeks to select dentists and sources of supply for women's clothing. Developing a program aimed at mobiles requires an evaluation of alternative uses of promotional funds. Pro- grams designed for the mobile market may be directed at specific family decision makers, timed for maximum ef- ficiency, and adjusted to meet changes in the market. The usefulness of identifying the mobile market is en- hanced by the ease with which the location, size and af- fluence of the market may be measured. Deve10ping a pro- gram to aid consumers in rebuilding shopping patterns would appear to offer significant potential for market development Opportunities in most areas of consumer goods and services. AN ANALYSIS OF THE DECISION PROCESS UTILIZED BY LONG DISTANCE MOBILE FAMILIES IN SELECTING NEW SOURCES OF SUPPLY FOR GOODS AND SERVICES bfi. .90 James EfiyBell, Jr. A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Department of Marketing and Transportation Administration 1967 COpyright by JAMES E. BELL, JR. 1967 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Completion of the work presents an Opportunity to express sincere appreciation for the academic guidance and financial support which made the work possible. Academically, the Chairman of the Committee which guided the research, Dr. Bernard J. LaLonde, has contributed substantitally to the final work. The many insights which Dr. LaLonde provided have been a great help in completing the research. As Chairman, Dr. LaLonde gave freely of both time and ideas as the research moved from a proposal to completion. The contributions of Dr. LaLonde are sincerely appreicated. The other members of the research committee, Dr. E. Jerome McCarthy and Dr. Paul E. Smith each made substantial contributions to the work. In particular, the review Dr. McCarthy provided of the first draft provided the basis for several needed improvements in the content and struc- ture of the final report. Dr. Smith was particularly help- ful in offering suggestions on the areas which the research should cover and in providing added guidance in conversa- tions as the work progressed. Initial guidance for the research was provided through a conversation with the late Dr. E. A. Brand, Coordinator of the Food Marketing Program at Michigan State University for many years. The warm relationship enjoyed with Dr. Brand over a number of years has made the graduate education experience much more meaningful. Financially the research undertaking was made pos- sible through scholarships received from three food industry firms: The Campbell Sales Company, Philip Morris, Inc., and The Sperry G Hutchinson Company. A full scholarship was re- ceived from the Sperry G Hutchinson Company, while partial scholarships were recieved from Philip Morris, Inc., and the Campbell Sales Company. The research could not have been carried out without the aid received from the food industry. Dr. Thomas A. Staudt, Chairman of the Department of Marketing and Transportation Administration, provided an opportunity to gain valuable teaching experience while en- rolled in graduate school. The aid and guidance of Dr. Staudt over a period of years are sincerely appreciated. In a very large part, numerous contacts with fellow graduate students aided the completion of the work. Ac- knowledgment of the help received is made to express sin- cere appreciation for many productive conversations. Dedicated to my father and mother for helping TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I PROBLEM DELINEATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Nature of the Problem . . . . 1 Background of the Problem . l Sc0pe of the Problem. . 3 Statement of the Problem. 6 Hypotheses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . 10 Contributions of the Study. . . . . . . . . 11 Limitations of the Study. . . . . . . . . . 14 Organization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 II THE MOBILE CONSUMER AND MARKETING DECISIONS . 17 Introduction. . . . . . . 17 The Concept of Market Segmentation. . . . . 18 The Mobile Market Segment . . . . . 21 Key Components of the Consumer Decision Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Information Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Decision Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Shopping Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 III RESEARCH DESIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Research Design Framework . . . . . . . . . 51 Sample Selection. . . . . . 58 Interviewer Selection and Procedures Used to Contact Sample Families . . . . . . 61 Analysis of Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Definitions of Terms. . . . . . . . . . . . 70 IV PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS. . . . . . . . . . . 73 Combined Supplier Selection Pattern . . . . 74 Influence of Two Variables: Length of Marriage and Age of Children Upon Decision Responsibility. . . . . . . . 83 Impact of Income and Occupation Upon Decision Making. . . . . . . . . 85 Selection of Information Sources by Mobile Consumers . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Chapter Page Impact of Education Level and Past Moves Upon the Time Taken to Select Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Other Research Findings . . . . . . . . . 97 Summary of Other Findings . . . . . . . . 107 V SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . 110 Evaluation of Hypotheses and Summary of Findings . . 110 The Homogeneity of Long Distance Mobiles. 122 A Managerial Strategy for Marketing to Mobile Families. . . . . . . 128 The Steps in Segmentation . . . . . . . 129 Strategies for Suppliers. . . . . . . 131 How the Average Family Rebuilt Sources of Supply in Ten Weeks After Moving. . . . . . . . . . . 160 A Particularly Important Market for Suppliers. . . . . . . . . . . 164 Tactics to be Used in Programs Aimed at Mobiles . . . . . . . 167 Impact of Mobility in the Future. . . . . 168 Suggested Areas for Further Research. . . 170 APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 APPENDIX A. Detailed Research Findings Pertaining Specifically to Chapter IV. . . . . . . 174 APPENDIX B. Family Contact Data, Research Questionnaire and Family Recall Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 APPENDIX C. Pre-Test of the Data Collection Instrument . . . . . . . . . 239 APPENDIX D. A Profile of the Sample . . . . . . . . 244 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 Figure 1 LIST OF FIGURES A Model of Selected Elements of Decision Making by Long Distance Mobiles. Selected Supply Area Chosen for Analysis Outline of the Research Thrust Flow Chart of Interview Procedures for the Mobile Families. “Procedure of Selecting Mobile Families to Pre-test Questionnaire Page 56 S7 57 66 Z43 Table 3-1 4-2 4-4 4-5 4-6 4-9 4-10 LIST OF TABLES Mobile Families Available for Interview by Month of Arrival Summary of Findings Pertaining to the Combined Supplier Selection Pattern of Mobile Consumers Reasons Given by Mobile Families for Selecting Initial and Favorite Suppliers in Each Purchase Category Reasons Given by Mobile Families for not Selecting the First Supplier as the Favorite Supplier in Three Purchase Categories Having Frequent Purchases. Influence of Trading Stamps on the Selection of Food Stores by Mobile Families . . . . How Trading Stamps Influenced 25 Families. Influence of Credit Upon Purchase Decision of Mobile Families Use of Transferred Charge Accounts. Use of Credit by Mobil Families Making 244 Furniture and Appliance Purchases Types of Suppliers at Which Mobile Families Opened New Charge Accounts After Moving. Impact of Previous Experience or Carryover Upon the Selection of Suppliers by Mobile Families. Usage of Medical Services Page 62 8O 98 101 102 102 103 104 105 106 107 157 Table 5-2 A-6 A-lO A-ll A-12 Page Sixty-Eight Families Selected Medical Services Based on Nonprofessional Sources . . . . . . . . . . 158 Summary of Information Sources Used - A11 Families . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Summary of Decision Making Responsibility - A11 Families . . . . . . . 178 Average Weeks Between Arrival and the Selection of Initial and/or Favorite Suppliers . . . . . . . . . 180 Average Number of Potential Suppliers Visited Prior to the Selection of a Favorite or Prime Supplier. . . . . . . . . 181 Average Years of Marriage of the Individua1(s) Responsible for Selecting Family Suppliers. . . . . . . . . 182 Comparison of Decision Responsibility of Wives with Children of Five Years Old and Under vs All Other Wives. . . . . . 184 Average Incomes of Families where the Decision Responsibility is Similar for Each Purchase Category. . . . . 185 Division of Decision Responsibility by Occupational Category. . . . . . . . . . 187 Information Sources Used by Families Selecting Suppliers Based on the Educational Level of the Household Head . . 189 Information Sources Used by Families Selecting Suppliers Based on the Educational Level of the Household Head . . 191 Information Sources Used to Select Suppliers by Families whose Household Heads are in Similar Occupational Categories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Average Income of Families by Type of Information Source Used in Selecting Suppliers for Various Purchase Categories . 195 Table A—13 A-14 A-lS A-16 D-6 Type of Information Source Used in Selecting Suppliers by Type of Dwelling Occupied by the Family. Average Weeks Taken to Select Suppliers by Families in which the Educational Level of the Household Heads are Comparable. . . . Average Weeks Taken to Select Suppliers by Families in which the Educational Level of the Housewives are Comparable. Average Weeks Taken to Select Prime Suppliers by Families who have made Long Distance bdoves in the Past Decade Occupation of Mobile Household Heads. Education of Mobile Household Heads and Wives . . . . Income of Mobile Family Households for 1966 Number of Moves of 50 Miles and Over Made by Mobile Families in the Past Decade. Summary of Socio-Economic Characteristics of 147 Mobile Families. Automobile Ownership and Usage. Page 197 199 201 203 245 246 247 248 248 249 CHAPTER I PROBLEM DELINEATION The primary objective of the research is to investi- gate the economic decision process by which geographically mobile consumers select new sources of supply for selected goods and services after completing a long distance move. Nature of the Problem Background of the Problem Data compiled since 1948 reveal that each year ap- proximately 20 per cent of the nation's pOpulation moves 1 ”Of the 190.2 from one place of residence to another. million persons, one year and older, living in the United States in March 1966, 36.7 million, or 19.3 per cent had been living at a different address in the United States in March 1965."2 The Bureau of Census classification of movers for the March 1965 to March 1966 period reveals that: (l) two-thirds of all the movers stayed within the same county, 1U. S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Re- ports, Series P-20, No. 156, "Mobility of the Population of the United States: March 1963 to March‘l966)" (Washing- ton, D.C., U. S. Government Printing Office, 1966), p. l. 2Ibid. (2) one-sixth of the movers moved to a different county within the same state, and (3) one-sixth of the movers moved to another state.1 The geographically mobile segment of the population is now larger than the entire Negro population. Bureau of Census projections for 1975 anticipate some 47 million pe0p1e will make a change in residence in that year. The estimate is based on a projected pOpulation of 226 million for the nation and a mobility rate of 20.8 per cent a year by 1975.2 Based on the classification of movers for March 1965 to March 1966, in 1975 some 15.6 million individuals are ex- pected to make long distance moves taking them outside the county in which they resided at the beginning of the year. Based on an average of 3.4 persons per household, 10.8 million households moved in the March, 1965 to March, 1966 period.3 Using the national mobility rate for 1948 to 1966 as a basis, all the occupants of the households in an "average" area would be eXpected to move within a five-year period. One study identifies the following socio-economic changes as the primary causes of the increased mobility of the United States population: 11bid. 2"Consumer Dynamics - Part II: The Movers," Proggessive Grocer, (November, 1965), pp. K37, K38. 3U. S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1966 (87th editionT} Washington, D.C., 1966, p. 35. 1. Geographic mobility has accounted for the rural to urban migration, the growth of the suburbs and in some cases the move back to the center city. 2. New industries, business mergers and transfers have resulted in the deve10pment of a group of affluent, mobile Americans who expect to move every few years. 3. The impact of the migration of the Negro to the North, the growing concern for civil rights and urban renewal programs have created another group of mobile peOple. 4. Increases in military and governmental personnel have also added to the impact of geographic mo- bility upon the economy. In a ten~year period, 1954 to 1964, the Bureau of Census found only one out of every four peOple stayed in the same residence.2 Scope of the Problem A change in residence creates a number of problems for a mobile family. One of the problems is associated with the selection of suppliers for goods and services in the area of the new residence. If a change in residence does not involve a long distance move the mobiles may retain many of the sources of supply used prior to the move. When mobiles are able to return to former suppliers the problems of adjusting to a new neighborhood may be eased. However, in long distance movessthe distance involved may make the 1"Consumer Dynamics," gp. cit., pp. K37, K38. zIbid. 3Chapter III has a section at the end defining terms pertaining Specifically to the study. cost of returning to former suppliers prohibitive. In such cases movers are faced with the problem of selecting new suppliers in the area of the new residence. After completing a long distance move, mobiles de- ciding to purchase goods or a service must also select a source of supply to fill the need. Within each family the shopping habits which were established in the prior community must be replaced by a new pattern formed through experience in the new community. The actual selection of apprOpriate suppliers in the area of the new residence is a learning process. In the process, the prior experience of the family, together with information gained on suppliers in the new area aid in the selection of apprOpriate suppliers. In selecting prime sources of supply from among a number of competing suppliers, the decision process must evaluate the relative merits of available suppliers in light of the needs, wants, and limita- tions of the family. New arrivals in a community must select suppliers in two distinct categories - goods and services. In selecting suppliers for specific types of goods, the presence of familiar chain outlets and recognizable brands of merchandise may ease the selection process. However, if newcomers find the chain outlet in the new community is substantially dif- ferent from the store patronized in the prior community, store loyalty cannot be transferred. Whether a chain outlet eases the store selection problem for the newcomer is related to the similarity of the chain outlet in the new community to the chain outlet patronized by the newcomer prior to moving. Mobiles are also faced with the responsibility of determining which firms carry familiar brands of merchandise in the area of the new residence. If the mobile consumer has specific brand preferences, suppliers may be selected in the new community based on the fact that some firms stock merchandise for which the consumer has a preference. How- ever, where similar items have wideSpread distribution, the decision to select a particular supplier may turn on other factors such as convenience, price, credit or service. In selecting SUppliers for goods, mobile consumers have available a vast array of information describing the local merchants and the offerings available in local stores. Such informa- tion may be of substantial help to the consumer in selecting appropriate suppliers. In selecting suppliers for services, the selection process is somewhat more complicated because in many cases a physical item is not involved. Perhaps the most difficult decision area is the professional service area. Here the breadth of impersonal advertising associated with various goods and non-professional services is prohibited by profes- sional ethics. In the non-professional service area, the mobile family is faced with the problem of judging the creditability of the various information cues available. Such judgments are of particular importance where a service is purchased in conjunction with a product representing a major expenditure for the family, for example, home remodel- ing. However, in areas where the service is relatively homogeneous, the decision to patronize a particular outlet may be made primarily on the basis of convenience. Thus the long distance mover is faced with the pro- blem of selecting suppliers for a host of goods and services after completing a long distance move. A micro-economic analysis of economic decision making by mobile consumers will be the focal point of the research. Statement of the Problem The research investigates the decision process by which family suppliers are chosen from competing institutions. The research also analyses the decision making process used in selecting suppliers for particular goods and services. The various information sources used by mobile consumers are also studied. Another area of the study investigates the division of decision responsibility within the family. Attention is also concentrated on how long mobiles take after arriving in a community to select suppliers in the categories under study, as well as how many suppliers are visited prior to the actual selection of one supplier. Specifically, the research is focused on the follow- ing questions: 1. What types of decisions do mobile consumers have to make in choosing suppliers after completing a move? 2. Within mobile families, where does the responsi- bility for selecting suppliers reside? 3. What are the information sources used by mobile consumers in choosing suppliers for selected goods and services? 4. How long after arriving in a community does it take mobile consumers to select favorite sources of supply in selected purchase categories? 5. How many potential suppliers are visited prior to the selection of favorite suppliers? 6. What is the impact of socio-economic factors and family life cycle upon the process by which mo- biles rebuild shOpping patterns? Hypotheses The fundamental premise of the research is that socio-economic and life cycle characteristics of mobile families influence the decision making process by which suppliers are chosen for selected goods and services. The research hypotheses are based on the premise that the dimensions of the decision processes of mobile families can be identified and analyzed. The research hypotheses cover five general areas of investigation: l. The combined supplier selection patterns of the mobile consumers under study do not vary between purchase categories.1 2. Life cycle variables do not significantly influ- ence the division of decision making responsibility within the family. A. The length of time a couple has been married does not significantly influence the divi- sion of decision making responsibility for choosing family suppliers. B. Wives with one or more pre-school age children, five years old and less, do not have signifi- cantly less responsibility for selecting suppliers than do wives in all other families. 3. Income and occupation do not significantly influ- ence the d1vision of decision making responsibility within the family. A. Income is not a significant factor in the division of decision responsibility within a mobile family. B. The occupation of the head of a mobile family is not a significant factor in 1The combined supplier selection pattern is comprised of four elements: (1) information sources used by families in selecting suppliers, (2) the individuals making the pur- chase decision in each category, (3) the time taken by mobile families to select new suppliers upon completion of a move and (4) the number of potential suppliers visited before a supplier is selected within a purchase category. determining the division of decision making responsibility within the family. 4. The mobile consumers as a group do not identify one information source which is used significantly more than others in each of the supplier cate- gories being investigated. A. There is not a significant relationship between the education of the head of a mobile family and the use of particular information sources in selecting suppliers. There is not a significant relationship between the education of a mobile housewife and the use of particular information sources in selecting suppliers. The occupation of the head of a mobile family is not a significant factor in determining the information sources used in selecting suppliers for family needs. The income of a mobile family is not a sig- nificant factor in determining the information source used in selecting suppliers. Whether a family resides in a one—family or a multi-family dwelling is not a significant factor 1n determining the information source used in selecting suppliers. 5. There is not a significant relationship between a family‘s education, or the number of moves a family 10 has made in the past decade, and the time taken to select new suppliers upon completion of a long distance move. Methodology A. There is not a significant relationship be- tween the educational level of the household head and the weeks taken to select favorite suppliers after completing a long distance move. There is not a significant relationship between the educational level of the house- wife and the weeks taken to select favorite suppliers after completing a long distance move. There is not a significant relationship be- tween the number of long distance moves a family has made in the past decade and the weeks taken to select prime suppliers after completing a long distance move. The research study is based upon personal interviews. with 147 long distance mobiles. The families participating in the research had all completed long distance moves into the metrOpolitan area studied. A local welcoming organization provided the list of names from which the sample was drawn. Interviews were confined to family units moving into the study area during 11 the period April, 1966 through July, 1966. A11 families interviewed were contacted by telephone and asked by a tele- phone interviewer to participate in the study. The home interviews were made by female interviewers hired and trained for the research. The average interview took forty- five minutes to complete. All interviews were made with the housewife in each mobile family. Upon completion of the interview period, which took place from ten to thirty weeks after the newcomers arrived in the community, data collected were transferred to punch cards and tabulated. Survey findings were subjected to statistical tests to prove or reject the research hypotheses. Contributions of the Study The primary contribution of the research is the de- ve10pment of a Specific body of knowledge on the decision processes of a large, unique and identifiable segment of the. consumer market. Communication of the information deveIOped to manufacturers and retailers selling in the consumer market will hopefully aid suppliers in adjusting market offerings to consumer needs. For the research study it is useful to regard market- ing as a process involving the flow of goods and services to the consumer, accompanied by parallel flows of informa- tion between the participants. Importantly, the long distance movers are a readily distinguishable segment of the total consumer market. Additional information recorded on the 12 mobile segment of the consumer market is aimed at increasing the productivity of both the participants in a market trans- action; the buyer and the seller. In particular, the use of the data obtained in the research will be of potential value to business organizations attempting to focus marketing programs on areas of consumer purchase similar to those in- vestigated during the research. Consumer behavior research has in the past been pri- marily concerned with the decision processes by which families decide to purchase one specific item or another, or one brand rather than another. This work will contribute to the existing knowledge by analyzing the decision process by which families select suppliers. The research iS also directed at determining if significant differences exist in the decision processes of families possessing differing socio-economic and life style characteristics. Three studies have been made on the mobile market which have particular relevance to the research. The first, based upon 148 long distance geographically mobile families, found the market segment to be easily identifiable and representative of a quality market when compared to the rest of the pOpulation. The research also found the segment has a higher level of education, income and occupational status than the rest of the pOpulation. Willingness to be mobile, having high aspirations and being relatively youth- ful were also found to be distinguishing characteristics of 13 the market.1 The second study in the area revealed that the pr0portion of mobile consumers making purchases of durable goods in a given year was close to fifty per cent 2 A third study greater than the prOportion of non movers. stressed that while mobiles have habits just as non movers, mobiles are psychologically as well as physically more pre- disposed to changes in environment than non movers.3 The concept of market segmentation, with which the research deals is aimed at separating distinguishable groups of customers to improve marketing efficiency. The research on a portion of the consumer market comprising nearly 13 million individuals is a further attempt to improve marketing productivity and effectiveness by gaining a deeper under- standing of consumer behavior. Research findings developed in the study are important to both manufacturers and retailers. To manufacturers the work offers valuable information of the learning process by which mobile consumers acquire new suppliers. Two prime areas of decision making for manufacturers are covered in the study; communications and distribution. Adequate market coverage by manufacturers 1Alan R. Andreasen, "Geographic Mobility and Market Segmentation," Journal of Marketing Research, III (Nov., 1966), pp. 341-345. 2L. R. Klein and J. B. Lansing, ”Decisions to Purchase Consumer Durable Goods,” The Journal of Marketing, XX (Oct., 1955), p. 111. 3"Consumer Dynamics,” gp. cit., pp. K38-K39. 14 may minimize the impact that a change in residence will have on family loyalty to brand or product. Through utili- zation of the information develOped on family decision making, manufacturers might better direct communications to the consumer market in general, and the mobile market in particular. To retailers Operating frOm a limited number of fixed locations the research offers a deeper understanding of the constant ferment taking place within individual market areas due to pOpulation mobility. The ferment, which presents a constant problem to suppliers Operating within particularly mobile market areas, also presents an opportunity to adjust merchandising policies to take advantage of the continual change in a firm‘s trading area. To manufacturers, pOpula- tion mobility may only mean familiar products are being purchased from different outlets. To the retailer, a change in residence may mean the loss of regular customers and necessitate a program designed to capture replacements. Limitations of the Study The limitations of the research are as follows: 1. The study was confined geographically to one metrOpolitan area. Only families moving into the area during four consecutive months, April through July, 1966 were included in the sample. 2. All families included in the sample were obtained from a list of names maintained by a local 15 welcoming organization. In gathering names of newcomers the organization utilized several dif- ferent sources. Primarily, the organization ob- tained names from public utilities. The survey is limited by the completeness of the lists main- tained by the COOperating organization. To be included in the research a family had to complete a long distance move into the metrOpolitan area under study from outside the three-county area comprising the community. In addition, the princi- pal county in which the research was conducted has three principal employers; a major university, the major sales and manufacturing facility of an automobile producer and numerous offices associated with a major governmental unit. While all university students were excluded from the sample, the families interviewed did reflect the dominant positions of the three major employers in the area. The research was conducted by interviewing only the housewives in the families. The answers re- ceived were dependent upon the recall ability of the housewife in each family. The research should be evaluated in light of the fact that only one visit was made per household and the sample did not include a cross section of the entire population. 16 Organization The remainder of the study is organized into four chapters. Chapter 11 presents a review of the literature relevant to the research tOpic area. A description of the research design used to collect the data is contained in Chapter 111. Chapter IV presents the research findings. Chapter V contains a summary of the research findings, an analysis of the nature of the mobile market segment, and details suggested strategies for marketing to mobiles. In addition, Chapter V contains suggested areas for further research. CHAPTER II THE MOBILE CONSUMER AND MARKETING DECISIONS Chapter II is devoted to a review of the research on consumer behavior pertaining to the concept of segmentation, the characteristics of the mobile market segment and factors important in understanding shopping behavior. The first section outlines the concept of market segmentation. The second covers the size of the mobile market and the third section details the socio-economic characteristics of long distance mobiles. In the third section, the work reviews the key areas of consumer behavior research pertaining to the selection of suppliers for family needs. Major areas of the review A in the section are concerned with the research that has been done on the key components of consumer decision theory specifically pertaining to the research on: (1) Information sources, (2) Decision making, and (3) ShOpping behavior. While research on how newcomers select suppliers after com- pleting a long distance move is limited, the review pinpoints 17 18 the key elements in the over-all decision process faced in selecting sources of supply. The Concept of Market Segmentation Since World War II, customer and market oriented firms have Stressed the renewal of the premise that busi- nesses Should Operate to benefit consumers as well as businessmen. The premise generally referred to as the marketing concept, is founded on the principle that business firms Should plan and organize business strategies based on a careful review of the needs, forces and Opportunities in the markets firms desire to service. Borch stressed that under the marketing concept the consumer becomes the fulcrum about which the business Operates for the balanced best in- terests of all concerned.1 The renewal of the marketing concept is based accord- ing to McNeal upon an understanding of consumer behavior.2 Implementation of the concept is dependent upon a transla- tion, by businessmen, of market knowledge into effective corporate strategies. In describing the managerial functions 1Fred J. Borch, "The Marketing Philosophy as a Way of Business Life,” ed. William Lazer and Eugene J. Kelley, Managerial Marketing: Perspectives and Viewpoints. omewood, 111. Richard D. Irwin, ’Inc. 1962. p. 15. 2James U. McNeal, ”Consumer Behavior - Introduction," Dimensions of Consumer Behavior, ed. James U. McNeal. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts, 1965. p. 7. 19 of marketing, Staudt stressed that market delineation, "the determination of potential purchasers and their identi- fying characteristics,“ is the first prerequisite for effec- tive marketing performance.1 A major area of deve10pment on consumer behavior has been concerned with attempts at segmentating the con- sumer market into various categories or subemarkets. The use of segmentation has facilitated the deve10pment of marketing strategies aimed at relatively distinguishable and sometimes homogeneous groups of consumers.2 In one of the more valuable works on segmentation, Smith stated that the demand Side of the market segmenta- tion represents a rational adjustment of product and market- ing effort to consumer or user requirements. In the language of the economist, segmentation is a disaggregative process aimed at deveIOping several demand schedules where only one was recognized before.3 Emphasis upon market segmentation may be viewed as a condition or cost of growth. Once the core markets have been developed the process turns to keying efforts to distinguish market areas for special products and marketing effort.4 1Thomas A. Staudt, ”The Managerial Functions of Marketing,” Lazer and Kelley, gp. cit. pp. 386-387. 2McNeai, 92. cit., p. 301. 3Wendall R. Smith, "Product Differentiation and Market Segmentation as Alternative Marketing Strategies,” Journal of Marketing, XXI (July, 1956), p. 418. 41bid., p. 420. 20 Utilizing the concept of market segmentation, charac- teristics of markets have been identified based upon such concepts as race,1 sex,2 age,3’4 income,S geographic loca- tion6 and occupation.7 Other research in the area of market segmentation has dealt with the identification of less distinguishable 9,10 features such as social class,8 personality type, and 1Milton Alexander, "The Significance of Ethnic Groups in Marketing New-Type Packaged Foods in Greater New York," in Advancing_Marketing Efficiency, ed. Lynn H. Stockman. Chicago: American Marketing ASsociation, 1959. pp. 557-561. 2Peggy Boomer, "Male Market: Big-Rich-But-Tough," Printers Ink, CCLXXX (July 20, 1962), pp. 21-25. 3David E. Wollin, "A Marketing Profile of the Senior Citizen Group," in Marketings Role in Scientific Management, ed. Robert L. Clewett. Chicago: American Marketing Associa- tion, 1957. pp. 250-261. 4Paul E° Smith, ”Merchandising for the Teen-Age Market,“ Journal of Retailing, XXXVII (Summer, 1961), pp. 9-13. SRobert Ferber, "Our Changing Consumer Market," Business Horizons, I (Spring, 1958), pp. 49-66. 6James Gillies, ”The POpulation Explosion - ItS Implications for Business,” California Management Review, III (Winter, 1961), pp. 53-60. 7"The Working Man: Do Marketing Men Know Him," Printers Ink, CCLXXVII (December 1, 1961), pp. 48-49. 8Pierre Martineau, ”Social Class and Spending Be- havior,” Journal of Marketing, XXIII (October, 1958), pp. 121-130. 9Morris J. Gottlieb, ”Segmentation by Personality Types," in Advancing Marketing Efficiency, ed. Lynn Stockman. Chicago: American Marketing ASSociation, 1959, pp. 148-158. 10Edward L. Grubb, "Consumer Perception of Self Con- Cept: and Its Relation to Brand Choice of Selected Product Types," in Marketing and Economic Development, ed. Peter D. Bennett. Chicago: American Marketing AssoCiation, 1965, pp. 419-422. 21 innovativeness.1 In particular, the work of Carman on the application of social class to market segmentation found that it is possible to subdivide classes into gross, but homogeneous groups which can be easily identified. The findings of the research were, however, insufficient as to the practicality in planning marketing strategies for each sub-class or segment.2 The Mobile Market Segment One particularly large and distinguishable segment of the consumer market is comprised of the individuals in the geographically mobile segment of the pOpulation. Data compiled Since 1948, reveal that each year approximately twenty per cent of the nation‘s pOpulation moves from one residence to anOther. The prOportion of the nation's pOpu- lation in the mobile market segment, according to the annual surveys conducted since 1948, has ranged from 18.6 to 21.0 per cent.3 The period from March 1965 to March 1966 exempli- fies the concept with a mobility rate of 19.3 per cent or 36.7 million peOple. Of the 36.7 million peOple changing 1William E. Bell, ”Consumer Innovation: An Investi- gation of Selected Characteristics of Innovators," (Unpublished DBA dissertation, College of Business Adminis- tration, Michigan State University, 1962), p. 293. 2James M. Carman, The Application of Social Class in Market Segmentation. Befkeley: Institute of Business and Economic Research, University of California, 1965, p. 60. 3U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Re- ports, Series P-ZO, No. 156, "Mobility of the Population of the United States: March 1965 to March 1966.”? U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D C., 1966, pp. 1-4. 22 addresses in the March 1965-1966 period, 24.2 million moved within counties and the remaining 12.5 million moved to a different county. The inter-county movers were divided equally between individuals moving within a state and indi- viduals moving between states or from abroad.1 The 12.5 million individuals moving to a different county during the March 1965 to March 1966 period consisted of two groups of nearly equal size: (1) Group A - the 3.3 per cent of the nation's pOpu- lation which moved to a different county within the same state or the 1ntra-state migrants. (2) Group B - the 3.3 per cent of the nation's pOpu- lation which moved to a new residence from a different state or from abroad.2 Based upon information obtained from population mobility surveys for 1964, 1965 and 1966, the following data summarize the relationship between selected population characteristics and the distance moved: 1. Sex-differengg - The mobility of males was slightly greater than that of females in all classifications of mobility; intra county moves, intra state moves and inter state moves. Ibid. Ibid. Z3 . Age-Young adults, 18 to 34 years of age, had a higher mobility rate than all other age groups. The proportion of young adult movers who were migrants, or inter county movers, was greater than the corresponding prOportion for either persons 35 years old and over or for those under 18 years. 92193 - The non-white population had a higher rate than the white population, 24 per cent vs. 19 per cent. The excess was largely due to local mobility. Approximately 33 per cent of the white inter county moves were to a different state. Nearly 40 per cent of the non-white inter county moves were to a different state. Education - Persons who had completed one or more years of college were found to be somewhat more mobile than individuals who had completed less than one year. Employment Status - Unemployed men had a higher total mobility rate than employed men, 30 per cent vs. 20 per cent. Nearly 41 per cent of the mobile unemployed were migrants, whereas the comparable figure for the mobile employed was 32 per cent. Professional Workers - The mobility rate of pro- fessional workers was three per cent above that of the other non agriculture workers. Mobile professional workers were more likely to have 24 completed a move into a different county than other mobile workers; 46 per cent vs. 29 per cent.1 The relatively high prOportion of migrants among whites, persons completing one or more years of college, and professional workers, suggests a positive relationship between socio-economic status and migration. At the same time the relatively high prOportion of migrants among un- employed men suggests a negative relationship. Thus migrants appear to be of two kinds: (1) peOple who are unemployed move in a desire to search for job opportunities elsewhere and (2) peOple holding professional positions who move in response to a greater demand for services elsewhere. The migration from the rural south to the urban north of the relatively poor and uneducated to states several hundred miles away is a clue to the possible negative relationship between socio-economic status and migration.2 Another study revealed that about 65 per cent of the migrants cited job related circumstances as reasons for moving. The remaining 35 per cent gave housing, 10 per cent; changes in family Status, 11 per cent; and other reasons, 14 per cent. Among the major reasons related to work were "to take a job," "to look for work” and "job transfer." The study suggests that migration occurs primarily in response to circumstances relating to employment, whereas 1Ibid.,pp. 2-3. 21bid. 25 local mobility is more closely related to housing arrange- ments.1 A study of 148 long distance mobiles conducted in Philadelphia during 1964 was concerned with determining if the long distance mobile group is significantly superior or inferior according to four criteria: level of Spending power, potential for future increased Spending power, present purchaSe behavior and potential for change in future purchase behavior. The results of the study revealed that geographic mobiles possess the following characteristics which portray them as a particular market segment: 1. ”Relatively young (and in the early stages of the family life cycle), 2. Well educated, 3. In higher status occupations, 4. Having above average incomes, 5. In higher social classes, 6. Socially active, 7. Socially upward mobile, with high social class aspirations, I 8. Geographically mobile in the past, 9. Having their present move economically inspired."2 1U. 5. Bureau for the Census, Current POpulation~ ReportgJ Series P-ZO, No. 154, Reasons for MOVing: march, 1962 to March, 1963. ’U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1966, p. 1. . ZAndreasen, "Geographic Mobility and Market Segmen- tation, " op. cit., p. 342. ..- I‘v— tn: ".1 A». ‘v 5. 'A ”A 26 The value to marketers of segmenting the entire mobile market, some twenty per cent of the nation‘s pOpula- tion, for specific programs is dependent upon the degree to ‘which a change in residence may affect a change in purchase patterns. In the nearly thirteen per cent of the nation‘s ;pOpulation which moves each year within a relatively small lxacal radius changes in purchase patterns would likely be 111ther limited. However, in terms of the thirteen million lcxng distance mobiles, where a change in address presents Ciritical problems associated with adjusting to a new en- ‘Vi.ronment, the marketing Opportunities appear to be substan- tjwal. Long distance mobiles are an important target for twvc: prime reasons: (I) Mobiles are a market for firms associated with the uprooting, moving and settling of mobile indiViduals. Mobiles, once the move has been completed, repre- (2) sent a potential market for all the suppliers in the area of the new r851dence. Key Compopenti of the Cpnsumer Decision Process I n formation Sou rges A long distance move necessitates that families re- in a new market place. The rebuild- build sources of supply ‘111éi or learning process is largely dependent upon information However, the need of aVa-ilable from numerous sources. Z7 newcomers for information on products and supplies is not a problem solely pertaining to mobiles. One author wrote that it is universally acknowledged that consumers lack knowledge to some degree. The work stressed that no systematic effort has been made to probe the size of the deficiency.1 Another research study found that two broad types of information are used by new families in a community in select- ing medical doctors. Ngn perspnal sources of information, such as the yellow pages, or the local medical society, were used when the person making the selection decision (1) was over 35 years of age, (2) was on the upper level of the socio-economic spectrum, (3} did not have children, and (4) selected a physician in the first month in the new community. ES£§2E311233§E§§£2E31 sources were used when the decision maker (1) was over 35 years of age, (2) was positioned at the upper end of the socio-economic spectrum, (3) had a greater than average number of children, and (4) did not select a doctor during the first two months in l’\) a new residence. The research of Feldman and Spencer also found that when decision makers sought information from a personal 1Alfred R. Oxenfeldt, "Consumer Knowledge: Its Mea- surement and Extent," Reyiew of Economics and Statistics, XXXII (November, 1960), pp. 300~314 2Sidney P. Feldman and Merlin C. Spencer, "The Effect of Personal Influence in the Selection of Consumer Services," in Marketingyand Economic Development, ed. Peter D. Bennett. Chicago: American MarketingwASSOC1ation, 1965, pp. 440-448. 28 non-professional source. Sixty per cent of the time indi- viduals without professional background, e.g. friends, neighbors, and co workers, were selected to provide the information. The decision makers in the research were usually 35 years old or younger, pOSitioned in the middle of the socio-economic spectrum and tended nOt to select a physician until the second or third month of residence. The research also suggested that indiViduals seeking medical advice often rely upon persons older than themselves.1 Information sources, other than information obtained from searching, were also cla551f1ed into personal sources and impersonal sources in research on new product adOption. Here it was found that all face to face information was judged highly creditable since the receivers knew the peOple providing the information as friends and the friends were understood, believed and were willing to answer questions. Impersonal sources such as the mass media were viewed as less satisfactory sources of communication because of the unwillingness of peOple to attach a high degree of credit- 2 s. (D ability to the sourc An important problem of information, the determina- tion of market price, was discussed by Stigler in terms of a phenomenon he called search. The search for information — -1. —~*' 2The Foundation for Research on Human Behavior, Adoption of New_Pr3du££§. Ann Arbor: Univer51ty of Michigan, 1959, p. 9F 29 was viewed by rtigler as a process by which the marginal cost (MC) of search is equated to the marginal revenue (MR) obtained from the search, In an article on consumer information by Stigler three key variables were identified as determining the degree of search to be initiated; (l) The larger the per cent of the buyer's expenditures on the commodity the greater the potential savings from the search, (2) the lower the fraction of repetitive (experienced) buyers in the market, the greater the amount of search, (3) the cost of the search is larger, the greater the size of the market.1 Two impor- tant references to advertising were also made by Stigler: (1) one stressed that advertising is among other things a method of providing potential buyers with knowledge of the identity of sellers, In this regard Stigler viewed adver- tising as an immensely powerful influence in the elimination of ignorance, (2) the other reference to advertising views it as a decisive influence in the dispersion of price infor- mation making the searching process much more economical.2 The sources of information used by southern house- wives in food product buying decisions were reViewed in a report by Roberts, The report dealing with the factors 1George Jr Stigler, ”The Economics of Information," Journal of Political Economy, IXIX (June, 1961), p, 213. 21bid( , pp. 215- 219.. u. n; D. 30 influencing food buying decisions presented data on the kinds of groups most likely to respond to different promo- tional efforts.l Information influencing food buying decisions was found to come first from containers, cans, and labels; secondly through requests from children and family members. NeWSpaper and grocery advertisements ranked third and cook- books and coupons ranked fourth in terms of information sources influencing food buying decisions 2 The work by Roberts also reported that as the age of the housewife increased, the influence exerted by such fac— tors as boxes, cans, labels and rec1pes declined. Responses to information received from children was particularly important to wives in the thirty to fifty age groups. The research also found that the influence of family, friends, and relatives increased consiStently with successfully higher levels of education. Furthermore, the homemakers whose income and education were above average responded to the widest variety In research on the sources of information used by various houseWives, Myers found that upper-class housewives had more Opportunities to deve10p ;nformal communication networks. Upper-class houseWives more frequently had club 1John B. Roberts, Sources of Information and Food Buying Decisions, Southern CoOperaEive Sefies Bulletin No. 85. Lexington: University of Kentucky Agriculture Station, April, 1963, p, 50. 21bid , p. L“ H 31bid , p. 53. 31 memberships and participated in social meetings with friends, neighbors and relatives. The social interaction led to greater information about new products than that received by housewives with less social contacts. Housewives having less free time were found to characteristically depend upon information received from the mass media. The level of informal communication networks was appreciably less than in the upper class families and consequently the total in- formation received on new products was less than where the informal communications networks were well established.1 Reference groups are, of course, an important source of information for consumers on all levels of society. One author found that a group of friends, colleagues or neighbors usually have similar needs, attitudes and expectations, thus forming for each other a reference group.2 Researchers also found in studying the purchases of large household appliances that more than one-half of the buyers turned to acquaintances for advice and in many cases looked at the appliances used by them. The researchers also bought a . . . 3 brand seen in a friend's or relative's house. 1James H. Myers, "A Competitive Edge in Marketing Communication,” in Competition in Marketing, ed. Taylor W. Meloan and Charles M. Whitle. University of Southern Cali- fornia, 1964, p. 82. 2George Katona, The Powerful Consumer. New York: McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc., 1960, p. 187. 3George Katona and Eva Mueller, ”A Study of Purchase Decisions," in Consumer Behavior: Vol. I: The Dynamics of Consumer Reaction, ed} Lincoln Clark. New York: New York University Press, 1954, p. 112. 32 In perhaps the most widely quoted study on reference groups, Katz and Lazarsfeld found in the Decatur study that marketing leaders and taste leaders are present in almost equal numbers in high, middle and low status groups.1 More- over, market leaders on all levels of society were found to exhibit the same general characteristics. However, the re- search found a concentration of leadership among the larger families on all levels of society. Leaders were also gener- ally a bit older than the person asking advice and were likely ”wives" and "gregarious.”2 In a study of reference groups, Whyte found that as consumers became more experienced more interest was expressed in the pros and cons of makes, models, sizes and potential economies. Venders could not satisfy the curiosity. Ad- vertising does not give as much product information as wanted, and gave very little believable comparative infor- mation. So it is to the reference group that the consumer turns. It is not so much that the consumers are distrustful of what manufacturers say about products, the consumer is curious. Once the retailer was the key factor in the mar- keting of new appliances. However, today if the customer has not already sold himself or been pre-sold by friends, 1Elihu Katz and Paul F. Lazarsfeld, Personal Influ- ence. Glencoe: The Free Press, 1955, p. 234. 2Ibid., p. 246. 33 the consumer is not likely to go into a store, because the customer feels little can be learned in the store. The real selling job is then done before the customer makes contact with the dealer. Thanks to the social group‘s guidance the consumer has already determined almost every- thing about the product.1 Another author wrote that the degree to which man's behavior is influenced by other individuals, in the market place or out, varies depending upon the decision circumstances and the nature of the product.2 The author also stated that in the marketing process determinants vary primarily according to the matter to be decided, such as the attributes or product in the market place. The research also showed that the degree to which a product is apparent is an im- portant factor in determining the susceptibility of the product to reference group influence.3 Decision Making Upon moving to a new community, each family must go about the process of acquiring sources of supply for the 1William H. Whyte, Jr., ”The Web of Word of Mouth," .Fortune, L (November, 1964), p. 208. 2Francis 8. Bourne, "Group Influence in Marketing anti Public Relations,” in Marketing in Progress, ed. H. C. Barksdale. New York: Holt, Rhinehart andWinston, 1964, p. 332. Ibid., pp. 333-337. 34 goods and services needed by the family. Shopping habits which were broken through a move must be rebuilt or re— established through a learning process. Decisions must not only be made on whether to buy or not to buy an item, de- cisions must also be made on the source of supply for each item needed by the family. Finally, the decision responsi- bility must be assigned within the family unit. In a summary article on buying behavior, May explained buying decisions as a learning process, with different amounts of exploratory search effort depending on various conditions that take place where uncertainty exists about product quality.1 The author further stated the effort or deliberation was dependent upon (1) income, (2) amount of purchase as a per cent of income, (3) education level, (4) availability of special Opportunity to purchase, (5) urgency of product need, and (6) whether experience with product or supplier was satisfactory before. In an extensive bibliography on consumer behavior, Morgan described the work done by Katona and Mueller as the most extensive study on information getting, shopping and decision making within the family. In the research a number of indexes on various aspects of decision making and.information getting were combined into one over-all _ 1Frederick B. May, "Buying Behavior: Some Research FiJuiings,” Journal of Business, XXXVII (October, 1965), p. 384. 2Ibid., p. 385.... 35 index of deliberation in an attempt to see why some persons are more deliberate and circumspect than others.1 The work by Katona and Mueller showed great variation in the care with which consumer decisions were made from one purchase to another. However, data did show that consumers were much more deliberate with large, durable goods pur- chased than with non-durable goods purchased. The research also found that individual buyer characteristics and the conditions with which the purchase takes place had a bearing on the decision making process. The most deliberate deci- sion making tended to occur when the individual concerned had a college education, an income of between $5,000 and $7,500, was under 35, and a white collar worker who expressed a liking for shopping around.2 Deliberation appeared to be less extensive when the income of the buyer was relatively high or the price paid was relatively low; also when the education of the buyer was low. Yet, the authors emphasized the variables alone do not eXplain all the findings. In general, the authors concluded that under conditions of alternatives and conse- quences, discussion with family members and extensive in- formation seeking tend to occur when buyers have the dis- cretion to act and when it matters greatly how they act.3 ——___ lJames Morgan, ”A Review of Recent Research on Con- sumer Behavior," in Consumer Behavior: Research on Consumer Reaction, ed. Lincoln H. Clark. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1958, p. 144. 2George Katona and Eva Mueller, "A Study of Purchase Decisions," in Consumer Behavior: Research on Consumer ,Bgactions, ed. Lincoln HT Clark. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1958, p. 80. 3Ibid., pp. 34-35. 36 The study also found that as the size of the expendi- ture increases, particularly in furniture, decisions tend to be jointly made, although the husband dominates in the automobile field.1 In the Sharp and Mott study of decisions in the metrOpolitan family, findings indicated a great deal of joint decision making. At the same time an understood division of responsibility tended to grow more pronounced with increasing age and length of marriage.2 Regarding expressed buying plans, the study found husbands and wives show a very simi- lar frequency in planning expenditures. The differences that do appear between husbands‘ and wives‘ plans suggest that wives‘ plans are slightly better thought out than the husbands‘. Wives are, however, less confident of fulfilling the plans mentioned. Yet wives do experience a higher rate of fulfillment throughout all areas studied. The finding may have been attributable to the wives‘ role of handling the budget and thus being in a better position to judge realistically, according to Sharp and Mott.3 The authors also reported that in consumer surveys concerned with a broad range of expenditures, husbands and wives are equally desirable respondents. However, if llbid. 2Harry Sharp and Paul Mott, "Consumer Decisions in the MetrOpolitan Family,” Journal of Marketing, XXI (October, 1956), p. 155. 31bid., p. 158. 37 reactions are sought to specific features of an automobile, for example, husbands might be better respondents. Con- versely, wives might be preferred for a detailed study of household goods.1 A laboratory study of decision making by Kenkel dealt with the process by which 50 married college couples decided how to spend $300 in a oneahour laboratory situation. The stipulation of the research was that each couple had to make decisions on how to spend the money on items they had not previously decided to buy. The research study measured the amount of tetal talking done by each partner, whose ideas were accepted or rejected, and any social or emotional actions.2 The findings, which were not clearly conclusive, pointed out that frequently husbands do more of the talking and contribute more ideas toward a solution of the problem. But in some cases in the study by Kenkel, Wives out-performed the husbands in talking and contributing ideas. The wives were observed to do more to keep the decision making session running smoothly, but sometimes husbands played the role. Couples varied, too, with regard to which spouse was most influential.3 11bid. 2William F. Kenkel, "Decision Making and the Life Cycle--Husband-Wife Interaction in Decision Making and Decision Choices," Journal of Applied Psychology, LIV (November, 1961), pp. ZSSAZEO. 31bid., p. 262. 38 Feldman and Spencer in research on selecting medical services, reported that decisions rested in the hands of the wife seventyvfour per cent of the time, with the husband eleven per cent of the time and were a joint event only fifteen per cent of the time. The probability of a joint decision was greater if: (I) the wife was not employed outside the home, {2) the duration of marriage was greater than five years, {3) the age difference between the husband and wife was less than two years, (4) the selection of a doctor was made during the first month in a new community, (5) the source of information was someone who shared a social (nonflmedical) relationship with the decision maker.1 One author, writing on the ”Interacting Roles of the Household Purchasing Agent," deve10ped an interesting thesis on the present role of the wife as the household purchasing agent. The author pointed out that careful observations have shown that the housewife has an evereincreasing area of responSibility as the household purchasing agent. As the urban industrial society has deve10ped, research evi- dence suggests the economic role of the husband has become more precisely and narrowly defined. At the same time the role of the wife as the steward of the family purse has been openly recognized.2 1Feldman and Spencer, 22% cit., p. 450. 2Henry 0. Whiteside, "Interacting Roles of the House- hold Purchasing Agent," in Theory in Marketing, ed. Reavis Cox, Wroe Alderson and Stanley J. Shapiro. Homewood: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1964, p. 270. 39 The wife was found by Whiteside to have responsibility for all food and clothing, except some men‘s articles, while the husband was a participant in decisions on shelter and furniture to some degree. Health expenditures were largely the responsibility of the wife. Educational ex- penditures were joint affairs. The annual vacation was even found to be a joint selection. Only in two major areas was the involvement of the housewife minimal - automobiles and insurance.1 In detailing a model on consumer decision making one author suggested that a model offers the best way to organize a framework and analyze the central element in the marketing system. However the model suggested did offer several questions pertaining to the relationship be- tween individual characteristics and the uses of informa- tion sources used in the process of shopping.2 Shopping Behavior The process by which consumers select suppliers for needs is conditioned by the socio-economic characteristics of the consumers, the suppliers available to them and by the ease with which they can view the offerings of competing lIbid., pp. 275-280. 2Alan R. Andreasen, ”Attitudes and Customer Behavior: A Decision Model,” in New Research in Marketing, ed. Lee E. Preston. Berkeley: Institute of Business and Economic Re— search, University of California, 1965, pp. 2-16. 40 suppliers. A study of consumer ShOpping behavior focusing upon the family unit must attempt to describe the reasons for one or more acts of choice, either at a given time or q ‘- over a period of time. p v The Chicago Tribune studies revealed a close relation- "Fa ship between choice of store, patterns of spending and class membership. Pe0p1e were found to be very realistic in the way personal value and expectations were matched with the status of a particular store. Department stores were found to have a definite social status in the eyes of the women shOppers. The social status became the primary basis of definition for the shopper. The research findings of the Tribune indicate that the most important function of retail advertising today, when prices and quality have become so standard, is to permit the shOpper to make social class identification.l In summary, the findings of the Tribune research are that: (1) There is a social class system Operative in metropolitan markets that can be isolated and described. (2) It is important to realize there are far reaching psy- chological differences between the classes. (3) Consumption patterns Operate as prestige symbols to define class mem- bership, which is a more significant means of determining economic behavior than more income.2 g 1Pierre Martineau, "Social Classes and Spending Be- havior," Journal of Marketing, XXIII (October, 1958), p. 126. zlbid. 41 In research on the types and sources of information consumers used in purchasing living room furniture and tele- vision sets two authors defined shOpping as a process of looking for information. Such information hopefully enabled the potential buyer to make satisfactory purchasing deci- sions. The process is aimed, as described by these authors, at the purchase of a product that will fulfill the needs, desires and financial circumstances of the purchasing unit.1 The research also was aimed at establishing the relative importance of out-of-store information, newspapers and talking with friends, vs. the value of information ob- tained from visits to stores. Respondents recalled using information received in store visits in 41.4 per cent of the purchases, information from friends in 29.7 per cent of the purchases, and information from newspapers in 26.4 per cent of the purchases. The heavy role played by information within retail stores was thought to be the result of the importance consumers placed on data concerning quality and service.2 Another interesting point revealed in the re- search was that purchasers do not sh0p extensively from store to store. The average furniture purchaser visited 3.3 stores while the average TV purchaser visited 2.2 stores before buying.3 g _ 1Bruce Legrand and John G. Udell, ”Consumer Behavior in the Market Place," Journal of Retailing, LX (Fall, 1964), p. 32. 2Ibid., pp. 47-48. 3Ibid., p. 36. 42 In selecting suppliers from which to make a purchase the cost of the item is not the only cost to be considered by the family. The cost of an item to a consumer, according to Bender, is a composite cost of the commodity, plus the costs incurred in achieving possession of the goods or ser- vice. The secondary purchase costs included: (1) price costs - parking fees, installation fees and credit charges; (2) time costs - walking time, travel time and searching time; and (3) psychological costs - frustrating conflict and store layout anxiety.1 The author further stated that consumers not being rational may not consider all costs in selecting stores. Yet since they are not totally naive, they will consider many of the costs.2 Store patronage motives were divided into three major categories by Bucklin. (1) "Convenience Stores - these stores for which the consumer has a preference before a need for some product arises. Usually the most ac~ cessible store. (2) Sho in Stores - here the consumer has not deveEoped a complete preference map relative to the products he wishes to buy. In such cases, the consumer must construct such a map before purchase. (3) Specialty Stores - these are the stores in which the consumer has a willingness to shOp even 1Wesley C. Bender, ”Consumer Purchase Costs - Do Retailers Recognize Them," Journal of Retailing (Spring, 1964), pp. 1-8. 21bid., p. 8. 43 though it may not be the most accessible. When a need arises the consumer is willing to exert the special effort to reach the store."1 Such a classification is aimed at segmentation of the retail market so that the marketing strategies of retailers may be better directed. It also provides a method of classifying buying motives on something besides the products involved.2 An experiment was reported in the Journal of Marketing Research by Cardozo. The experiment was done as a class- room laboratory study of ”ShOpping effort." In the study students were asked to take data from catalogs. The ex- periment showed that under certain conditions, effort and expectation affected the evaluation of the product and of the experience. When expectations were unrealized, subjects rated both the product and ShOpping experience unfavorable. Expenditures of high effort moderated the effect, and for the shopping experience partially modified it.3 While the author emphasized the limitations of the research, it did point out that peOple at times seemed to use expectations as guidelines for evaluation. Thus, if a product does not measure up to expectations and the pur- chaser spent little effort, the outcome will really hurt 1Louis P. Bucklin, "Retail Strategy and the Classifi- cation of Consumer Goods," Journal of Marketing, XXVII (January, 1963), p. 53. 2Ibid. 3Richard N. Cardozo, "An Experimental Study of Con- sumer Effort, Expectation and Satisfaction," Journal of Marketing Research, II (August, 1965), p. 248. 44 sales. However, if the consumer spent a great deal of effort and the product is equal to the one in which little purchase effort was extended, it is not likely to hurt sales.1 Another researcher wrote that consumers have mobility in ShOpping but it comes at the cost of time, effort and money. Resistance exists to going further or expending more effort than need be for the goods needed by consumers. Typically, consumers will buy at the nearest store, unless advantages of product quality, product selection, price or service lead them to go further. The truism is the premise underlying the deve10pment of the retail structure.2 The danger of asking peOple why they shOp at certain stores was pointed out in another study. The study reported that attitudinal surveys can be misleading in that they may confuse attitudes which predispose patronage with those resulting from patronage. A possible answer might be to cross tabulate consumer ranking of competing stores with data on the relative size of the expenditure in each store.3 The inherent danger of patronage studies was felt by the author to be so great that he felt it is desirable, perhaps essential, that the places and volume of patronage 11bid. 2Perry Bliss, "Supply Considerations and Shepper Convenience," Journal of Marketing (July, 1966), pp. 43-45. . 3Donald F. Blankertz, ”Motivation and Rationalization 1n Retail Buying," Public Opinion Quarterly, XII (Winter, 1949), pp. 659-668. 45 also be secured. The challenge is to find some means of distinguishing between attitudes which predispose persons toward patronage of given stores and those which result from patronage.1 In the book, What Makes Women Buy, Janet Wolff stated that convenience and loyalty play the major part in the stores women choose. However, women remain loyal or pick one place of equal convenience over another partially due to mental characteristics. Women tend to personalize selec- tions and identify themselves with many things about them. They tend to fit stores closely into their own personalities and lives.2 In research on the images of super markets in the minds of college student couples, Atkin found that predis- position arising from prior store patronage is a powerful influence in store selection. Thus the married couples who shopped at a store of a chain before moving tended to sh0p at outlets of the chain following the move. The re- search also found that families visit two or three food stores within their first week or two after establishing residence in the new community.3 The Progressive Grocer Study in the Cleveland area dealt in part with the selection of super markets by mobile lIbid., p. 668. 2Janet L. Wolff, What Makes Women Buy. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1958, p. 46. 3Kenward L. Atkin, "Communications Patterns and Effect in Super Market Choice," (Unpublished Ph.D. disserta- tion, Michigan State University, 1961), p. 315. 46 families. Major findings of the study reveal that: (l) newcomers to a neighborhood make the first visit to a local store primarily because of convenience; (2) sixty-five per cent of the families visit four or less super markets before picking a favorite, and (3) the favorite store is picked out three to six weeks after arriving in a community.1 The research also pointed up that seventy-four per cent of the families moving to a new home were not asked by a local super market for business. In cases where the newcomers were contacted, the patronage results seemed to indicate a very favorable result for the program.2 Summary Renewed interest in consumer-oriented marketing programs in the past twenty years has led to frequent at- tempts at market segmentation. The process of segmentation is aimed at determining differences among buyers so that marketing programs may be focused upon identified portions of the total consumer market. The most frequently used segmentation variables have been socio-economic in nature; (1) occupation, (2) income, (3) education, (4) sex, and (5) age. Additional segmenta- tion has been done based upon family life cycle and geography. 1"Consumer Dynamics," pp. cit., pp. 49-50. Ibid. 47 Segmentation is, in effect, an attempt to adjust product and marketing effort to consumer or user requirements. The process of segmentation is aimed first at the identification of distinguishable features and secondly at determining the practicality of planning marketing strate- gies for the sub-group or segment. One easily identifiable and distinguishable segment of the consumer market is com- prised of individuals in the geographically mobile segment of the pOpulation. Over thirty-six million individuals are in the mobile market segment which is composed of intra- county or local movers and inter-county or long distance movers. The segment of the mobile market, comprised of the nearly thirteen million long distance mobiles presents a group that is not only identifiable, but relatively homo- geneous for the deve10pment of marketing programs. In particular, long distance mobile family units represent a market opportunity for firms associated with the uprooting, moving and settling of mobile individuals. Secondly, new- comers are a potential market for firms or individuals marketing goods and services in the area of the new residence. In the process of adjusting to a new community, mobiles are faced with the problem of rebuilding sources of supply for family needs. In the rebuilding process concern turns first to gathering information on available suppliers, second to determining the division of decision responsibility for selecting suppliers within the family 48 and-third, with undertaking the ShOpping process by which suppliers are selected. Research on the consumer market has shown that three general classes of information; personal, impersonal, and searching are available. Personal information is generally viewed as being highly creditable in nature. Impersonal information, for example, mass media, is generally viewed with some reservation by consumers. Reference groups are a highly influential source of information on consumer buying decisions. The larger expenditures in particular have been found to be highly influenced by reference groups. In the area of decision reSponsibility research has been concentrated upon the assignment of decision re- sponsibility for selecting various goods or services within the family. Little research has been reported on which family member selects sources of supply for various goods or services. The decision-making process within the family unit has been found to entail a learning process involving vari- ous degrees of searching effort in an attempt to resolve uncertainty. Indexes on family decision making have shown great variations in the amount of care consumers have ex- hibited in selecting a product or service. Consumers have been shown to make decisions more deliberately on products which are durable and represent rather large expenditures. In performing research on family decision making, husbands and wives have been found to be equally desirable respondents 49 to survey questions. The increased urbanization of the nation‘s population has tended to place more of the deci- sions on family purchases in the hands of the housewife. In particular, evidence points up that joint family de- cisions diminish as families have increased years of mar- riage. After a number of years of marriage, a division of decision responsibility tends to become apparent in each family. Studies on shopping behavior have shown that peOple realistically match personal value and expectations with the status of a particular store. It was found that retail advertising serves consumers in part through providing the social class identification of the store. In store shOpping visits are a prime means of providing needed information on products purchased. Item cost is not the only cost a customer incurs in making a purchase. Such additional ShOpping costs as parking fees, travel time, searching time and psychological costs must also be evaluated. Laboratory studies on ShOpping have shown that ex- pectations and effort affect the evaluation of the product or of the service purchased. An extended effort to acquire a product will usually result in a favorable evaluation of the product. However, in instances where it is rela- tively easy to acquire a product or service, if the purchased item or service is somewhat less than expected, a poor rating will frequently be given the purchased goods or service. 50 In addition, consumer behavior research has shown that a real danger lies in asking people why specific stores are patronized. A possible solution to the problem has been to cross tabulate consumer rankings of patronage and atti- tude. The possible bias in strictly attitude surveys is then minimized through including the actual purchase data pertaining to each family. Additional studies on convenience and patronage have shown that store familiarity is a key element in the selection of new suppliers. Families ShOpping with a par- ticular chain before moving tend to shop with the chain after moving. CHAPTER III RESEARCH DESIGN The purpose of Chapter III is to provide a detailed presentation of the methodology used in the research. In presenting the methodology the chapter provides a base Upon which the research findings may be confirmed or rejected. The chapter also provides a framework for future research in consumer behavior. A description of the baSis of the research design is presented in the first section of the chapter. In the second section, the sample design is described. The third section of the research design is centered upon the selec- tion and training of the interviewers, methods used to con- tact the families in the sample and measures incorporated to insure the validity of the responses received from the housewives interviewed. The final section of the research design is a description of the methodological procedures used to formulate the data for computer analysis as well as a description of statistical procedures. Research Design Framework Identification of Variables The research design is constructed to make an in depth study of the process by which families choose suppliers 51 52 for selected goods and services upon completion of a long distance move. All families interviewed in the research had completed a long distance move into the metropolitan area under study. The distance of the move would normally preclude the families from returning to prior suppliers for the goods and services under study. The actual re- search was designed and completed in a metrOpolitan area having a population of nearly 200,000. The research design was confined to an investi- gation of the process by which families, possessing spe- cific characteristics, chose selected suppliers upon com- pletion of a long distance move. Characteristics which the families possessed were identified as independent var- iables. The factors which affect the selection process were identified as conditioning variables. A detailed description of the variables is contained in Figures 1, 2 and 3, pages 56 and 57. Independent Variables Selected characteristics of mobile families were identified as dependent variables. The socio-economic characteristics were (1) education of the household head and Spouse, (2) income of the family, (3) occupation of the household head and (4) number of families residing in the dwelling. The life cycle characteristics were (1) the number of years of marriage and (2) age of the children (see Figure l). 53 Dependent Variables For purposes of the research, suppliers selected by families in the categories under study were identified as dependent variables. The dependent variables, or the purchase categories chosen for the study, were selected based upon the following rationale: 1. Purchase categories investigated were common to households and represent an array of goods and services normally purchased by family buy- ing units. 2° The purchase categories, in which the supplier selection process was investigated represented varying purchase problems encountered by con- sumers in developing supply sources. 3. Categories selected for the investigation were classified based upon (a) the degree of search- ing effort consumers were likely to spend in selecting suppliers in particular areas of ex- penditure and (b) the frequency with which sup- pliers were used. 4. Purchase areas chosen were representative of significant enough dollar expenditures so that families could be expected to recall purchase decisions (see Figure 2). While the rationale developed was not expected to apply universally to all family decisions the rationale did 54 provide a logical framework for the categorization of the purchase areas studied in the research. A detailed de- scription of the purchase categories investigated includes the following: Fppd - all food and non—foods purchased from super- markets and other food stores to be used within the house. Beauty Parlors - all services dealing with the hair of the housewife. Dry Cleaning - all services dealing with the dry cleaning of family garments, both conventional and self service. Financial Institutions - all financial services received from banks, saving and loan firms and credit unions. Insurance - all insurance policies purchased and companies chosen in the automobile, property and life insurance areas. Furniture - all purchases of furniture, draperies, and carpets of $25 00 or more. Appliances - all purchases of major household appliances of $25.00 or more, particularly ap- pliances listed in Chart D of Appendix B. Women's Clothing - women's dresses and suits for social occasions. Men's Suits - all men's suits and sport coat dress/slack combinations. 55 Medical SerVices ~ the general practitioner, spe- cialist and dentist providing medical attention to family members. Conditioning Variables The decision process by which each mobile family selected specific suppliers was thought to be affected by a number of factors. The factors, interwoven in the de- cision process of each family, were thought to operate between the stimuli of the market and the characteristics of the family. In the research, conditioning variables were identified as; (l) the purchase environment, (2) the division of decision responsibility within the family, (3) past experiences of the family and (4) the sources of in- formation used in making purchases (see Figure l). The conditioning variables were identified as the mediating factors which provided the atmosphere in which the decision process took place (see Figure 3). Questionnaire Objective The questionnaire contained in Appendix B was de- signed to investigate the family supplier selection process. A specific section of the questionnaire was devoted to de- veloping socio-economic and life cycle data on mobile fam- ilies. Questions in all the purchase categories, previously identified as dependent variables, were aimed at securing 56 HmHHzmQ equqHz .oz monepe IIIIIIIII -HemzH 4u maHo mmoz mmmzmmm onmHu muzmmm mmmmmmmm mmomsom saq4H2zm mmsm4H2 mmsm HzmQZmamm mmsm oszoscHozoo Hzmezmamazfi muAmm3m mam>oz muzm UZHM<2 onmHqu mo mhszmAm mmeumqmm mo ammo: < H mMDon 57 FIGURE 2 SELECTED SUPPLY AREAS CHOSEN FOR ANALYSIS (DEPENDENT VARIABLES) SEARCHING FREQUENCY EFFORT GOODS SERVICES OF USE MINIMUM FOOD DRY CLEANERS MOST BEAUTY SHOP MODERATE APPLIANCES FINANCIAL FURNITURE INSTITUTIONS BANKS CREDIT UNIONS SAVINGS/LOAN INSURANCE PROPERTY LIFE ' AUTOMOBILE EXTENSIVE CLOTHING DOCTOR LEAST MEN'S SUITS GENERAL PRAC- WOMEN‘S BEST TIONER DRESSES SPECIALIST DENTIST FIGURE 3 OUTLINE OF THE RESEARCH THRUST INDEPENDENT CONDITIONING DEPENDENT VARIABLES VARIABLES VARIABLES MOBILE CONDITIONED SELECT FAMILIES BY SPECIFIC POSSESSING PRIOR EXPERI- AFTER FOR GOODS SPECIFIC AND ENCE AND SUP- A SUPPLIERS AND PLIER SELEC- , SOCIO-ECONOMIC TION PATTERNS MOVE SERVICES AND LIFE CYCLE CHARACTERISTICS 58 data pertaining to family decision responsibility, infor- mation sources used, time taken to select new suppliers and the extent to which mobile families investigate alter- native suppliers prior to making a selection. In addition tO securing data necessary to test the hypotheses developed in Chapter I, for each purchase category chosen, the research was also concerned with data on (1) credit, (2) brand and store loyalty, (3) trading stamps, and (4) newcomer welcoming programs. Questions pertaining to the areas were incorporated in the final research design. Sample Selection Sample Source Prior to the selection of the list of mobile fam- ilies upon which the research was based an investigation was made of a number of lists of families moving into the community. The investigation of the new family lists a- vailable covered the public utilities, the local credit bureau and organizations where the prime activity was de- voted to calling on_newcomers arriving in the community. The utilities did not prove to be a useful source of names because two of the three utilities Operating in the commu- nity did not serve the entire metropolitan area. The re- maining Utility maintained a strict policy Of not releasing 59 names of new subscribers. An analySIs of the list made available through the local credit bureau Showed the list- ing was unsuitable because it contained,in addition to long distance mobiles,numerous local family moves as well as single indiv1duals moving into the community. The credit bureau list was rejected after an investigation Of 902 names prov1ded only twenty-one long distance mobile families. ‘ Three organizations in the community called upon newcomers. Each Of the organizations represented a number of local firms and received compensation based upon the number of calls made on newcomers. All of the organizations treated the source of newcomer names as a confidential mat- ter. One of the organizations had been operating in the community for OJBI fifteen years and maintained extensive coverage of the metropolitan area. The organization agreed to furnish a listing of calls made during 1965 and 1966. At the request of the organization, neither the firm sup- plying the names nor the metropolitan area in which the study was completed Wlll be identified. Selection of the Sample An intenSIve rev1ew of the records of the newcomer welcoming organization was made covering all newcomer calls completed during 1965. The review provided a socio-economic profile of the long distance movers arriv1ng in the community 60 during a twelve month period. The analysis also provided the month of arrival of newcomers, prior addresses and limited data on purchases made since completing the long distance move. Because the research was confined to long distance mobile families the analysis of the records of the organization was limited to family units having com- pleted long distance moves into the metropolitan area un- der study. Based on an analysis of 868 long distance mobile families arriving in the community during 1965, the fol- lowing calander year arrival pattern was established: 19.2 per cent first quarter, 21.8 per cent second quarter, 42.7 per cent third quarter, and 16.3 per cent fourth quarter. Representatives of the participating organization revealed the pattern had been experienced for a number of years and reflected the desire of families to move upon completion Of one school year and prior to the start of the next school year. The following conSIderations were used in evaluating which families shoald be included in the sample. 1. The families should have resided in the area long enough to have had the opportunity to make baSIc shopping deCISions in the purchase cate- gories under Study. 2. The period between arrival in the community and the time of the interview should not have been 61 of such a length as to preclude the housewife from recalling shopping experiences, 3. The research should not be confined to families who had arr ved in the community during one quarter of the year. For example, it was de- termined based upon 1965 data that the families moving during the third quarter had more school aged children than families moving during the other times of the year. Another consideration was the possibility that one occupational group may concentrate moves during a particular month. Based on the above consrderation a decision was made to confine the research to families arriving in the commu- nity during April, May, June and July of 1966. By using April and May arrivals, the pOSSIble bias obtained from using a third quarter sample was minimized. A pre-test of the questionnaire and administrative procedures was made prior to the start of the formal re— search project. A completed description of the pre-test is contained in Appendix C. Interviewer Selection And Procedures Used To Contact Sample Families Interviewer Selection IntervieWIng for the research prOJect was done by a staff Of female interviewers recruited, selected and 62 trained specifically for the study° Interviewers were re- cruited through advertisements in a daily newspaper. In- dividuals selected to perform the interviewing were first acquainted with the purposes of the study in individual training sessions° The individual sessions were followed by a group meeting in which the questionnaire used in the research was administered to a housewife new to the com- munity. Training covered the proper way to conduct an in— terview, ask questions,probe for needed information and record answers received. Following the meeting each inter- viewer was assigned two households to interview. Upon com- pletion of the assignment, answers received were evaluated and necessary changes were incorporated in each interviewers procedure. Contacting Sample Families The universe of mobile families upon which the study was based contained 233 long distance mobile families moving into the metropolitan area under study during the period April 1, 1966, through July 31, 1966. The objective of the research was to contact all families completing a long dis- tance move and ask for c00peration in the study. The study results were based on responses from 147 or 63.9 per cent of the 233 families available for the research study. TABLE 3-1 MOBILE FAMILIES AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW BY MONTH OF ARRIVAL April May June July Total % Total arriving 29 34 71 99 233 100.0 Total interviewed 17 23 SS 52 147 63.9 Total not interviewed 12 11 16 47 86 36.1 63 An initial review of the universe of 233 families revealed fourteen families no longer met the qualifications for inclusion in the sample. Seven of the families were no longer living in the metropolitan area under study, six had unlisted telephone numbers precluding a telephone con- tact, and one single individual had been erronously listed as a family unit. An attempt was made to reach 219 families by tele- pht>ne, 185 of the families answered the telephone and talked with the study interview scheduler (Figure 4, Part 4), thirty-four families did not answer the telephone when called by the interview scheduler. A minimum of four calls was made to all homes in an attempt to gain a response. The calls were dispursed over at least two days and made at various times during the day. When a family failed to answer the telephone on three daytime calls one evening call was made in an effort to reach the family (Figure 4, Part 5). A comparison of the socio-economic characteristics of the thirty-four non-respondents to the participants revealed two areas of difference: (1) the percentage of working wives was appreciably higher in the non-respondent group than in the participating group, sixty per cent vs, twelve per cent, and (2) families having pre-school age children comprised only twenty-four per cent of the non- respondent group vs the sixty-six per cent of the 64 participating families with pre-school age children. Both factors tend to indicate a possible reason for lack of re— sponse to repeated phone calls to the homes. Because the majority of the telephone contact attempts were made during the day the research may have been overally concentrated in the homes of mobiles where the wife did not work. The housewives in 185 mobile families were contacted by telephone and asked to participate in the research. Near- ly eighty-seven per cent or 162 of the wives agreed to par- ticipate in the research by allowing an interviewer to visit the home (Figure 4, Part 6). Twenty-three of the families called refused to participate in the survey (Figure 4, Part 7). While the initial contact with 162 homes received a favorable response fifteen of the scheduled interviews were not completed. In seven homes the interviewers were unable to make the scheduled appointment and the housewives refused to reschedule the interviews. In five homes the interviewers found no one was at home. Attempts to reschedule the ap- pointments also proved unsuccessful. In addition three other housewives failed to keep the original appointments for a variety of reasons and refused to reschedule (Figure 4, Part 9). The 147 other scheduled interviews were com- pleted (Figure 4, Part 8). Administrative Procedures All the families asked to participate in the re- search were initially contacted on the telephone by a 65 telephone interviewer hired and trained for the research study. The format used by the interviewer is contained in the Appendix B. If a housewife agreed to participate in the study the phone interviewer confirmed the present address, phone number, date of arrival of the family in the community as well as the family's former address. Upon the completion of each telephone call the phone interviewer recorded the outcome of the call on a card maintained for each family. Whenever a housewife agreed to participate in the research the cover sheet of the questionnaire assigned to the family was filled out by the phone interviewer. General directions were also written on each questionnaire telling the interviewer how to travel to the home of the newcomer. Interview assignments were planned to minimize the travel of the interviewers wherever possible. A sliding pay scale was established for the interviewers reflecting the distances involved in reaching the assigned interview homes. All interviewers were instructed to immediately telephone a housewife if a change in schedule prevented the interviewer from reaching a designated home for a scheduled appointment. In cases where the interviewers failed to find the housewife at home, instructions were to call the home from the nearest available telephone to confirm the family address. In all instances where the housewife failed to keep a scheduled interview the field 66 woon>Houcfi who: mofiHHEmw oflpmfiflm>m on“ we wmo o mmHAHE< mmm m:B mo Ava :HHZ QMHmAQZOU mam: mZmH>mmHzH mazwonom -oh ow womsw -oh w oEo: Ho: oho3 m3oa>pmu -cfl wcflpmooom mOfiHHEmw ma ococm kn wouompcoo con: vozofl>houcfi on ow womsmmh mmHHfiEmm mm moEwp whoa so a poHHmo cog: ococm may Hozmcm yo: vac mowfifismw em .m moflfifiamw mafia .05 may sud: wouonEoo ego: mzofl> -Houcfl sea .5 .m pmHHmo con: mzofl> (Houcfl woumoo. .m -om saamuoucu mouHAan NOH T 3ow>sopca am How vofiamo coax ozonm may pmHoBmcm mofiHfiEmm mma ozona kn manmuompcoo no: who: moflHfiEmw «a coma .sfise asap Husm< :fi mafi>flupm mmHHfiEmm mmm Fl ocoam >9 copompcoo who: mofififlamw mHN I'k .o .v v mmDUHm .N mmHAHZmmHzH mo HmHmHm<> m.m N.©H o.o 0.5 0.x o.N m.ON m.m o.5 w wwa mN o NH mN o oo 0 ov a mUH>mmm 5.m o.o N.mH m.ma 5.?H m.¢ o.o m.N m.oa w mON o m cm om OH o V cm a mmuHmm 304 mmumaom aHB<4mm .mmommonz azmHmm mo oneHHZDZZOU mOHmm ZH zmHm ¢.NH o.m v.5 c.HH «m.H¢ H.mH o.o m.N m.o N mHmH :HHZ mmmszDm GHQ NON OH m om NvH mm o v on a >4H2zou Dl SW GMW "VJ... 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ON o o o o mm N.o o.o o.o N.¢ o.o c.o H.0N «m.NN N.N aNN o o NH o o mm Na NH ‘2‘. o\° c: o\° a o\° I: o\° C: o\° c: o\° mmHmoumhIm ZmHm H< mxmoz szHmm mo m>HH< mmzbjective, to test the established hypotheses, was carried C>ut successfully. 126 Positive Aspects of Homogeneity The purpose of the concept of market segmentation; to determine differences among buyers which may be con- sequenctial in marketing played a key role in the research. In establishing the homogeneous nature of a large, iden- tifiable and affluent mobile market segment the research provided valuable data for marketers. The ultimate bene- fit of segmentation based upon mobility is tied to the degree to which mobiles moving into various markets are similar. Verification of similar socio-economic charac- teristics in independent samples will hOpefully provide the basis for predicting buyer behavior. In the research conducted by Andreasen the long distance mobile group was found to be superior to the rest of the population according to four criteria: present spending power, potential for future increased Spending power,present purchase behavior and potential for change in future purchase behavior.1 The study by Andreasen was made with 148 geographic mobiles. An analysis of the socio- economic characteristics of Andreasen's sample reveal a marked similarity with the profile of families in the re- search study. In the work by Andreasen mobiles were also found to be concentrated in the managerial or professional occupations, have above average educations, and earn higher than average incomes. ‘ 1Andreasen, "Geographic Mobility and Market Seg- mentation,” pp. cit., pp. 340-341. 21bid., p.. 344. 127 The similar medium incomes of $10,000 to $15,000 for both samples indicated the homogeneous nature of the long distance mobile market.1 In addition, both studies found that long distance mobiles had typically made a number of long distance moves.2 In Andreasen's study, seventy per cent of the household heads had at least some college. Mobile house- hold heads in the research study had at least some college in eighty per cent of the families interviewed. The dif- ference can be partially explained by the presence of a major university in the study research area. A number of mobile household heads had moved to the community to joing the faculty of the university. The research study and Andreasen's work have both identified the similar nature of the long distance mobile market. Mobiles would appear to exhibit similar socio- economic patterns independent of the destination of the move. The market identified for suppliers and manufac- turers has been described in such detail that marketing efforts may be more precisely directed toward the area of Opportunity. The benefits of segmenting the market are that lpromotions may be directed at specific individuals, timed :ECH'nmximum efficiency and adjusted to meet distinguishable 128 changes in the market. In the search for broad classes of buyers, distinguishable from the mass market, the re- search has made a positive contribution to marketing by further segmenting the mass market. The usefulness of identifying the mobile market for specific programs is enhanced by the relative ease by which the location, size, and affluence of the market can be measured. Because of the unique character of mobility the market is accessible for focusing marketing efforts. The homogeneity of the market is of course a key dimension in the process. The size and affluence of the market further substantiate the benefits of the research which has provided additional information on the unique nature of a segment of the con- sumer market. A Managerial Strategy for Marketing to Mobile Families Identification of the Mobile Market Changes in residence by nearly twenty per cent of the nation's population eaCh year makes possible the seg- mentation of over thirty-six million individuals based 'upon geographic mobility. Identification of the mobile ssegment is of particular value in marketing to the over tfliirteen million individual's making long distance moves arinually. The long distance mobiles comprise a market latrger in size than the state of Pennsylvania. 129 Long distance mobiles comprise an important market segment not only because of size, but also due to the eco- nomic power of the market segment. The power may be traced to high levels of education attained by mobiles and the nature of the occupations held by individuals comprising the market. The cluster of incomes in the $10,000 to $15,000 category of the group identifies the market as having above average potential for marketers. Because of the high repetitive mobility rate of long distance mobiles identification of the market segment has additional value beyond the geographic confines of a single trading area. Individuals moving into one area and losing the identifi- cation of a mobile after a number of weeks in a community can be expected to ITflCfiJl the mobile segment in another community within three or four years. The Steps in Segmentation The process of showing that mobiles are a distinct market segment involves four distinct steps: (1) identifi- cation of the market, (2) a study of market homogeneity, (3) investigation of the accessibility of the market, and (4) an estimate of market potential.1 The first step, the identification of the overall market segment based upon geographic mobility has been done E. Jerome McCarthy, Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach (Homewood: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1964), pp. 21- 130 for several years by the U.S. Bureau of Census. The iden- tification studies show that mobility occurs each year to nearly twenty per cent of the nation's pOpulation. In ad- dition, the reports made by the bureau for a decade show that each year the breakdown of mobiles by distance moved remains relatively constant. The second step, involving studies on the degree of homogeneity among the mobiles has been accomplished in part by the research study and by Andreasen's work. Both studies have found that long distance movers are very similar in terms of socio-economic and life cycle charac- teristics. The third step in segmentation is to investigate the accessibility of the mobile market for promotional ef- forts. Based on the research, the long distance mobile market would appear to be accessible for sometime after the completion of a long distance move. The nature of a move and the associated disruptions of family life tend to make mobiles relatively accessible and receptive to promotional efforts aimed at helping families in rebuild- ing shOpping patterns. As the final step toward segmentation, the mobile market potential for specific firms should be determined. Estimation of the potential market should include an evalua- tion of the benefits to a firm of allocating resources to the mobile market and a comparison of the expected revenues 131 to other alternative uses of promotional dollars. In the process each firm must evaluate the relative potential of the mobile market in the trading area served and compare the possible returns to alternative marketing programs. Strategies for Suppliers Firms have three broad strategy alternatives in terms of the mobile market: 1. Make no attempt at develOping a different pro- gram for the market. 2. Deve10p special programs aimed at the mobile market segment, while maintaining regular pro- grams for the core market customers. 3. Concentrate entirely upon the mobile market segment. Firms operating on the premise that no attempt will be made at developing programs Specifically for the mobile segment may assume that regular programs will reach mobiles. For example, a department store may decide not to advertise directly to mobiles or to encourage mobiles to open charge accounts. Such a firm might assume that regular advertising and a large clientele will draw mo- 'biles to the store. Other firms may decide to structure the total mar- kerting program to include a separate plan for marketing tC> mobiles while retaining programs aimed at core market CLLstomers. Attention to how firms might structure such a 132 program will be covered in the Chapter. A third alter- native, that of marketing entirely to mobiles, would be a strategy likely to be adOpted by firms associated with uprooting, moving and settling mobile families into new residences. I The attention of the work will now be devoted to the development of a marketing strategy aimed at mobiles as part of the overall promotional program. Attention will be confined to the purchase categories investigated in the research study. Supermarkets Mobiles usually did the first major local food shopping at the most convenient supermarket. 0f the first supermarket shopping forty-five per cent was done in stores having the same name as stores patronized by mobiles prior to moving into the study area. Wives made the ini- tial food store selection alone in seventy per cent of the families. Husbands made about ten per cent of the decisions alone and participated in joint decision with wives in about twenty per cent of the families. Families learned about the first food store used primarily through making a search of the area near home. After mobiles had been in the community for three or four weeks visits had usually been made to three or' four competing outlets. Following the visits, ninety per 133 cent of the families identified one or more food stores as a favorite family supplier. The selection of favorite food suppliers was usually done by the wife alone or by the wife with some help from the husband. While the ini- tial supermarkets were selected primarily because of con— venience, favorite stores were identified primarily be- cause of merchandising policies. Such factors as price, variety, familiarity of brands, and particularly the quality of produce and meat accounted for nearly sixty per cent of all selection reasons. Quality of meat and produce alone accounted for twenty per cent of the reasons given for identifying particular outlets as preferred sup- pliers. In the study area, the favorite food store selec- ted was more likely to be a national chain, 38.8 per cent or a regional chain, 27.9 per cent than a locally owned outlet, 23.1 per cent. Families moving into the study area tended to increase patronage in regional chains at the expense of national chains after getting adjusted to the community. When families selected stores other than the ones initially visited as favorite suppliers the chief causes of dissatisfaction were high prices, poor service and inconvenience. Over eight per cent of the mobile families saved trading stamps, sixty-five per cent indicated that the first local food store shopping was done in stores giving stamps. Twenty-five of the families studied stated trading 134 stamps had influenced the selection of a food store. Slightly over half of the twenty-five families indicated stamps were a positive factor in the selection of food suppliers. When families selected more than one favorite food store the distribution of purchases was typically to spend from seventy to eighty per cent of the food budget with the prime supplier, about fifteen per cent with the second favorite supplier and the remainder with the third supplier. Few of the families interviewed could recall an attempt by a food retailer doing business in the study area to ask for patronage. In developing marketing programs for mobile con- sumers food retailers should gear the efforts to the first three weeks a new family is in the community. After a three week period the selection process is usually com- pleted and the mobile market segment has been assimilated into the total market. Particular attention should be devoted to adjusting the mobile food marketing progiams to the housewife because decisions on the selection of stores are usually made by the housewife. Direct mail and personal contacts might profitably be used in con- tacting newcomers. Reasons given by mobiles for dissatisfaction with food retailers, primarily poor quality of meat and produce, offer logical clues for development of a marketing strategy. 135 Evidence in the trading area studied pointed to a particu- lar need for newcomer promotion programs for locally owned and operated firms. Mobiles studied had a marked tendency to use a familiar outlet when doing the first local food shopping. While the strong market position of national and regional chain firms in the area studied could account for the concentration of mobile food purchases it also points up the need for firms having a relatively small marketing area to promote in the mobile market segment. In some mobile families, trading stamps played a key role in determining store patronage. Since over eighty per cent of the mobiles saved trading stamps, the possibility of using stamps to attract the market segment should not be overlooked. Efforts to tie mobiles to a particular food re- tailer could profitably include check cashing services for the newcomers. Such a program might also include a spe- cial introductory gift package of private label items which could be picked up at the market over a two or three week period. Having the store manager personally authorize the check cashing or distribution of the gift items would appear to be additional ways to personalize the store to newcomers. Dry Cleaners Dry cleaners were used by 89.1 per cent of the mobile families interviewed. In mobile families the 136 initial dry cleaning was typically done during the third week of residence in the community. The cleaning was generally done in a conventional Operation. The cleaning was taken to the firm performing the work by two-thirds of the families. Pick up and delivery services were used by the remaining one-third of the families. Mobile families relied primarily upon personal in- formation sources and searching in gathering information about potential cleaners. Specifically, the personal in- formation sources used were recommendations from various welcoming services and suggestions from other individuals. In the searching process newcomers typically selected the cleaners most convenient to home or work. The responsi- bility for selecting the initial cleaner was found to be that of the housewife in nearly sixty per cent of the families. The husband alone assumed the responsibility for selecting cleaners in 19.7 per cent of the families. The primary reasons given for selecting initial dry cleaners were convenience to home 28.8 per cent, convenience to work 7.1 per cent, and had been given coupons by a welcoming ' organization 27.6 per cent. Favorite dry cleaners were selected by nearly two- thirds of the mobile families. Cleaners designated as family favorites were typically chosen during the fifth week of residence in the community and after each family had used the dry cleaning service of two competing firms. 137 Assignment of the responsibility for selecting favorite dry cleaners was found to be very similar to the pattern developed in selecting initial cleaners. Personal sources of information were used in selecting over one-half of the favorite dry cleaners. Searching for the most convenient location was used in about one-third of the selection processes. Prime reasons given for selecting specific dry cleaners as favorites were good work, good service and convenient to home or work. Of the families interviewed, fifty or nearly forty per cent did not select the first dry cleaner used as the family favorite. Reasons most frequently given for not selecting the first cleaner used as the family favorite, in order of importance, were too expensive, poor work and too far away. Close to ninety per cent of the newcomers selecting favorite dry cleaners had the work done by conventional dry cleaning methods. Slightly over one-third of the mobiles had the favorite cleaner pick up and deliver the cleaning. The marketing program of a dry cleaning establish- ment aimed specifically at mobile families should start with personal calls upon the housewife. During the call, whether by a welcoming organization or by a routeman, the housewife should be given a coupon for dry cleaning a garment. In particular, the initial coupon should be a vehicle for demonstrating the quality of workmanship and 138 service available from the cleaner. Such a coupon should probably not be tied to a price reduction on cleaning one garment. Personal contacts at home are one way a dry cleaning firm having a limited number of outlets can extend the trading area served. However, firms with numerous loca- tions would also benefit by contacting newcomers. Since only one-third of the mobiles made use of a pick up and delivery service, the ability of a firm to extend the trad- ing area served through using pick up and delivery services would be somewhat dependent upon changing customer habits. Routemen should be trained to search for and contact all new families. ‘ While wives play the major role in selecting dry cleaners, promotion to mobile household heads should not be neglected. The husbands in mobile families typically wear clothing needing dry cleaning to work and frequently select cleaners close to the place of employment. Identi- fication of household heads would be an important part of an overall program aimed at mobiles. Promotions aimed at winning the dry cleaning busi- ness of newcomers should be made as soon as the families are identifiable. Promotional efforts to mobiles should be concentrated during the first five weeks families re- side in the community. The prime complaints of newcomers on the first cleaner used would appear to offer a basis 139 for preparing an overall strategy for the mobile market. Initial contacts should prov1de the mobile family with an opportunity to test a firm’s work, judge the service offered and possibly determine the price levels. Being frequent users of dry cleaning services mobiles tend to be very aware of price levels. A promotion program, geared to discounts on volume purchases and tied to open- ing a charge account would be one plan cleaners might use in winning the patronage of mobile families. Beauty Parlors Beauty parlors had been used by three-quarters of the mobile housewives within twenty weeks of arriving. The selection of beauty parlors was almost the exclusive responsibility of the housewife. Housewives generally learned about the first local beauty parlor used through a visit by a local welcoming organization or through the personal recommendation of another housewife. The two information sources accounted for nearly seventy-five per cent of the initial consumer intelligence on beauty par- lors. On the average housewives had been in the community nearly a month before making the first visit to a beauty parlor. Whereas the first beauty parlors used were usually selected because free coupons had been given to the new- comer, by a welcoming organization, or because a friend 140 recommended the shOp, the selection reasons for favorites were quite different. Good work and good service were the reasons given for selecting favorite beauty parlors, seventy per cent of the time. Sixty-four of the house- wives interviewed did not select the first beauty shOp used as the favorite, which means that nearly sixty per cent of the initial hair care received by mobile families was not considered adequate. The dissatisfaction was primarily attributed to the following: poor appearance of shops and operators 23.5 per cent, poor styling 20.3 per cent, poor service 15.6 per cent, and high prices 10.9 per cent. The selection of a favorite beauty parlor had been made by sixty-four families or nearly forty-five per cent of the sample. The selection was made on an average 5.5 weeks after arrival and after visits had been made to two local beauty parlors. In developing a marketing program for beauty par- lors oriented to the mobile housewife two factors are of prime concern. The first deals with informing newcomers of the availability of the service. The second deals with providing a satisfactory service so the customer will return. The information process should include per— sonal contacts with the housewife. Providing the new- comer with some inducement, such as a price reduction, to try the service should also be an important part of such a program. 141 Promotions directed at mobile housewives for hair care should be initiated shortly after a family has moved into the community. The second week of residence would appear to be an ideal contact time. Mass media does not appear to be a logical way to reach the market. Personal contact, followed by good service in a clean establishment would appear to be the best means to attract the mobile housewife. Financial Institutions One or more new bank accounts were opened by 134 or ninety per cent of the 147 mobile families studied. The first account opened at a local bank was typically initiated during the first ten days of a family's resi- dence in the community. The account was a checking ac- count in over ninety per cent of the new account Openings. After mobile families had been in the community a number of weeks a second bank account was opened by slightly over forty per cent of the families. The second account was typically a savings account. Mobile families gave 183 reasons for the selection of various banks. Convenience to home was listed as the reason forty-one per cent of the time. Previous experience with the firm was listed eighteen per cent of the time, and convenience to work ten per cent of the time. Selection of a bank was found to be primarily the responsibility of the husband in a mobile family. Husbands made the 142 selections alone in nearly two-thirds of the families and were helped by wives in another third of the selection de- cisions. Mobile families relied heavily upon personal sources of information, forty-five per cent, and upon searching, forty-two per cent, in selecting banks. Savings and loan accounts were Opened by twenty- three of the mobile families after moving to the study area. Information on firms selected was acquired pri- marily from personal sources and to a lesser extent mass media. Savings and loan firms were selected on an aver- age between the second and fourth week of residence in the community. Only one firm was usually visited in the selection process. Savings and loan firms were selected primarily because a home was financed through the firm or the firm was convenient to the home of the mobile family. Accounts at local credit unions were Opened by twenty-three mobile families. The accounts were generally opened four weeks after families arrived in the community. Decisions on the selection of credit unions were primarily the responsibility of the husbands in mobile families. Families learned about the credit unions selected, pri- marily, seventy-eight per cent of the time, through the husband's employer. Accounts were opened at credit unions primarily to secure loans. 143 Slightly over forty per cent of the mobile families had received a loan of one type of another since moving to the community. Banks were identified as the loan source by 38.5 per cent of the families, while credit unions were identified as a loan source by twenty-seven per cent of the group. Savings and loan firms were used by thirteen per cent of the families. In response to questions asking what sources would be used for automobile loans, $500.00 cash loans, and home loans, mobile families generally iden- tified banks and credit unions. The two sources comprised nearly eighty per cent of the automobile loan sources iden- tified and about the same percentage of cash loan sources. In financing a home banks were identified as the likely source by forty~five per cent of the families and savings and loan firms by seventeen per cent of the families. In structuring a marketing program aiming at mo- biles banks should be keenly aware of the limited time available to contact mobiles after a move. Specific pro- grams need to be undertaken to contact mobiles prior to arrival if possible, or within a week of the move into a new community. Prior contact of newcomers might profitably be made by mail to individuals planning a move into the community. Knowledge of transfers or new appointments would be essential in the program. Recommendations, con- venience and prior experience all play major roles in the bank selection process. Marketing messages aimed at 144 newcomers should be structured to reflect the factors in- fluencing the selection of a bank. Banks should stress the availability of loans when contacting mobiles. Mo- biles moving into the market area of a bank should receive by mail detailed literature Offering specific banking ser- vices. If mobiles are not contacted the first week of arrival the opportunities of a bank receiving a new ac- count would appear to be relatively limited and dependent solely upon convenience and recommendations. Because husbands play such a vital role in the bank selection process promotional messages should be aimed at husbands. As in the selection of property in- surance, individuals concerned with prOperty transfers play a major role in influencing bank selections. A pro- motional program aimed at newcomers should be reflective of the key segments of the population likely to influence bank selection decisions. Savings and loan firms are selected primarily to finance homes. Advertising of the firms should, of course, reflect the use made of the funds. Competition between various financial institutions should be considered in structuring a promotional program for any one financial institution. Mobiles take from two to four weeks on the average to select savings and loan firms. Thus, promotion by the firms, to the mobile market segment, might be de- layed until knowledge was gained of the new addresses, 145 at home and work, of the husband. Credit unions typically have a market limited to employees of a Specific firm or organization. Promotion to the market by credit unions Should be tied in with contacts made to the household head, at the place of employment, as well as at home. It would appear that banks which do not attract mobiles shortly after arrival have another Opportunity to reach the market when a decision is made to Open a savings account. Promotion to the market segment can also be made at the somewhat later date when savings accounts are typi- cally opened. Promotions should feature earnings on sav- ings rather than features used to attract new families ini- tially, such as convenience or hours of service. Success- ful promotion in 11K: area may be a way to counter poor locations, or the influence of reommendations both which may hinder the initial efforts of some banks to gain new customers . Insurance Research findings reveal that mobile families are more likely to purchase prOperty insurance than either automobile insurance or life insurance. New property in- surance was purchased by forty-five per cent of the families after moving. Less than twenty per cent purchased auto- mobile insurance and about fifteen per cent purchased life insurance. Property insurance was usually purchased after 146 families had been in the community over three weeks, al- though in some cases it was purchased by the husband prior to the arrival of the family. Automobile insurance purchases were made on the average five weeks after arrival. Life insurance purchases typically were made after a family had resided in the community over seven weeks. Families tended to select prOperty insurance sup- pliers after a visit to only one firm. Life insurance purchases were also generally made after only one poten- tial supply had been contacted. However, a number of families did visit two firms. The greatest amount of comparison shopping in selecting insurance suppliers was found in the automobile insurance area. Here purchases were typically made after the families had contacted two suppliers. The decision responsibility for selecting in- surance suppliers rested primarily with the husband. Husbands played the major role in nearly three-quarters of all the purchase selections. Husbands usually made the decisions alone in the prOperty insurance area; how- ever, in the automobile and life insurance areas joint decisions were made with wives in about twenty per cent of the purchases. In learning about suppliers of various suppliers of insurance, mobile families relied almost ex- clusively upon personal information. For example, in selecting property insurance, mobile families frequently 147 received recommendations from builders, lawyers, bankers or realtors. Mobile families generally were unable to identify names of property insurance companies carrying the family insurance. However, mobiles were generally able to identify the agency or person from which the in- surance was purchased. In the automobile and life insur- ance areas mobile families tended to identify the insur- ance company rather than an agent or agency. In selecting life insurance, personal contacts made by sales personnel played a major role in providing families with information on potential suppliers. Although automobile and life insurance had been purchased by less than one-quarter of the families the families were able to identify favorite companies in over two-thirds of the interviews. Generally the favorite companies identified were the firms presently supplying policies to the families interviewed. Each of the families in the sample was asked to give reasons for selecting Specific companies as favorites. Nearly one-third of the families gave "carry insurance with the firm now" or "previous experience with the firm" as the major selection reasons. Low rates were also fre- quently indicated as a principle reason for selection. Recommendations of friends or relatives or having a friend sel ling for a Specific company were also important rea- sons given for selecting insurance suppliers. 148 Based on the research insurance companies in plan- ning a program aimed at mobile consumers should concentrate upon contacting existing customers moving from one company sales district to another. The continued contact with mo- bileS is of particular importance to firms selling auto- mobile and life insurance. Since less than twenty per cent of the mobiles purchased new insurance, in the two areas, the findings indicate mobiles typically continue existing life and automobile policies when moving. To maintain market position with mobiles life and automobile insurance firms Should maintain data on the changes in residence of policy holders and transmit such data between offices. Property insurance firms and representatives Should follow a slightly different market strategy. The prime con- cern Of firms in the property insurance field would be to develOp a continual source of knowledge on prOperty trans- fers to mobiles. Bankers, lawyers, and real estate peOple typically have major roles in influencing purchase decisions in the sale of prOperty insurance. Since purchasers tend to identify agencies rather than firms, each agency should stress programs aimed at the mobile market segment featuring the agency name and lines of insurance sold. In contacting possible property insurance purchasers agencies should contact mobiles immediately upon arrival. Contact should be made with the household head. Life and 149 automobile insurance contacts could be made shortly after a family arrives and prior to the completion of six weeks in the community. In contacting mobiles for new auto- mobile and life policies the high family income levels and density of women drivers both make it important to consider the wives when contacting mobile families. Fa- miliarity Of the insuring company would appear to be the prime element that should be stressed in developing pro- grams used in contacting mobiles for purchases of life and automobile insurance. Furniture and Appliances The mobile families interviewed had spent $91,615.00 for furniture and appliances within four months of com- pleting long distance moves into the study area. The ex- penditures averaged $623.33 for each of the 147 families in the sample. The rate of expenditure was nearly twice the $314.00 yearly expenditure for all families in the nation.1 Mobile families typically made forty per cent of the furniture and appliance expenditures during the first month of residence in the community. About twenty-five per cent of all expenditures were made during the second month, twenty per cent the third month and the remaining fifteen per cent during the fourth month of residence. lFabian, Linden (ed.), National Industrial Confer- ence Board: Expenditure Patterns of the American Famil . (New York: National Industrial Conference Board, 1965 , pp. 70-77. 150 Appliances were generally purchased before furni- ture by the mobiles. In the families making purchases from two different appliance suppliers, the first store was selected during the first week in the community and the second store, on the average, during the third week. Furniture purchases were typically made after a family had been in the community Six or seven weeks. Consider- ably more shopping was done in selecting furniture stores than in selecting appliance stores. For example, the first appliance store was generally selected after a visit to only one other store. However, two furniture stores were usually visited prior to the contact which resulted in the initial furniture purchase. Wives played the key role in the selection of furniture stores. Wives made the selection of furniture stores alone nearly half the time and participated jointly with husbands in an equal amount of decisions. The selec- tion of appliance stores however, was generally found to be an undertaking of both the husband and wife. Nearly half the decisions were in the joint category. Husbands alone made the supplier selection decisions in nearly seventeen per cent of all families. Thus, husbands and wives jointly appeared to play the major role in the selec- tion of appliance stores while wives alone assumed the prime responsibility in selecting furniture stores. Each mobile family was asked to indicate the person in the 151 family selecting the brand in furniture and appliance pur- chases. Responses to the questions revealed that the re- sponsibility for selecting brands was generally assumed by the person or persons selecting the suppliers. Mobile families concentrated one-third of all fur- niture and appliance purchases, with the local outlet of one national organization. The largest local independently owned department store was able to attract Slightly over thirteen per cent of the purchases made by the mobile group. NO other retailer attained over four per cent of the mobile purchases. One hundred and eight purchases were made with twenty-three local firms, by the mobiles, for an average of 4.7 sales per firm. The eight regionally operated firms were able to attract twenty purchases or an average of 2.5 sales per firm. The five national or- ganizations made ninety-three sales to mobiles or an aver- age Of 18.6 sales per firm. Reasons given by mobiles for selecting suppliers fell into two major categories: (1) range of selection of items carried, and (2) brand preference or previous experience with a firm. The second factor supported the market position of the national organization which received the largest Share of the furniture and appliance business. Slightly over one-half of all furniture and appliance items purchased were bought using credit. The strong market position of the one firm can be further explained by the 152 fact that nearly fifty per cent of the mobile families were able to transfer an account to the local outlet of the or- ganization. In furniture purchases, style was selected first in nearly two-thirds of the purchases. The store was selected first in twenty per cent of the purchases. Brand and store were selected first almost equally in choosing appliance suppliers. Style was not mentioned as a major factor in the selection of appliances. Appliance items most frequently purchased by mobiles were washers, dryers, refrigerators, and stoves. In the furniture area, purchases were concentrated in the living room. Couches and chairs accounted for 20.5 per cent of all purchases. Draperies and lamps another 25.2 per cent. Designing a marketing strategy for mobile consumers is especially critical for locally owned retailers of fur- niture and appliances. Mobiles comprise a unique market segment with a purchase rate twice the national average. In the Study the outlet of one national chain enjoyed one- third of all the furniture and appliance purchases made by mobiles. It would appear that charge account transfers, brand loyalty and store familiarity all tend to make the selection process easy for many mobile consumers; mobiles patronize familiar chain outlets in shopping done soon after arriving in a community. 153 The dominance of purchases from one firm in the market area studied makes it appear that chain outlets have an important initial advantage over locally owned stores, regardless of the local firm's Size. The advan- tage is probably tied to the lack of information mobiles have on local suppliers. Promotional programs in the furniture and appli- ance area would appear to be especially critical for the local organizations which do not have the familiarity en- joyed by multisunit retailers. Such promotional programs Should be aimed primarily at the wives for furniture and at both husband and wife for appliances. Because Of the heavy use made of credit in durable goods purchases efforts should be made by local retailers to add long distance mo- biles to store credit lists immediately upon arrival. Direct mail and personal contacts are prime ways to reach the market. In the use of yellow page advertisements brands of merchandise carried Should be specified. Promotional programs by furniture stores may be initiated somewhat later than programs of strictly appli- ance stores. Whereas appliance purchases are made soon after arrival, furniture purchases are typically made from six to ten weeks after a family has been in the com- munity. Promotions to the mobile market segment should feature items most frequently purchased bynmmiles: washers, dryers, refrigerators, and stores in the appliance area 154 and living room furnishings in the furniture area. Furni- ture promotions Should feature the style of merchandise offered. While the relative affluence of the mobile mar- ket segment has been established the families studied did frequently list price or item on sale as prime factors in the selection of suppliers. Purchases of items on sale, to the mobile market segment, were frequently aided by the use of mass media. Perhaps the most direct way a local furniture or appliance retailer could attract mobiles would be to mail a letter to the mobile introducing the firm, asking the mobile for patronage and enclosing a credit ap- plication which the mobile is invited to fill out and use in the store. Firms at which mobiles already have accounts should make the rapid flow of information on changes in address a regular operating procedure. Thus, the outlet in the new area can invite the mobile family into the store to carry on the present mutual association. Men's Suits and Women's Better Dresses and Suits Slightly over one-quarter of the families purchased either a men's suit or a women's better dress within four months of arrival. About half the purchases were made using a charge account. Newcomers selected the store first in nearly eighty per cent of the purchases. The brand of merchandise was selected first in the other twenty per cent of the purchases. 155 Women's clothing, of the type studied, was pur- chased on the average seven weeks after a family moved in into the area. Men's suits were purchased after newcomers had been in the community over eight weeks. In selecting a supplier for the initial local purchase of a men's suit mobiles usually visited two shops, making a purchase in the second shop. Women's dresses on the other hand, took three shop visits to select. Wives chose women's clothing suppliers in over ninety per cent of the families. Selec- tion of suppliers for men's suits was primarily done by the husbands, although women helped in some twenty per cent of the selections. Mobiles relied on personal infor- mation in two-thirds of the purchases. Recommendations of friends and co-workers were of prime importance in selec- ting clothing suppliers for both mates. Reasons most frequently given for selecting sup- pliers were, "liked what they had," good selection, and price. Families who had not purchased clothing, of the type studied, in the community prior to their interview, were asked to identify how clothing suppliers would be selected. Factors most mentioned were: shop around for a store 42.9 per cent, ask others 40.9 per cent and read newspaper advertisements 10.2 per cent. In prOpOSing a marketing strategy for clothing merchants the first consideration is the size and nature of the market. Evidence from the sample seems to indicate 156 mobiles, at least in the first months of residence in a community, do not typically purchase a men's suit or a women's better dress or suit. The time between arrival and purchase pinpoints the need to plan contacts with mobiles after newcomers have been in the community a period of time. Such contacts can be directed at either the husband or wife, depending upon the nature of the item. Specifically direct mail contacts inviting mobiles to open charge accounts and stressing brands of merchan- dise carried would appear to be an excellent way to con- tact newcomers. While the research showed that personal recommen- dations played a key role in the selection of clothing stores, advertisements in newspapers frequently created the desire to buy from one firm. Mobiles mentioned price advertisements as being particularly valuable in the se- lection process. A marketing strategy for mobiles Should certainly reflect price considerations as well as atten- tion to transfer customers. In the case of smaller Spe- cialty stores a promotional program with a local welcoming organization would appear to be an excellent way to intro- duce a store to newcomers. Since newcomers are prone in the clothing area to make purchases based upon personal recommendations, the use of a welcoming service appears to be useful. Such a contact could introduce the brands of merchandise carried, Offer the newcomer a gift certificate 157 for an item of clothing which can be picked up at the store and include a charge account application. Medical Service Table 5-1 reflects the usage of medical services by mobile families. During the first four months in the community, nearly one-half of the families used at least one medical service. Less than fifty per cent of the families selected individuals to perform medical services prior to actually needing medical attention. TABLE 5-1 USAGE OF MEDICAL SERVICES Used Not Used Total MEDICAL SERVICES n % n % n % General Practitioners 78 53.1 69 46.7 147 100.0 Specialists 74 50.3 73 49.7 147 100.0 Dentists 70 47.6 77 52.4 147 100.0 Mobiles tended to select specialists, on the average, 6.9 weeks after arrival. General practitioners were selec- ted during the seventh week and dentists after nine weeks in the community. In no case did the families studied visit more than one potential supplier in making a choice. The responsibility for selecting medical services resided primarily with the wives. Wives alone made the decisions on which medical services to use in nearly forty-three 158 per cent of the families. Wives participated jointly with husbands in making decisions in another forty per cent of the families. Husbands alone played only a minor role in decisions on selecting medical services. Families learned of the medical sources used, in practically all cases, through personal information. Medi- cal suppliers were selected by sixty-eight families based upon non-professional sources. The breakdown of sources used is contained in Table 5-2. A comparison of nonpro- fessional sources to receivers revealed that non-profes- sional sources were always married and were nearly always of the same sex as the receivers. In one-half the cases information providers were the same age as the receivers, earned about the same income and had the same number of children. A third of the time individuals providing medi- cal data were older, enjoyed a better income and had more children than the receivers. TABLE 5-2 DISTRIBUTION OF MEDICAL SERVICES SELECTED BASED ON NONPROFESSIONAL SOURCES NUMBER OF FAMILIES TYPE OF MEDICAL SERVICE SELECTED n PERCENTAGE General Practitioner’ 24 35.3 General Practitioner and Specialist 4 5.9 General Practitioner and Dentist 7 10.3 Specialist 9 13.2 Specialist and Dentist 7 10.3 Dentist 12 17.7 General Practitioner, Specialist 7.3 and Dentist __;5 7.3 Total 68 100.0 159 An analysis of reasons given for selecting specific medical services reveals that recommendations of profes- sional sources played a key role in one-fifth of all se- lections. However, recommendations of nonprofessionals, 22.8 per cent,were of slightly greater importance. In some eleven per cent of the families, convenience played the deciding role in the selection process. A willingness on behalf of a doctor or dentist to accept new patients and make house calls was the reason given for selection nearly seventeen per cent of the time. Almost ninety per cent of the families studied were satisfied with the ini- tial medical service. The promotion efforts of the medical and dental professions are rigidly controlled by ethics. However, certain professional practices had a major role in the process by which mobiles selected SUpplierS. Mobile fami- lies tended to rely almost exclusively upon personal in- formation sources when selecting medical services. Pro- fessional references appear to be vital to a doctor or dentist hoping to serve patients in the mobile market area. The willingness to take new patients and make house calls played key roles in the selection process of mobiles. Convenience was also Of importance. The logical way for the'medical and dental profession to serve mobiles would be to provide public knowledge on which professional in- dividuals would be willing to assume new patients. 160 Another means used by mobiles to select medical service personnel was to read the introductory notices as new Of- fices were Opened. Mobiles tended to view such newcomers as like themselves and expected to be able to receive ap- pointments with the new personnel. Thus, medical and dental personnel would serve the mobile market segment primarily by making known the willingness to take new patients. How the Average Family Rebuilt Sources of Supply in Ten Weeks After Moving The following section of the Chapter details the process by which an average mobile family rebuilt sources of supply after completing a long distance move. Immediately upon arrival in a new community the mobile family selected the first food supplier. The selec- tion was made by the wife after a brief search of the trad- ing area immediately surrounding the new family residence. Within the first week or two the husband made the selection of a bank to handle the family checking account. The bank selected was close to home and was chosen after talking to a number of individuals in the community. In the third week after arrival the wife selected the favorite supermarket. The selection was made after visits to two or three possible suppliers. Whereas the first supermarket was selected based upon convenience the 161 favorite store was selected because of the quality of the meat or produce carried. The first appliance purchase was also made sometime during the third week after moving into the community. The selection of the supplier was made jointly by the husband and wife after searching through two possible suppliers. A savings and loan firm was also selected three weeks after arrival. The selection was made by the husband based upon personal information Ob- tained from an individual associated with the transfer of property to the family. Three weeks after arrival the purchase of property insurance was made by the husband. The firm or agency providing the insurance was learned about through personal contacts of the husband with indi- viduals in the community. In the fourth week after arrival the first dry cleaning was done for the family. The dry cleaning was done in a conventional Operation and was taken to the firm performing the service. The family used a coupon given by a welcoming service to have the first cleaning done. The coupon was the prime reason for selecting the first firm used by the family. The wife selected the first cleaner. The third financial institution, the credit union, used by the family was selected four weeks after arrival. The credit union joined was learned about through the husband's employer and was used to secure a Short term loan for family needs. 162 During the fifth week after arrival the wife used a coupon received from a welcoming organization to select the first beauty parlor. Another purchase made during the fifth week after arrival was that of an automobile insurance policy. The selection was made by the husband after contacting two firms. The firm selling insurance to the family usually contacted the family and asked for the business. The second major appliance purchase was also made during the fifth week. The second purchase was made after visits to three possible suppliers. The firm was selected jointly by the husband and wife after a search of the trading area. Six weeks after arrival the housewife selected the favorite beauty parlor. The selection was made after two local beauty parlors had been visited. Typically the fa- vorite was not the first Shop used because of the poor ap- pearance of the first Shop or the operators. During the Sixth week the wife also selected the favorite family dry cleaner. The cleaner selected did the work in a conven- tional manner and was chosen after two or three firms had been tried. The cleaner chosen was close to home. Furni- ture purchases in two stores were made during the sixth week of residence in the community. Furniture Store se- lections were made by the wife alone or jointly with the husband. Personal information and searching were used to gather information about the possible furniture SUpplierS. 163 Furniture purchases required visits to two or three pos- sible suppliers. The purchases were made using a charge account transferred from another community. In the seventh week after arrival the wife made a purchase of a better dress or suit. The selection en- tailed visits to three clothing suppliers and was made primarily based upon information gained from talking to other ladies. Searching through the stores also provided important information on possible clothing suppliers. The seventh week also caused the need for the family to select a general practitioner and Specialist. The selec- tions were made by the wife with some help from the hus- band. The specialist was selected earlier in the week than the general practitioner. Both doctors were selected based upon the recommendations received from other indi- viduals. The source of information was more often a non- professional source than a professional source. In the eighth week after arrival the husband pur- chased the first suit from a local firm. The selection was made after visits to a number of stores. Personal information recieved from friends and searching provided aid in the ShOpping process. The wife was of some help in the selection of the first men's clothing store. The third furniture store was also selected during the eighth week of residence. The selection of the third furniture Store was a joint undertaking Of both the husband and 164 wife and entailed visits to three or four possible sup- pliers. During the eighth week the family purchased a life insurance policy. The selection was made by the husband and was based upon talking to friends and insur- ance representatives. In the ninth week after arrival the family selected a dentist. The selection was made by the wife and was based upon information recieved from a number of friends. A Particularly Important Market for Spppliers The long distance mobile market is eSpecially critical to the one unit or multi-unit locally Operated retail organization. The overall concept of mobility means the population in an "average” area would completely change in a five year period. One unit retailers need to continually adjust the marketing program used to reflect changes in the market. Promotion to the special mobile market segment would appear to be much more critical for the Single unit unknown retailer than for the relatively well known multi-unit operations. For the Single unit Operation mobility makes a continual introductory program for newcomers vital. Multi-unit Operators face a slightly different problem in marketing to mobiles. The problem for multi- unit operations is how to insure that customers faith- fully patronizing an outlet before moving will transfer 165 patronage to the chain outlet near the new place of resi- dence. In light of the varying nature of competition in different markets the strategy used by a chain in one mar- ket to gain consumer franchise may not be the appropriate strategy to use in another area. The benefits of similar identification of centrally owned outlets would appear to make uniform store identification an increasingly impor- tant concept for retailing in the future. The need to at- tain some familiarity or similarity of merchandising opera- tions would also seem apparent. The chain Operation de- siring to attract mobiles must balance efforts geared to one particular geographic market with efforts geared to the mass market in several different geographic areas. The research has established that families once identified as mobiles area likely to move again. Thus, some family units may Spend a very appreciable part of the family life cycle in the mobile market segment. Con- tinual transfers of mobiles would appear to be an eXpected characteristic of society in the future. Consumer ties to one particular retailer will be increasingly dependent, in the case of local firms, upon the brands of merchandise and price lines offered. National or regional chains will of course have an advantage, at least initially, ingaining the business of mobiles in each market. The mobile market is a key area of market Oppor- tunity for firms primarily associated with uprooting, 166 moving and settling mobile families in new places of resi- dence. Firms especially associated with the process, moving companies, real estate companies, financial insti- tutions and insurance companies,could well gear all or part of the firm's promotional strategy to the mobile mar- ket. Moving companies could well afford to maintain con- tinual contact with families once a move has been com- pleted; the same family is a prime prospect for another move. In the same sense insurance firms Should be sure that marketing programs include provisions for contacting mobiles immediately upon completion of the move to make sure that needed changes in existing policies are made as needed. Financial institutiotns, particularly banks, are typically associated with mobiles prior to and after a change in residence. The home loan market for mobile fami- lies would appear to be an important market opportunity for financial insttitutions. Financial institutions can be expected to play key roles in the transfer Of prOperty from one family to another family, possibly another mobile. Because of the nature of the occupations of mobile house- hold heads, contacting mobiles, soon after arrival, could be a possible way to increase both private and professional business by gaining accounts from newcomers in the com- munity. 167 Tactics to be Used in Programs Aimed at Mobiles If, after an evaluation of a firm's total marketing effort, specific benefits are anticipated from marketing to mobiles several decisions need to be made by management. The same decisions need to be made in all firms contemplat- ing marketing to mobiles regardless of size. Assuming the market potential is able to support a Special mobile marketing program the first step in imple- mentation is the obtaining of an immediate and accurate source of names of mobiles. Once the name source has been established consideration must be given to how the market should be contacted. Specific tactical decisions need to be made on which families should be contacted, how the families Should be contacted, when the families should be contacted, and if a particular family' member' Should be contacted. In this area the services of a welcoming ser- vice might be employed. Following the solution of the tactical questions attention needs to be turned to the very nature of the pro- motional program to be used. For example, should coupons or gifts be used or should the program be tied to the Open- ing of a charge account. Included in the promotional de- cision area Should be questions on the implementation of such a program as part of the overall program of the firm. In structuring a marketing strategy for the mobile market 168 two major guide lines should be coordination and evaluation. The mobile program must be coordinated in the total market- ing plan of the firm and subject to constant evaluation. Because of the distinct character of the mobile market even relatively small firms can judge the impact of programs aimed at mobiles. Such an evaluation can be made Simply by checking on the sales of the firm to newcomers contacted, particularly if such sales are made using credit or invoice. A possible danger of overall evaluation Should be noted. If a firm is generally unable to pinpoint the effectiveness of the total promotional eXpenditure care should be taken to insure that overly precise expectations of revenues from a program directed at mobiles do not lead to the termina- tion of such programs. Another guide line would be to con- fine the program aimed at mobiles to a firm's regular mar- keting area, especially in the early stages of a program. In particular, programs geared to mobiles should be timed to reach the mobiles before judgments have been made on suppliers in the new trading area of the family. Special attention Should also be devoted to contacting the proper person or persons, as well as using the most appro- priate media in terms Of the program limitations and ob- jectives. Impact of Mobility in the Future The geographically mobile segment is exPected to comprise some twenty per cent of the nation's pOpulation 169 in the coming years. In particular the long distance mo- bile segment is expected to comprise over fifteen million individuals by 1975. While the average rate of mobility is a valuable guide to the overall concept of mobility, Specific areas have in the past and are in the future eXpected to have mobility rates far in the excess of the one move every five year national figure. In particular, the West and Southwestern states are expected to continue the rapid turnover of population. However, the most interesting concept concerning mobility may be the unique patterns of mobility within specific middle and upper middle class neighborhoods within metropolitan areas. Specifically, the suburban areas, populated by individuals with high aspirations of mobility and employed by multi-location or- ganizations may be expected to have rates of mobility far above the national average. The research has dealt with the relatively young, well educated, middle and upper middle class white collar worker. Inidividuals comprising the market segment in- vestigated are typically prone to repeated mobility. To marketers the identification of where such individuals re- side adds yet another dimension to the overall concept of mobility. Specific address or city areas may even be designated for promotional campaigns designed to capture a share of the affluent mobile market. 170 The presence of mobility as a phenonema of the market place of the coming decades seems assured. The challenge to marketers will be to successfully design pro- grams useful in gaining the patronage of families in the market segment identified and described in the research. Suggested Areas for Further Research The research effort has been focused on developing a greater understanding of the process by which one large and distinguishable segment of the consumer market selects sources of supply for various family needs. The major em- phasis of research in consumer decision making in the past has centered about decisions pertaining to the selection of goods or services, rather than upon the selection of suppliers. The research has been devoted to adding to existing knowledge on the selection process by which sources of supply are chosen. Based upon the experience gained in the research study the following areas are sug- gested for further research: The research study, conducted in a midwest metro- politan area of 200,000 and Andreasen's study conducted in Philadelphia have both dealt with Slightly less than 150 families. A logical addition to the two studies would be one of greater size concentrating upon purchase be- havior in the designated market segment. Such a study would be designed to further test the established hypothe- ses and findings through use of a substantially larger 171 number of respondents. The Study could be designed to re- flect decisions not only by the affluent mobiles but also decision processes of the long distance mobiles on the other extreme of the socio-economic spectrum. A second research study that should be made would deal with the relative success of various programs used to attract mobiles to Specific suppliers. The study would be aimed at determining the marginal cost and marginal revenue aspects of promotional programs directed Specifi- cally at the mobile segment Of the consumer market. Such a study would also identify characteristics of the programs which are successful in selected supply categories. A third proposed would deal with the purchasing habits of local and long distance mobile families before and after completion of moves. Such a study would iden- tify the degree to which store and brand loyalties are transferable. The study would also incorporate research on the impact of credit in holding families as loyal cus- tomers to particular retail establishments. Another major area of concern in the study would be the establishment of relative guidelines on how strongly mobile families are tied to multi-unit retailers and national brands. A fourth study suggested would be to have specific retailers in selected purchase categories initiate pro- motional programs aimed at the mobile market segment. The results over a period of time would then be compared to 172 control units where no attempt had been made to attract the market segment. Such a study would be the key ele- ment in determining whether segmentation of the area of market opportunity for special attention is a fruitful undertaking for the marketing practitioner as well as for the academician. A fifth suggested Study would be aimed at meas- uring the extent to which mobile families change suppliers over time after completing a long distance move. Such a study could be conducted by using a panel of long distance mobiles. Families participating would record where pur- chases in Specific product and service categories were made for an extended period of time. Such a study would be directed at establishing the profile of families who are prone to switch suppliers and the profile of families not prone to switching. APPENDICES APPENDIX A Detailed Research Findings Pertaining Specifically to Chapter IV 175 o.oou 54H o.mm NNH o. o o. o c.5H mm onzs Huammu o.oou 54H 4.0m “NH k.N a m.q a H.o a zm<223m 176 o.OON NsN 0.0m ms N.¢m Hm N.o ON m.NN N4 Nmmoem 4onp mummfiofiucm xuomoumo ommAONsm “masoauhmm a :H cowpooaom m owns no: o>mg 0:3 moaawamm 30: cu Mommy muoaammam Hwfiuqouom N .moafiwamm pea mo OHmem Ohwpno on» com: woman Ohm mowmuaouhum aHmmm Nqmmm aN¢Nao¢a o.oo. Na. N.NN a: N. _ N.N: NN _.a o m.o_ o. o. o N.N : ms.moxops< 325.32. o.oo_ N:— _.:m cm 0. o N.mN N: :.m a N.N __ o. o a.N m zo.z= N_om¢u o.oo_ Na. N.Nm mN o. o o.mN N: m.: N m.N ._ o. o :.m w 2‘54 a moz_>¢a o.oo_ N:_ m.NN .: N. _ o. o c. o o. o a._ N o.oN no. 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HN .oz xmm .OoN mm: H mo OHOO New OH Hozmcm any OH 218 FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS (continued) Since moving to this area has your family used the credit facilities of a local bank, credit union or savings and loan for a loan? / / Yes / / No (If the answer to No. 3 is No, skip to 4) (a) Type of Institution Firm Name of Loan Source Bank A. B. Credit Union A. Real Estate Company A. Savings/Loan A. O Finance Company A. (If a loan was secured from an institution which the house- wife did not mention in No. 2, ask 3b through 3d) (b) Why did your family obtain a loan from a firm at which it does not have a regular account? (PROBE) (c) How did your family learn about this particular firm? (PROBE) (d) Is there a particular reason your family chose the financial institution it did to secure a loan? (PROBE) If you were today to take out a loan for each of the following where would you go first for the loan? ' 7 Types of Loans' Possible Sources ’ Auto Loan' $500 cash loan' Home loan 1: v I Bank , Insurance Co. 4i Credit Union , Real Estate Co. , Relatives , savings/Loan Assn, I t I l I J Finance Co. savings account Other ~‘n-‘fl‘fl‘n ...0-on...- 219 omHH Nuuomoum opz< OomOOUHdm OGHNDO mm: Nm>fipmucomoymmp monm myowmn oucmN5m:N OHOH Eon oucmpnmcfi Nan No>HumucmOmNOmN Ovuumucoo O:H>NHNO on mmoao NHNEmm NaoN com ONO No BOOM mwnu unoOO OEHHO Nopwm m>HuOucomonom HmOmONH -mmu OOHSUOONOO m mhmcu OH :NOoH NHOEOM NOON OHO Bo: mo .02 w mxmmz .oz OmHOO Ocm EFOO mummNSOaH .Iltliltiiuisrmwzrznrinl ._ I: m.lria5hecersrzarrl!O;p-1tzsslgOOretzr:suitesmauzxtttxcrzxqzzaw .oq HHO mum: mHmzmaw o>onm may MH .m .02 on OHMOO oz Om» OOOH HUO oz Om» NOOOOOOO HOO oz Om» OOOO HOO HOHOOHOO NOOOO OHOO 0O OcH>oe moch mmoym OcHonHow esp we once Ho mco :H NUHHOO mucmN3mcH 30: m OomOOUNSQ NHHEmm 950% mm: .H OOZOOOOZH 220 INSURANCE (continued) 3. If your family were going to buy an insurance policy in each of the areas listed below today, does your family have a favorite company or agent it would prefer to deal with? Types of i Favorite Company Reason this Company Insurance (or agent if is the favorite chosen) Auto Property Life I INTRODUCTION FURNITURE, CARPETING, DRAPERIES AND APPLIANCES I will now ask you a number of questions on furniture, car- peting, draperies and major household appliances. The ues- tions will only be concerned with purchases your famin Has made since moving to this area. In the furniture, carpet and ‘diaperies area, I—have a Breakdown of the purchases based on the major rooms found in most households. When we come to questions on appliance purchases I will show you a list and you can indicate the ones you have purchased since moving to this area. 'You need not mention the purchase of any item of $25.00 or less. In rooms where you have purchased a number of pieces of furniture, I would like you to pick only the largest one or three pieces for this discussion. 221 H .02 mcHHozmcm :H we: OHO ow m pumnu oMHzomsoa .mH OGO mH Oanozmam :H no: OHm op 0 “Hugo Ho: 0>Ho .N oOp o>HO .H OOmZmH>mmHzH muauHchsm O N H :BOHNOUOOO O N H Eoom NOMEOO O N H Eoom quaHO O N H Eoohmmm O N H Eoom OaH>OH ommno III HOOOOOO HOOOOOO OOH -OOO OOOO OHOO o» OOOHOOHom Novas mhwz -NSO op O:O>os ouqflm HmOmNOOO map mmmOOUHzm map muommn HO> mNoum OcmHO Nwommzu NOOO: owes oNoE No ONO omonu NHHEOO OUNgz SH ONoum coy -ONNO HO HOOOUO -Osm unnou ommsu How Oowmgo psoN commoh OOH psoOO -NON> Nouwm may OouomH mm: on -sz may -Nsm mummhmo NOHSUHONOO :NmmH NHNEmm mmhopm Oxooz mom NHHEmw Octh mmpmnu Om: ouopm w .mmONoQOHO O cheap OH usox OOO 30m .02 .oz NzoN cfi 0:: was: O mm: Hum: cH. .muzuHchsm O H m u m O O O m < .H OOOOOOO OZO OmHOmOOOO .mOONHszO 222 .moucmHHmmm OHonmmso: NOOOE - O uhmnu QMHzomson .mH Ocm mH OcHNozmcm :H no: OHM on u uumsu no: m>HO .N on» o>HO .H "mmzmH>mmNzH mmucmHHqgw EmuH .5-.. 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Women's Clothing lst Store Favorfte Store Medical Services I Doctor-GP Specialist Dentist Men's Clothing lst Store Favorite Store 230 CREDIT INFORMATION Has your family been able to transfer any charge accounts it held before moving here to stores in this area? / / Yes / / No (If Yes to 1, answer la) (a) What charge accounts 'Does your family use were transferred 'the account regularly ' Yes ' No r _'I 1 I I Z I I T —I 3 I I 4 I I Did your family have a Michigan Bankard before moving here? /:::/ Yes /:::y No (a) Does your family now have a Michigan Bankard? / / Yes / / No (If Yes to 2a, answer 2b) (b) Does it make use of the bankard? / / Yes / / No Has your family Opened any new charge accounts since moving here? egg. a new gasoline credit cardL_a local department store account, etc. /:::y Yes /___/ No (If Yes, answer 3a) (a) Account Opened - Store weeks after arrival DMNH I I T I I I I I I Has your family been invited to Open any charge accounts since moving to this community? / / Yes / / No (If Yes, list stores) Stores 231 NEWCOMER PROMOTION PROGRAMS Since moving here have any of the local business firms in the following areas (Chart G) asked your family, as new« comers, for their business? Business id a firm If so, How were Did you Are you Area ask your what was you con- visit the now con- family as the firm tacted firm as a sidering newcomers (type of result of yourself for their promo- the pro- a regular patronage tion) motion? customer of this firm? Super- markets Beauty ShOps Dry Cleaning Banks Savings/ Loan Assno Credit Unions Auto Insurance Property Insurance Life Insurance Furniture Appliances 232 NEWCOMER PROMOTION PROGRAMS (continued) /:::] Business Did a firm If so, How were Did you Are you Area ask your what was you con- visit the now con- family as the firm tacted firm as a sidering newcomers (type of result of yourself for their promo- the pro- a regular patronage tion) motion? customer of this firm? Women's Clothing Men's Suits Gasoline Other Firms Contacting Your Family as Newcomers PERSONAL DATA 10 When did your family move to this address: Day Month Year 2c In what city and state did your family live before moving here? City State 3. (To be filled in by Interviewer) How many families live in this house? / / 1 / / 2 / / 3 or more 4. Do you rent or own your home? Rent [:::/ Own 10. ll. 12. 13. 233 PERSONAL DATA (continued) DO you work, for pay, outside your home? / / Yes / /No (If the answer to S was Yes, ask the respondent to answer 5a through EC) (a) Do you work: / / full time (40 hrs. per week) OR / / part-time (b) What type of work do you do? (c) Who is your employer? (Firm) How many persons, including yourself, are living in this home? Do you have any children living at home? / / Yes / / No (If the answer to 7 was Yes, ask the respondent to answer 7a through 7c) (a) No. children 0-5 years old (b) Noe children 6-18 years old (c) No” children 19 over Including the move which brought your family to this address, how many times has your family made a move of over 50 miles in the past 10 years? Do you drive an automobile? / / Yes / / No (If the answer to 9 was Yes, ask 9a) (a) Is there an automobile available for your use during the time your husband is away from home? /___/ Yes /___/ No How many automobiles does your family own? Does your family regularly have the use of an automobile which it does not own? (A company car, etc.) /___/ Yes / / No How many years have you and your husband been married to each other? years. What is the occupation of your husband? (Kind of work he does - such as carpenter, sales manager or high school teacher) 14. 15. 16. 234 PERSONAL DATA (continued) Who is your husband's employer (firm)? ************************************** k k k t ; InterViewer: Show houseWife Chart H 3 **************************************** What was the last grade or year of school completed by you and your husband? (Show respondent Chart H) (Indicate letter only) Husband Wife (If the housewife and/or husband completed high school, ask 15a through 15b. If they did not, find what was the last year they attended school and enter the year in the apprOpriate spaceo) (a) In which year did you finish high school? (b) In which year did your husband finish high school? ******xx****************************** * * t t ; InterViewer: Show houseWife Chart I : **************************************** In which of these groups would you place your total combined family income for 1966? (Before taxes) (Indicate letter only) Income 1966 A B C D E F G H I (circle one) 23S FAMILY RECALL CHARTS CHART A Area Super Markets 1. AGP Food Stores 5. National Tea 9. 2. Eberhardgs 6. Prince Bros, lOI 3. Hi-Lo 7. Packers 11. 4a Kroger 8o Schmidts 12¢ *kk******* CHART B Shaheens Thriftway Shop Rite Foods Other Furniture - Draperies - Carpets Items of furniture pure chased for $25 or more Store(s) in which the since moving to this items were purchased area (includes carpets & draperies) A Living Room Bed Room Dining Room Family Room Porch/Lawn 236 CHART C Decisron Making A. Wife alone B. Wife with some help from her husband C. Wife and husband jointly D. Husband with some help from his wife E. Husband alone F. Other ********** CHART D Major Household Appliances Which ones have your family purchased since moving to this area? Major Appliances A. Refrigerator J. Phonograph B. Range K. Radio C. Air conditioner L. Freezer D° Washer M. Other appliances (List) E. Dryer 1. F. Dishwasher 2. G. Water softener 3. H. Humidifier 4. I. Television 5. 237 CHART E Furniture Purchases In purchasing furniture, which did your family select first? 1. The brand or make of furniture 2. The store in which to buy the furniture 3. The style of furniture 4. Other *ick‘kicieisicick CHART F Major Household Appliance Purchases In purchasing major household appliances, which did your family select first? 1. The store in which to buy the appliance 2. The particular brand of appliance 3. Other ********** CHART G Have any business firms in the following areas asked your family as newcomers for their business? 1. 2. Super markets 8. Property insurance Beauty shOps 9. Life insurance Dry cleaners 10. Furniture Banks 11. Appliances Savings/Loan Assns. 12. Women's clothing Credit Unions 13. Men's suits Auto insurance 238 CHART H Schooling What was the last grade or year of school completed by you and your husband? (indicate letter only) Wife Husband A. Some grade school A A B. Completed grade school B B C. Some High School C C D. Completed High School D D E. Some college E E F. Completed college F F G. Post graduate G G H. Other schooling H H (specify type) 1. Years attended I I ********** CHART I Income In which of these groups would you place your total combined family income for 1966? (Before taxes) (Indicate letter only) 1966 Family Income Before Federal Taxes Group Income“ Group Income A 0 - $ 999 E $ 5,000 - $ 6,999 B $1,000 - $1,999 F $ 7,000 - $ 9,999 C $2,000 - $2,999 G $10,000 - $14,999 D $3,000 ~ $4,999 H $15,000 - $24,999 I $25,000 (over) APPENDIX C Pre-Test of the Data Collection Instrument 240 Pre-Test of Data Collection Instrument Pre-Test of Questionnaire and Procedures A pre-test of the questionnaire and of the administra— tive procedure developed for use in the research was made in July, 1966. The pre-test was held prior to the initiation of the formal research project and the data collected was used only to improve the research design. None of the find— ings of the pre-test were included in the results of the formal research project. The pre-test was confined to ten of the forty-five housewives contacted by the participating welcoming organi- zation in March, 1966. The results of the pre-test are shown on Figure 5. Families contacted for the pre-test were selected at random from among the families visited in seven of the eight districts maintained by the welcoming organization within the metrOpolitan area. In conducting the pre-test, twenty-two telephone calls were attempted to secure the necessary interview appointments. Eleven of the calls were completed and ten of the housewives contacted agreed to participate in the research. Only one housewife flatly refused to take part in the research. No callbacks were made to increase the number of families responding al- though the actual data collection included such a procedure. All the telephone contacts and interviews in the pre- test were done by a male interviewer. In a number of in— stances the housewives showed a noticeable reluctance in 241 granting an interView to a strange male based only on a telephone contact. The interviewer carried a letter of introduction and an identification card which was presented prior to entering the home of any housewife. The format of the telephone contact and the letter of introduction are presented in Appendix B. The interviews were conducted with the housewives in each family and took an average of forty-five minutes to complete. In no case did a respondent refuse to answer a given question. Although the housewives had been in the community from four to six months, respondents were able to recall purchasing decisions in the areas under study. The pre-test revealed that housewives were able to give information source data, decision making responsibility and price information in the areas under study. Based upon the data obtained in the pre-test the time between purchase decisiOns and the interview did not present a recall problem to the respondents housewives. Questionnaire Revision Based upon the responses received to the open-ended questions on the pre-test questionnaire the instrument was substantially revised. The revisions dealt primarily with incorporating frequently received responses into pre-coded responses on the questionnaire. The pre-coding was done to facilitate recording a substantial number of common responses to various questions. 242 In addition to deveIOping a number of pre—coded responses the pre-test resulted in revising the question- naire to include the following: (1) A number of questions associated with the use of trading stamps in food ShOpping. (2) A question asking whether the families inter- viewed owned or rented their place of residence. (3) A question asking each couple how long they had been married to each other. 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