DECA Hospitality and Tourism Cluster Practice Exam

Which scenario represents an experimental study in marketing?

1. Computer cookies tracking

2. Customer diaries documenting experiences

3. A focus group discussion

4. Test marketing a new product

The correct answer is: Test marketing a new product

The scenario that represents an experimental study in marketing is centered around test marketing a new product. This approach involves deliberately introducing a new product to a specific market segment to observe consumer reactions, purchasing behavior, and overall performance in a real-world setting. By doing this, marketers can gather valuable data regarding the product’s acceptability, pricing strategies, promotional methods, and potential market fit before a full-scale launch. The experimental study design emphasizes manipulation and control of variables to measure outcomes, which aligns with the nature of test marketing. It provides a clear structure to test hypotheses about customer preferences or behaviors under controlled conditions. In contrast, while computer cookies tracking, customer diaries documenting experiences, and focus group discussions are important data collection methods in marketing, they do not involve the direct manipulation of market variables to observe outcomes in the same way that test marketing does. Cookies track online behavior without manipulating conditions, diaries rely on self-reported experiences without experimental manipulation, and focus groups gather qualitative insights rather than implementing a structured experiment. Thus, test marketing is the scenario that best fits the definition of an experimental study in marketing.