Alfred State students tour Alfred University market research studio

A group of Alfred State College marketing and business students recently visited Alfred University, where they toured a College of Business facility used for market research projects. The 13 students from the Consumer Behavior class taught by Susan Gorman, associate professor of marketing at Alfred State, participated in mock focus groups and discussed how consumer data collection is used to develop marketing strategies.

Gorman said she brought her class to tour the facility in Alfred University's Olin Building-which includes the focus group room, a studio for producing podcasts, and a study area-at the invitation of Shelly Freyn, associate professor of marketing at Alfred University.

"We are developing surveys, looking at consumers from different points of view, seeing how consumers relate to businesses and how businesses gather data on consumers," Gorman said. "Shelly told me about the focus group room and invited me to bring my class over."

Freyn said she organized two mock focus groups that the Alfred State students took part in. Students participated both as focus group members and as observers from an adjacent room. "One focus group was for Nike testing a new flip-flop; the other was for Nestle and a new chocolate cookie," Freyn said. "The students came up with the ideas."

"The students played the role of consumers and were able to see how data is collected and decisions are made," Gorman related.

After the focus group exercises concluded, Freyn and Gorman engaged the students in a discussion of ideas for conducting market research and developing marketing strategies.

Gorman said the in-person setting of the focus groups gave her students a better understanding of how consumer information is gathered and how it is analyzed. The focus groups in the facility in Olin can be observed through one-way glass and on a closed-circuit television monitor. "You can view the facial features and body language, see their reactions," Gorman said. "It tells a more complete story of how the consumer feels. You can't get that with a paper survey."

Freyn and Gorman agreed the visit helped students gain a broader understanding of the comprehensive nature of developing marketing strategies.

"This was a great opportunity to show students that marketing is not just advertising, or making a Tik-Tok video," Gorman commented. "It's so much more than that."

"The students got a real taste of how focus groups work," Freyn added. "It broadens students' minds beyond just advertising. This shows students the front-end research that provides the data for marketing campaigns and ads."

Freyn and Gorman hope there are opportunities for students from Alfred University and Alfred State to collaborate on future market research projects utilizing the focus group room. She referred to Alfred Market Insights (AMI), a student-run organization operating under the umbrella of the Alfred University College of Business's Institute for Experiential Entrepreneurship (IEE), which conducts market research for area businesses.

"We'll need students, from Alfred and Alfred State, to participate in and run (AMI) focus groups," Freyn said, noting that last year, Alfred State students served as panelists on a focus group for local business Honey Pot Chocolates "We hope there are other future opportunities to collaborate with Alfred State."

"There is a lot that Alfred University and Alfred State College can do together," Gorman said, noting the number of small businesses in the region that could benefit from market research services provided by students.