There is considerable loyalty to the 

 style liked best. It is highest in Boston 

 where 89 percent said they always buy their 

 preferred style, followed by Jetroit, 75 

 percent, and Birmingham, 69 percent. V.-hen 

 this over-all measure of loyalty is broken 

 down by those tuna users who prefer a spe- 

 cific style, the pattern does not change, 

 /•jnong the three cities, tuna users in 

 Boston showed the greatest loyalty to the 

 style preferred for each of the three 

 styles in which tuna is marketed. 



[jxi ijnportant technique used 

 in motivational research is the 

 "open Question" --one which seeks 

 the why of consumer behavior. 

 Such questions permit the re- 

 spondent to reply freely and do 

 not restrict his choice of an- 

 swers to the limited categories 

 imposed by the direct or closed 

 tj-pe. If the respondent's reply 

 is meaningful, a reason is avail- 

 able as to why he thinks or feels 

 the way he does. A response of 

 the type "just because I like it" 

 would not be considered adequate 

 and it would be the responsibil- 

 ity of the interviewer to focus 

 the respondent on more specific 

 areas in which to ans>;er. The 

 focusing process is known as 

 probing; it is not used in in- 

 stances where the initial reply 

 is deemed satisfactory by the 

 specially trained interviewer. 

 In cases where probing is used, 

 it must be handled skillfully so 

 as not to bias the respondent's 

 answer_j7 



The first open question asked of tuna 

 users sought the reasons for their style 

 preferences, "^ase of preparation" was the 

 leading reason in all three cities by those 

 who preferred either the chunk style or the 

 grated style of tuna. "Better taste" was 

 the leading reason for preference by those 

 who liked the solid style of tuna best in 

 Detroit and Boston. Those who liked the 

 solid style best in Birmingham gave "not 

 as oily" and "better taste" as leading 

 reasons for their style preference. 



Color Preference 



The majority of tuna users in Boston, 

 83 percent, and Detroit, 63 percent, prefer 



white HTieat tuna. Light-meat tuna was 

 favored in Birmingham by 53 percent of the 

 tuna users. Loyalty to color is very 

 strong with more than three -fourths of the 

 tuna users indicating that they always 

 stay with the same color. Loyalty to color 

 is highest in Boston, 90 percent, followed 

 by Detroit and then Birmingham. 



/Another example of an unsat- 

 isractory response to an open 

 question is the often encountered 

 "I don't know." The interviewer 

 must be extremely careful not to 

 put words in the mouths of the 

 respondent when probing for a 

 more meaningful reply./ 



The second open question directed to 

 tuna users was designed to discover the 

 reasons for stated color preferences. 

 "Nicer appearance" and "better taste" were 

 the most frequently mentioned reasons for 

 liking the preferred color of tuna in all 

 three cities. "Nicer appearance" was the 

 leading reason in all cases except among 

 those who liked the light meat tuna best 

 in Boston where "better taste" was 

 mentioned most frequently and in Detroit 

 where "better taste" was mentioned just 

 as often as "nicer appearance." 



Can Size 



Only 11 percent of all respondents in 

 Birmingham, 8 percent in Boston, and Vlx 

 percent in Detroit felt that the tuna can- 

 size was not right for the needs of their 

 households. 



Tuna Packed in Oil 



Almost every tuna user in all three 

 cities had bought tuna packed in oil at 

 some time. The majority of these people 

 poured off the oil: In Boston, 81 percent; 

 in Birmingham, 56 percent; and in Detroit, 

 59 percent. 



/l)pen questions and the probing 

 techniques also may be used when 

 attempting to ascertain what is 

 liked or disliked about the 

 product. Specific spontaneous 

 responses of the type elicited 

 only after skilled probing are 

 important sources of information 

 for those interested in expanding 

 the market for canned tuna_j7 



