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Free Essays - Marketing Essays
Marketing Study Proposal for Project X
Objectives ofthe Research
As Project X isscheduled to be repackaged it is important to determine the consumer behaviorand market trends that currently affect it along with the current level ofcompetition. With this I would like to discover the most effective marketingstrategy based on the five P's to reach my target market. The five P's are asfollows:
1. Product-Includes all important features, name, functionality and relative performancein comparison to competitors
2. Position-Competitive advantage, what makes this product unique, product segmentation(ie. Should it be marketed like all competitors or highlight key features).
3. Place-locations of key distributors, possibility of expansion (ie. E-commerce orother retailers), where are there areas with less competition and same need forproduct.
4. Price- checkcurrent effectiveness of price, determine if low cost or premium pricing wouldwork with this product, what is required to break into new markets with productX.
5. Promotion-determine the effectiveness of some promotional ideas before the repackaging.
The informationgathered for the repackaging will all be framed in accordance to all thecurrent social, economic, technological, regulatory and competitive forcesbefore a strategy is decided. The end result of the research should giveinformation on who is currently buying the product and what they think, who iscurrently buying competitive products and what they are looking for and finallyis there anyone who has yet to be marketed to that would use this product.
Methodology
Sampling
Ideally I wouldlike the research to be conducted in four stages each with different focus's.Other then stage one which will be conducted with face to face surveying, allfocus groups will require the use of market research companies to find theconsumers for interviewing in the focus groups.
Stage 1-Stratified random sampling focused at the supermarket to determine the storesconsumer's along with to gain a demographic on who is buying product X or acompetitor along with current market share. Sample size should be at least 200to gather proper statistics. This will be based on timing but preferably themore the better in these situations.
Stage 2-Systematic sampling for the 10 Focus groups of 6-8 people within the determineddemographic of product buyers in which they will conduct a qualitative openended discussion on product X in comparison to it's competitors.
Stage 3- Withinformation gathered in stage 2, systematic sampling for 10 more focus groupsof 6-8 people from mixed demographics will be brought in to determine othermarketing strategies available to product X (ie. Can this reach other marketswith the new promotional launch)
Development ofpossible strategies
Stage 4- 40+interviews (depending on time and budget) in which open ended along withquantitative questions will be asked to determine strategy effectiveness.Sampling will either be systematic based on the current consumer demographic orif another demographic has been found which would use the product, then theymust be included based on strength of their market.
ResearchingMethods
Stage 1- Face toface surveying as Product X has a massive budget so the expensiveness is not afactor in determining strategy. Appendix one is draft one of the survey, it hasbeen kept short to increase the acceptance rate. Also as an encouragement,coupons for product X and small promotional gifts such as a draw will be used.The survey will be mostly quantitative with some open ended questions forcomments. See appendix 1.
Stage 2- The focusgroups will be conducted with a basic out line but for the most part it will beopen ended qualitative information. The goal at this stage is to determine whycurrent consumers of product X actually buy the product or a competitor. All focusgroup should be balanced in accordance to the discovered demographic, (ie. If50% of product consumers are women then 50% of each group should be women).
Sample questioningshould be along the lines of
1. Why do you buyproduct __
2. What would you changein order to make product X a purchasing option
Discussion guidefor this is focused on pure education. As a marketer I need to know why productX currently sell as that informs me of my competitive advantage and I do notwant to lose that. The focus of these groups is to determine why product X or acompetitor is purchased over another.
Stage 3- With theconsumer behavior discovered for product X, these focus groups will be dividedwithin the scope of current shopper demographics for the area. These interviewswill be open ended as well with a focus on determining what, if any possibleother demographics that product X could be focused on.
Sample questioningshould be along the lines of
1. Would you everuse product X or a competitor?
Why?Of Why not?
2. What areimportant features of product
Discussion Guidefor this is to determine if product X can break into new markets. The questionswill break down the consumer behavior of the area and then see if product X canbe marketed into these different sects. The questions will be informative onthe product but the interviewer needs to understand that the focus group needsto lead the discussion into purchasing product X, none of it can be forced.
Stage 4- The focusof this stage is simply to determine which marketing strategy will be mosteffective. The questions will be quantitative in nature for easy compiling ofdata along with several open ended sections for suggestions. As we do not knowwhat the product is, below are several sample questions.
1. Do you preferadvertisement A, B or C?
2. What messagedoes advertisement A tell you?
Discussion Guidefor this is to determine what the consumer believes is the best marketingstrategy along with any other comments that was previously missed.
Analysis
The survey datawill be compiled into straight statistics to discover the demographics of theconsumer. These demographics will be used to determine consumer trends basedoff of previous data to help formulate the repackaging strategy. Each stagebuilds on the previous until in the end we can decide on the most effectivestrategy based on our findings. A lot of the interviewing is done in aquantitative way as the product already has a strong market share so I amsearching for avenues which can gain us more while maintaining the current. Todo this we need to listen to the consumers instead of using inflexible andsometimes leading quantitative close ended questioning.
Field Work
As stated, productX will be repackaged in 2-3 months(8-12 weeks) so field work will need to bestarted immediately. Luckily product X has a very large budget so gatheringenough data should not be hard to do. To combat the time, it will be requiredto contract a quick turn around market research company. The following is theschedule for the research.
Week 1
Contracting offield work agency and final drafting of questionnaire.
Week 2
Stage 1 along withconstant compiling of data as it arrives daily.
Week 3
Analysis of data,focus group recruiting and final draft of discussion guide
Week 4 & 5
Depending onavailability, conduction of stage 2 focus groups along with progressiveanalysis of the data. Recruitment for stage 3 can also commence
Week 6&7
Final draft ofdiscussion guide for stage 3 along with conduction of focus groups andprogressive analysis of the data
Week 8
Formulation ofmarketing strategies and recruitment for stage 4, depending on the data found.
Week 8- finish
Conduction ofstage 4 focus groups along with analysis and final decision on repackagingstrategy to be implemented immediately.
Conclusion
Market research isa requirement for any product. Consumer trends are changing constantly and theuse of a product normally should not be limited by who it was sold to in thepast. This was my reasoning for choosing a more qualitative route thenquantitative. Quantitative analysis is very effective at framing the currentmarket demographics but only through qualitative will Product X be able to developstronger competitive advantage over the growing competition which will lead toa stronger value chain for consumers and increased market share.
Appendix 1- Note- as we do not know what the productis, unless it says product X I am just stating what it falls under (ie. Pepsiand Cola)
Step 2-
Stage 1 Questionnaire
Location____
1. Are you male orfemale?
2. Are you:
a. Under 18
b. 18-25
c. 25-35
d. 35-45
e. 45-55
f. 55+
3. How much do youspend a month at the grocery store?
a. under 50
b. 50-150
c.150-250
d. 250+
4. Have you everbought product
5. If so, whatbrand of product do you buy and how often do you buy it.
6. What is themost important factor in buying product
a. features __
b. cost __
c. cosmetic __
7. Would you beinterested in conducting a future interview on this product in exchange for anincentive?
If so, please fillin your contact details below
References
Jobber,David(2004). Principles and Practices of Marketing: 4th editionMcGraw-Hill Higher Education.
John Mullins,Orville Walker, Harper Boyd, Jr.(2003) Marketing Strategy and Statistical UseMcGraw-Hill Higher Education.
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