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Marketing Study Proposal for Project X
Objectives of the Research
As Project X is scheduled to be repackaged it is important to determine the consumer behavior and market trends that currently affect it along with the current level of competition. With this I would like to discover the most effective marketing strategy based on the five P's to reach my target market. The five P's are as follows:
1. Product- Includes all important features, name, functionality and relative performance in 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 or other retailers), where are there areas with less competition and same need for product.
4. Price- check current effectiveness of price, determine if low cost or premium pricing would work with this product, what is required to break into new markets with product X.
5. Promotion- determine the effectiveness of some promotional ideas before the repackaging.
The information gathered for the repackaging will all be framed in accordance to all the current social, economic, technological, regulatory and competitive forces before a strategy is decided. The end result of the research should give information on who is currently buying the product and what they think, who is currently buying competitive products and what they are looking for and finally is there anyone who has yet to be marketed to that would use this product.
Methodology
Sampling
Ideally I would like 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, all focus groups will require the use of market research companies to find the consumers for interviewing in the focus groups.
Stage 1- Stratified random sampling focused at the supermarket to determine the stores consumer's along with to gain a demographic on who is buying product X or a competitor along with current market share. Sample size should be at least 200 to gather proper statistics. This will be based on timing but preferably the more the better in these situations.
Stage 2- Systematic sampling for the 10 Focus groups of 6-8 people within the determined demographic of product buyers in which they will conduct a qualitative open ended discussion on product X in comparison to it's competitors.
Stage 3- With information gathered in stage 2, systematic sampling for 10 more focus groups of 6-8 people from mixed demographics will be brought in to determine other marketing strategies available to product X (ie. Can this reach other markets with the new promotional launch)
Development of possible strategies
Stage 4- 40+ interviews (depending on time and budget) in which open ended along with quantitative questions will be asked to determine strategy effectiveness. Sampling will either be systematic based on the current consumer demographic or if another demographic has been found which would use the product, then they must be included based on strength of their market.
Researching Methods
Stage 1- Face to face surveying as Product X has a massive budget so the expensiveness is not a factor in determining strategy. Appendix one is draft one of the survey, it has been 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 for comments. See appendix 1.
Stage 2- The focus groups will be conducted with a basic out line but for the most part it will be open ended qualitative information. The goal at this stage is to determine why current consumers of product X actually buy the product or a competitor. All focus group should be balanced in accordance to the discovered demographic, (ie. If 50% of product consumers are women then 50% of each group should be women).
Sample questioning should be along the lines of
1. Why do you buy product __
2. What would you change in order to make product X a purchasing option
Discussion guide for this is focused on pure education. As a marketer I need to know why product X currently sell as that informs me of my competitive advantage and I do not want to lose that. The focus of these groups is to determine why product X or a competitor is purchased over another.
Stage 3- With the consumer behavior discovered for product X, these focus groups will be divided within the scope of current shopper demographics for the area. These interviews will be open ended as well with a focus on determining what, if any possible other demographics that product X could be focused on.
Sample questioning should be along the lines of
1. Would you ever use product X or a competitor?
Why? Of Why not?
2. What are important features of product
Discussion Guide for this is to determine if product X can break into new markets. The questions will break down the consumer behavior of the area and then see if product X can be marketed into these different sects. The questions will be informative on the product but the interviewer needs to understand that the focus group needs to lead the discussion into purchasing product X, none of it can be forced.
Stage 4- The focus of this stage is simply to determine which marketing strategy will be most effective. The questions will be quantitative in nature for easy compiling of data along with several open ended sections for suggestions. As we do not know what the product is, below are several sample questions.
1. Do you prefer advertisement A, B or C?
2. What message does advertisement A tell you?
Discussion Guide for this is to determine what the consumer believes is the best marketing strategy along with any other comments that was previously missed.
Analysis
The survey data will be compiled into straight statistics to discover the demographics of the consumer. These demographics will be used to determine consumer trends based off of previous data to help formulate the repackaging strategy. Each stage builds on the previous until in the end we can decide on the most effective strategy based on our findings. A lot of the interviewing is done in a quantitative way as the product already has a strong market share so I am searching for avenues which can gain us more while maintaining the current. To do this we need to listen to the consumers instead of using inflexible and sometimes leading quantitative close ended questioning.
Field Work
As stated, product X will be repackaged in 2-3 months(8-12 weeks) so field work will need to be started immediately. Luckily product X has a very large budget so gathering enough data should not be hard to do. To combat the time, it will be required to contract a quick turn around market research company. The following is the schedule for the research.
Week 1
Contracting of field work agency and final drafting of questionnaire.
Week 2
Stage 1 along with constant 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 on availability, conduction of stage 2 focus groups along with progressive analysis of the data. Recruitment for stage 3 can also commence
Week 6&7
Final draft of discussion guide for stage 3 along with conduction of focus groups and progressive analysis of the data
Week 8
Formulation of marketing strategies and recruitment for stage 4, depending on the data found.
Week 8- finish
Conduction of stage 4 focus groups along with analysis and final decision on repackaging strategy to be implemented immediately.
Conclusion
Market research is a requirement for any product. Consumer trends are changing constantly and the use of a product normally should not be limited by who it was sold to in the past. This was my reasoning for choosing a more qualitative route then quantitative. Quantitative analysis is very effective at framing the current market demographics but only through qualitative will Product X be able to develop stronger competitive advantage over the growing competition which will lead to a stronger value chain for consumers and increased market share.
Appendix 1- Note- as we do not know what the product is, unless it says product X I am just stating what it falls under (ie. Pepsi and Cola)
Step 2-
Stage 1 Questionnaire
Location____
1. Are you male or female?
2. Are you:
a. Under 18
b. 18-25
c. 25-35
d. 35-45
e. 45-55
f. 55+
3. How much do you spend a month at the grocery store?
a. under 50
b. 50-150
c.150-250
d. 250+
4. Have you ever bought product
5. If so, what brand of product do you buy and how often do you buy it.
6. What is the most important factor in buying product
a. features __
b. cost __
c. cosmetic __
7. Would you be interested in conducting a future interview on this product in exchange for an incentive?
If so, please fill in your contact details below
References
Jobber, David(2004). Principles and Practices of Marketing: 4th edition McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
John Mullins, Orville Walker, Harper Boyd, Jr.(2003) Marketing Strategy and Statistical Use McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
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