Category: Market Research

Introduction

A process essay is a presentation that aims at describing, to an audience, how a subject is achieved. It outlines the procedure of doing a subject matter. This paper seeks to present a process essay for conducting market research. The paper is based on personal research through interviewing an executive of one of the locally successful companies.

Marketing research process

Marketing research is a defined process of investigating and collecting information about consumers and other factors in a market such as competitors and barriers into a market. A successful market research is done in a defined and outlined process. It also involves qualified personnel to induce sufficient expertise.

This is because market research deals with social factors such as consumers’ needs, preferences, and attitudes that must be factored by a marketing research team. The process normally begins with sufficient planning followed by fieldwork and a final analytical review that may involve professional statistical applications.

The first step in market research is problem definition. This stage involves expression of understanding of the objectives of the market research. It defines the problem to be solved such as; ‘how can we best expand our geographical market?’ or ‘why do our competitors seem to have an advantage over our enterprise?’ The stage also defines the people to be involved in the market research. Once the problem is defined, a suitable approach is developed for the entire process.

At this stage, the aims of the research are outline and the scope established. Possible factors that might influence the research process are identified and remedies outlined. The stage calls for sufficient experience in market research. Research questions and hypothesis statements are also outlined at this step.

After developing the approach for a research, the necessary procedures for achieving the set objectives are established. Formulating research procedure outlines the exact measures that should be undertaken in order to answer the research questions and achieve the research objectives.

The methods to be adopted for collecting information are also outlined at this step. Further, this step describes the data that is to be collected, how it is to be collected, and the number of participants to be used and how the information should be analyzed.

Once the research procedure is outlined, fieldwork for data collection is adopted. A suitable data collection method that could involve use of questionnaires, interviews, or observation is then adopted. Data can also be collected from secondary sources such as governmental information centers and specialized research bodies.

After collecting the necessary and relevant data for a particular market research, a professional stage that involves data analysis is undertaken. This stage involves specialized academic background that applies statistical tools. The outlined hypothesis for the research is tested and relationships investigated.

Based on the assumptions made in the research, this stage answers the research questions and takes a position on the research hypothesis. The final stage in market research is the communication of the findings. This stage is based on the analysis conducted and involves graphical and tabular presentations for clarity.

Conclusion

Market research is a very important step towards strategic management in businesses. It involves problem definition, establishment of an approach, design for the research and a subsequent data collection. These are then followed by data analysis and a final presentation of the findings. Process essay outlines a procedure for a particular process. It is therefore important in familiarizing people with knowledge of processes.

It is of great importance to undertake market research for every organization. Kudler Fine Foods is not an exception in undertaking market research; they have taken this initiative to help in its growth. To start with, the importance of market research is lays emphasis on ensuring that there is minimal risk and the owners get value for their money for the business they are undertaking.

The risk comes when the consumers are dissatisfied with the products that the organization is offering in the market. A market research strategy provides a benchmark on the way the organization progresses. It is through measuring of the progress that the organization gets to know of its performance in the market.

The best way to ensure that consumers’ needs are met is ensuring that there is existence of communication between the consumers and the producers in this case Kudler Fine Foods. Establishing a communication that is aimed at finding out the satisfaction of the consumers’ shows the organization is caring about their consumers.

Market research is important to Kudler Fine Food’s because it help them to venture in different areas as well as in the several fields. Opening of the various branches was as a result of market research. The same can be said of their products as they resulted from research carried on the most desirable products to their consumers (Armstrong and Kotler 2009).

Market research for Kudler Fine Foods is also important to them in determining the available gaps in the market that they can venture into and benefit from. Through knowledge of the existing gaps, the organization well get to learn the best strategies to venture in these fields that have gaps in existence.

Carrying out market research would be of importance to Kudler Fine Food’s when it comes to the uncertainties that exist in the market due to the market variables. Without the knowledge gained from marketing research marketing programs that the organization uses may fail. It is therefore the knowledge gained from marketing research that a proper decision is arrived at as well as enhancement of the decision reached by the managers.

Among the ways that an organization may be able to maintain it competitiveness in the market is its ability to have a link between the environment and the consumers. Such information can be got from carrying out a market research.

Kudler Fine Food’s would benefit from such information especially when it comes to development of their marketing strategy since they get to learn the best way to link up the main two variables in the market and come up with the best combination that would bring around success(Armstrong and Kotler 2009).

However, though the organization has taken much initiative in marketing research Kudler Fine Foods can even benefit more from other areas of marketing research. The four Ps of marketing should be greatly emphasized when the market research is carried out. The way of promotion should be extensive and be attractive to many people.

When it comes to production of the products there is need to have preservations on their products if incase they are meant to be transported to great distances or in case they are been produced to areas with unfriendly weather conditions.

Importance of competitive intelligence is undeniably required in each and every organization. Kudler Fine Foods are also not of exception as they have also been a notable beneficially of competitive intelligence. Competitive intelligence entails the organization always been ahead of the other competitors in the market so as to be able to maintain their market.

An organization does this by ensuring that they have knowledge of what the competing organizations strategize on gaining control of the market. Competitive intelligence therefore entails collecting information about other competitors, integrating the collected information within the structure of the organization, analyzing the information obtained and finally coming up with a decision that is in the best interest of the organization.

Also notable about competitive intelligence is the fact that it is considerate of how an organization uses the assets it has on its disposal and how it leverages it. Leveraging the assets is usually done after accessing the competitors’ way of leveraging their assets so as to have the most desirable way of leveraging the assets (Kerin et al, 2009).

The importance of competitive intelligence to Kudler Fine Foods is undeniable when it comes to marketing strategy. Firstly, the organization uses the freshest ingredients to make their dishes and products. The culture of organizations using the freshest ingredient in the market has been endorsed by many organizations as it is a consumer desire to have freshly made delicacies. Such knowledge to Kudler Fine Foods is important as it gives them a competitive edge in the market against other organizations which have not started the exercise.

Kudler Fine Food also needs the information on competitive intelligence to get to learn about the competitors’ weakness. Knowledge of the competitors’ weakness will enable the organization to strategize of how they can use on the weakness of their competitors to their own benefit.

It is through learning the competitors’ weakness that Kudler Fine Food’s learns on the vulnerability of their competitors (Kerin et al, 2009). Competitive intelligence also brings about the strengths that Kudler Fine Food’s has and what makes them unique from other. It is through knowledge of such that the organization gets to keep in check of their performance through ensuring that the organization remains competitive through improving on their strengths.

Maintaining the organization strengths or even better improving it allows the organization to perform even better and to grow competitively.

Knowledge gained from competitive intelligence is also of great importance is getting to know what are the risky things an organization would get involved itself into. Kudler Fine Food’s would greatly benefit from information got from competitive intelligence regarding risks as they will ensure that their market strategy does not expose themselves to risk that would be detrimental to them.

Importance of both market research and competitive intelligence is one which is undeniable. The fact that there are many organizations in the market jus6t shows the importance of having the two been carried out. The information got from carrying out a market research is of importance to every organization is it tries to get the competitive edge that would lead to more growth as well as control of a bigger market.

Especially when it comes to what the consumer needs it is of utmost importance to know that since it is knowledge of such information that would lead to consumer satisfaction and subsequently the increase in the sales. Competitive intelligence on the other hand is also equally important.

Knowledge on what the competitors’ strategy is important as it allows an organization develops even better strategies that would lead to the organization success. The two are therefore some of the most important things an organization needs to do to be successful in their area of expertise.

References

Armstrong, G and Kotler, P(2009 ). Marketing. An Introduction. New York: Prentice Hall.

Kerin, R. A, Hartley S, Rudelius W. ( 2009). Marketing Management. New York: McGraw-Hil.

Brief Synopsis of Alfreshco Butterroil

Butterroil is an anhydrous milk-based product consisting of dairy fat at its purest form. This product consists of different types of lipids having varying melting points, which makes the products multi-purpose. Notably, Alfreshco Butteroil is a unique product as it can be used in a variety of food processing practices in both homes and industries.

For instance, the butter can be combined with powdered milk to produce fresh milk, while it can also be used in chocolate manufacturing. As a result, Alfreshco Butteroil brand products can be described as multipurpose since it can be used in baking, roasting and applying on bread like margarine. It has been revealed that, the main products of anhydrous milk fat are anhydrous Butteroil, Butteroil and anhydrous milk fat.

More so, this product was revealed to have enticing smell and taste of buttery scent. Since the product is manufactured in its natural form, it has been found useful in both industrial and home food processing activities. In bakery industries, Alfreshco Butteroil products have been found to be a major ingredient in manufacturing of confectionary and ice creams.

As it has been revealed, this product has been revealed to have high nutritive value, capable of providing individuals with their daily energy requirement sustainably. As a result, its popularity in the market lies on its ability to meet the needs of its users largely.

Marketing Issues Facing Butteroil Products

Since Alfreshco Butteroil products have been made naturally without additives, their demand in the market has been increasing significantly. Considering that this product has various purposes both in homes and industries in food processing practices, Alfreshco Butteroil has been a great success in the market. However, this product has been revealed to go bad within short period, making it less reliable once stored for some time.

More specifically the products are less durable, which poses great threat for this product’s popularity in the near future. As a result, this product has been revealed to be in danger of lacking enough market, especially with the rising competition in the contemporary markets (Armstrong and Kotler 23).

The aspect of the product of having the capacity to be employed in various applications with regard to various temperatures enhances its wider usage capacity. Having special nutrients recommendable to the people of all ages, this product has the opportunity to thrive better in the market. Since it is suitable to both children and adults, the product has a wider market base, despite it being targeted to young children.

Lenscold (49) considers the ability of a product to meet the requirements of a wider customer base as an opportunity for its potential future demand. On this basis, there is a potential future for the market of this product, as it has the opportunity to be purchased by all age groups due to its high nutritive value.

Positioning of Alfreshco Butteroil Brand

As it has been revealed, Alfreshco Butteroil products have been credible product in the market due to its reportedly high nutritive value and multi-purpose nature. Particularly, Alfreshco Butteroil products have been found to be more effective than other competing brands like Canola oil among others.

Since this product is cholesterol free and has less fat saturation than other butter products, it has been most liked by many people (Armstrong and Kotler 41). Basically, one of the main competitive advantages of this product is that, on top of its refreshing butter aroma, Alfreshco Butteroil offers its users with a wider variety of uses.

On this basis, this product has been found quite useful both homes and industrial in various food processing products. Through being multi-dimensional in its growth ways, the company of this product has enhanced its prosperity in the market. According to Luther (98), it is quite essential for corporations to combine four product-markets, called Ansoff’s matrix, as shown in the diagram below.

As the product seeks to increase its market share through expansion, its focus on large customer base can be described as an appropriate strategy to enhance its growth. As it has been observed, product development has been done in this brand since wider varieties of products under the same brand.

With regard to Armstrong and Kotler (54), if firms wish to introduce new products in the already established market segments, they would be required to do product diversification. As it has been observed in the Alfreshco Butteroil, its popularity in the market has been attributed to its uniqueness and product differentiation under the same brand.

Factors Contributing to the Success of Alfreshco Butteroil Brand

As it has been observed, this product is meant for wide range of customers. With its applicability in home and industrial food processing practices, the target market for this product seems to be food manufacturers and homes. Having its nutrients recommended to all age groups, this product has wider range of customers as it is not confined to age groups or lifestyles.

Being a multi-purpose product, it popularity in the market seems promising due to its naturalness and enticing nature to its customers (Armstrong and Kotler 43).

The reason to believe that this product is superior amongst its competitors has been facilitated by its ability to be replaced by all its substitutes for a variety of food processing processes. Having the potential to entice its customers by being multipurpose and uniqueness reinforces its positive attitude of the customers towards it (Luther 35).

More so, the frames of references for this product are strategically enhancing its success in the market. Since this brand competes with other products used for cooking, its efficient-nature in cooking reinforced by other added advantages enhances its higher relevance to the customers.

As it has been observed, natural and healthy nature of Alfresco Butteroil facilitates its high demand in the market, as it is perceived as a unique product amongst its competitors.

According to Lenscold (74), the ability of a product to have added advantages lacking in its competitors forms the basis for its ultimate success in the market. Particularly, the benefit differences between this product and its competitors forms a string basis for its success in the market.

Conclusion

As it has been observed, Alfreshco Butteroil is a product having the potential to thrive well in the market due to its various competitive advantages. Being a multi-purpose commodity, Alfreshco Butteroil has been highly useful in homes and industries due to its ability to replace all other substitutes in cooking.

As a result, this product has largely been competitive in the market due to its uniqueness and superiority in terms of usage for various purposes. However, this product seems to lack the ability to stay for long under room temperatures, unless confined in freezing conditions. This is the main weakness identified for this product.

Works Cited

Armstrong, Gregory and Kotler, Patrick. Successful Marketing Techniques. New York: Prentice Hall Publishers, 2010.

Lenscold, Jackson. Marketing ROI: The Path to Campaign, Customer and Corporate Profitability. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers, 2003.

Luther, Wycliffe. The Marketing Plan: How to Prepare and Implement it. New York: Prentice Hall, 2010.

Introduction

Export refers to selling goods that have been produced domestically to buyers who are in other countries¹. An exporter from Saudi Arabia, who is planning to sell incense to the Australian market, must first analyze the market conditions of the Australian market. This will give him a clear picture of the market. As a result, he will be able to determine its potential and how to capitalize on the opportunities².

Characteristics of the Australian Market

Geographical setting

In examining the geographical setting, the exporter will focus on the climate conditions and the surface transportation and communication. Australia has four climate seasons, which are explained as follows; spring, which comes between September and November. There is summer that lasts between September and February and autumn, which comes between March and May.

Lastly, there is winter, which is experienced between June and August. Spring and autumn are the months that Australia records a high number of tourists both local and international. Therefore, the exporter can capitalize on this to export incense to the country that will be used in entertainment joints³.

The country has well developed transport and communication infrastructure. The country has 353, 331 miles of its roads paved, which include both inter-city and urban roads. This is a boost to the exporter as he will be able to transport his products to his customers in an efficient way. In addition, the country has 408 airports, of which 15 are international airports.

This will enable the exporter to meet his customer’s orders with speed. Communication is also very good. Most of Australians are able to use the internet; therefore, the exporter can receive orders from any part of the country and be able to deliver them without meeting physically with the client⁴.

Social environment

Eighty five percent of the Australian population live in cities while rest who mainly consist of the Australian Aborigines live in the rural areas. The exporter can market to the population that lives in the cities through the major media like newspapers and television. Considering that, they are the largest segment the exporter is assured of reaching a relatively large number of the Australian population⁵.

The customer can also design strategies to meet specifically the Aborigines’ needs, because they can be separated as a distinct segment. Therefore, it is possible to design products that meet their specific needs. The literacy standards in Australia are very high. On average, 70% of the population has a year five standard of education. This has both positive and negative impacts.

On the positive side, the exporter can easily advertise to this population through the English language, which is common to all literate people. On the negative side, the high literacy levels make the population to prefer products from the western countries as advocated by the celebrities they adore. Therefore, they are likely to reject products from Saudi Arabia⁶.

The presence of Middle-eastern and Asian immigrants in Australia presents a favourable market for incense business in the country. Indians form a larger percentage of these migrants. Out of all immigrants from Asia, 77551 stated India as their birthplace. This is according to a census carried out in 1996 and the researchers projected that the number would grow by 3000 after every five years.

This presents a large market for incense, considering the fact that the product is highly used in India for different purposes. These include religious purposes such as temple cleansing and refreshing of homes⁷.

Another factor about the Indian community about the Indian community that favours incense business is their drive towards entrepreneurship. Most of Asian immigrants have not been able to secure job opportunities in Australia due to the difference in educational systems.

Therefore, most of the Indian middle age people have ventured in to business. An exporter of incense in to Australia therefore, can partner with these potential entrepreneurs in promoting the business in the country. This means that the importer will have local distributors who understand the different uses of incense by the target market (Asian community). Hence, they will be ready to supply the product when needed⁸.

Economic environment

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics of March 2010, there is a monthly employment rate of 9 percent, which is on a permanent basis⁹. This means that a majority of employees in Australia have no need for job security, therefore, they can focus on meeting their secondary needs.

This is an opportunity for the incense business as the exporter can package his products to meet the secondary needs such as entertainment and leisure. Statistics also show that the Australian population spent over 140, 000 dollars on leisure activities in March 2010. This is a relatively high amount and acts as an opportunity for the exporter to position his products towards leisure activities¹⁰.

Conclusion

From the analysis, it is evident that the Australian population presents a potential market for the incense export business. Most of the population has a high literacy level, which makes communication through the mainstream media easy and cheaper. There is adequate infrastructure in the transport and communication sector. This enhances the ordering of products by customers.

It also helps the exporter in efficient delivery as well as in advertising. However, some negative aspects that affect the export business are also present in the market. One among them is the high literacy levels of the population.

The literate population is highly influenced by the European culture; therefore, it will be difficult for the exporter to sell to them goods from the Arab world. In spite of this shortcoming, the exporter still stands a high chance of succeeding in the Australian market.

Bibliography

About Australia. Weather, Seasons and Climate in Australia. Web.

Australian Bureau of Statistics. Statistics. Web.

Australian Bureau of Statistics. Year book, Australia, Issue 87. Canberra: Aust. Bureau of Statistics, 2005.

Dana, Leo, Paul. Handbook of research on international entrepreneurship. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006.

Department of Education, Science and Training. Literacy Standards in Australia. Web.

Jupp, James. The Australian people: an encyclopedia of the nation, its people and their origins. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Lamb, Charles. W., Hair, Joseph F. and McDaniel, Carl. Jr. Essentials of Marketing. Mason, MA: Cengage Learning, 2008.

Footnotes

1. Lamb, Charles W., Joseph, F. Hair, Jr. & Carl, McDaniel. Essentials of Marketing. Mason, MA: Cengage Learning, 2008 p. 118.
2. Dana, Leo Paul., Handbook of research on international entrepreneurship. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006 p. 503-506.
3. About Australia. Weather, Seasons and Climate.
4. Australian Bureau of Statistics. P. 390-396.
5. Ibid. p. 89-91.
6. Department of education, science and training. Literacy standards in Australia.
7. Jupp, James. The Australian people: an encyclopedia of the nation, its people and their origins. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001 P. 430-450.
8. Ibid.
9. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Statistics (2010).
10. Australian Bureau of Statistics. P.394-395.

Introduction to Kudler Fine Foods

Kudler Fine Foods is a gourmet store that serves customers in search of fine bakery products, dairy, meat and wines, both imported and domestic. The company has been growing tremendously and is currently concentrating on expansion, increasing efficiency of operations and looking for ways of retaining its customers.

The popularity of the company has continued to grow daily hence the need to initiate changes in order to raise the revenues and reduce costs. This paper justifies the importance of market research in developing the marketing strategy and tactics for Kudler Fine Foods.

The paper also focuses on competitive intelligence and explains its role in developing the marketing strategy and tactics. In addition, the paper identifies areas where Kudler Fine Foods needs to carry out additional research.

Definition of Market Research

Market research is defined as a form of business study which collects information and conducts analysis of data on customers, competitors and the market in general . It can be used to develop business plans, introduce new services or products, venture into new markets and improve company’s existing products and services.

Business organizations use market research to identify places where they are likely to record high sales on the basis of factors such as income level, gender and age of the customers. Market research identifies the characteristics of the targeted markets and assists in shaping the strategy of a company to expand.

Kudler Fine Foods will benefit from market research since the company intends to expand its services. It will enable the company come up with an expansion plan and identify its strong and weak areas. In addition, the company will be able to identify new markets, prospective customers and strategies of increasing sales.

Justification of Market Research

The main objective of Kudler Fine Foods is to increase the profitability and loyalty of its customers. The company carried out a survey of the market between 2006 and 2007 with the aim of developing their strategic objective.

During the survey many questions on staff, merchandise, pricing, staff issues and the general operations of the company were asked. The views the company received indicated that the survey was one of the company’s best market researches. The research provided the company with crucial information that was required to rectify the company’s weaknesses.

After the company carried out a survey of the market, it was discovered that there was a problem with the customer service representatives. The representatives were not courteous enough hence customers were not getting satisfied. The company noted that in 2006, 30 percent of the customers who visited the company indicated dissatisfaction. In 2007, the percentage of discontented customers increased to 36 percent.

This market research revealed that there was need for Kudler Fine foods to address the issues that left their customers dissatisfied. If the company did not conduct the market research, its progress could have been adversely affected through loss of customers.

Such a market research is critical in ensuring that customers feel satisfied hence retaining their loyalty to the company. Market research is clearly important in the development of a marketing strategy for Kudler Fine Foods because it will assist the company discover important issues that will improve its performance.

Competitive Intelligence

Competitive intelligence is information that companies gather with the aim of using it to learn about competition in a given market . It is among the strategies that are used to carry out market share forecasts. Forecasting is crucial for Kudler Fine Foods in decision making regarding the quantity of items the company should stock since it deals mostly with perishable commodities.

Competitive intelligence and analysis will enable Kudler Foods to develop strategies that will enable it remain ahead of its competitors. The company will need to carry out additional market research on how to identify potential customers, new possible markets and new ways of conducting promotions.

It is beneficial for the Kudler Fine Foods to have information on what their competitors are engaged in for a number of reasons. The first reason is that if the company’s competitors offer prizes that woo customers into their businesses, then it is advisable for Kudler Foods to adopt similar strategies in order to draw many customers into its business.

The second reason is that although Kudler Foods may think that the products of the company are the best in the market, the customers may feel that the competitors offer better products. This makes it necessary for Kudler Foods to change some of its suppliers for certain products.

Since the customers do not focus on the price so much, the company may increase the prices to march the improved quality of the products. Competitive intelligence gives companies a chance to practice innovativeness and creativity.

Areas of Additional Market Research

Although it is advisable for Kudler Fine foods to conduct market research through surveys which give them opinions, there are other ways through which the company can carry out market research. It is important for the company to be well versed with the expectations of the customers and market trends.

One of the additional methods that the company can use to conduct market research is the use of internet. The company can decide of modifying its website to include customer surveys and tracking information that is useful. The internet assists businesses to gain competitiveness.

Kudler Fine Foods has been increasing the loyalty of its customers by adding margin services to customers and provision of better services to customers. The aim of the company has been to win the loyalty of its customers and increase profitability of the existing customers and attract more.

Through market research, the company has been able to realize that it has been performing well in all its areas with an exception of customer satisfaction and pricing. In order to improve in all the areas including pricing, the company has to carry out additional research on its pricing mechanisms.

The market research will focus on strategies through which the company can decrease production and internal costs. Once overhead costs are reduced, then the amount saved will benefit the customers through reduced prices. Reduced prices will result in increase in sales, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty

Conclusion

Kudler Fine Foods has been growing remarkably and creation of a trusted customer base by carrying out market research has been useful. Through market research, the company has been able to identify areas where improvement has been necessary and corrective measures have been taken.

For instance, market research has helped the company discover that there has been a problem of customer dissatisfaction. The company has since adopted ways of solving the problem. However, the company should conduct additional research in areas like pricing and identification of potential customers.

References

Armstrong, G., & Kotler, P. (2011). Marketing: An Introduction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Competitive Intelligence. (2012). Web.

kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2012). Marketing Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Kitchen Magic Ltd.

Situation

In 2010, Jeff and Paul who were proprietors of Kitchen Delight bought a 70% stake into their rival company, Kitchen Magic Ltd., to consolidate their market position. Before buying the new company, they had had a long-standing relation where Kitchen Delight used the Kitchen Magic Ltd. warehouse to act as transit points for products during distribution throughout the country.

The business of Kitchen Magic Ltd had been declining for the last few years. However, when the Management of the former company approached Jeff and Paul, the deal was too good to ignore. By taking over the company with a controlling stake, they knew that the bulk of the work lied on their part to run around its fortune, thus making it profitable and consequently serving to consolidate the position of Kitchen Delight.

Complications

Once they took over the company, Jeff and Paul realised that they had inherited more problems than they had thought. Firstly, it had a very poor customer service, poor quality products, and a highly demoralised sales force. Within the first year, they had six of the company’s main clients.

It was an awakening point for the two businesspersons who had to take drastic measures to identify ways through which they would save the company and their investment.

An external consultant found that the manager of Kitchen Magic Ltd., whom the parties had inherited, was driving the company out of business based on his apparent disability to maintain good lasting relationships with customers, unresponsiveness to market demands and needs, poor stock management, and an inadequately skilled workforce. It was important for change to happen for the sake of the business’ future.

Resolution

To resolve the problem, the external consultant called for an overhaul of the organisation’s leadership at Kitchen Magic Ltd. and a shift towards a good customer care, responsiveness to market demands, and customer satisfaction.

Jeff and Paul new that bringing such changes in the way in which the sales force conducted its business and the process of building confidence again on the remaining customers who were also fed up by poor services was going to be a difficult task.

With time, their efforts paid off as the company had a drastic turn around. Sales began rising. Besides, customers expressed more satisfaction. Moreover, employees became motivated to do their tasks.

Insight and Implications

According to Beerel (2009), change in an organisation must be handled with a lot of precaution since there is always resistant from those who want to maintain the status quo. One of the key models of change management is the Lewin’s change management model, which guides the process of change in three key steps, namely unfreeze, alter, and refreeze.

This model is very relevant to the above case since the management had to challenge the way things had always been done. The company proved the need for change (unfreeze) and then suggested and implemented change processes and new ways of doing business (change). Now, the business is in the process of making the new changes as part of the organisational culture (refreeze).

In this process, leadership is very important. It requires pacesetting where leaders take the initiative of guiding the organisation to adopt and accept new ways of doing business. Ultimately, through a dedicated leadership and the application of proven models of change management, Jeff and Paul were able to turn around a company that was on a path to death.

Tera Nova Advertising Ltd.

Situation

In 2013, Tera Nova Advertising Company approached my consulting company to undertake a market research that would decide, which direction it would take following the increased competition from other advertising firms. Although it was not a market leader in its adverting segment, its share as evidenced in its profit had been going down for 2 years. At the time, the projections showed that the company would make its first loss.

The realisation was a course for worry for its management. What is it that other companies were doing that Tera Nova Advertising was not?

What was the best way forward to address the issue and make the company profitable? It was recommended that the best way for the company was to expand its business model to include new advertising services such as email marketing and market research among other services that it had never tried before.

Complications

The management of Tera Nova Advertising Company took the recommendations immediately and began the process of implementing and marketing its new services to its customers. However, it soon emerged that employees and staff members were not well prepared for the change. They had a hard time of delivering quality services to customers in the delivery of the new services.

The company was in the verge of failing to achieve the desired reprieve, a situation that would be unacceptable if the company was to remain afloat. There was the need to have a strong leadership to guide the process of implementing the new business processes successfully.

Resolution

The company adopted a plan to offer the necessary support through training, motivation, and implementation of teamwork process to bring each individual on the same page on the status of the company and the reasons for the changes that were taking place.

The efforts paid off since the company was able have a workforce that was capable of offering services to customers in diverse areas of marketing. Soon, the company was recording high growth rate. It gained a competitive advantage over its competitors after it combined its previous services with the new ones. It expanded its resource base.

Insight and Implications

In the successful implementation of change, the leadership styles that an organisation adopts are very important. Its success depends on the situation at the time. In the above case study, transformational leadership was important in guiding employees to adapt to the new changes.

According Goldsmith (2010), transformational leadership was very effective in transforming the business of Tera Nova Advertising Company since leaders were able to provide support and/or encourage individual employees through their challenges in adopting the new ways of doing business. The leaders acted as role models when they motivated employees to be open to new changes.

Further, they fostered their ability to explore new ways of doing business. However, the fact that leaders become more engaged in the activities of the organisation and more concerned of the welfare of employees does not indicate a weakness.

Transformational leadership also calls for leaders to be firm and strict in ensuring that the organisation retains focus on its ultimate goals. At the end, Tera Nova emerged stronger and with better capacity to adapt to changes. It maintained competitive advantage in the highly aggressive industry.

References

Avery, G. (2004). Understanding Leadership: Paradigms and Cases. London: Sage.

Beerel, A. (2009). Leadership and change management. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2004). Making sense of change management a complete guide to the models, tools & techniques of organisational change. London: Kogan Page.

Goldsmith, M. (2010). The AMA handbook of leadership. New York, NY: American Management Association.

Northhouse, P. (2013). Leadership theory and practice. California, CA: Sage Publishers.

The contemporary business world is rapidly changing, and it is essential to trace the slightest change to remain competitive. Hence, companies conduct a variety of market researches to keep updated. Clearly, the success of a business depends on the quality of the research implemented as wrong data can lead to erroneous strategies which can lead to significant losses. It becomes clear that information is one of the most important strategic assets of a company and businesses have to gather high-quality data.

In the first place, it is necessary to consider the stages of marketing research. Boone and Kurtz (2011) single out six major stages of the marketing research: defining the problem, conducting exploratory research, formulating hypotheses, creating a research design, collecting data, and interpreting research information. Thus, companies have to understand the issue and conduct research accordingly. Of course, collecting data is one of the most important stages as it is the basis of the development of a new strategy. It is essential to choose the right method to acquire valuable information.

Collecting data can be carried out in numerous ways. It can be exploratory research, a survey, observations, secondary data analysis, and experimental research (Boone & Kurtz, 2011). Admittedly, each of these methods has to be used to meet particular goals. Most importantly, data collection has to be comprehensive and detailed. Of course, this requires additional investment. Nonetheless, efficient research has proved to be beneficial for companies as they are able to forecast successfully. For instance, such companies as Oberto Sausage (Washington) and Ogden Publications (Oklahoma) develop their strategies on the basis of numerous surveys and data collection (Boone & Kurtz, 2011).

These companies manage to predict changes in the market and react accordingly. Hence, such businesses are expanding all the time and provide new products and services which become popular among their customers.

When it comes to international marketing research, the same types of research can be used as well as ethnographic research. At this point, it is necessary to add that companies entering (or operating in) the global market need high-quality data collection and analysis as one mistake can lead to complete failure (Cavusgil & Riesenberger, 2009). Thus, companies have to know about competitors, cultural peculiarities of the target audience as well as legislation in this or that area. An example of the importance of research preceding the launch of a new product can be Procter & Gamble with its introduction of diapers in the Japanese market.

The company did not implement research prior to the introduction of diapers in Japan and made considerable losses as the product (even though it was useful) did not become popular as Procter & Gamble failed to take into account cultural peculiarities of the region (Cavusgil & Riesenberger, 2009). The company conducted in-depth research and managed to develop a successful strategy.

To sum up, it is possible to state that collecting data and proper analysis of information is crucial for a company operating nationwide as well as globally. The contemporary business world is highly competitive, and businesses have to respond to changes which are taking place constantly. Researching markets, the companies can trace these changes and develop appropriate strategies which enable them to operate in their niche and/or expand. Clearly, any research needs time and funds, but this is a necessary investment as the company will make greater losses without it.

Reference List

Boone, L., & Kurtz, D. (2011). Contemporary Marketing. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Web.

Cavusgil, S.T., & Riesenberger, J. (2009). Conducting market research for international business. New York, NY: Business Expert Press. Web.

The General Nutrition Center is the best place to be for everyone who wants nutritional supplements and body exercise. The center has qualified staff. The center provides its clients with a gym for exercises and bodybuilding. It also provides nutritional supplements. Even after showing interest in clients and providing high-quality service, GNC clientele has been dwindling.

The purpose of this research is to show why the students have not been buying nutritional supplements at GNC and the reason for not going for physical exercise at the center. The findings should be able to help the organization to answer the management question, “How can we increase the gym participants?”

Another question is, “How can we promote better health information and facilities to encourage many people to enjoy our services?” Another important question to answer would be, “Why are the regular customers not coming for the services at the center?”

The purpose of this research is to determine the specific factors that contribute to the client’s drop in attendance to the organization’s services and the best marketing aspect to consider when looking for and retaining the customers.

The client has to help the researchers to determine what particular segment of the target market would be very important. The researchers would then tailor the strategies that best suit the client’s description of the problem. The main reason for this research is to enable GNC to get customers. The research is important because it can be the source of information for other institutions to use to solve the clientele problems.

The Research Strategy

The research was seeking to solve a management issue. There is already some background information that could be very helpful for the research. The discounts and gifts were some of the causes of customer numbers. The best research strategy was backward market research. The backward research would provide information on what kind of decisions the management should come up with to solve the research problem. The management would require significant help that only the backward research was able to offer.

Forward Research Strategy would only be important if there were no background information. For the Forward Design, there was a lack of direction, and the management would not apply the results until the very end, and, therefore, the whole work would not become helpful in the long run. The backward design determines the key decisions that would be helpful by using the results.

The analysis of the backward research required that the analysts should write a conclusive report on the findings. It would be essential for reference in the future. The report could also become useful for reference purposes by any other organization or individual. Therefore, the longevity of the research was certain. Members could also evaluate the research process and contributions. It could be prone to scrutiny before it became manifest for use.

There was a need to prepare a prototype report for the management to determine the best decision the management would make. The researchers had to analyze the questions so that they come up with the best analysis of the results. The researchers had to prepare the kind of questions they would use some weeks before the actual day of the survey. Every officer had to go through the questions at a time before convening the meeting that would enable the researchers to share information.

Even after conducting the research, they also had to meet again and ensure that the participants answered the very important questions. The client has to receive the design sample that the members shared with each other. When using Forward Design, the client would not know the decisions to make.

But the Backward research informed the client of the available decisions. It also provided the means for finding the best ways to come up with solutions. The advantages of using the backward design far outweighed those for the forward design. It was important first to define the problem.

Flexibility was also an important facet of the research. Backward research would indicate whether the proposed ideas had merit or not. Therefore, the client would be able to start using the results as soon as possible.

The type of research was descriptive research. If there were no background information at all as to what caused low attendance at the center, then the exploratory research would have been the best to use. There would have been no prior information at what kind of questions to ask and the types of topics to use.

The descriptive type of research normally uses rigid data collection because of the available options to help the research to narrow down to specific sources of the problem. And because the research focused on the cause and effect, the causal research was the most probable. There was a need to know how people would react to free samples and discounts.

The two designs would make the research more appropriate to the research problem. The results would help the organization to test the ideas using the causal methods. It would be helpful to learn how the students would react to the proposal to introduce discounts and free samples. The idea would benefit the business because it would be like launching the business fresh.

The cross-sectional study would be the best method to get the initial response. The cross-sectional approach enabled the researchers to get a good grasp of the population. It was then possible to identify the attendance to the center from each case study. For the longitudinal study, there would be the need to repeat the measurement on the same sample.

Many of the participants would not continue to the end of the study or would change their minds in the middle of the research. A longitudinal study is tedious and would wear down the researchers and hence giving results that were not accurate. It was necessary that the study needed a design that would complete the results once, and hence cross-sectional was the best choice.

Research Instrument

Descriptive research could work well with quantitative research. Descriptive research would describe the market and its characteristics and give quantitative information. It enabled the researchers to have knowledge about the market and the business before carrying out the analysis. The descriptive research covered the market characteristics.

The researchers also perused through the records to familiarize themselves with the trends of the sales in the business. They asked questions about product usage. The organization had to explain the main uses of the products they offered. The answers from the students will verify if the management has done enough awareness campaigns about product usage. The majority of the students believed that the company had failed in its pricing of the products and services.

The best approach was to use the survey method. The method was to include questionnaires. They had questions that would cover all the aspects of the study. The research clearly stated the people who would conduct the research. It also gave them information about the environment. The timing of the research was also very important so that it would cover a bigger number of students. After listening to the managers at the organization, the researchers understood what was very important and of concern to the organization.

The backward method required a specific segment of the population. The quantitative data collection describes the segment of the CSUN student population. The quantitative data provides clear information and explanation. It involves the correlation between the participants who get to the center willingly and those who need discounts and gifts to entice them to attend.

The qualitative data does not have a relativity or comparison aspect. The quantitative data does not provide all the information as the qualitative data does. The qualitative research supports interviews and or observations. Such forums enable the research to get detailed information on all the factors that relate to the causes of the students’ actions. The questionnaire method is quick and less costly. The research included both online and hard paper surveys.

Most of the students filled in the online questionnaire. It could have been because of the Information Technology and privacy considerations. Therefore, it was easy to reach the majority of the population in the sample size. The online plan worked because about 500 students participated from the intended number of 300 participants.

Introduction

Groupon is an Internet firm that provides marketing services in the form of direct mail and coupons. The company targets businesses that have coupon users, and has recently expanded to cater for merchants who offer coupons. The firm’s main clients are the customers who are moving from the traditional means of marketing, of using classified or the yellow pages, to a system that employs modern technology.

The firm’s business is to identify consumer needs, and then structure products that suit their needs. In addition, the company offers its marketing services to merchants and companies that wish to meet their customers’ needs. Through the use of promotions, the Internet firm has expanded its market size by identifying potential benefactors of their services.

Groupon’s Marketing Mix

Groupon’s managers achieve their specific target market by utilizes the marketing mix tool that combines the elements of product, place, price and, promotion.

Product

Groupon sells wares on behalf of their clients through direct-to-consumer email marketing. They offer their service by utilising the power of group coupons. Initially, the firm encouraged its users to form groups that allowed them to negotiate with merchants. Groupon shifted its focus to providing merchants with a forum where they can place their deals and discount offers.

For a deal tips into action, a sufficient number of customers must sign up for a coupon,. Unlike most online consumer businesses, Groupon forgoes the option of offering their clients’ privacy in order to allow for more transparency. These offers are then availed to customers who have signed up for them via email.

Place

Since Groupon is an Internet firm, the customers voluntarily and explicitly opt-in or sign up for deals offered by the various merchants. All clients have access to all the deals and discounts available, provided that they have an Internet connection. All they have to do is go online, access their email, and view the deals available. Groupon trains merchants on how to use email and coupon marketing to attract new customers. In addition, the firm attracts customers to sign up with them so as to have access to the deals being offered by the merchants.

Price

When it comes to pricing of their services, Groupon fails to disclose its rates. However, gauging by the current number of subscribers who use their site, and the projected increase in users, it is acceptable to assume that they have set a fair price for their services. Moreover, their revenues amount to approximately half of the total transaction ($380 million) obtained from 50 million subscribers. Since a merchant or customer can access the site via the Internet, payments are made through online money transfers. Groupon offers refunds for wares not delivered or delivered in poor condition.

Promotion

In an effort to retain, expand and maintain a competitive advantage in the market, Groupon has adopted several policies and practises. The firm has expanded its marketing models to merchants through training. The company identifies merchants who could benefit from their marketing services and trains them on how to use email and coupon marketing through their site.

Groupon not only offers its services to coupon users, but also for merchants and businesses that offer coupons and discounts (their primary target). Moreover, the company encourages their clients to use modern technology, such as the Internet, to reach their customers. In addition, the firm works towards increasing efficiency and transparency. They achieve transparency by making privacy mute through the volunteer sign up process offered to customers.

Benefit Reaped in Market Research Process from Employing Groupon

The market research process is a lengthy and involving set of activities that must be performed by any business. The process involves formulation and development of research objectives, techniques and procedures to be used in data collection, research procedures, sampling procedure, data analysis techniques, and the presentation of collected and analysed information to decision makers. Most of the merchants who request for Groupon’s services are believed to have identified a problem or problems in their marketing strategy that they wish to address. Groupon reduces the burden on the merchant by creating a forum where customers can access the various products or services they offer.

The firm utilises deals and coupons as a means of attracting customers to purchase the various wares. The use of deals serves the purpose of attracting customers and offering a competitive advantage over similar products or services already available in the market. All the customers with access to the Groupon site can view the deals of any company and, thus, all goods have an equal chance of been seen by the clients. Moreover, Groupon’s customer base is uniquely placed in the market and offers a fresh source of clients.

Since the company practises transparency and anyone can view deals available, competing merchants can view deals offered by their business rivals. This makes the data collection and analysis process shorter, easier and faster. In the case, that a merchant intends to introduce a new product into the market, Groupon offers a unique forum for the launch of such goods. The product enters the market at the best possible price, and its success or failure is gauged against similar goods. Due to the transparent nature of Groupon, data collection and sampling is made easier.

Groupon’s Utilization of Market Segmentation

Market segmentation refers to the division or subdivision of a market into sections where similar patterns or behaviours are classified together. Groupon has a market composed of online customers. The geographic restrictions that constrain most businesses do not apply to online customers; as such, it is very easy to attract new customers.

The Internet firm encourages both merchants and customers to embrace technological advances. Groupon has made it possible for its online customers to access their site from any device that can connect to the Internet. In addition, the signing up process is simple and requires little to no training. In cases where training is necessary, Groupon utilises its large number of employees to train such clients.

Another segment that Groupon focuses on is that of direct-to-customer email market. Groupon focuses on online customers who are attracted to deals and coupons. Due to the unique nature of their customers, the merchants selling their products on the forum sell goods at deals and discounts. Moreover, the company offers services to both customers and producers of products. The composition of the market makes it a unique meeting point for the two segments.

Conclusion

Merchants who are looking for new markets find them in Groupon; in the form of customers who are looking for discounted goods and services. The Internet firm offers merchants a chance to offer their products directly to consumers while the consumers get to choose which deal appeals most to them. Groupon is positioned strategically in the online marketing business by creating a unique market for merchants through the use of deals and discounts on goods and services to attract online customers.

The management team had done enough research to quantify the size of the market. This is because the idea of the introduction of a smart card to customers shows that the management was confident that the card will be accepted. The fact that the card has several advantages to its users resulted in increased demand by individuals in different sections of the supply chain. For example, the consumers believed that the card will secure their cash as it goes electronic with a secured password. Therefore, they preferred subscribing for a smart card because, regardless of where their banks are located from the shopping malls, they can shop anytime. This convenience is the key factor that encourages most consumers to have a smartcard.

The management must have considered the security of merchants when money handling is concerned. This means that when multiple buyers shop in the shopping malls using cash, the owners of these shops remain at risk of losing the money to gangsters. The smart card will assure them of security because when shoppers use electronic money to purchase goods, the money transfers to merchants count directly hence reducing the risks associated with handling large sums of cash.

The management had put all these factors into consideration before arriving at the decision of introducing the smart card. The market size is large because middle and high-income owners fall into the target market as they do shopping in enormous quantities. Therefore, having them own a smart card would make sense to them bearing in mind that they want security and convenience. Merchants also would consider allowing the use of smart cards as they guarantee them with the security of their money.

How valid was their assessment of probable market acceptance of the product?

The assessment of probable market acceptance of the product was valid since they convinced people of the benefits associated with the smart card. Given that they targeted the right people for this product, the assessment must be valid because all those targeted have the potential of using the card. Reliability is among the aspects used in accessing the acceptance of the product in the market.

In fact, everybody wishes to have reliable means of communication, and access to their money. This product is said to be reliable such that the user can wake up from their sleep and walk to a shopping mall and purchase goods. If consumers are assured that the product will not frustrate them at any one time, then they accept it wholly and start using it to do their shopping.

Every business person aims at reducing costs hence maximizing their profits. For the merchants, the product will have them reduce operational costs involved in handling and securing the revenue generated by sales. Therefore, the use of the smart card will reduce that cost as buyers will be using plastic money, as opposed to cash. Merchants will have to accept the product since its benefits to them translate to massive sums of cash. The issuer of the card will also accept the offer because there are many advantages associated with issuing smart cards to customers. This means that the issuer will be receiving their commissions and other fees related to the issuance and maintenance of the card. Therefore, the assessment of probable acceptance of the product to the market is valid.