Case study «Market research»

ISSUE

Market research aims to find about consumers’ needs so that manufacturers and producers can develop and price products more appropriately. It is now common practice for market research companies to sell the results of surveys to companies. You are members of a team responsible for market research questionnaire design. You have been asked to design a questionnaire which will be mailed to a large number of households. In order to encourage a response, your clients are making the following free offers:

• money-saving coupons for the clients’ products

• cash prizes to respondents

• special offers to selected respondents.

Your clients operate in a number of different sectors. Their aim is to get information about the profile of existing and potential users of their products and services. The sectors are:

• mobile phones

• holiday travel

• fast food restaurants

• tobacco

• banking

First discuss the main categories for your questionnaire, then design a questionnaire to be sent to households.

AGENDA

1. Review objective of exercise

2. The main categories and sections of the questionnaire

3. The design of the questionnaire

Notes to the agenda

1. The Team Leader will present the objectives of the exercise and agree the results to be achieved.

2. The participants will agree on the main categories of the questionnaire and decide on the sections.

3. The participants will work in pairs to draft the questions for specific sections of the questionnaire.

Brainstorming

Discuss the business topic in pairs. Complementary ideas are welcomed at the end of the discussion.

Late Payments

The manufacturing company you work for is experiencing cash flow problems due to delays in receiving payments from customers.

You have been asked to suggest ways of dealing with the situation.

Discuss the situation together and decide:

– what would be the best way of approaching the customers who owe you money

– how the company could discourage customers from paying late in future

– how the company could make it easier for customers to make payments.

INDIVIDUAL PROJECT / Presentation

Marketing Mix on the example of companies (1 by choice)

Unit 10 theory: «What is branding?»

«…the sum of the functional and emotional characteristics, both tangible and intangible, that a customer attributes to a product or service»

Paul Stobart

Brand identity is the sum of the words, images and ideas that a consumer associates with a brand. Brands are at the centre of being perceived by the customer as better or more relevant and are a company’s most strategic asset. Brands allow companies to influence the demand for a product by manipulating factors other than price. For many companies the relationship between brand awareness and sales is so acute that they follow consumers’ purchasing intentions and brand loyalty levels via surveys.

Brands also allow consumers to make informed purchase decisions and differentiate between the plethora of alternatives in any one product category such as clothing and shampoo. In the parts of the world where basic needs for everyday survival have been met, brands also give people something they can aim at and help to define identity.

Brand Loyalty

Brand loyalty is the situation when a consumer is reluctant to switch from buying and consuming the product from the brand he knows and trusts. It consists of a consumer’s commitment or preference to repurchase the brand and can be demonstrated by repeated buying of the product or service or other positive behaviors such as word of mouth advocacy. It is more than simple repurchasing behavior, since customers may repurchase a brand also due to:

• Situational constraints

• A lack of viable alternatives

• Out of convenience

Such loyalty is then referred to as “Spurious Loyalty”.

Three reasons why brand loyalty is important:

1. Higher sales volume. Through reducing customer loss.

2. Premium pricing ability. As loyal consumers are less sensitive to price changes, generally, they are willing to pay more for their preferred brand.

3. Lower costs for advertising, marketing and distribution. Brand loyalists are willing to search for their favorite brand and less sensitive to competitive promotions.

FOLLOW-ON QUESTIONS…

1. What is brand identity and how does it work?

2. What 3 elements make the branding successful according to Mary Jo Hatch and Majken Shultz?

3. To what extent do advertisers use persuasive techniques?

4. What emotional ties do you have to any brand and how do you describe them (e.g. exciting, reliable, innovative)?

5. What is country branding? What images and associations do you have of countries like China, the USA, Italy, Japan, etc?