The following data can be collected using market research:
The likely demand for the service.
The buying habits of the customers.
The likes, dislikes, and lifestyles of the customers.
The marketing mix:
* Place.
* Price.
* Promotion.
* Product/ service.
The two main forms of marketing research are primary research and secondary research. If information does not already exist it is called primary research, this is because it is being collected first hand. Primary research allows the company to gain advantage over competitors as the information collected exclusive. The disadvantages of primary research are that it is expensive and time consuming.
The methods of primary research are:
Questionnaires.
Interviews.
Surveys.
Observation.
Secondary research however already exists and can be obtained from either internal or external sources of information. The advantage of secondary research is that the information can be accessed quickly as opposed to primary research. The disadvantages of secondary research are that the information is not precise to the marketing information that is wanted also it can be out of date.
The methods of secondary research are;
Government statistics.
Media.
The Internet.
Market research companies.
Marketing databases.
As part of my primary research I created two questionnaires; one for the local estate agents of Ealing and the other for 20 prospective customers. I used this method as a way of trying to understand customer needs from the view of the customer and estate agents.
From the questionnaire created for potential customers I found the types of media I should use to advertise properties and my company, the local newspapers. I also found out the types of services that customers wanted me to provide, the most popular services that people want me to provide are mortgages, house tours, advice and valuation/ quotaions.
I also found out the most people find the internet a hard sources and not very useful to use when looking at houses, people told me that they found most of the same information about the houses on the internet in the local papers, and the only new information they actually found out was the services offered by the estate agent. I decided to try the websites out and found that it was true. People said that they would prefer to get better views of the houses over the internet before going to view the houses, I suggested web cams so that they could see all around the house or artist drawings of the houses.
From the questionnaires from other estate agents if found that they were all part of a chain, and what they thought of the Internet. I also found out where they advertised, which were in the Gazette, local newspapers, and their websites. They also said that in order to advertise for people to sell their houses they used leaflet drops throughout the whole borough.
Through secondary research I found out some government statistics. These allowed me to see the household numbers and the projection up until 2021. This showed me that the houses that I would need to sell would be 3 bedroom houses as most families have around 3 people in them.
TOPIC 3-
EXTERNAL
INFLUENCES
EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
The internal and external influences that may affect the business can be analysed using a SWOT analysis and a PEST analysis.
PEST ANALYSIS
The pest analysis is designed to examine the external environment and global factors that may affect the estate agency business. By grouping the external forces neatly into four main areas, PEST stands for
Political factors.
Economic factors.
Social factors.
Technological factors.
SWOT ANALYSIS
The main purpose of a SWOT analysis is to "conduct a general and quick examination of a business's current position so that it can identify preferred and likely directions in future" (Quote: Advanced Business Studies). A SWOT analysis can be used to plan a marketing strategy. SWOT stands for
Strengths.
Weakness.
Opportunity.
Threats.
EXTERNAL INFLUENCES ON THE MARKETING STRATEGY
When developing a marketing strategy there is a large range of strategies available to the decision maker. Two of these are the SWOT analysis and the PEST analysis. As the marketing strategy depends on the nature of the organisation and its people, the environment in which the business is in, and the activities of competitors, the SWOT analysis and PEST analysis provide all of the relevant information.
All of the PEST factors affect the marketing strategy for the business as they affect the demand for houses and the price that they are sold at. These are all factors that cannot be controlled by the business, but they may be predicted.
If the economy is in a boom period the cost of houses will rise as many people will be employed and will therefore feel comfortable buying a new house. However, in a bust period the price and demand for houses will drop. Therefore the economy plays a large factor in the marketing strategy of an estate agent. The state of the economy needs to monitored closely.
As the economy is currently in a good position, people will have a willingness to spend money to buy houses. This would be a good time for me to open up an estate agent, the only down side is that the level of employment is high and therefore there is likely to be less people qualified to sell house available to work in the estate agent.
The SWOT analysis allows me to see all the likely strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that the business may have and face. This allows me to design a strategy that downplays the weaknesses and threats until they can be over come, and to focus on the strengths and the opportunities available to the company allowing the business to do well. Unfortunately this has to be constructed hypothetically as the information has to be analysed based on the actual business.
Through the information collected I can predict the average price that houses will sell at and the likely demand for the service based on the employment of the area.
TOPIC 4-
THE MARKETING
MIX
THE MARKETING MIX
In marketing there are 7 things that need to be considered to provide us with a useful way of looking at the marketing of a product. The marketing mix is collectively known as "a series of controllable variables an organisation can use in order best to meet customer needs and to ensure an organisation is successful in the market it serves" (Quote: AVCE Advanced Business). Organisations must create a good mix of:
Product/ service.
Price.
Place.
Promotion.
The first component of the marketing mix is the product/ service. Once the organisation has a product/ service the other three elements in the mix can be engaged. These may include developing the pricing for the product, or service in this case, to be provided; also they need to work out where to distribute (place) the product as well as how to promote them.
Those are the better-known P's of the marketing mix, however there are more. The other 3P's that I will focus on are:
People.
Process management.
Physical evidence.
PRODUCT/ SERVICE
An estate agent is a service; the service being offered is the buying, selling and renting of house, flats and shops. Through carrying out market research I was able to determine the types of services the customers would like my estate agent to offer, they were; mortgages, house tours, buying advice, selling advice, valuations and quotations. However, through research I know the types of houses available for sale, unfortunately I can't control the types of houses available or the amount of rooms they have.
PRICE
Price is the only factor in the marketing mix that is directly related to the income of the buying public. The prices that I will sell the houses at can't be predetermined at this stage as it depends on the state of the economy which is currently in a good stage. Although the prices of houses cannot be predetermined by me, the price that I charge customers can be, for example, advertising costs and house viewings.
PLACE
When looking at place I needed to decide where to place my business in relation to the competition. I was unable to find a shop in the Greenford area that I was up for rent.
PROMOTION
When looking at forms of self-promotion I can use branding and leaflet drops. Leaflet drops are used by companies to advertise for people to sell their houses. When advertising the houses I can use the local newspapers, the Ealing Gazette, the shop window and the company website.
PEOPLE
People are the greatest assets for a business. It is not often recognised that employees are also customers in the organisation. Both types of customer expect to be supplied with a product or service that they need, on time and as specified. This applies to everybody no matter what level of skill he or she are at. The product can simply be "answering a phone or masterminding a major new project" (AVCE Advanced Business). This provides the individual with responsibility and almost guarantees the organisations performance will be improved.
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
Physical evidence is the evidence that is collected that can be used as facts. For example I designed a questionnaire to let me know the wants and needs of customers, by doing this I had physical evidence to show that I knew what t???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????@@??????????+??????A?T??????+????????????????x??B?????????????R???????1????????????????????1??mployee discretion.
Lydia Mitchell Marketing Assignment VS Business Studies, Year 1.
- PAGE 19 -
