Marketing research

Advantages of unstructured interviews are that

• Additional information can be obtained through observation of the respondent
• The information is likely to be more accurate because clarification is possible
• The questionnaire can be longer than with any other method
• Relatively high response rates are obtained.

Disadvantages are

• The method is time consuming: this is a major disadvantage considering this method of research our consumers might get bored during the interview this is one major reason w e are not using this method.
• Interviewers have to be trained and experienced, in our young enterprise group none of our member is experienced enough to conduct an interview.
• They are expensive to administer and analyze
• There is a possibility of bias in the way the interviewer asks or records the answers to questions.

With this entire disadvantage it is not possible for our young enterprise to use this type of research method.

                                      Telephone interview

           This method allows the interview to be held over the telephone.

Advantages of telephone interviews

• A large number of interviews can be conducted in a short time.
• The information is more accurate because clarification of points is possible.
• The cost per interview is low.
• National and even international surveys are feasible
• People who are normally inaccessible can be interviewed at a time that is convenient for them.
• Responses can be keyed directly into a computer or writing note.

Disadvantages

• Surveys are limited to respondents with telephones and so population or segment coverage is not complete, and may not be representative of the market.

One cannot evaluate non verbal communication.

• Response rates tend to be lower than questionnaires or personal interviews.

                                           Postal surveys

This involves the use of questionnaires sent out to consumers through post.

Advantages of this include

• No interviewer bias
• They are fairly cheap
• Total anonymity for respondents can be ensured
• Complex questions can be answered at leisure.

Disadvantages includes

• The response rate are generally low
• The people who respond may not be representative of the sample as a whole
• Questions may be misinterpreted, resulting in misleading answers
• The amount of information obtained is limited because the questionnaires must be kept short
• Answers may not be those of the respondent as they may consult with other people before replying.

                                          Focus group interviews

    A group of people (usually 6 to 10) are encouraged to discuss topics which are of interest to researchers. Focus group interviews are used to:

• Generate new ideas for products or product modifications.
• Assess consumer response to new promotional or packaging material
• Obtain information on a subject prior to developing a questionnaire. Some of the members in our group did this type of research.                                                   The major advantage is that the interaction of members tends to generate additional information. The disadvantage is that such groups are small and often unrepresentative of the market.

       

                                                   Observation

This method records the actions of consumers in the process of choosing or buying goods. The observer or s hidden camera will record:

• Details such as how people move around stores
• What in-store promotions caught their eye
• How they scanned or looked through shelves
• How long people take to make decisions

This information can be used to determine the best location and shelf space for products. By monitoring eye movements, it may also be used to identify what items or advertisements in a magazine cause interest.

     The two major advantages of observation as a survey technique are that consumers are not influenced or bordered by knowing they are part of the survey and that a large amount of data can be collected quickly.

                                    Electronic monitoring

Electronic monitoring is another means of gathering primary research. One example which was mentioned above is the hidden camera in a shop.

   

Advantages of primary research

• You collect exactly the data elements that you need to answer your research question.
• You can test an intervention.
• You cam control the data collection process, so you can ensure data quality, minimize the number of missing values, and assess the reliability of your instruments.
• Another advantage is that the firm which initially collects it will be the only organization with access to it.
• Can cover a large number of people or organization.
• Relatively cheap.

      Disadvantages of primary research

• Design problems.
• Questions have to be relatively simple.
• Historical low response rate.
• Time delay whilst waiting for responses to be returned.
• Require a return deadline.
• No control over who completes it.
• Problems with incomplete questionnaires.

   

       This is information collected by other to be re used, that is information which already exists in some form. There are various sources of secondary data.

• Internal sources: this comprises information which already exists within a firm, for example sales statistics. New technology enables firms to collect and manipulate marketing information. Much of the information will not have been collected for market research purposes, however. It may include:

-Sales trends for different products

-Sales force report

-Stock movements- these are early warning signals of what is happening to sales

-Competitor information- this may come from published brochures, the annual report and accounts or from the industry’s trade association.

• External sources. Example is the Government. The UK government publishes a large amount of information on many different aspects of life in the UK.

Advantages of secondary data

• Little or low cost.
• Less effort.
• Fast and inexpensive.
• Avoid data collection problem.
• Less time taken.
• Sometimes more accurate than primary data.
• Some information can only be obtained from secondary data.

 Disadvantages of secondary research

• The quality or reliability of the data may be in question.
• The data may not be precise or specific enough for the current investigation.
• The data may be out of date.
• May not be reported if required.
• The data may be in wrong format.
• May not be very accurate.
• May not meet data requirements.

                          Questionnaire results

The number of males and females who voluntarily filled in the questionnaire form.

With this we can see more female students filled in the questionnaire forms.

The age group of students who filled in the questionnaire. This statistics shows more of the students are within the ages 17-19. So our products should be focused on this particular age group.

Number of students who will purchase each product, each product is rated 100, for example 83 out of 100 students are willing to purchase hats. . This shows more students will purchase more of hats out of the other accessories products we will be selling. This also tells us we should sell more of hats than the other products.

This shows the Frequency at which students will purchase our products. We can see most people often buy these products every 6 months, this tells us not to buy too many stocks of these products or we might end up not selling.

This represents the location at which student usually buy the type of product. Most students purchase accessory products from the market, this statistics will also tell us where our competitors are.

The amount students are willing to purchase our product. Most students are willing to buy our products between £6-10.

This statistics shows where Havering college students reside. With this we can see most people who filled in the questionnaire come form Newham.

These statistics tells us what student find in fashion.

This shows amount student will purchase a product or amount they can spend buying a product.

With this we can see most students who filled in the questionnaire prefer blue as their favorite colour. With this most of our products like scarves should be with the colour blue.

We can see most students preferred material is polyester.

This statistic shows the time at which students will be available to purchase our products, as we can see most students will be available between 2pm-5pm. This should definitely the time our company will be selling the products, in other to make sales.

This shows the amount of students who filled in the questionnaire come to school weekly, most students come to college at least 5 times in a week, and this tells us our products should be available for sale at least 5 times in a week.

This tells us the days students want the products to be sold. This tells us most students who filled in the questionnaire come to school on Tuesdays.

   

  With this information our company will know the availability of all students in Havering college, the type of products to be sold, for example, will the product be sold to adults above ages 19(size) or to below 19. Will the product be for females or males? So this information will also know what group of students we will be selling the products to. However a company producing similar products as ours is Claire’s accessories in which they sell gift products, fashion accessories like ladies handbags, jewelleries, and headbands.etc. This store is located at Romford market.

                             Marketing mix

    The marketing mix refers to those elements of a firm’s marketing strategy which are designed to meet the needs of its consumers. There are four main types of marketing mix – product, price, promotion, and place. To meet consumers’ needs, firms must produce the right product, at the right price, make it available at the right place, and let consumers know about it through promotion.

• Products-we must make sure our product is meeting the needs of our customers. This has to be done by

-How consumers will use the product

-The appearance of the product; sell products with attractive of favorable colour

• Pricing- Since the products are going to be sold to students we should make it affordable and we should not maximize too much profit.
• Promotion- There are numbers of promotional methods in which we can use including TV advertising, Newspapers and personal selling. We should choose the type that will be most effective in other to increase sales.
• Place- This refers to the means by which our product will be distributed to the consumers. The product must get to the right place, at the right time. It also means taking into account how the product will be sold; it should be a place that is convenient for our consumers.