Please read the scenario below, and then answer
the questions that follow in a 3-page analysis. The
questions will guide your analysis of the situation,
but they will need to be presented as part of an
analysis to John and Ellen on what is needed for
their marketing plan.
Scenario:
John and Ellen want to open their own grocery
delivery service in a medium-sized city consisting
of 250,000-750,000 people. The service will offer
elements suited for the targeted demographic
needs of the core consumers.
The desire for grocery delivery services has
exploded in recent years. Given people’s busy
schedules and frustrations in finding daycare and
balancing activities, grocery shopping can feel
more and more like a chore, especially with small
children. However, there is a great deal of
competition between current services, spanning
from Amazon’s Whole Foods to Instacart to Fresh
Direct. Keeping this in mind, Joe and Ellen’s need
for intensive marketing research is critical.
Marketing research involves defining the problem
that the business is attempting to address (and
the opportunity it is seeking to exploit),
developing a research plan, collecting the data,
analyzing the data, and finally making the
research actionable (Tomasetti, 2019). In this
instance, this might include specifically addressingresearch actionable (Tomasetti, 2019). In this
instance, this might include specifically addressing
the problem of the target demographic. Is it busy
professionals who simply don’t have time to shop?
Families with young children? People who are
elderly and are concerned about shopping? The
service would likely have to target several
demographics to be viable, but addressing the
different needs of these target groups might
require different strategies.
Just as a varied approach to analyzing consumer
demographics is necessary, so is an equally
triangulated approach to research. Seldom is one
type of research useful. For example, conducting
surveys of the typical groups that make use of
such services might be helpful. Focus groups (over
Zoom or phone conferences) can likewise be
useful to collect more anecdotal research that
would yield unexpected insights that quantitative
insights might not provide. Surveys require
relatively little effort, which can yield large
amounts of data, although the feedback can be
low-quality. In contrast, interviews tend to be
more involved and require more effort on both
the part of the participants and the researchers.
Interviews can be useful, even though they are
anecdotal in nature.
All of these data must be infused into constructing
a viable business plan. Investors or backers,
whether offering a loan or venture capital, wish to
see evidence that there is a need for the service
and that it will be successful. Once the servicesee eviaence tat tnere is a neea tor tne service
and that it will be successful. Once the service is
launched, however, the market research must
continue. For a Web-based service, this might
require keeping track of goods and services
bought, the number of Web site hits, and what
promotional strategies (such as offering online
coupons or 10% off a first-time order) result in
return customers. To ensure continued
investment and support, the company must not
simply generate interest and customer traffic, but
it must also be financially successful. Thus, the
cost of running the business cannot just not
exceed the gains.
The marketing research should also be presented
attractively to potential investors so that it can be
easily assimilated and make a persuasive case for
the business. If necessary, industry research
about the grocery market in general may be
useful to support the business’s case. For
example, one concern of potential investors might
be that postquarantine, interest in online
shopping will decline. However, according to the
leading trade publication, this is not the case.
“Online grocery will swell to 21.5% of total U.S.
grocery sales by 2025, more than doubling its
current share of the overall grocery market”
(Redman, 2020). Investors are likely eager to get
on board with an industry-wide trend, and
preliminary market research prelaunch can be
costly, even when largely conducted online, so
combining research from such trade publications
with personal research is likely the mostcombining research from such trade publications
with personal research is likely the most feasible
approach for a startup.
Address the following questions in your response:
1. What is true of marketing research?
2. Marketing insights provide what type of
information about how and why people
observe certain effects in the marketplace?
3.
When defining the problem, marketing
managers must do what?
4. What are the steps of the marketing
research process?
5. What is an example of primary data?
6. What is a gathering of 6-10 people who
discuss topics for a small payment?
7. What is the most scientifically valid
research?
8. What type of research is small, relatively
indirect, and unstructured?
9. What type of research systematically
provides measurable statistics?
10. What phase of market research is usually
the most expensive?
11. What are the measures that quantify,
compare, and interpret performance
called?
12. What tracks the satisfaction of various
constituencies who have a critical interest
in a company’s performance?
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