Locate a local retailer in your area, and discuss with them how they go about conducting marketing research. You should at a minimum ask them the following questions:
- How do you conduct marketing research for your organization?
- How do you determine the population to be researched?
- What method is used for deriving a sample (nature and size)?
After gaining insights from the local retailer, log on to http://research-advisors.com/documents/SampleSize-web.xls to get a download of an Excel spreadsheet for a sample size table. The spreadsheet enables users to change the margin of error, con?dence level, and population size. Review the example and then experiment with different combinations with populations of 500, 1000 and 2500 with a 90%, 95% and 99% levels of confidence and a degree of accuracy of 2.5%.
Evaluate the insights gained from your local retailer based on what you learned from the spreadsheet and the reading for the week. Discuss the importance of understanding the population and sampling. Evaluate the implications of this knowledge to the local retailer you used.