Market Research Project

In this exercise you will pretend that you going to write a market plan for a product of service or your choosing from the list below.  Once you have decided on a product or service you will design an observation study or a marketing survey research plan to learn more about that product or service and how a consumer might shop for that particular product or service.  You may choose from the list below. 

Products                                                       Services

Mascara                                                        Car Wash services

Running Shoes                                               Banking

Mobile Phone                                                  Dry Cleaning Services

Shampoo                                                       Hair Cutting Services.

Healthy frozen meals                                                    

1.  Once you choose you will develop a mystery shopping experience (i.e) observation study or you will prepare a survey to understand how a consumer would shop this product or service.  Remember to use key concepts from the book.

2. Develop a research plan using the concepts from the book and execute the plan from beginning to end.  The end is the final written report turned into me.

Your assignment will be to learn as much about your product line or service in its real marketing environment.  If the marketing environment is strictly on the Internet, then use the Internet.  If it is a bricks and motor location than visit that site.  If it a professional environment then visit that establishment if possible.  The idea is for you to pretend you are the customer and shop the product or service recording your experience. Survey the customers to see how they shop for that product or service and how they make their decisions.

Pay attention to the following:

A. Product positioning versus competition

1. Who are the major competitors?

2. How are you different?

3. What is the key positioning statement made?

4. What is primary target market for the product or service?  Describe them in detail.

5. In other words, as a customer, why would you buy it verses the competition?

B. Product

1. Describe brand, packaging, color, copy, claims or any other notable information about the product or service.

C. Pricing

1. How is product or service priced versus competition?  If higher why? If lower why?

2. Is the pricing strategy working well or not so well?

D. Promotion

1. Describe the buying and decision making process with regard to this product or service?

2. Base on the above what is the current promotion strategy for the product or service?

3. How might they improve their promotion strategy?

4. Keep in mind, that promotion is more then sales or discount is it also about how they communicate their product to their target audience. Advertising is included in this.

E. Placement

1. Where is the product placed?

F.  Finally, summarize what is being done well in the marketing environment and what can be improved on from how it is currently being done?

Assignment:

Once you have completed the research your job is to write a 6-8 page paper fronts only based on your  on your key findings.

Sections of the paper are as follows.

1. The product or service that you have chosen from above. 

2. Detail of the research plan including all the parts of a research plan from the text book.

3. Your key findings from the research using the A-F above.  Once you have completed the research.

4. Conclusions from your study.

5. Finally a summary of how you would use the research findings to write your marketing plan for the product or service from what you learned.

Notes:

1.  Use sections in the papers rather then write in narrative form. 

2. Use bullet points, images, diagrams and the like to illustrate your point only where appropriate. 

3. You may want to visit more than one location or more than one website.  Not all locations will have the same products pricing etc.

4. Please be as thorough as possible in your research.