IMT – 03: MARKETING RESEARCH-MT2

PART – A

Q1. Discuss the nature and scope of Marketing Research. Identify some problems in different areas of Marketing where Marketing Research can be helpful.

 Q2. Is a research design always necessary before a research study can be conducted? In what may do exploratory, descriptive and causal research design differ? Explain with the help of an example. 

Q3. A marketing manager needs to find the causes for the decline in market share of his company. The manager decides to conduct marketing research. How should he go about finding a supplier of research services?

Q4.      a) Distinguish between a Focus Group Interviews and an in-depth interview.

            b) In which cases would an In-depth Interview be more applicable than a Focus Group Interview?

Q5.      a) What do you understand by selecting samples from the universe?

            b) Discuss the various methods of probability sampling. Use examples to illustrate cases in which each of the methods would be most applicable.

SECOND

PART - B

Q1. State whether you agree or disagree with the statement ‘Correct identification and clear definition of the research problem are more crucial to the success of a market research study than sophisticated research techniques’. Justify your answer with suitable examples. 

Q2. Discuss the various steps in Questionnaire design.

Q3. What sampling scheme you will muse in following situations?

a. A study to find out preference and people for shampoos in urban market.

b. A survey to study the potential users of microwave oven in Delhi.

c. A survey to study the usage of laptops in the small office segment-All India Level.

Q4. Explain the process of new product development and highlight the role of marketing research in developing a product.

Q5. Write short note on the following :

a. Data Gathering techniques.

b. Product Research. 

PART – C 

Q1. Amul is planning to launch a new flavour of ice cream and wants to get a snapshot of the potential market. The ice cream has coconut-white chocolate flavour and is aimed at the premium market. What type of research design is appropriate? Develop the research questions and hypothesis. 

Q2. Discuss in detail various methods by which sales forecasting can be done.

Q3. Distinguish between Semantic Differential scale and Liker scale. Give examples.

Q4. Discuss the methods of pre-testing and post-testing of advertisements.

Q5. Write short on the following.

• Advantages and disadvantages of open ended and closed ended questions.
• T-test and z-test.
• Null hypothesis.

CASE STUDY – I

Rex Contact Lens Company

Contact lenses are a modern way of correcting vision. The market has grown rapidly and changed tin character in recent years. Prices have remained high, but Rex Contact Lens Company came up with a plan for selling contact lenses by mail, a system that would permit it to sell at a much lower price than was currently available. Before making the investment necessary to develop this new channel of distribution, Rex wanted to make a better forecast of possible sales than it had made up to date, and it chose to use the survey method for the forecast.

Two thirds of the total retail market was estimated to be replacement sales. The average life of a contact lens was thought to be about one year. If 20 million wore contacts and replaced each lens once a year the total replacement market was 40 million lenses a year.

Rex’s concept was for a mail-order replacement service for contact lenses. Catalog sales wore booming in many product areas. And the proposed plan would fit with this national development. A catalog would be prepared with pictures and descriptions of contact lenses and their advantages. A toll free number would be provided for quick service. Lenses would be shipped in sealed bottles within 24 hours of receipt of order and overnight delivery would be available at extra charge. Customers would mail in orders with payment or provide credit card identification for phone orders. Customers’ for a single contact lens were projected much lower than the current market level 0 and in addition, this low cost would reduce or perhaps eliminate customer need for insurance.

Before going further, Rex set about to make an improved forecast for sales. They conducted a survey among wearer of both regular glasses and contact lenses to determine their attitudes towards the proposed mail order sales; the services they would want, the different kinds of contacts they were interested in (hard, soft, extended wear, gas permeable, tinted, bifocals); and the probability they would order lenses by mail.

Questions:

1. Which data collection method would you prefer? Why?

2. How would you analyze the data gathered from this study?

3. Design a suitable questionnaire.

CASE STUDY-II

CASE STUDY - II

JINGLE BELLS

Coca-Cola

“Drink Coca-Cola” was the first theme out of the gate. “Delicious and Refreshing” came along in the late 1880s, most likely appearing on an oilcloth sign attached to a soda fountain awning. Since then, those two words have worked hard for Coca-Cola in about a trillion different ways. Before long, theme lines began to make definite statement about the product. In the early 1920s, “Thirst Knows No Season” helped consumers think of Coca-Cola as more than a summertime drink. Later that decade, “It Had To Be good To Get Where It Is” added prestige. And “Just Around The Corner From Everywhere” emphasized widespread availability. In 1929, the most famous commercial slogan of its time “The Pause That Refreshes” marked a return to promoting coke simply as the quintessential quencher, Into the Age of Aquarius, when “Things Go Better With Coke” captured the lively spirit of the times.

By then, the world had become much more sophisticated – dining on frozen dinners and dressing modern. This was reflected by Coke’s breakthrough TV commercials – in colour. “Have a Coke And A Smile” was unleashed in 1979 among a flurry of disco music (which only made it sound better),

More recently, Coke had to have twice the themes – since there was twice the Coke. In 1985, one campaign had to position Coke (previously known as New Coke), and another had to differentiate Coca-Cola classic from its sister product and competitive brands. The big winners? “Catch The Wave” for the junior model, and for the original formula. “Red, White and You” conjured images of Americana. After All, Coca-Cola classic had just established itself as a national treasure on par with the entire state of Florida. These days, it’s Always Coca-Cola”.

With so many different themes, jingles and slogans added to its name over the decades, Coke was utterly confused as to which theme strikes the right chord with Coke’s audience (basically everyone over the age of 12 who drinks liquid). Coke primarily wanted to identify if at all there lies any difference among the appeals rendered by the jingles- Market research – thousands of people surveyed, poked and prodded – questioned – ‘ How does this jingle appeal to you?’

1. Some marketers are of the belief that advertising Coke through Aguilera has shown much larger sales of Coke as compared to cities which believe and practice endorsing Coke via non- Aguilera advertisements. Write a research proposal for conducting a research to verify this statement.