Marketing Research Perspectives

         Marketing Research Perspectives

Have you ever had to conduct marketing research? It can be a real bummer! Here are some perspectives on conducting marketing research to consider moving a company into the Western European marketplace. 

I-Drive Transport Marketing Research

         Established in Chicago, I-Drive Transport, is a nationwide car sharing business that was started in densely populated urban areas and has grown to over 20 major cities in the United States. IDT has shown so much potential in such a small amount of time. In just five years, they have grown their business to now employ 500 people and are now looking to go global. Electric car sharing or renting is their specialty and they want to continue that trend into the global market.

            IDT’s marketing team plans to conduct secondary research to gain insight into London’s resident’s and commuters to find out if the need is there for a product, such as, UDT. Based on the research collected, the marketing team with then analyze the data and use it to determine if there is a need for IDT to move into the global marketplace. Marketing research and the proposal plan assists IDT when it comes time for them to make a decision on whether to move forward with the company. “Marketing research is the process of planning, collecting, and analyzing data relevant to a marketing decision.” (Lamb et al., 2014).

            The following marketing research problem and opportunity questions will inform the research design team for this particular project:

1.    Will consumers be receptive to renting a vehicle on a regular basis?

2.    Is there a sufficient consumer base for UDT in the geographic location?

3.    Are enough recharge stations feasible within the geographic location?

The marketing research team will use several types of data in order to reach their proposal. The types of data to be used are:

Secondary Data. “Innumerable outside sources of secondary information also exist, principally in the forms of government departments and agencies (federal, state, and local) that compile and publish summaries of business data.” (Lamb et al., 2014). The marketing research team can gather data from local journals, news media, and reliable internet resources.

Primary Data. Two methods of primary data that will be used to develop this research plan proposal will include:

Mall Intercept Interviews. This research is typically conducted in the “common area of a shopping mall or in a market research office within the mall.” (Lamb et al., 2014). This type of survey can be conducted in one of the malls in any of the cities such as, London, Glasgow, or Edinburgh. These are all major cities around London, where IDT is wanting to expand, globally, and this would allow the research team to get answers from potential customers as well as commuters. 

Questionnaire. This form of research is usually a mix of different style questions. “Questionnaires ensure that all respondents will be asked the same series of questions. Questionnaires include three basic types of questions: open-ended, closed-ended, and scaled-response.” (Lamb et al., 2014). This survey could be held on college campus because Jenna and Karl believe that, after market segmenting their customers, they know that some are working graduate students.

            The collection of this data will occur within London and major cities surrounding it, including, Glasgow and Edinburgh. This grueling and intense process of data collecting will cause IDT to hire a firm, subcontracted, or send a team of their own, over to London to conduct the research. A field service firm will interview respondents for a company on a subcontracted basis. (Lamb et al., 2014).

            After the surveys have been conducted and the data has been retrieved, the research team will work to analyze the data given to them. “The marketing researcher tries to organize and analyze those data by using one or more techniques common to marketing research: one-way frequency counts, cross-tabulations, and more sophisticated statistical analysis.” (Lamb et al., 2014).

            After the data is collected and organized it will be given to IDT by the research marketing team. The team will have formed a research plan proposal for the company and it will be IDT decision from there on whether to take the next step to move into the global marketplace.

References

Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & McDaniel, C. (2014). MKTG7. Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengag