Market Research Plan for U-Drive Transport

Market Research Plan for U-Drive Transport

Introduction

U Drive Transport was idealized in June of 2008 by siblings, Jen and Carl. The idea was to create a car sharing business that would serve the needs of people living in densely populated areas throughout the United States making their lives easier by allowing them to rent vehicles by the hour, day and/or week. This would be done without having to stand in line at a car rental location center, but instead renting from a parking site kiosk. By 2009 UDT had headquarter its business in Chicago and acquired 10 mini cars from Europe and set up next door to the University of Chicago. Today UDT has around 500 employees and is operating in 20 major cities throughout the United States and is still growing.

Purpose statement

            U Drive Transport Company was able to determine that there was a need for eco-friendly cars near colleges as well determining that their services would be appealing to families with one car and tourist (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2014). U Drive also acquired secondary research that helped them determine the target marketing. The information also helped them by giving them a marketing strategy of what areas to focus that would acquire the best for their business to be expandable.  U Drive looked at these different areas to determine whether the company is going to thrive in a new country and city.  The company will determine with the information if their expansion or business will be successful or if it will be welcome.

Marketing Research Process

            Upon approval by U Drive Transport leadership, this marketing research project will be assigned to the expansion manager for completion, and the budget will be finalized for consideration. This proposed research design is cost efficient and can be executed with in six months to a year time period if funded.

Research Questions

            The following marketing research problem and opportunity questions inform the research design specification for this project:

1.     Is there a demand for car sharing in market?

2.     What type of customers will be utilizing the car sharing opportunities?

3.     What geographic location will result in a mass customer acquisition?

Planning the Research Design

            Both quantitative and qualitative analysis will be conducted using the following types of data:

            Secondary Data. To be collected from the outside resources as well as resources from within the company, this data will help assist with research questions. Secondary data deriving form inside the company will consist of current sales and which market geographically is the company dominating and how this is being done. Outside secondary data will be collected from government agencies, competitors, resources on the Internet, reports from marketing research, academic journals, and current economic demand for car sharing (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2014)

            Primary Data. The collection of primary data is essential to answer the research problem opportunity questions for the study. Primary data, or data collected for the first time, are used for solving the particular problem under investigation (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2014). Two methods of primary data collection will be used to inform this study, including:

Focus Group. A type of survey of personal interviewing, a focus group can be used to gauge consumer response to a service or current service and how the service can be improved.

Survey Research. The most popular technique for gathering primary data, in which a researcher interacts with people to obtain facts, opinions, and attitudes (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2014, p. 149).

Specifying the Sampling Procedures

            Not knowing if the large population will use U Drive, they will gather information from a small sample of people that either thinking about carpooling or use public transportation and that will be there sample for the larger population (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2014, p. 155).

Collecting Data

            The collection of data will occur in the current cities were U Drive is being utilized as well as Liverpool and the current competition that is in Liverpool. The collection of data will occur in major cities that utilize car sharing as their main way of transport.  The collection data process will require the service of various researching firms that specialized in expansion of countries in different countries, a field service firm (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2014, p. 156).

Analyzing Data

            After the data has been collected the marketing team will analyze it using data techniques common to research including one-way frequency counts, cross-tabulations, and more sophisticated analysis (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2014, p. 156). This analysis will help decide of expansion of U Drive Transport to a different country will be a smart business decision and if it will be cost effective as well as an opportunity to increase revenue and expand the brand.

Presenting the Report

Once the data is analyzed the presentation should begin with a clear, concise statement of the research objectives, followed by a complete but brief and simple explanation of the research design. A summary of major findings should come next. The conclusion of the report should also present recommendations to management (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2014, p. 157). Once the data is analyzed and results are formulated, U Drive marketing manager will generate a report and make recommendations to leadership based on the findings of the research study the report will directly address the research questions proposed in this document.

Follow Up

Upon the completion of the research report and presentation to leadership, U drive Transport marketing team will evaluate the information that was presented to determine if more information in needed to inform a decision making. However, conducting research in international markets can create a whole host of problems and challenges (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2014, p. 158).

Reference

Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & McDaniel, C. D. (2014). MKTG 7 (7th ed.).                                        Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781305370128/pages/109773116

Marketing Research for International Expansion

Marketing Research Case Study: I-Drive Transport

U Drive Transport is largely popular in the United Sates. It all started back in June of 2008 when a brother and sister team Jenna and Karl came up with the idea of U Drive Transport. The whole idea is to provide car in the urban area. You can rent a car for a few hours, the whole day or even the month.  It started in 2009 with only 10 cars by the University of Chicago. Now this company has grown to 20 major city centers and over 500 personnel working for them.  Their whole idea is to take this company into the global market.  They are currently looking at Bail Indonesia for the first global location.

Bali Indonesia is a huge tourist area and the population is 253,609,643 and it is continually to increase for the next 25 years. Based on the trend here in the United States it has shown great success and there nowhere else to go is up. You have to so a need for our product in Bali and make sure there is a supply and demand for U Drive Transport. This proposed research will show that there is a need for car sharing in Bali.

Marketing research is the process of planning, collecting and analyzing data relevant to a marketing decision. (Lamb et al., 2014)  This research would take about a month to conduct to make sure we are making the right decision about opening a company in Bali.

These are the following marketing research problems and opportunity questions for the following proposal:

1.     Is there a demand for U Drive Transport in Bali Indonesia?

2.     What would be our customer base for U drive Transport in Bali Indonesia?

3.     Are there any other companies in the area that provide the same service?

Secondary information originating within the company includes documents such as annual reports, reports to stockholders, product testing results perhaps made available to the new media and house periodicals composed by the company’s personnel for communication to employees, customer’s or others. (Lamb et al., 2014)  Then we will require outside secondary data from government agencies, trade association or other secondary data providers (Lamb et al., 2014)

Primary Data or information collected for the first time. (Lamb et al., 2014) There are several types of getting this information but the two methods that we will use in to getting this information would be Mall Intercept Interviews and Mail Surveys.

Mall intercept interview is conducted in the common area of a shopping mall or in a market research office within the mall. U drive Transport will rent out a space in the mall so they will be able to conduct the interviews. And we will have it set up as a computer-assisted self-interview. That means we will have a computer area set up so the personnel will be able to set at the computer and answer the questions by themselves. Once they are done the will call over the employee and the interview will be done. If they are full the employees will have another area to where they can also do Computer-assisted personal interview. This is where the employee will ask the questions and put the answers in the computer.

Mail Survey have several benefits; relatively low cost, elimination of interviewers and field supervisors, centralized control and actual or promised anonymity for respondents. (Lamb et al., 2014) The problem is with this is a lot of the people will not fill out the survey and send it back. A lot of people look at it as Junk mail and will just throw it away.

Collecting of the Data will happen within a wide variety of city centers in Bali Indonesia. If we go inside the malls so we can reach the target market that we are aiming for.

Once the month is done of the surveying we will analyze all the data to see if it will befit us to go to Bali.  We will get an outside source to put all the data together. We want it to be a one-way frequency table simply record the responses to the question. (Lamb et al., 2014) Really cut and dry will we befit going to Bali.

After data analysis has been completed, the researcher must prepare the report and communicate the conclusions and recommendations to management. (Lamb et al., 2014) We will have the group do a power point presentation and do an oral presentation to the top management.

Then final step is the Follow up. Once everything is said and done. Then management team will take all the information that we provided for them and they will make the final decision. If they need more information this is the time they will let it be known before they make the final decision.  

   

Word Cited page

Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & McDaniel, C. (2014). MKTG7. Mason, OH: Cengage.