The Coop- Marketing Research
Key issues:
1. Whether or not to invest heavily in market research
How important is it to understand these weaknesses?
Critical, because there has been a sales slump in some of the best performing restaurants. Though the present sales slump of 6% per store only works out to overall loss in sales of around 2%, if it continues, it can result in more significant losses for the company.
Is speaking to customers one on one enough to understand the situation?
Doubtful, because the slump seems to be on a much larger scale, and there are many new factors that could have contributed to the decline in sales (obsolescence of marketing campaigns, bad training, competition analysis) that cannot be understood by simply speaking with a few customers.
Will a deeper understanding of the customers' feedback help to improve the situation?
Definitely – factors like brand image, pricing, service satisfaction levels, etc. can be much better understood.
2. If to invest, which method to use?
What options are available?
Individual customer interviews, Focus Groups, BIMS, CES, Taste tests, Quality Inspections
How much does each method cost, and is it worth the investment?
See table below. Low cost methods chosen as the company cannot afford extremely expensive market research.
Is the targeted sample relevant to understanding the problems at hand?
How accurate will be the feedback based on each method?
Method
Target Sample
Cost
Notes
Individual customer interviews
Customers at stores
Free
Small sample size – inaccurate representation of overall problem
Focus Groups
Customers from declining Coop stores
5000 / group
More than 1 group would be required to get accurate data, costs would increase
BIMS
Random market segment, competitors customers included
20,000 – 50,000
With a low incidence rate in the random data sample, there would be insufficient data to solve the problem
CES
Anonymous customers
45,600
Only 30 customers would be
1. Whether or not to invest heavily in market research
How important is it to understand these weaknesses?
Critical, because there has been a sales slump in some of the best performing restaurants. Though the present sales slump of 6% per store only works out to overall loss in sales of around 2%, if it continues, it can result in more significant losses for the company.
Is speaking to customers one on one enough to understand the situation?
Doubtful, because the slump seems to be on a much larger scale, and there are many new factors that could have contributed to the decline in sales (obsolescence of marketing campaigns, bad training, competition analysis) that cannot be understood by simply speaking with a few customers.
Will a deeper understanding of the customers' feedback help to improve the situation?
Definitely – factors like brand image, pricing, service satisfaction levels, etc. can be much better understood.
2. If to invest, which method to use?
What options are available?
Individual customer interviews, Focus Groups, BIMS, CES, Taste tests, Quality Inspections
How much does each method cost, and is it worth the investment?
See table below. Low cost methods chosen as the company cannot afford extremely expensive market research.
Is the targeted sample relevant to understanding the problems at hand?
How accurate will be the feedback based on each method?
Method
Target Sample
Cost
Notes
Individual customer interviews
Customers at stores
Free
Small sample size – inaccurate representation of overall problem
Focus Groups
Customers from declining Coop stores
5000 / group
More than 1 group would be required to get accurate data, costs would increase
BIMS
Random market segment, competitors customers included
20,000 – 50,000
With a low incidence rate in the random data sample, there would be insufficient data to solve the problem
CES
Anonymous customers
45,600
Only 30 customers would be