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Marketing Research Design: A Case Study of Extreme Rock Climbing Centre
Marketing Research Design: A Case Study of Extreme Rock Climbing Centre
Marketing Research Design: A Case Study of Extreme Rock Climbing Centre
Climbing Centre
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Table of Contents
Management Decision Problem.................................................................................................3
Research Objectives...............................................................................................................4
Research Methodology...............................................................................................................4
Research Limitations..................................................................................................................8
Part B........................................................................................................................................10
Independent-samples t-test...................................................................................................10
ANOVA...............................................................................................................................10
Correlation matrix................................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................12
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Management Decision Problem Question
Management decision problem for Kyle Anderson is related to competing with a new player
in the rock climbing facility in his area of operations, “The Krag”. Therefore the problem
question can be stated as “What should be done in context of service packages offered by
Extreme Rock Climbing Centre to ensure that they do not lose customers to competition”
With threat of new entrant in the market, Extreme Rock Climbing Centre needs to understand
its clients and changing trends of the market in greater detail. Hence, a marketing research in
existing market is required to evaluate the expected customer retention and to determine the
changes in existing settings and services. Extreme Rock Climbing Centre, has a very defined
set of services and the existing price for annual membership is not competitive to that of The
Krag. The discussion with a marketing professional, not a staff member but one of the
customers, has shown that Extreme Exposure has never collected feedback and reviews from
existing customers. A business can compete and gain a competitive edge by improving or
innovating already offered services, by expanding target market and by offering competitive
prices (López et al., 2011). Therefore the management decision problem question is justified
in view of this information.
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trends in climbing business and the response of existing and potential clients of Extreme
Rock Climbing Centre.
MRQ - What is the current customer satisfaction and what are influential factors for
future decision making behaviours of these clients?
Research Objectives
Considering above discussed research questions and details given in case study, following
research objectives are identified
To measure customer satisfaction level of the Extreme Rock Climbing Centre in terms
of price and service
To assess the potential customer behaviours and expectations from Extreme Rock
Climbing Centre
Research Methodology
Research questions identified for examining market situation for Extreme Rock Climbing
Centre are seeking to explore the customer behaviours and their characteristic responses
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towards the upcoming market situation. As Zikmund et al. (2013) have mentioned that
individual behaviours and the relationships between their experiences and resulting
behaviours can be better studied via qualitative approach. Quantitative research methods are
applied to evaluate the exact significance of the relationships and to get distinctive results for
hypotheses (Chen & Chen, 2010).
Considering the objectives and expected required outcomes from this research, it can be
determined that this research needs to be conducted in both qualitative and quantitative
paradigms. The need for measuring the accurate customer responses towards their satisfaction
level in view of prospective value addition offered by “The Krag” requires a quantitative
research implementation. On the other hand, the behavioural exploration of customers
requires that a qualitative analysis of customer attitude is conducted. Hence, objectives of this
market research can only be achieved satisfactorily via combinational research study.
The suggested plan for this market is to conduct the process in iterations. Firstly the
parameters are to be defined then questionnaires will designed and printed, then customer
responses will be collected within a time limit, after that the gathered data will be statistically
processed and facts and figures will be drawn. These facts and concepts are then used for
designing the focus group’s discussion points. Finally, the business will have both customer
responses and experts’ opinions and advice for future decision making, from questionnaires
and focus group discussion respectively.
For Extreme Rock Climbing Centre, it is recommended to utilize a structured survey via
printed questionnaires. Structured questionnaires ensure that respondents will not submit out
of scope replies (Fowler, 2013). Another key aspect of questionnaire surveys is its time
flexibility, i.e. the customers can be handed-over the questionnaire and they bring the
responses in their next visit. Printed surveys do not pose pressure and obligations on
respondents in terms of time and space. This eases and encourages the respondents and
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consequently responses are often more accurate, instead of just random choices (Williams &
Naumann, 2011).
For getting maximum responses, surveys are often tagged along some incentives, this
motivates the respondents to step forward and respond responsibly (Jaakkola & Alexander,
2014).
After collection of data from customers, this raw data will be statistically processed, in order
to extract meaningful information. Statistical analysis provides significant interpretations
about the relationships, variations and dependencies in data (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). These
deductions can be utilized in future planning, decision making and as basis for further
research (Fowler, 2013). As, survey results for Extreme Rock Climbing Centre will be
utilized for focus group mentoring points.
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Selected Qualitative Method
Qualitative research is more respondent centric as compared to quantitative research (Bryman
& Bell, 2015). Hence qualitative methods are more focused and dependant on the
respondents, in terms of its outcomes and flow of activities. This respondent dependant
progress enables qualitative methods to bring-out the exact human responses (Sekaran &
Bougie (2016) and Chen & Chen (2010)). For the purpose of this research, we need to know
the exact response of existing and potential customers towards the new, enhanced and low-
priced services by The Krag.
For analysing customer behaviour and the perceptions regarding new venture opening in
locale, a focus group study is suggested to be conducted. A focus group study is a brain-
storming session which is controlled and mentored. This group consists of domain experts
and is selected carefully to represent multifaceted aspects of situation (Zikmund et al., 2013).
The responses are not bound to be in a specific format and there is no limit on sequence of
topics discussed. The mentor is responsible for initiating discussions, covering all given
topics, deciding the limitations on content and controlling the dimension of discussion. Group
members can be selected from multiple backgrounds, to get comprehensive responses.
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At Extreme Rock Climbing Centre, we place the customer at the centre of all our activities
and plans. As a part of our effort to improve our services for you, we request you to
participate in this customer satisfaction survey and let us know what you think of our
services.
Thank you
Please be honest and stay assured that the information you provide us shall remain strictly
confidential and private. Further, you are free to decline answering any particular question or
to withdraw anytime during the survey. Answers to these questions shall be used only for
improvement of our services and you will have access to the results of the survey if
requested.
Please score on a scale of 1-5, where 1 = “Not satisfied” and 5 = “Very Satisfied”
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
3. How do you rate our effectiveness of communicating new offers and packages?
1 2 3 4 5
4. What is your level of satisfaction with the speed of response provide to your queries?
1 2 3 4 5
5. What is your level of satisfaction with the quality of response provide to your queries?
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1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
7. How satisfied you are with the packages we provide in terms of value for money?
1 2 3 4 5
Research Limitations
This being a cross-sectional research puts the limitation that the data obtained from this
research shall depict the current situation of the customers and their satisfaction level only. A
longitudinal research could have helped to understand the trends as they changed in minds of
customers over time. In addition to this, this research shall be conducted using online mode
of communication only. Many people who may not be very familiar with online surveys can
be excluded out of the sample, hence modifying the results to a significant degree. These
limitations can be overcome with the use of further follow-up researches and market surveys
to validate the results of the study.
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Part B
Item Item Sig. (2-
number tailed)
1 Unit materials - learning .017
ANOVA
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understanding expectations
2005-2007 .005
Correlation matrix
References
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Hawkins, D. I., Best, R. J., & Coney, K. A. (2010). Consumer behaviour. Implications for
marketing strategy, 5.
Jaakkola, E., & Alexander, M. (2014). The role of customer engagement behaviour in value
co-creation: a service system perspective. Journal of Service Research, 17(3), 247-
261.
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Lone, H. A., Tailor, R., & Verma, M. R. (2017). Efficient separate class of estimators of
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& Methods, 46(2), 554-573.
López Salazar, A., Contreras Soto, R., & Espinosa Mosqueda, R. (2011). The impact of
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Business Research, 6(2), pp. 93-103.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill building approach.
John Wiley & Sons.
Twomey, P., & Neuhoff, K. (2010). Wind power and market power in competitive
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Williams, P., & Naumann, E. (2011). Customer satisfaction and business performance: a
firm-level analysis. Journal of services marketing, 25(1), 20-32.
Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business research methods.
Cengage Learning.
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