BSBMKG607

Manage Market Research

Assessment 3

Final Report
1. Findings:

a brief summary of the report findings

Based on the market research, the following information about the company was found:

 market feasibility for inclusion of lighting fixtures in assortment of Houzit established

 market is still growing
 target customer acceptance is high
 the market not highly competitive

a description of how you confirmed the validity of information and data included in the
report

The research information was tested for:

 Completeness
 Uniqueness
 Timeliness
 Validity
 Accuracy
 Consistency

a statement assessing the relevance and usefulness of findings against research objectives.

The to access to source data, multiple data source, scientific method and cross referenced
secondary data were all very useful and relevant to the research effectiveness. With this
data, Houzit was able to identify the right weaknesses and opportunities to focus on.
2. Performance

Overall the:

 The milestones were achieved within the expected timeframe.

 expenditure requests that exceeded budget were minor requests and the budgets
were not exceeded a lot.
 missed opportunity to interview managers were resolved through an organised
timeframe of new interviews and focus groups to discuss the matters.

3. Review

Review of the feedback

In the email the general manager provided feedback about Lombards not speaking with the
store managers. This is because the store managers have more day to day contact with the
customers and more knowledge and therefore can give better information on the changes.

In the email from the group buying manager, he said that the report confirms the thoughts
that we had about the new category. One thing that he recommends is that he would like to
get more opinions from the consultants as they should be providing more advice and
information.

The CEO provided positive feedback about the project performance. It was a very difficult
task to complete in the short time frame by the job was completed in a good time and the
CEO also agreed that the task was done quicker than expected.

Monitoring reports and monitoring activities

The industry has grown over the past few years which is great for the business. A consistent
3.2% growth rate and a long term growth rate of 2.7%.

The target market size is a large amount with over 45,000 households per annum. Based on
the research, the number is likely to increase over the next few years in the Brisbane area.

Income and Activity Rates – The Houzit customer profile is skewed towards 25-45 year of
age, professionals and managers in employment with a combined household income
averaging at $110,000 per annum. Households spend on average $560 per year on home-
wares.

Education - The Houzit customer profile is skewed towards higher education featuring both
vocational and university qualifications. As a group, those customers born overseas tend to
spend 50% as much on home wares as customers born in Australia.
Recommendations for improvement

Based on the market research it is quite clear that the addition of the ‘lighting fixtures’
would be a feasible category addition to Houzit’s assortment, given the positive customer
response, the growth in the market and the lack of organised competition.

The company will be the first chain to offer lighting fixtures in the target market. this gives
the company a great advantage over others.

One of the biggest influences to the profit of Houzit is the suppliers. If Houzit can find a
proper supplier with a great price, the company can become highly profitable.
Research Guidelines
Researchers must foster and maintain a research environment of intellectual honesty and
integrity, and respect. Researchers must:

 respect the truth and the rights of those affected by their research
 manage conflicts of interest so that ambition and personal advantage do not
compromise ethical or scholarly considerations
 adopt methods appropriate for achieving the aims of each research proposal
 follow proper practices for safety and security
 cite awards, degrees conferred and research publications accurately, including the
status of any publication, such as under review or in press
 promote adoption of this Code and avoid departures from the responsible conduct
of research
 conform to the policies adopted by their institutions and bodies funding the
research.

Report research responsibly

 Researchers should ensure that research findings are disseminated responsibly.

Management of research data and primary materials

Researchers should retain research data and primary materials for sufficient time to allow
reference to them by other researchers and interested parties. For published research data,
this may be for as long as interest and discussion persist following publication

Manage storage of research data and primary materials

Researchers must manage research data and primary materials in accordance with the
policy of the institution. To achieve this, researchers must:

 Keep clear and accurate records of the research methods and data sources, including
any approvals granted, during and after the research process.
 Ensure that research data and primary materials are kept in safe and secure storage
provided, even when not in current use.
 Provide the same level of care and protection to primary research records, such as
laboratory notebooks, as to the analysed research data.
 Retain research data, including electronic data, in a durable, indexed and retrievable
form.
 Maintain a catalogue of research data in an accessible form.
 Manage research data and primary materials according to ethical protocols and
relevant legislation.

Maintain confidentiality of research data and primary materials

Researchers given access to confidential information must maintain that confidentiality.
Primary materials and confidential research data must be kept in secure storage.
Confidential information must only be used in ways agreed with those who provided it.
Particular care must be exercised when confidential data are made available for discussion.

Resources required

 Financial resources

 Building and facilities

 Equipment

 IT systems and database

 Stock, raw material and supplies

 Human resources

 Vehicles

I will need to consult multiple people like the managers, employees, different departments
like the IT department, Marketing, HR etc because they have different tools and equipment
that need to be moved. You need consultation for this information because, they cover
many areas of the organisation. The accountant will be a useful source. The office manager
will also be useful for stock, raw material and supplies. The managing director should also
know a detailed amount about certain equipment, machinery and building facilities that are
required.

External market research assistance that will be required

The most commonly utilized external information includes:

 trade association data

 industry publications and databases

 government databases (e.g., Census Bureau, state trade measurements)

 sales, volume, and brand market share measurement systems

Primary research
Primary research (or field research) gathers original information directly for your purpose,
rather than being gathered from published sources. Primary research includes:

 surveys

 direct observations

 interviews and focus groups that are developed and conducted by you or your
researcher.

Secondary research

Secondary research (or desk research) gathers existing information through available
sources. Secondary research examples include:

 information on the internet

 existing market research results

 existing data from your own stock lists and customer database

 information from agencies such as industry bodies, government agencies, libraries

and local councils.

Planned research methodologies

1. Surveys. With concise and straightforward questionnaires, you can analyze a sample
group that represents your target market. The larger the sample, the more reliable your
results will be.

2. Focus groups. In focus groups, a moderator uses a scripted series of questions or topics to
lead a discussion among a group of people. These sessions take place at neutral locations,
usually at facilities with videotaping equipment and an observation room with one-way
mirrors. A focus group usually lasts one to two hours, and it takes at least three groups to
get balanced results.

3. Personal interviews. Like focus groups, personal interviews include unstructured, open-
ended questions. They usually last for about an hour and are typically recorded.

4. Observation. Individual responses to surveys and focus groups are sometimes at odds
with people’s actual behavior.

5. Field trials. Placing a new product in selected stores to test customer response under real-
life selling conditions can help you make product modifications, adjust prices, or improve
packaging.
Sample size

The sample size of the focus group is recommended to be about 50 people. This sample size
will be as diverse as possible, with a balance of genders, age, social groups and nationalities.
Generally the focus group will be random, however as the focus group is quite small, it is
important that there is diversity in the respondents, or the responses could be bias or
skewed due to the lack of diversity in the demographics.

Data Gathering Approaches:

Types of data required

Primary Data

When someone refers to "primary data" they are referring to data collected by the
researcher himself/herself. This is data that has never been gathered before, whether in a
particular way, or at a certain period of time. Researchers tend to gather this type of data
when what they want cannot be find from outside sources. You can tailor your data
questions and collection to fit the need of your research questions. This can be an extremely
costly task and, if associated with a college or institute, requires permission and
authorization to collect such data. Issues of consent and confidentiality are of extreme
importance. Primary data actually follows behind secondary data because you should use
current information and data before collecting more so you can be informed about what has
already been discovered on a particular research topic.

Secondary Data

If the time or hassle of collecting your own data is too much, or the data collection has
already been done, secondary data may be more appropriate for your research. This type of
data typically comes from other studies done by other institutions or organizations. There is
no less validity with secondary data, but you should be well informed about how it was
collected.

Suitable data gathering methods

Data collection approaches for qualitative research usually involves:

1. Direct interaction with individuals on a one to one basis

 2. Or direct interaction with individuals in a group setting

Qualitative research data collection methods are time consuming, therefore data is usually
collected from a smaller sample than would be the case for quantitative approaches -
therefore this makes qualitative research more expensive.

The benefits of the qualitative approach is that the information is richer and has a deeper
insight into the phenomenon under study

The main methods for collecting qualitative data are:

1. Individual interviews

2. Focus groups

3. Observations

Sources of the required data

There are many types of sources that can be used to collect data. Sources can be broken
down into primary and secondary sources. One of the most common sources in today’s
society is the internet. The number of users on the internet is almost doubling every year.
This means the amount of information on the internet is also increasing by a large amount.
The easiest and most available way is the internet however this also has the most unreliable
amount of data. Another source of data is books. These books are usually published by very
knowledgeable authors who have studied and researched their data for a long time. Most
non-fiction books are quite trustworthy. DVDs are also a good source of information.
Primary sources will include surveys and questionnaires, any data that has been collected by
the researchers.

Four data processing methods

Batch processing is the easiest form of processing, where computers analyze data in large
batches at set times. For instance, payroll is batch data, because a computer analyzes all
hours at the end of every pay period.

Real-time processing is used for data that can be analyzed immediately. For example, a
radar system processes information in real-time, so that the operator gets feedback
immediately.

Data mining takes information from multiple sources and tries to combine it and find
patterns. For instance, grocery stores look at sales of one item and see if it correlates with
another item. If everyone who buys peanut butter also buys jelly, they can put the two
items together.

There are many different ways to process data, but in general, computers have completely
changed and improved data processing methods. What used to take months or years can
now take only a few seconds.

A final revision of the draft objectives:

i. Discuss the changes to the draft research objectives in the light of new information from
the scoping.

There are many marketing opportunities for the company. The opportunities will vary from
effectiveness, price and area of distribution. The most effective will be in the area
advertising such as large billboards and a big sign in front of the car wash.

There also is mass media advertising such as:

 Television

 Radio

 Internet

 Flyers

 Newspaper

The most efficient type of advertising would be on the newspaper and also on the internet.
People always use the internet in the current times as almost all information can now be
found on the internet. Personal recommendation is the most effective and can be done by
using a buddy recommendation system to increase the amount of recommendations.