Step 1 (Establishing the Need for Marketing Research)

In the recent years that customer satisfaction has gain importance, providing goods and
services that customers demands in the right place, at the right time and at the right price have
become very important for the businesses. At that point, the importance of distribution
channels that play an effective role in distributing goods and services to the customers has
revealed. By expanding use of the Internet has added considerable complexity to distribution
channels by offering a variety of e-market places such as B2B, B2C, C2B and C2C formats.

Therefore in this research, the need and motivators/drivers for business insurance will be
assesed. Additionally, the previous experiences with buying business insurance, the current
knowledge of business insurance products and the costs of providers and associated costs
including attitudes to channels of purchase (direct vs. intermediary; and telephone vs.
internet) will be evaluated.

This research also attempts to clarify need and importance of different business insurance
products (including motor, property, liability and packaged insurance) and assess current take
up and planned purchase of different business insurance products and brands.

Regarding to purchase process; this research attempts to clarify the understanding the key
dynamics of the purchase process, including perceived complexity and involvement, key
influences/points of reference and information channels; identify the buyers and influencers;
key purchase channels used including intermediaries and the use of the internet, and reasons
for these choices, key criteria for ‘product’ and for ‘brand’ choice.

Step 2 (Defining the Problem)

The various types of distribution channels available in industries such as airlines, financial
services, music industry, publishing, insurance and telecommunication services are exploding.
The addition of new distribution channels brings with it the potential for additional sales
volume at the cost of greater channel conflict. A new channel will increase channel conflict.
Channel conflict occurs because there is another type of distribution channel that is already
perceived by the same customers linked to existing channel with the same brand.

On the other hand, much of what channel managers claim that channel conflict is healthy for
the channel competition. Therefore the objective of conflict management should not be to
eliminate channel conflict but rather manage it so that it does not escalate to destructive
levels.

From the manufacturer's perspective, channel conflict becomes destructive when the existing
distribution channels react to channel migration by reducing support or shelf space for the
manufacturer.

Step 3 (Establishing Research Objectives)