Home Assignment for Session I

Roll No.: MS22A013

Name: Atul Singh

Question1: Evaluate the research in the following example:

The HiFlyer Airline company was interested in altering the interior layout of its aircraft to suit
the tastes and needs of business travelers. Management was considering reducing the number of
seats and installing small tables to enable people to work during long flights. Prior to the
renovation, management decided to do some research to ensure that these changes would suit the
needs of the passengers. To keep expenses to a minimum, the following strategy was employed:

Questionnaires were completed by passengers during a flight. Because they were to administer
and collect, the questionnaires were distributed only to the short flights (those less than one
hour). The study was conducted during the 2nd and 3rd week of December, because that was when
flights were full. To increase the response rate, each flight attendant was responsible for a certain
number of questionnaires. The management thought this was a good time to acquire as much
information as possible, so the questionnaire included issues apart from the new seating
arrangement. As a result, the questionnaire took 20 minute to complete. After the study,
management decided that the study would not be repeated, because the information was
insightful enough.

Answer 1:

The research conducted by HiFlyer Airline company has several limitations that may affect the
validity of the findings. Such as –

1. The company wanted to renovate the interior for business travelers on long flights but
the research was limited to only short-flight passengers which may not accurately
represent the entire population of business travelers.
2. The study was conducted during the 2nd and 3rd week of December i.e., before Christmas,
so it might result in including more vacationers than business people.
3. The study only collected data through self-administered questionnaires, which may
introduce bias and lack of control over the data collection process.
4. The questionnaire given to passengers was quite extensive and it took 20 minutes to
complete, which may result in incomplete and reduced response rates.
5. The study was only conducted once and not repeated which may not provide enough
confidence in the results.
Question 2: Write Marketing Research Process for the following:

Eric Sim at Samsung and Intel

Eric Sim earned an undergraduate degree in physics at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, CA,
a master’s in CA, a master’s in engineering at UCLA, and an MBA from Harvard. He learned his
current craft at such places as Lotus Development Corp., D&B, and Spencer Trask Software
Group, a technology-focused venture-capital firm in New York City. Spencer Trask CEO Kevin
Kimberlin remembers Kim as the rare executive who knows software and electronics and is also
skilled in marketing and in marketing research- and in closing tough deals.

When Kim arrived at Samsung in 1999, the sales were on the decrease. Kim realized that the
basic problem lay in the brand image and that the Samsung brand was perceived to be inferior to
other brands with comparable products. To dig out specific, actionable issues, he conducted
marketing research involving focus groups, depth interviews, and surveys of channel partners
and customers. The research revealed that brand image was inconsistent and fuzzy from market
to market. One reason was that it employed a gaggle of 55 ad agencies. Kim consolidated
advertising, assigning Madison Avenue’s Foote, Cone & Belding Worldwide to coordinate
Samsung’s global marketing. Kim made another smart move by sponsoring big-ticket events like
Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002, gaining quick, cost-effective global exposure. When Kim left
Samsung in 2004, the company earned $12.04 billion in the net profits that year while many
retail-tech stars fizzled, and business in the United States had more than tripled since 1999.

Management Problem:
How to increase the sales of Samsung products and services.

Marketing Research Problem:

To determine the specific issues affecting Samsung's brand image and sales among the focused
group and compare ratings with Samsung's competitors

C1: Who are the customers of Samsung products?

C2: How aware are customers of Samsung as a brand and its varied products?
C3: Can Samsung customers be segmented into different groups based on demographic and
psychographic details or any other parameters?
C4: How do customers and channel partners perceive Samsung's brand image compared to other
brands?
C5: How do customers gauge the brand Samsung when compared to other brands?
C6: Compare Samsung with other major competitors based on research findings?

Developing an Approach to the Problem (Theory, Research Questions, Hypotheses):

C1 RQ1: Can the customers be segmented based on their income?
H: High-income customers differ from low-income customers in terms of their usage of
Samsung products.
C3 RQ3: Do the different customer segments differ in their perception of the brand Samsung?

C4 RQ4: How does the Samsung brand image impact sales in different geographic regions?
H: The brand perception can vary from one geographic region to possibly due to cultural or
regional differences.

Research Design:
Both exploratory design (Interviews, focus groups, secondary research) and descriptive design
(surveys) will be used.

Field Work or Data Collection:

The research will be conducted through focus groups, depth interviews, and surveys of channel
partners and customers.

Analysis and Interpretation:

Analysis and interpretation will be done using regression analysis, narrative analysis, and cluster
analysis.

Report Preparation:
All findings, whether proven or not, that was gathered should be included and reported.