Question

Dunkin' Donuts has been serving breakfast for more than 60 years. In that time, they've expanded their menu from coffee and doughnuts to include muffins, croissants, and breakfast sandwiches. In 2012, the company launched their bakery sandwich line. These all-day offerings included chicken, ham and cheese, and tuna salad sandwiches served on fresh-baked French rolls, croissants, and Texas toast.

>> Consumers today really have a clockless day. And they really want to eat what they want to eat, where they want to eat it, and when they want to eat it. And that's led to a huge opportunity for us to broaden beyond our core breakfast menu. An important part of that was the launch of our bakery sandwiches, which really gives customers even more opportunities to visit Dunkin' throughout the day.

>> In many ways, offering bakery sandwiches was a natural move for Dunkin' Donuts.

>> Our chefs developed these great sandwiches that build on that bakery heritage. So while there's a wide range of fillings in those sandwiches from turkey to ham to tuna and chicken salad, they all have at the core great bakery.

>> In order to successfully launch their bakery sandwiches, Dunkin' Donuts knew they had to do some market research. Market research is a technique for gathering, analysing, and interpreting information about customers' wants and needs. Dunkin' Donuts started by investigating current trends in the marketplace.

>> As we began our market research to really understand the opportunity, we really conducted research on when people were interested in eating, what they were eating, what proteins had the greatest potential, what bakery carriers were most appealing, and also what kind of price were consumers looking to pay. So we put together all of this extensive research and that led to the development of our bakery sandwich line.

>> After the initial research, Dunkin's culinary team went to work creating products based on the results.

>> We're fortunate in that we have a world-class culinary team and what's interesting is they're made up of chefs, food scientists, and operational experts. And we think this combination of different skills really leads to the very best products.

>> In sensory testing, Dunkin' Donuts puts their new sandwiches into the hands of consumers. These test subjects then respond to how to sandwich appeals to their senses: look, smell, taste, and texture.

>> The sensory testing is actually very detailed. We're not just asking general flavour questions, but is it the right size, is it portable, is there the right amount of sauce on there for flavour, but is it too messy, how's the wrapping, if it's a warm sandwich, you know, is the wrapping keep it warm. So really it's all of the components that go into having a really successful dining experience.

>> Using the results from sensory testing, Dunkin' chefs further refine the product. The next up is a market test in selected stores.

>> Market research is great but there's no substitute for the real world. So after we've done all of our concept and sensory testing, we'll go into an in-market test. And that has both operational and marketing elements to it. From an operational standpoint, we're really trying to determine can our crew make it fast and easily in our restaurants because our guests don't want to wait around for a product to be built. We're also looking at cost. Can it, in fact, be built at scale for our estimated costs? And then finally, there's a marketing component where we can really quantify the sales potential of it. So market testing is a strong opportunity to really bring real-world experience to all of our great premarket testing.

>> Market research is an important tool for any business and it played an important role in the success of Dunkin' Donuts launch of their bakery sandwiches.

>> I think agility is more important in marketing today than ever before and, therefore, I think it's even more important to stay on top of those changing consumer trends and that's where market research plays such an important role. And then adapting your product and in-store experience is really crucial to success.

1. The first phase of marketing research for Dunkin' Donuts was to learn about when people wanted to eat, what proteins and bakery items they preferred, and what prices they wanted to pay. What marketing research techniques could have been used to learn these things ?

2. Why did Dunkin' Donuts have to collect primary data, instead of using secondary data, during product development of its bakery sandwhiches ?

Answer 1

1. They could have used customer satisfaction, marketing research techniques such as surveys, customer observation, focus groups and observational research so that the reviews from customers who visit the online site or the store are personal and authentic. They could have also used basic quantitative research of when customers are buying their orders and how many of them are buying which products at which price points. By focusing on the key aspects in order to garner the necessary results such as how many of the people who ordered truly liked the products and analyzing the buying behavior of consumers.

2. Primary data is where new information is collected, whereas secondary data just showcases existing information which is collected by others. As the sandwich was a new product, there won't be any existing information available for a new product.

Dunkin Donuts had to collect primary data because it was a new product and new feedback and information had to be collected. There was no basis for a secondary data as it was not an existing information which was needed to be collected, it was a new sandwich which required real time analysis and information being collected directly from the consumers as no historical data would be prevalent on a new product development. It also had to ensure the tastes and preferences were current and not outdated.