Question

The sales manager of a potato chip manufacturing company ltd noticed that the sales of a winning brand have been declining two months in a row. He interpreted the problem as ‘ineffective advertising’. He instructed the marketing researcher to investigate the efficiency of the advertising campaign. The researcher conducted an exploratory research and discovered that the retailer support had declined because of new competitive quality products which provided higher value and profit margins on sales. Retailers are therefore making more profit by selling the competitive quality product. This information made it clear to the researcher that an investigation of advertising effectiveness would not solve the problem instead re-definition of the problem was necessary. Subsequently, it was defined in conjunction with the sales manager as ‘competitive pricing based on quality and profit margins’. Furthermore, the researcher realized that there are many factors that contribute to the success of the company on the market place, aimed at satisfying the needs and wants of customers which are met by creating the quality products and adequate services. He, therefore concluded that marketing operates in a dynamic environment and is facing new challenges brought about by players new or old.

Source: Donald et al, (2006), Business research methods,

1. With regards to Potato chip manufacturer, why should there be any question about the definition of research?                                                             [5 Marks]
2. You are the departmental head- Marketing Manager- of Potato Chip manufacturing company ltd and have the Sales manager and the marketing researcher reporting to you as your subordinates. You have received the research report on the findings done by the researcher. What are the six key qualities you will be looking for in the report?

                                                                                                               [12 Marks]

3. Define the distinction between primary, secondary and tertiary sources in a secondary research.                                                                                 [8 Marks]

Answer 1

Answer a:

Definition of the most relevant research problem is highly important as inappropriate definition result into the wastage of time and resources that would end up in producing the information which would not have any relevance with the actual problem prevailing in the company. Since potato chips are a food product, inappropriate definition of the research problem would lead the sales of the product to decline in an exponential manner.

Answer b:

Six key qualities that a marketing manager should look into the research report are:

1. Definition of the problem and the problem statements are appropriate and applicable to the problem in an organisation.

2. Objectives of the research study should be clearly defined and it should lead to the solution of the research problem.

3. Scope of the research should be appropriately designed.

4. Hypothesis formulation should be strictly in line with the research problem and research objectives and scope of the research.

5. Data collection methodology being used by the researcher should be appropriate and should serve the purpose of the research.

6. Tools used to process the data being collected and the application of result to test the hypothesis and the conclusion of research.

Answer c:

Primary sources of research are the data collected from the respondents through the use of various techniques such as survey, focused group interviews, etc. Secondary research sources include the data collected from the previously made researches of the researchers. Tertiary source of data include the data collected from textbooks, magazines, newspaper, etc.