Marketing research
Qualitative Research Assignment
Observational Research
Choose a food or beverage vendor, possibly one where you would normally spend time, and observe customers for a period of ONE HOUR. Watch customers from the time they approach until they leave, and make notes of their behavior. You may also want to note any demographic characteristics that you can determine through observation such as gender or approximate age.
For your assignment, you will write a memo of no more than two pages (double-spaced) for the manager of that vendor that describes your methodology and outlines your findings. Emphasize any findings that are managerially relevant and that the vendor could implement. It need not be a brilliant insight that fundamentally changes the way business is conducted. Sometimes you'd be surprised at how very small things can make a difference to customers.
Your memo should begin with this heading:
TO: Managers of [vendor name]
FROM: Your name(s)
RE: Findings from customer observation conducted on [date]
Begin with a paragraph describing your methodology. Include date and times of the research. Be clear about how you (and your partner, if applicable) conducted your observations-were you in one place or did you move about? Did you conduct independent observations of the same behavior, or did you each observe a different period of time? Discuss any implications of your methodology for the results.
Then summarize your key findings. One way that I find makes for a readable and clear memo is to underline the finding and then describe what lead you to it. For example:
The napkins are difficult for customers to find. We observed a significant number of customers carrying trays away from the counter who stopped for a few moments and looked about in an unsure way before locating the table with the napkins. A few customers actually asked others close to them where the napkins were. We also observed a number of customers who returned to the counter for napkins after finding a seat... etc. etc.
Whenever possible, you should also include an actionable recommendation for the vendor. For the above example, you might want to suggest moving the napkins to a more obvious location. Just be certain that your recommendations are such that managers could actually implement them if they chose.