MARKETING RESEARCH
Answer all the questions. The answers must be typed (times new roman, 12 fonts, 1 1 ½ space). Each answer should begin on a new page. Both assessment questions must be stapled with the answers. Turn in ONE assessment for each pair. The assessment is due on Sunday, October 12th via email. 20 % of the total points will be deducted for each day of late submission. This assessment is 150 points.
William Rosenberg opened the first Dunkin Donuts in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1950. Residents flocked to his store each morning for the coffee and fresh doughnuts. Rosenberg started franchising the Dunkin' Donuts name and the chain grew rapidly throughout the Midwest and Southeast. By the early 1990s, however, Dunkin' was losing breakfast sales to morning sandwiches at McDonald's and Burger King. Starbucks and other high-end cafes began sprouting up, bringing more competition. Sales slid as the company clung to its strategy of selling sugary doughnuts by the dozen.
In the mid-90s, however, Dunkin shifted its focus from doughnuts to coffee in the hope that promoting a more frequently consumed item would drive store traffic. The coffee push worked- doughnuts make up a mere 17 % of sales. Dunkin' sells 2.7 million cups of coffee a day, nearly one billion cups a year. And, Dunkin' sales have surged 40 % during the past four years. Based on thus recent success, Dunkin' now has ambitious plans to expand into a national coffee powerhouse, on a par with Starbucks, the nation's largest coffee chain. Over the next few years, Dunkin' plans to remake its more than 5,400 US shops in 34 states and grow to double that number by 2020.
But Dunkin' is not Starbucks. In fact, it does not want to be. To succeed, Dunkin must have its own clear vision of just which customers it wants to serve (what segments and targeting) and how (what positioning or value proposition). Dunkin' gut feeling is that Dunkin' and Starbucks target very different customers, who want very different things from their favorite coffee shops. Starbucks is strongly positioned as a sort of highbrow third place - outside of home and office - featuring couches, eclectic music, wireless internet access, and art splashed walls. Dunkin' has decidedly lowbrow, everyman kind of positioning.
With its makeover, Dunkin plans to move upscale - a bit but not too far - to reposition itself as a quick but appealing alternative to specialty coffee shops and fast-food chains. Yes, Dunkin' built itself on serving simple fare to working class customers. Inching upscale without alienating that base will prove tricky.
This is why they decided to conduct a market research study... and, they approached you...
Now, the questions start...
Question 1: Given the story above, why do you think that Dunkin executive feel the need to conduct market research? Why can't they go with their gut instinct only and reposition their brand?
Question 2: Given that this is a very important research project and they will invest time and money in it, they want to be sure that they start with the right question...
(a) Why? Why is it so crucial to start with the "right" question?
(b) And, what is the "research question here?
Question 3: CMO of Dunkin, Paul Reynish, asked your thoughts about whether it is necessary to conduct secondary research first? He seems to want to skip that step, and start gathering primary data to save some time, and money of course... How would you respond to his request?
Question 4: After you answered his question (Q.3)
(a) Paul asked you what you think of qualitative research and its importance before conducting any quantitative research (e.g., survey). How would you respond? [He just wants to be sure that you know what you are doing]
(b) He also askedyour research philosophy. He is just curious whether what he gets out of this research is any way closer to what real world is all about.
Question 5: It is time to conduct the qualitative research. You told him that best approach is conducting focus groups and observations... and,
(a) Paul asked you: Why? ... How would you answer him?
(b) After you convince him about conducting focus groups and observations, how would you conduct the focus groups? [Please go through the steps here. And, give me few question examples, and also explain who would you choose the sample for the focus group. Why?] ( 15 pts)
Question 6: Now, he is curious about how you will conduct the quantitative part of the research: Survey.
(a) What is the best survey method that fits the Dunkin' current case? Why?
(b) He somehow looks knowledgeable about the survey error... he asked you whether you know the difference between random and systematic error, and how it may affect the survey that you will be conducting for Dunkin. He also wants you to explain the types of systematic error that may affect the results of the research?
(c) He asked you to inform him about the quality of the sample that you will be using for the survey. Basically, his questions are - who will you collect the data from (explain the sample)? And, what are the consequences of population specification error?
Question 7: His last question is about the measurement issue.
(a) What is that we are measuring, or in other words, what is the concept of interest? Why does it matter that we care about knowing the concept of interest for this research?
(b) How do you define (both operationally and constitutively) what you decide to measure? What way will they differ?
(c) He wants you to explain him the difference between validity and reliability. He heard that they are essential for the right measurement. And, he wants you to explain him in clear terms - what they are, why they are so important for the trustworthy research results, and how would you be sure that you have valid and reliable questions on your survey?
Question 8 (bonus): what do you think of
(a) marketing research, in general terms...
(b) and, how marketing research workshops are delivering what you expect (tell me what your expectations are, and tell me which ones are met/not met, and why you think that way)
Answer the bonus question separately (not in pairs). Bonus pts may change between 0-10 pts based on the quality of feedback that you are giving... (Quality = sincere, professional, adding value)
What am I seeking in your answers?
- Right answer (I am asking technical terms, and there is right answer for them)
- Clear communication in your writing (good grammar, spelling are all checked)
- Quality of the application of the abstract terms for the Dunkin case
- Well-done research (this is take home, you have access to massive amount of information)
- Industrious, professional, and neat work from TWO people (there is a difference between one and two people' work)
- Marketer attitude (confidence in your answers, substance, creativity, and rigor)