2. Our team can and should do the project.
OVERVIEW OF THE SITUATION
XXYYZZ is the largest manufacturer of cellular telecommunication equipment
primarily smartphones like iPhones, Android phones with interactive touch
screens, for commercial and retail consumers.
The company is currently facing an important issue regarding the design and
features of the new handset model that is being developed. There is much debate
around what product features should be upgraded. It is very important to figure out
a solution to this, as the decision will decide the future of our product and will
affect the overall sales
The current situation calls for an understanding of the consumer needs and
demands with respect to their mobile phones. In order to successfully deliver
product that will attract the target market, it is important to understand what the
customers want and expect from our product. These insights would be helpful to
overcome the roadblocks that the company is currently facing and will also help
the product development team to come to a decision.
The marketing team wants to propose a market research plan for the same which
will provide us with additional information that is required to make a wise
decision.
CONSTRAINTS
Changing market situation
Internal bias
Cost
Competition in the market
Customer loyalty to a competitor brand
Time
Customer Satisfaction
Supply and demand according to the need
Customer influence by competitor company brand
To know the satisfaction level of customers
3. STAKEHOLDER NEEDS
Long term solution to address customer demands
Aim for wearable communication
Profitable communication devices
Product should be adapted by customer
Providing product in reasonable price
Need influencer for advertising
Product should be cheap and best
To increase the customer base by improving those features which are being
provided by competitors
OBJECTIVE
Assess the problem
Gather and analyze information
Communicate analysis to the engineers & product development team
Desk Research
The desk research will make use of past 40 years of company’s
experience along with 5 years of experience in retail consumers. It
will be used to find out:
A current profile of our customer and details about our segments
through loyalty card members
Past trends in cellular handset market
Past problems within company
The demographics of existing and past markets
4. SCOPE
Understand customer needs
Plan for the future
Get information
Understanding the competitor
Consumer perceptions of our brand
Rebuild faith in customer mind with our product
Easy to use service
Methodology
The methodology will include majorly an internal research and some
part of primary research.
We recommend that we conduct a market research with our target
audience, a survey of the target group and a focus group study with
our current customers.
Pros:
Understand customer needs and requirements.
Focus on customer needs.
Get direction
Cons:
Time consuming.
Requires thorough analysis.
SECONDARY RESEARCH SUMMARY
According to the reports received from our vendors who had conducted research
on our target customers in the past, we have gained information about the customer
demographics, behavioral and psychographics characteristics of the market and the
current profile of the customers.
5. RESEARCH PLAN
The information used in this report will be based on primary research data collected
using a survey method.
The questionnaire will be designed in order to fulfill research smartphones key issues
like usage, cost, satisfaction levels and improvement. Data analysis used survey
index to summarize and study the survey findings. This report research will use
primary survey data, with initial conduct of secondary research and a pilot tested
questionnaire as well as additional resources like key note’s marketing reports. The
rating grad used will be of stars and smiles, one representing very bad performance,
in case of stars, or very unsatisfied, in case of smiles, and five representing an
excellent performance. Survey findings will be studied in order to identify student’s
views and expectations towards the market allowing the understanding of how it can
develop and improved.
The research that will be carried out allows the information to be studied to discover
gaps in the market, and ways in which these gaps could be fulfilled. For example,
research shows that the majority of the students were not happy with the battery life
of their smartphones.
Our team has been working on marketing our products to our customers which had
helped us gain insights on various consumer behaviors and as an employee of this
organization we have the information at our disposal which we can use for the desk
research. This will help us to work for the interests of the company and can address
this problem of the company
SURVEY METHOD
1. Internet survey
This method of research is widely used to understand the preferences and needs of
the customers and will help us to gain insight on what the customers are expecting
from our brand and products.
The following parameters will be tested with the survey based on the customer
needs:
Battery life vs good resolution display or low powered antenna or processor
Fashionable aluminum case vs rubberized body
6. Processor speeds
Camera quality
Memory and storage
2. Focus group study
Focus group research is to understand why the customers buy from us and not the
competitors. This will help us gain a competitive advantage in the market as we
will upgrade our product to deliver the best technology that will get more people to
purchase. The focus group will also help us identify the loopholes and help us gain
better ideas that will help the overall development of the product.
Pros
It’s easy to do and quick to create
It has a wide reach
It saves you money on research costs
You can do it via mail, email, online, telephone, and verbal methods
It can quickly show you trends in the market
It gathers large and significant data
Cons
Survey fatigue could lead to response bias
Making the wrong questions can lead to inaccurate data
Respondents may skip answers or quit in the middle of a survey
The answers you provide must reflect the possible answers of the
respondents
7. COMMUNICATION SYSTEM DURING RESEARCH
Type Objective Medium Frequency Audience Owner Deliverable
Kickoff
Meeting
Introduce the
project team,
project.
Review,
project
objectives &
management
approach.
Face to
Face
Once Project
Sponsor
Project
Team
Stakehol
ders
Project
Manager
Agenda
Meeting
Minutes
Project
Team
Meetings
Review status
of the project
with the team.
Face to
Face
Conferen
ce Call
Weekly Project
Team
Project
Manager
Agenda
Meeting
Minutes
Project
schedule
Technical
Design
Meetings
Discuss and
develop
technical
design
solutions for
the project.
Face to
Face
As Needed Project
Technica
l Staff
Technical
Lead
Agenda
Meeting
Minutes
Monthly
Project
Status
Meetings
Report on the
status of the
project to
management.
Face to
Face
Conferen
ce Call
Monthly PMO Project
Manager
Slide
updates
Project
schedule
Project
Status
Reports
Report the
status of the
project
including
activities,
progress, costs
and issues.
Email Monthly Project
Sponsor
Project
Team
Stakehol
ders
Project
Manager
Project
Status
Report
Project
schedule
8. BUDGET, TIME & TEAM
Our market research team consists of skilled and highly qualified experts who have
a good experience in the field of market research. With this in mind, we are
confident that we will be able to conduct a market research with the resources we
have. This will cut down unnecessary costs for the company as we would not
require external help with respect to data collection and research.
The budget allocated for the study will be used to set up the internet survey on
various platforms and to get subjects for the focus group studies.
We will require a time span for at least 4 weeks for the research which will involve
the secondary research followed by initiation of primary research, collection of
responses and analysis of the output.
Since we have limited time for this study, we will be hiring freelance market
researchers who will be helping us in the analysis of the data collected. A final
report of the study will be created which will contain all the aspects of this
situation and a possible solution as well.
Priority Definition Budget Timeframe for Resolution
Priority 1 External Research - Product Concept
Test, The current profile of our
customer and detail about our
segments, Trends in the cellular
handset market, Competitors and
Customers Analysis
$17 000
by August 1 (strongly asked
by Jordan DiLargo in e-mail
#1 or earlier if possible
Priority 2 Primary research data collected using
a survey method. Survey findings
will be studied in order to identify
customers views and expectations
towards the market allowing the
understanding of how it can develop
and improved.
$1000
Within one week after product
concept test completion
Priority 3 Primary research data collected using
a focus group method. It will be
important tool for acquiring feedback
regarding company`s products
$3000
Within two weeks after product
concept test completion
9. Priority 4 Engineering Team Discussion - Within two business days
Priority 5 Insignificant impact to project but
there may be a better solution.
-
Work continues and any
recommendations are
submitted via the project
change control process
Appendices
XXYYZZ CORP
