Order Description
Research Project: Why Do People (Buy/Use/Have—Product Category)?
The purpose of this project is to help you apply the concepts examined in this course. It will provide you with an opportunity to solve a problem through a better understanding of consumer behavior.
Process to Follow:
1. Choose a consumer product category (not a business product or service). For example: coffee, soft drinks, tattoos, motorcycles, jewelry.) Check with me for approval of your product choice.
2. Follow the report template shown below.
3. Conduct some secondary/ library background research to familiarize yourself with the product category. Remember, we are dealing with the product category and not a specific brand.
4. Using the Model of Consumer Decision-Making (see Course Materials) as a guide, design a discussion guide (this is not a questionnaire form with fixed questions but a series of open-ended question). You will then conduct conversational/ free-ranging/open-ended/ semi-depth interviews with six (6) consumers/users of the product category. This could be friends, neighbors, family—people you know and are willing to cooperate.
5. Your report should be typed, double spaced, 12 point font. A good report is usually about 8-10 pages, not including references cited or the title page. It will be graded for content as well as spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
6. I will provide you with tips for designing a Discussion Guide, and how to analyze the data you extracted from your 6-interview respondents.
7. You should enjoy doing this project. It will drive home the key point that the consumer/ customer is the central element for creating marketing programs.
REPORT FORMAT/ TEMPLATE
Background and Purpose
Background: Here you want to answer the question WHY? you are conducting the research study. But first, provide the reader with product background information, write 1-2 pages about the product category. Discuss market trends, product history, recent events, etc.
Purpose: (For example)The purpose of this study was to uncover deep seated emotions that are the basis for a (product category)purchase decision. (You want to discover WHY people make a purchase decision, and not merely gather information about HOW they make a purchase).
Research Method
Here you answer the questions: WHO was interviewed. HOW they were interviewed. WHAT they were asked. WHERE they were interviewed (geographic location). And WHEN they were interviewed (dates).
Summary of Findings
This is the body of the report organized by sections.
A. External Influences
1. Firms/companies marketing activities
2. Sociocultural factors
B. Consumer Decision-Making
1. Need recognition
2. Psychological (internal) factors
3. Past experience
C. Post-decision Behavior
1. Purchase
2. Post-purchase evaluation
Marketing Implications/ Recommendations
This section is not a summary of previously stated findings, but deals with inferences that might yield (1) new consumer benefit opportunities for promoting either the product category or a specific brand, or (2) the basis for developing a new product or revising an existing product.
NOTE. You should write your report for a reader who has little knowledge of the product category and must be “brought up to speed” in order to make an informed marketing decision. Remember, now you are the expert trying to convey information to someone who does not know as much as you do.
