Topics
marketing research, marketing environment, market testing
Review the activity below or download the PDF student worksheet
Student Worksheet: Different Firms – Different Research
Student Discussion Activity
Sometimes a firm’s particular characteristics (or marketing situation) will influence their choice of the most appropriate marketing research design (as this activity will demonstrate).
Your task in this activity is to match the type of market testing research to the firm most likely to conduct it.
Type of market testing research
- We phone 10% of our customers to offer them our new product.
- We start selling our new product in all our New York stores along with major TV advertising.
- Our sales people have a chat with a dozen or so of our key business customers to determine their level of interest in the new product we’re developing.
- We’re using a research company’s convenience store facility to test our product in a pretend “real-life” situation.
- We’re got the new product currently in three Walmart stores to see how it goes.
- We’ve pushed the product out in New York already. We’re just waiting on some results, and then we’re going out in Los Angeles, and then San Francisco.
- Our sales force team is now authorized to try and really sell the product, but only to five selected customers each.
- Our research firm has placed the product in 100 supermarkets across the country. The sales data is now coming in.
For each research design, identify the firm most likely to conduct that form of research.
Type of firm…
A = A B2B firm the new product available to some extent, and has some good customer relationships.
B = A manufacturer of consumer products that has strong retailer relationships and is close to a full product launch.
C = A B2B firm that is only in the early stages of its product development process.
D = A FMCG firm that is in the middle of its product development process and does not have the product actually available for launch as yet.
E = A national FMCG firm that is close to a full product launch.
F = A national FMCG firm that is in the process of a full product launch.
G = A national consumer firm that has its own stores and has the new product available to some extent.
H = A consumer firm that has the new product available to some extent, and has a customer database, and has products suitable for sale via direct marketing methods.
Related Activities
What is the Most Appropriate Research Design?
Defining Market Research Terms
