Develop market research plan Essay

In this assessment you atomic number 18 compulsory to establish guidelines for questioning and crowd submit and rifle with your module to gather and evaluate the data.Assessment descriptionYou need to review alive policy and procedure documents (in the appendices of your Student take to the woodsbook) and develop guidelines for managing the process of gathering query nurture. You in addition need to refer and mean to acquire entirely resources necessary for supporting the ensure.ProcedureFrom the case study get outd you are required to complete the undermentioned steps 1. fracture guidelines reflecting organisational policy and procedures to be used for conducting seek. These guidelines for query must provide information and guidance under the future(a) headingsOHSData privacyStaff involvementKPIsQuality of data.2. conglomerate with and commission a cater member (your assessor) to develop detailed work plans for how question leave behind be under suck upn, employ the guidelines you turn out established. Make sure you agree on the format of the materials (print/electronic/oral, etc.) and a get word for the provision of these materials. When the staff member returns the plans to you, you will need to review the plans to identify the following and providing a indite Work Plan Summary (document) the steps below should be the main sections of your drumhead1. elections cite altogether required resources to support the implementation of the plans bya. creating a describe of all(prenominal) required resourcesb. completing the Resource requisition/acquisition form provided for each resource.2. advisers name preferred consultants bya. describing requirements for outer consultants within the plan plan b. detailing choice criteria for selection of external consultants c. identifying which consultant/s from the preapproved distinguish is/are suitable.3.Providers and suppliers Identify preferred providers and suppliers by describ ing requirements for goods and services within the undertaking plan detailing selection criteria for selection of providers and suppliers identifying which providers and suppliers from the preapproved list is/are suitable. Adjustment for distance-based learnersNo form of the task is required.SpecificationsYou must provideA written Organisational Guidelines for continueing inquiry (Step 1) A brief written summary of your meeting with the staff member you commissioned for inquiry (Step 2) A written Work Plan Summary (Steps 3-5) with completed acquisition forms. Your assessor will be spirit forEvidence that you entertain examined the case study and reviewed organisational requirements to develop securities industry look plans. Distance-based learnersComplete assessment as per instructions, except the meeting with your staff member (the assessor) will be via phone or Skype or some other live telephone or video medium.Case studyYour are the foodstuffplaceing motorcoach for a 15 store chain of homeware stores in Brisbane called Houzit. The stores peg down in bathroom fittings, bedroom fittings, mirrors and decorative items. As part of the strategic plans of the business, the board want to broaden the store offer by including lighting fixtures in the assortment mix. The board identified the need to carry out trade research to determine the market feasibility of adding the lighting fixtures category to Houzits assortment. The board have pass that this work be undertaken by a specialist market research firm with extensive knowledge of the target market and who git undertake a wide variety of research methods and complete the process in a by the bye manner.The CEO has asked you to wield the entire market research process for the board. You are asked to liaise with the general manager of store operations and the group buying manager. Initially you are required to develop the guidelines for conducting the market research which must adhere with Houzits policy and procedures. The scope of research to be undertaken encompasses the greater Brisbane area. The CEO explained that the marketresearch taradiddle together with your summary must be ready to be presented to the board in 8 work calendar weeks time. You have been apportiond a budget for the project of $15,000 to cover external consultants and associated external material cost. You are required to stay within this budget. Houzits policy and procedures requires that you submit a Resource Usage diligence for all resources required in the project both internal and external.Your merchandise team consists of Tony (search engine optimization and website maintenance), Marie (advertising and public congenators) and Joanne an administration officer. You have asked Tony to take responsibility for the operational aspects of the project and estimate that it will take up 50% of his time over the next 11 weeks. Joanne will also be tangled for slightly 20% of her time in attending to a dministration matters. You estimate that you will need to allocate 30% of your time to manage the overall project. According to Houzits policy and procedures the following detailed Work Plan Summary needs to be undertakenDefinition/scope phase repair research objectivesDefine research requirementsDetermine in-house resourceCompile a list of preferred consultants/suppliers. adviser/supplier selection phaseDefine consultant/supplier selection criteriaDevelop consultant/supplier selection questionnaireDevelop Statement of WorkEvaluate proposalsSelect consultant/supplier. query phaseMonitor milestone achievements consultant/supplier performance management.Reporting phase review Market search extend with stakeholdersPrepare summary encompass.The CEO meets with you and you and Tony to discuss the plans. The CEO explained that it is Houzits policy to always engage external consultants when deciding on major category changes because it provided some objectivityto the decision making proc ess. The three preferred consultants are1. Acworth score 27 Pitt Street, Hawthorne QLD, who gear upd the business plan for Houzit but who dont have specialist market research staff 2. Lombard Consulting 78 Queen Street, Brisbane QLD, who are a local specialist market research firm based in Brisbane specializing in home accessory products and markets. 3. Holt & Burrows 58 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne Vic, a national selling firm based in Melbourne who consult on all issues relating to branding and marketing for all industries. They specialise in fashion, cosmetics and consumables.The CEO explained that there was extensive information available in the company archives concerning customer feedback and surveys that has been collected by the stores over the past few years. This could prove useful in the research. The CEO also explained that you would need to have a member from head office do the information extraction work and could take up to 20 hours to complete. The CEO would like t o see a penning that covered fin main areas1. industry overview2. target category and market3. business environment4. competitors5. conclusion.Tony prepared a list of preferred suppliers together with the products and services that they supplied to help determine the materials needed in accordance with the CEOs directive that it be a credible source, within the budget and easily accessible. These materials could be accommodated in the project if required and it is within budget Homeware Trade association has an Australian wide industry report for $1,000 Australian Bureau of Statistics has Census data for the target area the is mostly free but will costs about $250 in search fees IBIS market report covers each major market in Australia including the greater Brisbane area $1,200 Australian Chamber of Commerce has Australia wide surveys on industries $1,450 Homeware Magazines and Publications is an international magazine activitys programme innovations in home wares $250 per quar ter Newspaper subscriptions covering local issues $100 per quarter.Resource usage applicationResource descriptionResource quantityInternal or externalExternal resource costsYou and Tony meet with each of the consultants identified by the CEO and explain to the need to meet the time mannikin set by the board. You know that the Definition/Scope Phase together with the Consultant/ supplier excerption Phase will take 2 weeks. You also realise that you will need a week at the end to prepare your reports. Tony explains that there is an expectation that they will be able to complete the following tasks in the time frame allowed Develop market research information needs questionnaireDocument information needsIdentify information to be gathered in researchIdentify source of informationIdentify research participantIdentify research techniqueIdentify timing requirements and budgetConduct researchPrimary Market Research including customer surveys, focus groups and interviews with Houzit staff /managers and customers. Secondary Market Research including the materials provided by Houzit.Document research findingsDevelop research report.A week and a half into the project you receive the following responses from the preferred consultants. Acworth Accounting quote $11,500. Will need to engage external research staff. Will need ten weeks to complete the report. Cannot do focus groups. Lombards quote $12,000. Have specialist staff available in the home-wares field. Can complete the work within eighter weeks. Can apply all methods of research. Holt & Burrows quote $14,500. Will send research staff from Melbourne. Can complete the work within eight weeks. Can apply all methods of research.TASK 2Market researchPerformance objectiveIn this assessment you are required to contract and manage an external consultant to complete research for your organisation, and supervise work activities in regard to the research project.Assessment descriptionYou need to meet with a consultant and c omplete a contract to secure their services for the required research activities. You also need to monitor, manage and report on work activities, to ensure that the research project remains in alignment with the research plan.ProcedureFrom the case study provided you are required to complete the following steps 3. With the supplied generic external consultants contract, you need to meet with the identified consultant (your assessor) from the case study and revise the contract to suit your requirements as the manager of the market research. 4. Using the supplied work activity information, develop weekly monitoring reports that Progress of project describes the progress of the market research project Adherence to plan describes the adherence of work activities to the research plan Contractor performance describes whether performance of external contractors is in line with expectations and contractual requirements.SpecificationsYou must provideA revised signed contract for the identifi ed consultant (Step 1) A series of written Weekly monitor Reports (Step 2)Your assessor will be looking forEvidence that you have examined the case study and have understood the requirements of contract research consultants for the organisation.Distance-based learnersComplete assessment as per instructions, except the meeting with the consultant (the assessor) will be via phone or Skype or other live telephone or video medium.Case studyThe CEO has decided to use Lombards Consulting to carry out the marketresearch work in relation to Houzits plan to add the lighting fittings category to the assortment offer. Working from head office as 12 Clarence street Hendra Queensland, you organise to have a contract drawn up that covers all the areas of understanding in relation to the work including milestones. The following activities occurred during the market research project.The phases Definition/Scope and Consultant/Supplier Selection were completed by the 2nd week of the project. 5% com plete Develop market research information needs questionnaire on time Document information needs one week slowlyly 10% complete Identify information to be gathered in research one week late Identify source of information one week late 15% complete Consultant requests Houzit purchase all research materials You approve everything except for the Australian Chambers of Commerce, Australia wide surveys costing $1,450 Identify research participant on timeIdentify research technique one week lateIdentify timing requirements and budget two week late 30% complete Consultant requests more time You do not grant it.Primary Market Research including customer surveys, focus groups and interviews with Houzit staff/managers and customers. consummate on time except for interviews with all Houzit managers and group buyer 50% complete Consultant report difficulty working with store managersSecondary Market Research including the materials provided by Houzit.- Consultant requested int ernal customer data be taken off-site You do not grant it Completed on time 70% complete Document research findings on timeDevelop research report two days late 100% complete.TASK 3Research project military rankPerformance objectiveThis assessment task requires you to review the market research project and evaluate the findings that have been presented, as comfortably as evaluating andrecommending improvements to the research approaches and processes used.Assessment descriptionYou need to develop a report describing and evaluating the research undertaken and the findings presented. As part of this report you need to review the project performance against the initial research project plan, and review the process for future improvements.ProcedureFrom the case study provided you are required to prepare a final report on the market research process including information under the following headings1. Findings A review of the research report provided to you by the consultant incl uding a brief summary of the report findingsa description of how you confirmed the validity of information and data included in the report a statement assessing the relevance and usefulness of findings against research objectives.2. Performance assess the project performance against the research plan.3. Review A review of the feedback provided to you from various stakeholders, and any changes to the process required by this feedback. Also review all of the monitoring reports and monitoring activities completed throughout the project (in AT2) and make recommendations for changes or improvements to the research process. With your completed report you also need to submit a revised set of research guidelines (from Assessment Task 1) incorporating the changes note in your report for use in the next market research project. Adjustment for distance-based learnersNo variation of the task is required.SpecificationsYou must provideA written Final Report (Steps 1-3)Written revised Research Gu idelines for the organisation.Your assessor will be looking forEvidence that you have examined the case study and have reviewed the market research process for the organisation. Distance-based learnersComplete assessment as per instructions.Case studyYou receive a market research report from Lombards Consulting (see following pages). You sent out the market research report as well as your variance summary of the marketing activities taken to key stakeholders and asked them to reply by email. Later, in parole with the principals of Lombards Consulting, you are made aware of the location and availability of source data on which the report was based. These include the original responses to the customer surveys, taped interviews and focus groups (with signed participant consent forms) and notes taken during conversations with staff, with Houzit staff/managers and customers. Copies of auxiliary data was also available, crossed referenced and physically identified in the report and sour ce document.Where achievable Lombards Consulting used the scientific method of careful observation, formulation of hypotheses, prediction, and testing in their research. They also verbalize of using multiple methods to ensure greater confidence in the findings. When asked about the lack of time spent with the Houzit managers, Lombards consulting spoke about the healthy scepticism they have built toward assumptions made by managers about how the markets work. They also express that the intellectual divergences between the mental styles of line managers and marketing researchers often got in the way of productive relationships. The marketing researchers report may seem abstract, complicated, and tentative, while the line manager wants concreteness, simplicity, and certainty. Lombards suggested they be composite in the earliest part of the planning process, in fact why not make them immutable feature in the marketing strategy team.Emails from stakeholdersThe general manager said i n an email I was disappointed that Lombards did not speak to the store managers more. They have real day to day contact with customers and have much knowledge about what customers want. Perhaps next time they could be involved formally in the process The group buying manager said in an email The report confirms what we thought about the new category. I would have liked to see more opinion from the consultants describing what they believed that the business environment data meant in terms of the business opportunity. The CEO said that the feedback from the board was to pass on their congratulations to you on a job well done giventhe short time frame. You replied that a research of that order of magnitude would normally require a 12-14 week turn around. The CEO agreed.