Marketing research assignment till 10th of may
Summary:
Marketing Research Proposal
1) Select a company within a specific market, and a product category in a certain context (socioeconomic, cultural, political, etc.). You can use the same company you used for TASK number 1
2) The task now consists in deliver the result of the market research, according to the market research project presented in the previous task
3) The task has to describe
· The methodology or methodologies used,
· The demographics of the methodology, including their profile, the reason why they were selected, etc.
· The results of the market research, including as much information as possible (chart, tables, figures, etc)
· Among the results, you can insert a SWOT analysis derived from the results attained
· The recommendations to be given to your customer.
· A possible action plan coming from the recommendations
4) The data delivered can be obtained from bibliography, real market research, or invented, but they have to be coherent with the problem analyzed
This is an Individual assignment.
This task is worth 40% of your overall grade for this subject.
The required word length is 2000 words.
The Report is required to be submitted in PDF format on Turnitin.
Deadline for Turnitin submission: 10th MAY 23:59pm.
LAST ASSIGNMENT :
INTRODUCTION
TBM Hardwood Inc. is one of the top wood product manufacturers in the United States. With a humble beginning in Hanover PA, the company has grown to become well known in the wood and furniture industry. The company produces hardwood products, lubricants and adhesives. Their products have had a strong presence in the hardwood manufacturing market. TBM’s presence in the market is largely attributed to its unique marketing strategy characterised with a strong internet advertisement, numerous publications and editorials. Trade shows is the major venue by which the company builds a new customer base in addition to creating rapport.
The company recently developed a newly formulated adhesive product which it intends to introduce into its product line. The product has already passed through design stages including approval stage by the EPA (industry standards). The new product is capable withstanding long exposures to moisture and a variation in temperature thus is an improvement over the common adhesive brands. Furthermore the product is environmentally friendly. BTM’s intended primary market is in small and medium size sawmills as well as plywood manufactures that use adhesive in their manufacturing process. The company intends to cater for United States market and part of Canada. They intend to pack and sell in unit of gallons to wholesalers because the products must be used within 24 hours.
However, the new formula will have to compete with the current market leader 3M and CP adhesive. 3M has dominated the market for over 30 years. This therefore means that BTM has to establish the market potentiality of their new product. To ensure that the product succeeds in such a competitive market, there is need for a well-executed marketing study that will go along to determine customer demographics and preferences as well as establishing an effective distribution channel.
RESEARCH PROBLEM
Although the new formulated adhesive product is an improvement of the current adhesives in the market, upon launching, it will have to compete with other brands including the current market leader-3M which enjoys a well-established brand of over 30 years. To that effect, there is need to determine customer demographics, preferences as well as an effective distribution channel.
OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Objectives
Based on the problems identified, the primary objectives of the proposed research include;
· Determine the potential market for the new product that the company intends to introduce into the market. To achieve this, the research will determine the market concentration of wood manufacturing.
· Determine the best avenues to access the market for the company’s new product.
· Evaluate the company’s ability to produce this product to meet. The research also intends to determine what promotion and sales requirements the company will needs to succeed in this particular market.
· The paper will identify some important requirements that sales representatives need to pay attention to in order sell the new product.
Research questions
In order to achieve its objectives, the proposed research will answer the following questions.
Marketing questions
· Do wood manufacturing industry experience seasonal variation in sales? How will such variations affect the sales of the new product?
· How sophisticated is wood manufacturing market and how will it affect the sales of the new product.
· What are TBM’s competitor’s strengths and weaknesses?
Operational questions
· Do the current products satisfy the current demand? Will a production of 4000 units of the new product (EPA adhesive) as proposed by company satisfy the current demand in the United States. What alternative are available in the market
· Will the current sales representatives adequately manage supply of the new product? How are sales reps prepared for new markets that the company intends to open? Do the company need to add more sales reps as the company introduces new products?
· How is the current market for adhesives? What about the distribution line, is it direct from the manufacturer?
· How can the company provide directory to wood product manufacturers who require adhesives in their production process.
METHODOLOGY
The proposed research will be qualitative in nature. Qualitative method is suitable for the research because it will be an exploratory study intending to discover new ideas, concepts thus the research is subjective. This is unlike quantitative research which seeks to establish facts thus objective (Kvale, 1996). The research will be conducted within a period of three months. The proposed research intends to find relevant information from the following sources;
· Direct Interviews with current customers and proposed customers. Surveys will be administered to the public particularly those in the wood industry who intend to use the proposed product. The research will also collect the views of stakeholders; distributers, suppliers, environmental movements and market experts.
· The company’s annual report which is available to the public, government and stakeholders. Government reports will also be of use to the research.
· The company’s marketing data, advertisement information and information released to press will give insights to the research questions.
· Financial information e.g. financial ratios. Credit reports among others
· Publications from trade associations as well as directories
The research hopes to get the best information out of the resources in order to achieve accurate result.
TARGET AUDIENCE OF THE RESEACH
Market segment
Understanding of the market segment is essential in achievement of the overall goal of the research. The research will study the market segment to determine the type of companies that dominate this market segment. Additionally the research will examine the market as well as the distribution of manufacturers (intended customer) within the country. The research will assess the current market leader by examining its marketing strategy and method of promotion.
Evaluating the market segment will also involve interviewing industry experts. Having vast knowledge of the market, industry experts can predict the future of wood market as well as adhesive markets thus they will be participants in the research (Benntngton, 1985). An assessment of the current adhesive products in terms of characteristics such as durability will be performed to evaluate what advantage the new formulated adhesive product has over the others and if this could fuel consumer demand. Export market segment is of importance to the research considering that export market is continuously growing. How this will affect wood manufacturing industry and consequently adhesive market is important in answering research questions.
The research will assess the market segment to determine the wood industry trend. A rise or a fall in the trend of wood manufacturing industry will play a role in the marketability of the new adhesive product. Trend will be observed in both Canadian as well as United States market. An in depth analysis will be done to determine major international competitors.
Population/ clients
Clients are important partners and participants in marketing research (Crawford, 1983). Information from the clients is important for the overall goal of the research. TBM Hardwood Inc. intends to produce environmentally friendly adhesives and lubricants to the wood manufacturing industry. The company intends to cater primarily to plywood manufacturers, veneer and wood panelling companies at large. Over ten wood flooring companies which use the new adhesive product in their manufacturing process have shown interest in TBM’s product. Based on this the proposed research intends to collect the views of wood manufacturers to get more information that will help in establishing market statistics. The study will collect information relevant to the research such as approximate quantity of the product used per given board feet during manufacturing process. Additionally, most of wood product manufactures (TBM’s intended customers) are estimated to generate more that 1 million yearly sales for their products. The research will therefore restrict itself to this population to draw information relevant to the research. Other wood manufacturers out of this population bracket are not eligible for the research because they may not give a true picture of TBM’s intended market structure.
In the preliminary demand test, the product was sold as a second product by the company’s sales agents and the re-supply done primarily through phone calls. The research intends to interview this population to establish the best communication method that the company should invest in to enable contestant engagement with customers. This population is also important in determining the effectiveness of available sales representatives and if there is need to hire more sales reps to reach a wider market. Their response on reasons for reorder of the product will help the research determine if the product is up to quality and the general market potential of the product.
TBM’s intended customers are not evenly distribute. The customer’s geographical location will be important in determining market geographical locations and the best distribution channel. Clients will also inform the research on how they got the information of the existence of the product thus the research will draw informed conclusion on the best promotional tool. The current customer usage of the product will be drawn and comparison made across different wood manufacturers to establish industry trends.
Stakeholders
Wood supply is still short despite the involvement of international companies in the manufacturing of wood products (Wilhelm, 1994). This phenomenon has been attributed to constant pressure from international environmental organizations which have led to shutting down of many logging centres. Environmental movement are therefore key stakeholders in the proposed research. Their growing attempts to conserve the environment have adversely affected wood manufacturing industry. A trend of shutting down logging centres has been witnessed across the globe. This trend has already influenced wood and timber manufacturing industry which the TBM relies on. The proposed research will collect the views of environmental movement groups to determine their future plans and if these plans will negatively affect wood and timber market.
Government agencies and policies have also been seen to affect the wood and wood product market. Various government policies have restricted imports of wood products resulting to a reduced raw material. Lack of raw material means little production hence reduced market for TBM’s new adhesive product. The proposed paper will collect the views of government agencies as well as assess the various policies to determine how the future policies will affect sales of TBM’s products.
Suppliers and distributers are also important stakeholders in the research and their views will inform the research objectives. U.S and Canadian wood and timber manufacturers have resorted to importing raw timber to meet their growing demand (Skinner, 1968). The research will engage with supplies and distributers to determine the true market scenarios. This will inform the research. TBM is currently depending on its sales agents located throughout the United States and parts of Canada. The company have not partnered with independent distributers. The proposed marketing research will evaluate the possibility and effect of establishing partnerships with independent distributes especially now that they want to introduce a new product. The research will as well collect the views of distributers concerning the same. The research will then come up with production efficiency along with an effective marketing and distribution structure to help the company improve sales of their current products and establish a strong brand of their new product in order to compete effectively in the market.
EXPECTED RESEARCH OUTCOMES
The research hopes to come up with the following outcomes;
· Sales representatives will have to be increased to handle distribution of additional product to the product line.
· The newly approves EPA adhesive will be marketable and will reach a wider market. Considering that there are few companies that make product of the same quality and characteristics. Currently, there are only two available products that can meet the standards of the product i.e. 3M and the CP adhesive thus there is low cost alternative niches. Additionally, the production and distribution of 3M have had problems in the recent part. The research therefore expects a high market potential for the product.
· Word of mouth, exhibitions and readable editorials are expected to be the best avenue to access market for the new product. Because there are few wood manufacturers, sawmills, plywood and veneer (intended customers),
· Establishing partnerships with independent distributers will increase sales of the company’s current products as well as the new product. The finding of the research is expected to inform and guide the company towards improving their operations and marketing strategy. It will also facilitate informed decisions particularly in the process of launching a new product. That way, the company will be able to adjust its production accordingly to avoid wastage that may come as a result of overproduction of the product.
Work Cited
Benntngton, R. 1985. Furniture marketing: From product development to distribution. Fairchild Publications,
Crawford, C. M. 1983. New products management. Richard D. Irwin, Homewood, IL
Kvale, S. 1996. Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Sage Publications
Skinner, W., & D. C. Rogers. 1968. Manufacturing pol icy in the furniture industry. 3rd ed. Richard D. Irwin, Homewood
Wilhelm, S. 1994. Operating in a high-cost hardwood lumber environment. Wood Prod.