Sampling size plan

Marketing Research Plan-Due in Module 8

Maria’s Bakery was established in 1950 when Jerry and Maria arrived from a northern province of Italy

and made their home in Brighton, Massachusetts. Bakers by trade in the “old country”, their goal was to

establish a bakery.

Brighton is a city located some five miles west of Boston which became a destination for many

immigrant Italian families in the 1950s. With an already established target market for Jerry and Maria, it

was not difficult to develop a clientele for the breads and pastries that were a part of the Italian lifestyle.

The bakery made its debut in the small kitchen of a row house that became the first home of the young

immigrant couple.

The couple started a family early on and brought into the world two sons, Bruno and Paulo, who would

both be raised in the midst of the family business. In the 1960s the business finally moved out of the

cluttered row home into retail space in the center of town. The business was established and opened

under the name of Maria’s Italian Bakery.

By the 1990s, Jerry and Maria were getting ready for retirement. The business had stopped growing

many years ago and they were ready to hopefully pass it on to their two sons. Both boys had attended

college and moved on to their own careers, but were interested in taking over the family business.

At this point in time, the demographics of Brighton had changed dramatically. The Italian population,

which at one time was the majority ethnic group, had dwindled significantly. Brighton, just as it had in

the 1950s, now became a haven for many other ethnic groups such as Indians, Pakistanis, and Hispanics.

The large Italian population, tired of the cramped city landscape, had moved to the suburbs.

Bruno and Paulo, using the education that their parents worked so hard to give them, recognized the

shift in demographics and recommended to their parents that the bakery name be changed to Maria’s

Bakery. This, in their estimation, would open the door to carry other bakery products to meet the needs

of the demographics now dominate in the Newton market.

Jerry and Maria were very upset at this recommendation, but realized that they worked hard for their

children’s education and should listen to their proposal. They agreed and asked the boys to enlist the

services of a marketing research consultant to back up their claims.

You have been hired as that consultant and your job is to establish a plan to gather enough data to

support a name and product assortment change. Because this is a fictitious scenario, you will not be

expected to collect primary data. This is a proposal explaining how you intend to make your final

recommendations to the owners.

Your report must include the following:

Due in Module 5

M5A2 Research Plan: Problem and Research Objectives

 Define the problem.

 Explain the research objectives.

Due in Module 6

M6A1 Research Plan: Develop a Sampling Plan

 Discuss recommended data collection methods.

 Create a survey questionnaire to gather data:

o Be specific as to where the questionnaire will be administered (telephone, Internet,

etc.).

o Use Chapter 8 extensively as your guide to developing the survey questions (the grading

of this section will be based on the criteria given in the chapter).

Due in Module 7

M7A1 Research Plan: Sample Size

 Develop and discuss your sample plan and size.

Due in Module 8

M8A1 Marketing Research Plan

 Develop your final recommendations.

 Submit your final paper.

iReportWriting Assistant (prenhall.com) provides instructions, templates and a sample marketing

research report to assist you with this assignment.