Writing the Market Research Proposal

Target Markets

Name

Instructor

Course

Date

Consumer surveys are an essential part of business strategies. They are a form of polling whereby the company or organization seeks to identify the consumer’s satisfaction level with an already existing product. Additionally, the company also aims to discover the consumer’s expectations regarding proposed or new products. Such may be carried out by companies specifically hired to carry out such surveys although it would be much more beneficial for the company itself to carry out its own surveys as this will give them a much clearer picture as to the needs of their target audience. A key note to consider is that negative feedback and criticism from customers should be valued higher in terms of information obtained than positive reviews as they may point out flaws in the process that will help with latter improvement.

In this process of consumer survey therefore, it is critical that the surveyor identify the target market first, prior to any other step. This is the only sure way to achieving one’s brand objectives. The level of detail placed in the market/consumer analysis will determine the level to which information will be collected concerning the target audience. Identifying the target market will aid in the solidification of the company brand message while taking the company one step closer in its aim to connecting with the consumer. A fact that companies have to acknowledge is that their brand power depends on the company’s ability to define and craft a suitable marketing message that will enable sure conversion into actual customers to mere prospects (Cahill, 1997).

In carrying out the market analysis, consideration of the following points is necessary so as to enable identification of the target market: who the target audience is, where they are located, their thoughts concerning the brand, what the company would like them to think about in relation to the brand, suitable attractive measures to their brand and competitors for the consumer loyalty. In addition to this, the target market has to be identified with an overall description whereby the surveyors consider the demographic age, their gender, income level, family situations, and most appealing features of the brand and what the consumers may dislike regarding the particular product (Dibb, Simkin, 1996).

The company in this case is one that deals with the manufacture and sale of bean-to-bar chocolate bars and other chocolate products. Therefore, in identifying the particular niche of the chocolates, the brand seeks to withdraw itself from the common and widely sold chocolate products that are mass produced by large confectionary companies. Rather, the company aims to place their brand in a unique category, one that offers a sense of exclusivity to the consumer while still maintaining a common touch. This is because of the processing with which the chocolate products go under, especially for the main products which are the single-origin chocolate bars, whereby all the people involved in its production sign at the back of the bar, increasing their personal exclusivity.

The target market therefore is one which has a little more extra cash to spend on chocolates. This is a market segment with unique, chocolate loving tendencies who are willing to spend more on their chocolate purchases for the unique and exclusive taste that are offered by the chocolate products from this company. The target market will range from those absolute chocolate lovers who enjoy excellent chocolate products to those money spenders who enjoy ore artisan touch in the manufacture of their products. It is noted that products that have more artisan skills and time involved in their production are generally more expensive in the market than those products that are mass produced and rely on preset features for their production.

The lifestyles of this particular market segment will border on the middle to high social class levels as we are dealing with consumers who have the ability to pay premium prices for the premium product. This particular segment has no problem churning out substantial amounts of cash in order to get what they desire in terms of product type, amount and processing. The traits of this demographic are reliant on their social status as well as their general age group which ranges from the mid twenties to the late forties. This is because the chocolate targets mature consumers with a developed chocolate taste which will not only enable them to appreciate the different type of cacao beans that go into the production, but the different processing types which lead to the difference in flavors achieved at the end of production.

The target consumer’s interests also relate to chocolate production and such consumers have major interests in finding out the details concerning the various techniques used in the production of the different chocolate products they enjoy. The personality traits of this demographic include specificity; in particular regarding the sort of products they are willing to purchase and associate themselves with. Also, this demographic consists of inquisitive people, more so when relating to the sort of chocolate they consume as they would rather have bars made from scratch by a small number of individuals in a ore product concentrated factory than have some common chocolate bars mass produced in some confectionary factory around the world.

There are various ways in which research on the target market was carried out. The first and foremost approach towards market analysis is secondary research. The company already has in its possession a wide array of information regarding consumers from the records that are kept. From this, major characteristics concerning the market may be withdrawn such as: how long some consumers have been associated with the organization/company, their areas of residence, their general age and other social information. Observational research is another method of carrying pout research and denotes the simplest method of data collection as it merely entails observation of the audience and general assumptions made regarding most of their characteristics.

Quantitative and qualitative surveys were another method of data collection. This was specifically through the use of questionnaires that had a set of questions structured in such a way as to attain the maximum possible amount of information from the consumer without having to be too bulky or cumbersome to complete. Informal interviews were also an additional method of data collection and they involved the utilization of telephone interviews as well as personal interviews during focus groups or during visits to the shops and factories by the consumer. Interviews such as these rely on a number of preset questions already in mind though the interviewer should be open to exploring any topics that come up during the interview.

The first resources utilized in identifying the target market are print resources. These may include demographic profile produced and held by the local chamber of commerce in the particular area within which the market is located. These provide extensive demographic information as well as bulk information regarding retail and economic sales data for the years passed. Another resource utilized was the internet. In our modern global village era, the internet is an excellent resource for gathering information concerning market characteristics in particular areas and this may be withdrawn from websites solely dedicated to this purpose. These include websites such as those of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another resource utilized were premium, web based consumer market databases.

Research design is critical in projects as it aids in guiding the project teams as well as the key decision makers in the company. Research design survey will focus on exploratory studies, which are aimed at identifying the problems that may arise within the project; causal studies, which deal with the cause and effect; and, descriptive studies, which aim at identifying the market. Being familiar with the target market will enable the research team to have the ability to easily formulate solutions for probable problems with regard to the particular market segment being dealt with (Smith, 2012). Additionally, familiarity with the target audience enables the teams to focus their research energies at identifying consumer perceptions concerning the specific products being promoted in the research design.

References

Cahill, D. J. (1997). Target marketing and segmentation: valid and useful tools for marketing. Emerald, 35(1).

Dibb, S., Simkin, L. (1996). The marketing segmentation workbook: target marketing for marketing managers. Routledge. 219 p.

Smith, S. (2012, April 11). How to focus your Research Design. Qualtrics. Web. Retrieved from http://www.qualtrics.com/blog/focusing-your-research-design/