Marketing Homework

By: Sean Doyle & Martin McDermott

AB/MT219: Marketing

Marketing Research Plan Proposal Example

Client Name: ZMX Global, Inc.

Brand: Bon Vivant: Organic Gourmet

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Marketing Research Plan Proposal

Introduction

Headquartered in New York City, ZMX Global, Inc. is a large global food company

operating in over 51 countries around the world. Most commonly known as a fine foods

company, ZMX Global, Inc. has an impressively unparalleled portfolio of brands and

products with an international appeal. ZMX Global, Inc. focuses on providing exquisite

culinary products to consumers by being the top purveyor of premium quality ingredients to

the finest food retailers in the world. One renowned brand owned by ZMX Global, Inc.,

known as Bon Vivant, provides the highest quality frozen foods in the retail marketplace.

Bon Vivant produces frozen entrées to meet the needs of consumers in the market for frozen

readymade meals.

Purpose Statement

Through conducting secondary research, the ZMX Global, Inc. marketing team has

identified a steady demand for organic foods in the consumer marketplace in the U.S.A.

(Beesley, 2009). Based on this trend, the marketing team has created a preliminary product

line idea called Bon Vivant Organic Gourmet, a readymade frozen organic food product

offering. The purpose of this marketing research plan proposal is to present a process for

collecting and analyzing data that will be used to determine the need for a new frozen organic

food product line in the consumer marketplace. The proposed marketing research will

provide insightful decision-making information to assist ZMX Global, Inc. leadership in

determining the value in moving forward with the development of the Bon Vivant Organic

Gourmet product line (Lamb et al., 2014).

Marketing Research Process

Upon approval by ZMX Global, Inc. leadership, this marketing research project will

be assigned to the Frozen Foods Product Manager for completion, and a budget will be

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finalized for consideration. This proposed research design is cost efficient and can be

executed within a two week time period if funded.

Research Questions

The following marketing research problem and opportunity questions inform the

research design specifications for this project:

1. Is there a demand for an organic frozen food product line in the consumer marketplace?

2. What type of consumer would purchase a frozen organic food meal?

3. What geographic locations will result in volume sales of readymade frozen organic meals?

Planning the Research Design

Both quantitative and qualitative analysis will be conducted using the following types

of data:

Secondary Data. To be collected from the innumerable resources inside and outside

of the organization, secondary data will be used to assist in answering the research questions.

Secondary data deriving from inside the organization will consist of product testing results

and a white paper on organic food trends produced by the research and development team.

Outside secondary data will be collected from governmental agencies, trade and industry

associations, news media, resources on the Internet, reports from marketing research

aggregators, and academic journal publications (Lamb et al., 2014).

Primary Data. The collection of primary data is essential to answer the research

problem and opportunity questions for this study. As stated by Lamb et al. (2014), "primary

data, or data collected for the first time, are used for solving the particular problem under

investigation" (Lamb et al., 2014, p. 142). Two methods of primary data collection will be

used to inform this study, including:

Mall Intercept Interviews. A type of survey research, the mall intercept survey is

conducted in the common area of a retail location to attain personal opinions and insights into

the idea of a readymade frozen organic meal product offering. A minimum of 100 mall

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intercept interviews will be conducted to increase the validity and reliability of the data

collected.

Questionnaire. A mix of open-ended, closed-ended, and scaled-response questions

will be developed to attain a "rich array of information based on the respondent's frame of

reference" (Lamb et al., 2014, p.145).

Specifying the Sampling Procedures

A convenience sample will be identified from the universe population of consumers.

A convenience sample is a type of nonprobability sampling procedure, which is defined as

"any sample in which little or no attempt is made to get a representative cross section of the

population" (Lamb et al., 2014, p.148). The use of a convenience sample in this study will

significantly reduce costs in conducting the necessary research

Collecting the Data

The collection of data will occur within various major city centres and highly

populated suburban areas in 5 states throughout the United States of America, including New

York, California, Texas, Illinois, and Florida. This laborious data collection process will

require the use of subcontracted field service firms that specialize in interviewing respondents

in the identified geographic locations (Lamb et al., 2014).

Analyzing the Data

Subsequent to collecting data, the marketing team will work collectively to analyze

the data using techniques common to research, including one-way frequency counts, cross-

tabulations, and statistical analysis to provide leadership with definitive information that will

assist in the decision to fund the new product line development of Bon Vivant Organic

Gourmet.

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Presenting the Report

Once the data is analyzed and results are formulated, the Frozen Foods Product Manager will

generate a report and make recommendations to leadership based on the findings of the

research study. Since the "basis for measuring the quality of a marketing research study is the

marketing research plan proposal,” the report will directly address the research questions

proposed in this document.

Following Up

Upon completion of the research report and presentation to leadership, the ZMX

Global, Inc. marketing team will evaluate the value of the study by reviewing decisions made

based on information provided in the study, and to determine if more information is needed to

inform decision making.

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References

Beesley, C. (2009). Producing and selling organic food products-A five step regulatory

primer. The U.S. Small Business Administration. Retrieved from http://www.sba.gov

Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & McDaniel, C. (2014). MKTG7. Mason, OH: South-Western,

Cengage.