For Prof Xavier

February 11, 2016

Dr. G

Rico Products Co.: Competition in the Retail Food Sector

Ricos Products Company, Inc. is a family-owned business founded by Frank Liberto. For more than a century, the business has established a very good brand of exceptional service to customers. Its delicious snacks include cheese-sauce, popcorn, chips, nachos, peanuts, pickles, and peppers. This paper will focus on identifying a business problem in Ricos, identifying one research variable from this problem, describing the methods that would be used for collecting a suitable sample of qualitative or quantitative data for the variable and analyzing whether the data collection method would generate valid and reliable data.

Description of the Business Problem at Ricos

One of the major business problems that Ricos faces is high levels of competition. Competition is simply the rivalry among firms that target the same consumers. It involves many sellers trying to achieve the same goals. These goals include increasing market share, profits and sales volume through variation of elements that influence market composition: price, product promotion and distribution. A competitive market has many sellers trying to win the same buyers. Knowing your competitors and what their services and products are is critical in helping improving your business. This knowledge can be used in improving and enhancing your marketing strategies hence having an edge over your competitors (Krafft & Saviotti, 2004).

Competition is inevitable in any business market. It is very risky to grow your business without understanding your market. Organizations should therefore conduct market research. Technology and information has lessened the burden that was associated with market research. With the click of the mouse, organizations can access information about their competitors globally (Cavalluzzo, Cavalluzzo & Wolken, 2002). Ricos has many competitors that is, there are many companies offering the same products and services as Ricos. To stand out, Ricos should understand their customers and respond to their needs much faster than their competitors do. In addition, they should understand their competitor’s weaknesses and strengths for them to stay ahead. They should know: their quality of product and services, the prices they charge, how they distribute and deliver their products as well as their staff numbers and their qualifications (Krafft & Saviotti, 2004).

Identification of the Research Variable

The number of competitors is the research variable in this case. The more the number of businesses offering the same services the more the competition. Ricos should find out who their competitors are and what exactly their weaknesses and strengths are. They should conduct a market research of whether their prices are lower, their products are of higher quality, their customer service is exceptional and whether their marketing technique is of very high standards (Krafft & Saviotti, 2004). SWOT analysis can be useful in determining your position in the market as compared to your competitors. It helps a business in increasing its strengths, decreasing its weaknesses, clasping opportunities and how to deal with threats (Tuckman, 1998).

Methods Used in the Collection of the Samples

It is very important to use an effective sampling method in any research in order to obtain a suitable sample. Sampling is the process of collecting views from a number of people for an evaluation study. In this case, sampling would involve the number of competitors whose views Ricos will collect for the purpose of market research. There are a number of methods that can be used to obtain data or information for analysis. The most popular methods include direct observation, experiment and surveys (Moore, 2014). Survey is the primary method that will be employed in the collection of a suitable sample in the market analysis. A survey is a sampling method that seeks information or opinion from different people. Surveys can be administered in a number of ways, this include telephone interview, personal interview and questionnaires (Moore, 2014). All these three ways will be employed in this market research. Questionnaires will be used to find out the number of competitors, their prices and their marketing techniques. The intention of the data collected should be thought of carefully when preparing the questionnaires (Moore, 2014).

To ensure efficiency: the questions will be as short as possible, simple and clearly worded questions will be asked, demographic questions will be used to ensure the respondents are comfortable from the beginning and open ended questions will be used cautiously. Further, Yes or No and multiple choice questions will be used.

Analysis of Whether the Sampling Method Would Result into Valid and Reliable Data

An effective sampling method should generate a valid and reliable data. Validity is the extent to which a test, in this case, the survey, measures what it intends to measure. On the other hand, reliability concerns consistency. It is the degree to which the test, the survey, gives the same results on repeated trials (Golafshani, 2003). To know the data collected would generate valid and reliable data, the questions used in this survey will be structured in to meet the intention of the market research. The answers obtained or the feedback is determined by the way the questions are asked (Moore, 2014). The extent to which the questions asked elicit the same type of information, each time they are used within the same conditions, should be examined. To achieve consistency, the questions will be kept as short as possible and simple and clearly worded questions will asked. All these will ensure validity and reliability of the data collected.

In summary, the business problem in Ricos is high levels of competition. There are many companies offering the same services and products as Ricos. Ricos should therefore carry out a market research of the marketing strategies, prices and operation of its competitors to stand out in this business segment. Questionnaires, telephone and personal interviews will be used in this market research.

References

Cavalluzzo K.S., Cavalluzzo L.C. & Wolken J.D. (2002). Competition, Small Business Financing, and Discrimination: Evidence from a New Survey. The Journal of Business

Golafshani N. (2003). The Qualitative Report, Understanding Validity and Reliability in Qualitative Research. Retrieved from http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol8/iss4/6/