Marketing and Communication Information and Decision Making Assessment: Attitude research plan Assessment overview This assessment is a team task – it’s rare for marketers to work in isolation, therefore this assessment will help you to develop your management skills and capacity to work effectively with others. Marketing managers select research suppliers and brief the agencies on what they expect from the research. They should also monitor the research process to try to ensure that the research is performed in an effective and efficient manner and that the data produced is reliable. This assessment therefore requires you to set research objectives, consider the strategic role of the research and the type of information expected, as well as outline the key considerations at each stage in the research process. Your report should take the approach that you are the marketing team from either Coles, Woolworth, Aldi or Metcash writing a detailed brief (as required below) to a Market Research
agency about the gap analysis research you wish them to undertake. More specifically the assessment will: • develop your ability to work in a team • help develop skills in desk research (library and Internet search), collating, presenting and interpreting information, as well as the essential skill of accurate referencing • develop your skill in writing concisely and to the point. Assessment details Generally marketing managers do not perform the actual Market Research
However, they do frequently commission and oversee Market Research
projects, as well as interpret data. Ultimately marketing managers make decisions on the basis of these research findings. You will be working in teams for this exercise. These teams will be formed by your eLA and the team composition posted on the discussion board. This assessment requires you, as the marketing management team, to consider the research process and decision making for a satisfaction survey of shoppers at a supermarket either Coles, Woolworth, Aldi or IGA (Metcash) using the gap analysis approach covered in the unit. This is a very relevant topic since quantitative evaluation of customer satisfaction and service quality is a common research activity conducted by many businesses. Note: Please do not actually conduct any primary Market Research
for this assignment, rather just consider the research design and process involved in gap analysis satisfaction research from the marketing manager’s perspective. Structure of the research plan 1. Title page • Include all team member’s names. 2. Executive summary (approx. 150 words) • Central idea/theme. • Background information. • Scope and structure of the plan. 3. Objective(s) of the research (approx. 200 words) • Marketing objectives of customer satisfaction research. With the gap analysis approach these might include aspects such as identifying strengths and weaknesses in the service mix, providing comparative data for competition, prioritising actions for improving the service mix and overall customer satisfaction etc. • Specific research objectives. • Resources to help you with this section: o Develop clear research objectives for your survey research project (Wyse 2012). o 10 metrics to measure customer satisfaction the right way (Nelen 2016). 4. Information required to fulfil the marketing research objectives (approx. 800 words) • Describe how the information collected will achieve the research objectives. • Provide estimates of data and produce your own examples of the anticipated output, how it might be interpreted and how it assists decision making. Make sure you read the brief of the assignment as you will assist with question 4 and do the Conclusion (200 word) My team has chosen Aldi and Gap Analysis. 5. Considerations in the research process (approx. 1200 words) • Consider this section as a checklist for the marketing manager to monitor/supervise the agency that conducts the research. You should focus upon aspects such as: o correct data collection approach / methodology o questionnaire design o customer target and sample o contact strategy and response rates o training and supervision of the data collection team (if appropriate) o data processing (coding, input and analysis). • Outline the potential barriers and pitfalls the marketing manager should be aware of during the research process and suggest ways in which these may be overcome. 6. Conclusion (approx. 150 words) • Tie up the major points from plan. • Synthesise the information presented. • Convey the significance of the research. 7. References Your writing should be supported throughout with appropriate references using the Harvard reference system. 8. Appendix (approx. 200 words) As an appendix include a final section comprising of ‘Reflections on the group task’. Reflect upon how the group task was managed describing any ground-rules that were set, what worked well, where improvements might be made when managing future group projects. Don’t forget to add and complete the ‘peer review’. Submission details Each team member is required to individually submit a copy of the completed team assessment through Turnitin. See the Assessment 2 section of Blackboard for more detailed information. Assessment criteria 1. Executive summary. 2. Objective(s) of the research. 3. Information required to fulfil the research objectives. 4. Considerations in the research process. 5. Conclusion. 6. Research plan structure and presentation. 7. Referencing.