Gold Reef City is one of the oldest amusement parks in South Africa and is situated in the south of Johannesburg, Gauteng. Located on an old gold mine which closed in 1971, the park is themed around the gold rush that started in 1886 on the Witwatersrand, and the buildings on the park are designed to mimic the same period. For many years, it has attracted thousands of visitors to its theme park attractions. The attractions include a haunted house with ghost train, two water rides, several big dipper rides, an ice rink for shows, several train rides, and much more. Massive car parks allow thousands of visitors to arrive either by car or by coach. Several restaurants, eating stations ensure that visitors are well fed during the day.

The park also has two hotels and two casinos, which allow visitors to spread their fun over two days; the major benefit is to arrive at the park early and avoid the queues for the most popular rides.

In 2015, Gold Reef City set up sponsorship deals with five major brand names in South Africa, and these offer mutual benefits to the brands and to GRC. The sponsors provide substantial amounts of product free or at a discount. The return is brand exposure and the exclusive sales of their products in the park. The sponsors are:

Dairymaid Ice creams
Coca-Cola
Steers Burgers
Sweet Heaven
Nando’s Chicken

All of these companies value feedback from customers and Gold Reef City provides market research information as part of the sponsorship. One project that provides most feedback is called the “Exit Interview”. Everyday, one member of staff is positioned near the exit (there is only one exit). He or she is instructed to let nine people walk past and to approach the tenth person. If that person agrees, an interview takes place. If the person refuses, this is respected, and nine more people are allowed to pass before approaching the tenth.

Interviewing starts at 4pm and continues until 10pm. The number of interviewers does not change each day, even during peak holiday periods, and the park is open every day of the year, even on Christmas Day. The interviewer team changes throughout the year and regular training takes place. In the last 12 months, over 200 different staff members were able to conduct the interview.

When the visitor is stopped, the following questions are asked:

How many rides did you go on? (Dissatisfied – neutral – satisfied)
Were there any rides you couldn’t get on? Which and why? (Fill in name and reason)
What did you think of the queue times? (Dissatisfied – neutral – satisfied)
What did you think of the catering? (Dissatisfied – neutral – satisfied)
Overall, how satisfied were you with your visit? (Dissatisfied – neutral – satisfied)

The interview takes approximately three minutes, and the respondent fills in their answers on a handheld electronic device provided by the interviewer.

Twice a year, the sponsors are invited to a day at Gold Reef City, where they are able to inspect the park and see how their sponsorship is being put into practice. They can also make suggestions and they meet the managers to discuss the results of the exit interviews.

Recently the representative of Coca Cola has complained that the exit interviews are conducted by Gold Reef City staff, as he feels that they should rather be done by an objective outside research agency.

As a research consultant, Gold Reef City (GRC) approaches you to help them to address their problem.

INSTRUCTIONS

Put together a MINI proposal for GRC in which you demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of marketing research and outline the following:

1. INTRODUCTION

Give a broad introduction to the problem as you see it (use the case study as a guide). Outline what the reader should expect in this proposal.

2. ANALYSE GRC’S CURRENT RESEARCH STRATEGY 

Identify the research objectives and approach currently being used by GRC. What are the benefits and challenges of this research approach?

Identify and critically discuss the population and sampling method currently used by GRC. What are the benefits and challenges of this method?

Critically analyze the questions asked by the interviewers and provide ideas for how you could improve on the questions.

3. PROPOSE ONE ALTERNATIVE RESEARCH STRATEGY 

Advise them on ONE alternative research strategy that you believe would be BETTER for GRC to adopt. Discuss the benefits and challenges of this alternative. In your discussion, you should clarify the research objectives (if they are different), focus on aspects of sampling, data collection and research instrument.

4. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 

Outline how you will ensure that ethical considerations will be met in the research strategy that you have outlined above.

5. CONCLUSION (1/2 page) (10)

You must have a conclusion that summarises what you have proposed and reinforces the advantages of your alternative approach and what benefits GRC can expect from your proposed strategy.

6. LIST OF REFERENCES (minimum 6 references) (10)

All the references cited in text should be listed in alphabetical order in this section (APA reference style).

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

MINI PROPOSAL Enhancing Gold Reef Citys Marketing Research Strategy 1 INTRODUCTION Gold Reef City GRC faces a challenge regarding the credibility of their exit interviews specifically raised by a repr... View the full answer