Please answer the short questions below. We expect your assignment to be well written and clear. Bullet points without a surrounding sentence or paragraph are unacceptable, though some answers, e.g. the answer to Q2(c), can be answered with a single short sentence. We expect that a well-written page should be sufficient for each question, so 1-2 pages are the guide for length. Please use 12 point Arial and 1.5 line spacing. This assignment will be marked out of 26, where Q1 is worth 12 marks, Q2 is worth 12 marks, and 2 marks are available for well-written assignments.

Submission Requirements: Hard Copy (paper version) to be submitted to the 200 level assignment box, Department of Marketing, 4th floor ,Otago Business School and an Electronic Copy must be uploaded to Blackboard. To fulfil the submission requirements, both copies must be submitted by the due time. Please attach the Department of Marketing Cover Sheet (available on Blackboard) to the Hard Copy only.

Q1 (12 marks)

Q1(a) List the six stages in the research process in marketing. (6 marks)

Scenario: A NZ breakfast cereal manufacturer has been struggling to deliver annual profit growth rates. Their current products supermarket channel capacity for further profit growth is none or negative. Supermarket chains are tough negotiators, with most of the bargaining power, and are squeezing the profit out of your clients prices. The client has manufactured 5,000 sachets of a new range of line extensions (new pack form and new flavours) that have very good sensory lab testing results (tasty, yummy and novel variety), but they have no useful estimates of the likely market segment sizes or trial rates. Previous research suggests this new range is appealing to the 17 to 21 y.o. cereal consumer segment. These consumers can be reasonably approached and serviced via digital channels, and are receptive to the value added by service, delivery and convenience innovations. There is time pressure on the client to do something.

Q1(b) Identify a symptom in this scenario. (1 mark)

Q1(c) What do you think is the most serious underlying marketing problem given the above scenario? For each of the first 5 of the six stages of the research process, explain briefly how you would apply them when defining the underlying problem. (5 marks)

Q2 (12 marks) Q2(a) List the six steps in the measurement process. (6 marks)

Further to the scenario in Q1, above: The client has now launched the new line extensions via a digital channel with your marketing research consultancy help, and judges the launch a success. Well done. Now the client wants to know what proportion of their traditional supermarket customers might switch to the new digital channel if approached effectively. You plan to intercept a random sample of supermarket shoppers in malls with a quick 1-question survey. Assume the participant reads a description of the new digital way to buy breakfast cereal.

Q2(b) Give an example of a question designed to measure the participants behavioural intention to switch from supermarket to online cereal purchase. (3 marks)

Q2(c) For your answer to Q2(b), is this measure normative or ipsative? (1 mark)

Q2(d) The client, after talking to a business mentor, now suggests a quarterly quantitative survey of a sample of 1000 drawn at random for an online panel of regular supermarket shoppers, to track the Net Promoter Score (NPS) for his brand of breakfast cereal. Would you recommend that? (1 mark) Why? (1 mark)