Marketing Research: Company Problem Identification

So far, you have seen some examples of companies that have needed to conduct marketing research in order to make some sort of business decision. Now it is your turn. Determine a company, currently in the news, that could use market research. Make sure it is a company and situation that you can find enough details on for our semester long project. When choosing your idea, think about marketing opportunities or failures that you've noticed in the news lately. You will be writing a marketing research proposal to help that company make a business decisions. Past examples of projects have included new products or band extensions, companies moving into new geographic territories, product service failures, data leaks, etc.

For this section of the project, you will be writing in essence the first few “sections” of your full marketing research report. You will need to submit to me a report detailing the following:

1. Define the problem

1). Is the problem a failure to meet an objective: a gap between what was supposed to happen and what did happen?

2). Is the problem an opportunity: a gap between what did happen and what could happen

3). Define some symptoms of the problem; describe key monitors or measures that define success

Determine some probable causes to the symptoms

Determine what you, as a researcher, think is the probable cause

2. Define the research objective

1). From whom is the information to be gathered?

2). What information is needed?

3). What constructs are to be tested?

4). Suggest some word questions that might be utilized