How A Bakery Can Use Market Research Essays

How A Bakery Can Use Market Research Essays How A Bakery Can Use Market Research Paper How A Bakery Can Use Market Research Paper Essay Topic: Marketing Market Research can be defined as the systematic gathering, recording and analysis of data about problems relation to the marketing of goods and services. This can be broken down as follows: Systematic – This is carried out in a careful and organised way. Gathering and Recording of Data – This is collecting data and setting it down into writing or computer records. Analysing the Data – Identifying patterns and trends. Problems relating to Marketing – These Include what price to charge, how best to advertise the goods and services, where to sell them from and so on. There are two main methods that are used for market research. There is primary research which is collecting new information and secondary research which is to use information which is already provided, for example, If Bismillah Bakery wanted to conduct primary research they could do surveys where they ask customers/people questions, or they could research other companies using the internet to collect secondary research. Primary Research Methods Information that an organisation collects from its own research efforts is termed primary. This involves the collection of new information for a specific purpose. Observation can involve watching different types of behaviour. The main advantage of this technique is that the researcher watches behaviour first-hand rather than having to ask someone what they would in a specific situation. Observation may give fare more accurate results that other approaches as observation shows what is actually happening. However observation is time consuming and can cost a lot. If Bismillah Bakery wanted to observe they could watch how customers and employees operate in the shop. Bismillah Bakery can conduct surveys which ask several different questions, there are different types of surveys which include: Face-to-Face: This is when for example Bismillah Bakery employees could ask their customers questions about their purchase. This could be a brief few questions inside the shop. Postal: This is when for example Bismillah Bakery sends out questionnaires to people and then they can answer them and send them back. This type of survey isn’t good because of the poor response rate but these contain brief questions which could influence people to complete them. Panels are surveys that are conducted over an extended period of time with the same group. For Example, Bismillah Bakery could be working with a consumer panel; it is possible to measure their changing buying patterns over time. Consumer panels provide information about: Typical items bought by consumers Which of these items are becoming more or less popular over time? How consumers respond to particular factors – for example, the trend to buy smaller, more fuel-efficient cars or healthier food. How consumers respond to marketing campaigns, for example, special offers, increased advertising. Difficulties associated with consumer panels include: Making sure that the panel members retain their interest over time and continue to record their behaviour accurately. Problems Associated with some members dropping out, and whether they can replaced by similar people. Secondary Research Methods Secondary Research involves using existing information rather than finding out new information. These are two main sources of secondary research Internal sources – This is information that already exists in Bismillah Bakery External sources – This is information published by other organisations which Bismillah Bakery can use. Internal Sources Data records are a source of internal research as you will find different types of information in the Bismillah Bakery database. Careful analysis of a business’s data will reveal, who the existing customers are, where they live, how much they spent, how often they make purchases and more. Bismillah Bakery can use this information to gain more customers for example they could send leaflets to different to possible customers that compete with other businesses. External Sources Instead of conducting research Bismillah Bakery could use existing published research. This can save a lot of time and effort. However, purchasing an existing market research may cost thousands of pounds. Other sources may be cheaper, such as accessing data from the internet and government publications. Internet is the most accessible source of information. Researchers need to be cautious when using this source and first ask themselves what were the purposes that the information was collected for. The way the internet is organised makes it very easy to find out information. For example, Google will rank topics under how frequently they are searched for. This means that when you carry out a search, for example, ‘market trends in confectionary’, you are likely to find very recent information that is valued by other researchers. The government regularly analyses business trends and changes taking place in the economy. This information is published in reference books and journals. Many of these sources can be accessed directly through the internet by typing in the appropriate search terms. Examples of useful government publications include the following. Social Trends – Social Trends draw together social and economic data from a wide range of government departments and other organisations. It paints a broad picture of British society and how it is changing covering key areas Monthly Digest of Statistics – This is a summary of information on monthly economic trends. Expenditure and Food Survey – Shows what households are spending their money on and how these patterns are changing over time. Regional Trends – Regional profiles, details of households, labour market information, living standards and so on. Annual Abstract of Statistics – Details about population changes, social conditions, production, prices and employment. Business Monitors – Statistics on output in different business sectors. The retailing monitor is of particular interest, covering retail sales by region. Public companies are required to produce an Annual General Report. These reports can be ordered by Bismillah Bakery and supply them with details of the company’s current activities. The report shows the current strategy of the business and often, more importantly for market research processes, outlines current market trends in the area the company operates in. In conclusion both primary and secondary research is good for Bismillah Bakery as they both have positives which can help them. For example they could create surveys which will give them what the consumers think which is in primary and they could buy secondary information about competitors which will also give them information that they can use.