Kudler Fine Foods and Market Research
Introduction
The definition of marketing as stated by the American Marketing Association is that: “Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.” (marketingpower.com, 2008) Marketing is not a choice but yet an essential part of any business. Kudler Fine Foods is a local upscale specialty food store located in the San Diego metropolitan area. The company has three locations (La Jolla, Del Mar and Encinitas). Each store has a large amount of retail space located in a stylish shopping center. The stores are stocked with the very best domestic and imported produce (phoenix.edu, 2008). Kudler Fine Foods has decided to explore new options to which they might offer to their customers. This paper will first justify the importance of marketing research in the development of Kudler Fine Food’s marketing strategy and tactics. Next the paper will explain Identify the areas where additional market research is needed.
Market Research
Market research is very similar to the nine-step problem solving model. Market research in most cases will always lead to some type of change. Market research helps to study the marketing changes an organization needs to accomplish. According Perreault and McCarthy (2005) marketing research is defined as “procedures to develop and analyze new information to help marketing managers make decisions.” Market research is the process of systematically gathering, recording and analyzing data and information about clients, rivals and the market. Its uses include helping create long term business plans, launching new products or services, fine tune existing products and services, and expanding into new markets. Market research can be used to determine which portion of the population will purchase a product/service, based on variables like age, gender, location and income level (wikipedia.com, 2008). Based on these definitions, understanding a market research plan is essential to Kudler Fine Foods to promote any types of special promotions they may run, and to reach out to their public the authenticity and quality value of their merchandise and produce.
Some of the marketing campaigns Kudler Fine Foods have already run will be described below. One of the most popular marketing operations was directed towards expanding services and increasing revenue. Kudler decided to start throwing in-house parties to teach customers how to prepare specific international foods.
Kudler Fine Foods is a store unlike any in the grocery industry. Kudler Fine Foods represents a store that could possibly spark a new era within the grocery world. The owner of Kudler Fine Foods, Kathy Kudler, has watched her dream of owning and operating a grocery store that specializes in fine quality food grow within a short period of time. The success of Kudler Fine Foods can be attributed to the innovative ideas, effective leadership, and organizational structure. The overall mission of Kudler Fine Food's "is to provide our customers the finest in selected foodstuffs, wines, and related needs in an unparallel consumer environment. Our selections coupled with our experienced, helpful and knowledgeable staff, merge to offer each customer a delightful and pleasing shopping outing" (Apollo Group, 2003). Kudler has managed to maintain its mission statement by providing its customers with the best and as a result the company has flourished. "Kathy considers one of her key responsibilities to be that of identification of new gourmet items that can be offered in her stores (Apollo Group, 2003)." Therefore, Kathy is considering plans to contract with local growers of organic produce to yet obtain the best in quality products for her consumers and take her business to the next step. If Kathy makes the decision to contract with local growers then changes could be introduced into the company's overall structural organization. Each aspect of Kudler Fine Food's organizational structure from basic business process to the supply chain and quality control process will be affected by the formation of a contractual relationship with local organic growers.
Kudler Fine Foods was started by a women, owner Kathy Kudler, who had a passion for cooking and a love for shopping for unique and creative culinary options. Kudler’s entire business plan focuses on the consumer, their needs and their wants, as well as what will provide them with the best customer service available in the San Diego, Metropolitan area. Kudler is constantly receiving new products, offers catering services and online options for shopping, as well as a staff that is educated about the products sold at Kudler Fine Foods locations. The trends at Kudler revolve around healthier living, and healthier eating. Since food trends come and go, Kudler must employ a knowledgeable staff that remains on top of the latest, emerging
Marketing research is the collection and analysis of data relevant to a particular market and the “communication of this analysis to management” (McDaniel, 2006). Whether the organization is a local store or a large corporation, marketing research is important for quality management, customer retention, and understanding trends. Marketing research is important for receiving feedback on the success of the marketing mix (product, price, promotion, and place) and for discovering and launching new opportunities.
Marketing is not just about selling and advertising products and services. In general, marketing is associated with identifying the particular wants and needs of a target market of customers, and then working to satisfy those customers better than the competition. This involves doing market research on customers, analyzing their needs, and then making strategic decisions about product design, pricing, promotion and distribution or place (Bethel, 2007). Understanding ways to identify the target market is crucial in developing market strategy. This paper is intended to define target marketing and examine a market analysis of Stacy's Pita Chip Company.
Kudler Fine Foods has designed a market research plan that includes using data collection tools to assist them in determining and improving their level of customer service. The data the company collects from the research tools will help determine a future marketing plan that appropriately positions their product and resonates and connects with the customers Kudler is trying to attract. Each of the tools selected will provide Kudler with insight into the customer behavior and opinions of Kudler’s customer base as it relates to customer satisfaction. They intend to expand on their current survey materials to help quantify the areas that they will need to focus on to improve their service levels.
Market research can help a company like Apple excel by providing help with factors such as advertising, marketing, pricing, market trends, customers, competition among others. Effective market research can be so useful that apple could psychologically condition their customers to believe that they are in need of the product they are selling even if they can’t afford it or ever have need for it. The focus of marketing research is to collect data that is used to develop an effective marketing strategy. The gathered information is analyzed in efforts to gain market knowledge and eventually use to establish better relationships with that public for further penetration and development of financial gain within that market. In a nutshell the objectives of marketing research are as follows: Using an online database to collect information is the newest form of gathering primary research information, older processes included phone and postal mail to retrieve and process information. With an online survey data can be collected instantaneously and once completed the system can generate a customized coupon for the precipitant.
The process of market research is assembling information, analyzing its value, and interpreting market information about products or services to be presented for sale in a particular market (McDaniel & Gates, 2006). Market research is also about historical, current and future customers for the product or service being researched. Market research as stated by McDaniel and Gates, (2006) is a combination of characteristics, spending trends, position and the needs of the firm’s target market, the industry the firm is working in, and the firms competitors.
The marketing research planning process is defining the” problem and research objectives consist of find out everything need to define the real problem and the research objectives are give information on the problem, give solutions or give new ideas. Develop the research plan deals with data sources, research approaches, research instruments, sampling plan, and contact methods. Collect the information is to conduct surveys in homes, surveys over the phone, or surveys on the internet. Analyze the information deals with testing different hypotheses, applying sensitivity analysis to test assumptions and the strength of the conclusion. Present the findings present findings relevant to the major marketing decisions. Make the proper decision is the findings and support information, such as deciding to study the issues further and do more research” (Kotler & Seller, 2012 a).
Michael D’Amico defines market research as a “broad range of activities that encompasses the gathering and analyzing of facts relevant to problems arising during the transfer and sale of goods and services “(41). Business owners tend to avoid any sort of effort that might involve marketing research. Many think that marketing research is too expensive, or that it is not worth the trouble, when in fact it is. Mark...
Armed with the results, Kellogg’s can effectively assess the problem that they are trying to solve and the most effective course of action to solve those issues. Additionally, data collected through marketing the marketing research process will reveal the necessary goals with which to monitor the plan against. Insights gained through the process of defining objectives, designing research, data collection, analyzing data, and the implementation provide a roadmap for the entire plan and a basis from which to make sound decisions.
Market research is an effective tool to understanding the needs of the consumer. Market research aids in aligning your strategy with the buyers ' needs. Simply put, the most important question when conducting market
Briefly it is a systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company, allows management to make the changes necessary for better results through adopting a proactive approach. Therefore, if a company wants to know what type of products or services would be profitable it should make a market research. Furthermore, a comprehensive research will enable the company to know about the product imperfections (if there are) and to know if it has been able to satisfy customers’ needs. It attempts to provide accurate information that reflects a true state of affairs. Due to market research the company can formulate a viable marketing plan and estimate the success of its existing plan. There are two main sources of marketing research information:
Marketing research is the first important step that a marketer has to do before creating marketing plan and launching a product or service domestically or internationally. Knowing that creating an effective marketing strategy will help identify the target customer needs then find ways to capture the intended customer's attention with a unique value proposition and finally get the customer to perform the intended action. Marketing research requires company to spend resources to obtain in many different research activities such as marketing testing, surveys, finding out more data and statistics. There are primarily two types of marketing research, primary data research that a business can do itself or hire someone to perform. This data is collected specifically for the purpose at hand and is customized for your business. Marketing research is the planning, collection, and analysis of data relevant to marketing decision making and the communication of this analysis to management which provides information to make better decisions at every stage of marketing plan strategy. Usually, there are 7 steps that marketers take when they conduct in a marketing research. First, marketer needs to identify problems and state research objectives. Ultimate goal is to develop clear, concise, and meaningful marketing research objectives Development of an approach to the problem. This stage includes objectives of conducting research, formulating conceptual framework, analytical models, research questions, developing hypotheses, and identifying the information needed. This process is guided by discussions with management and industry experts, analysis of secondary data, qualitative research and pragmatic considerations. Understand the decision-making e...
Market research is the process of gathering valuable information to facilitate an assessment of whether there is a market for any proposed product or service, with consideration of different demographics. It is utilized to establish an understanding of the various portions of the population which are likely to purchase the product, based on age, gender, location, income level, and several other variables.
The premise behind marketing research helps provide a company’s decision makers the information intelligence needed to make daily decisions (McDaniel & Gates, 2006). The data obtained gives insight to the performance of the current marketing mix while also providing insights to potential changes to future programs (McDaniel & Gates, 2006). Marketing research is a key driver to help define new ideas and initiatives that could improve company or product performance.