To gather information for market research, it takes somewhat
of a thick skin. You have to be willing to examine a gap within the market,
come up with a hypothesis that will determine if this is so, then be willing to
actually get outside and survey the public in order to get the answer you need.
Getting people to take a survey is difficult without some sort of prize or cash
reward to offer them for their time spent. Despite these hurdles, with a little
luck, you can discover the knowledge you are seeking. The survey concept I
chose was based on a company called Lush Cosmetics, which I currently work for.
The hypothesis was, “When introduced to way to have items ordered and shipped
in store, would customers who are traveling order larger sizes, thereby
increasing sales?”
Qualitative Marketing Research
Qualitative Research is defined as, “research that addresses
marketing objectives through techniques that allow the researcher to provide
elaborate interpretations of market phenomena without depending on numerical
measurement. Its focus is on discovering true inner meanings and new insights.”
Qualitative research is very widely applied in practice.
Graphs
I decided to use a nominal scale to configure my survey
questions. Nominal scales represent the most elementary level of measurement. A
nominal scale assigns a value to an object for identification or classification
purposes. The value can be a number, but does not have to be a number, because
no quantities are being represented. In this sense, a nominal scale is truly a
qualitative scale. Nominal scales are extremely useful even though some may
consider them elementary. Also, using fixed-alternative questions helped to
further simplify the survey and reach a conclusion.
Results of Hypothesis
After thoroughly analyzing the answer results, I have come
to a conclusion on the original hypothesis.
If Lush Cosmetics utilized an in-store kiosk for ordering, I do believe
they would increase sales of larger sizes for their liquid products. But I do
not necessarily know if the cost of the kiosks or hand held smartphones would
offset the increase in sales. Perhaps if the device were to serve multiple
uses, like inventory control and barcode scanning, then it would be worth the
expense. I have seen a similar device in use at other retailers. The device not
only places orders from the website and ships it to the customer’s home, but it
is used to track inventory, to conduct markdowns, and to price check items for
customers. It comes in handy, especially at the store level of the business for
day-to-day operations.
Part of business
involves studying the different things that come together to create a business
environment. Marketing research would not exist if business didn't exist. Thus,
understanding marketing research requires at least a cursory understanding of
business. Marketing research is the application of the scientific method in
searching for the truth about marketing phenomena. Research applications
include defining marketing opportunities and problems, generating and
evaluating marketing ideas, monitoring performance, and generally understanding
the marketing process. The information found through this survey could very
well increase the sales for Lush Cosmetics.
