Larkhall Leisure Ltd - Assignment Example

Larghall Leisure Ltd Market Research Proposal YOUR FULL YOUR OR SCHOOL Larghall Leisure Ltd. is a UK-based company that has a small pub chain in the county of Hertfordshire. Concerned with the social issue of underage and binge drinking, the company wishes to authorize a research project into the question of what it can do to address the issue; specifically, whether it should retain its current operational model and employ stricter enforcement of the rules, or whether it should change its approach and target an older, more affluent segment by converting its pubs into wine bars that serve fine wines and good food. The scope of this proposal is to synthesize the company's operational issues and offer a research strategy that will inform the company regarding the question within specific time and budgetary restraints. The primary focus of this proposal will be background and objectives, a brief on the issues, and then setting forth data collection methods, a research design and sampling plan, analysis methodology, time and budget projections and a list of personnel involved. Larghall Leisure Ltd.: Market Research Proposal Larghall Leisure Ltd. has a small pub chain that operates ten theme pubs within the county of Hertfordshire, England. They have retained our market research consultancy firm to formulate a research strategy proposal that will enable them to appropriately address their responsible business practices in light of the issue of underage and binge drinking. Given the limitations of Larghall Leisure Ltd.'s project in terms of budget and their urgency to receive the results in a four month timeframe, this research proposal will target only the most effective methods available and seek to maximize the expertise and personnel resources already present within the organization. Background and Objectives The inland county of Hertfordshire lies north of the Greater London area, with much of the land contained within the London commuter belt. Not surprisingly, it has a large number of major transportation links. With a residential population in excess of one million people, over 93% of whom are white, Larghall Leisure Ltd. is conducting business in a bustling area of young to middle-aged people. This population is frequently enhanced by tourists enjoying the county's large number of historical and recreational parks, a university, and other attractions that can be expected to draw young people into its borders. Within the scope of the company's primary concern, underage and binge drinking, its area of operation presents unique challenges given the specific characteristics of the region; namely the likelihood that its pubs will be filled with youth on both an ongoing basis and on special occasions. Of particular note is the presence of two potential sources of a large number of young adults; Knebworth House and the University of Hertfordshire. Knebworth House is a 250 acre complex of parks that is a regular venue for rock and pop festivals. Given the proximity to London, it is not hard to foresee large influxes of young people coming into the area for concerts, and having easy access to the towns and villages wherein Larghall Leisure Ltd. has pubs. Further, the University of Hertfordshire, created from the Hatfield Polytechnic Institute, ensures a residential segment of young adults during the school year. Taken in combination, it is predictable that the pubs will see students throughout the year and have busy summers with concert attendees. As noted below in the discussion of the issue, it is this segment of the population which is prone to the binge drinking behavior about which the company is concerned. With the county motto of "Trust and fear not," it is clear that the citizens expect a safe environment. (All statistical data - Wikipedia, 2006: pp. 1-5) As a responsible member of this community, Larghall Leisure Ltd. should be properly concerned about the issue of underage and binge drinking. It would be corporately and socially negligent for the company to not address the matter, considering the fact that this youthful behavior is a major social problem. Given the organization's list of desired objectives, and contrasting that with what is feasible and affordable, we can limit the issues we will research by excluding items that are not expedient. Specifically, we do not need to research the attitudes of the Hertfordshire young people regarding the issue, per se. Responsible youth will not be in favour of underage and binge drinking, and their response to the company's strategy can be incorporated in a properly-focused research method without segmenting them specifically. Also, we can accurately predict the position of the Council, police and licensing authorities without burdening the process by understanding the nature of their role. Any activity that reduces the incidence of underage and binge drinking will be welcomed by the authorities. Finally, in terms of the response of competitors, it is not necessary to include data collection of this information yet. We should explore, therefore, the three remaining objectives supplied by the client. It is important to know what young people within Hertfordshire actually want to see provided by Larghall Leisure Ltd. This will allow us to formulate an appropriate strategy to meet consumer expectations. We will certainly want to know about the attitude of the Larghall landlords. They can inform our research process regarding their local markets, and opine upon the impact of any possible changes. Finally, we will want to sample the 25-40 year old population's reaction to the idea of replacing pubs with wine bars. Given the inherent differences between the neighbourhood pub and an establishment offering fine wines and good food-at correspondingly higher prices-we need to assess the potential response to the idea so we can determine if that idea has merit. Accordingly, the research objectives for this project are: Discover what young people in the 18-24 year old segment actually want to see provided by Larghall Leisure Determine the attitudes of the Larghall landlords regarding their current target market, and what they might think of any possible changes in that target market based on demand Ascertain the attitudes of the 25-40 year old population to determine if they will they welcome the conversion of pubs into wine bars with good food and higher prices [WORD COUNT FOR BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: 845] Brief Based on the information provided to our research firm, and so that we can structure the research in a meaningful way, we must outline the business issues for Larghall Leisure Ltd. and then distil those issues into specific research objectives. Outline of business issues The company is rightfully concerned about the problem of underage and binge drinking. Underage and binge drinking is a serious dilemma occurring in proportions reaching the level of a major social crisis. There has been extensive coverage in the press regarding the dangers associated with the practice, as well as its impact on society as a whole, the young people themselves, and the licensing trade; and with good reason. As Coleman and Cater state: Although the proportion of young people drinking alcohol in the UK has remained relatively stable throughout the last decade, perhaps the most notable finding of this review is the worsening trends in two dimensions. Firstly, more young people are drinking on a regular basis (or at least weekly). Secondly, and perhaps of most concern, young people are consuming alcohol in greater quantities, especially during a single-session. The findings should be interpreted as valid and accurate; they have been derived from nationally representative samples of young people in their thousands. (Coleman and Cater, 2003, p. 54) The fact that young people are drinking alcohol frequently and in excess is bad enough. The resulting consequences of those choices are even more dreadful when they are listed. A study by the Home Office undertook to examine, among other questions, the outcomes from binge drinking. These included "fighting, walking home alone, pranks and unprotected sex." (Engineer, et. al., 2003, n.p.) It would serve Larghall Leisure Ltd. well to avoid having such behaviour associated with its pubs. Within this framework, the suggested objectives for the company can be posed. As previously noted, the organization needs to be a responsible member of the community. It cannot afford for its establishments to be associated with the risks and behaviours connected with this problem. There are two strategies offered to accomplish this goal. First, the company could introduce stringent measures in their pubs to ensure that underage drinkers are excluded, and give their landlords specific instructions and operational procedures to immediately evict those who are the worse for wear because of drink. On its face, this idea seems like a good one since it leaves the operational methods of the company in place and focuses on enforcement of statutory requirements. One potential problem, however, is that customers don't like being excluded or evicted. If the company implements this approach too aggressively, its market share will decline as customers go to other, less vigilant, establishments. The second strategy would be to abandon the pub model and convert existing facilities into wine bars that offer fine wines and good food. This idea would alter the target market segment away from the 18-24 year old set, and focus it upon the older market that is comprised of more sophisticated drinkers in the 25-40 year old sector. This idea has the potential of bringing in more revenues, but it also will be cost-intensive as Larghall will have to revamp its facilities, develop a new supply chain and cultivate a different market. One helpful method of investigation for this second question would be a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis. One source notes that the "SWOT analysis provides information that is helpful in matching the firm's resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it operates." (QuickMBA, 2004, p. 1) In considering the idea of converting its operations from pubs to wine bars, the organization should evaluate its potential strengths like reputation and cost advantages; its potential weaknesses in the areas of cost structures or access to distribution channels; the opportunities represented by unfulfilled customer needs; and the potential threat of present competition within that segment. The key advantage of this approach is that the analysis can be carried out by current personnel of Larghall Leisure Ltd. without having to pay a research firm for the information. Doing so will inform the process, but will not expend the limited resources the company has for performing data collection and analysis. It can then combine the two to develop a fuller picture of its current operations and the requirements of changing them. The final constraint is that of time and budget. The company understands the drastic nature of the moves it is contemplating, as it is risking a profitable operation on the idea of revamping its market approach. Accordingly, for this decision to be timely made, the organization requests the research results by summer of 2006, so that it may implement any changes prior to the Christmas holiday peak season of this year. Further, the company cannot afford a large research project. They have budgeted only 40-50,000 for the work. Within the framework of this discussion, then, we can see that in Larghall Leisure Ltd.'s desire to be responsible, they have two significant business issues to quickly research and implement: Do they continue current operations with a more stringent regimen of enforcement, or do they target a different market segment by re-tooling their product. Based upon these refinements, specific research objectives can be articulated. Translation of business issues into research objectives By forming a succinct statement of the business issues facing our client, we now move to framing those issues into research objectives that will speak persuasively to the questions. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE ONE: Determine the community and market response to the organization's pubs engaging in proactive prevention of underage drinking and eviction of intoxicated customers. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE TWO: Determine the community and market response to the idea of Larghall Leisure Ltd. converting its pubs into wine bars that serve fine wine and good food. [WORD COUNT FOR BRIEF: 961] Data Collection The appropriate methodology for this case is to take a qualitative research approach. As this is new research, we can be confident that we will gain the maximum amount of useful information in this way. Coleman and Cater point out the fact that qualitative methods "allow explanations and findings, perhaps not yet anticipated or known, to arise inductively from the data." (Coleman and Cater, 2005, p. 5) We want to get as much information as possible, given our time and cost limitations. We want to structure the data collection in such a way that any unanticipated findings will be revealed so that we can present the most accurate research possible. Simply stated, we are going to ask a lot of questions. We will interview the client to propose our methodology and to obtain management's intent regarding intra-company distribution of the proposal as well as the expectations for interim reporting. This will permit us to structure our budget process appropriately. We are going to conduct telephone interviews, distribute detailed questionnaires, and conduct one set of in-depth interviews. The specific collection methods we will use are as follows: Group Discussions. We will propose to conduct two sets of consumer group discussions, drawn from the pool of respondents to our questionnaire. We will segment the groups according to the demographic needs of the company, i.e., one group of 18-24 year olds and one group of 25-40 year olds. These two market responses are going to drive our decisions, and it is worth the expenditure to have one face-to-face encounter with the population of each group. This method will address two of our stated research objectives. Telephone Interviews. It is much more cost-effective to ask questions via telephone that through face-to-face meetings. We are going to conduct one set of discussions to obtain the market responses. We will back up that data by conducting 2,000 telephone interviews with the expectation that the data gathered will strengthen and enhance the information collected in the group discussions. Obviously, if we encounter a wide disparity in the nature of the responses, we will be forced to reconcile this with our methodology. That said, however, the strength of combining these two ways of gathering data lies in our expectation that we will obtain a broader understanding from the group discussions that is substantiated by the telephone interviews. In-depth Interviews. Since one of our research objectives is to consult with our landlords, it will be worth the cost of having a researcher-led interview with each one. This will permit our skilled analysts to define the scope of the inquiry while tailoring management's needs for specific information to the response of the individual landlord and pursuing any new or unexpected finding that surface. Questionnaires. To frame up and inform our research, we will distribute questionnaires to the consumers in Hertfordshire (See Appendix A) as an omnibus survey. The purpose of the questionnaire will be two-fold: We will use it to establish the scope of our inquiry, and from the pool of respondents we will select individuals to include in our group discussions. We are confident that these four data collection methods will provide us with the best available information while being less expensive and less time consuming than more probative techniques. [WORD COUNT FOR DATA COLLECTION: 541] Research Design and Sampling Plan We are proposing an integrated research design and sampling plan that combines the strength of multiple data collection techniques in a cost effective way so that we can offer our client the most useful information possible. This research design is calculated to enhance management's decision process with hard data from the exact market segment that the company is currently serving as well as the segment targeted for development should the company decide to alter its operational model. By using a mixture of research methods, we are confident that we can overcome any limitations of sample size through targeting our efforts on the primary constituency and juxtaposing that data with the information obtained from the landlords. Taken together, we will have a good idea of the market impact anticipated by either of the two possible strategies. We have designed our research project proposal around the populations identified by the research objectives previously stated. From them, we will obtain data relevant to the market analysis objectives of deciding between increasing the enforcement component of the pub operations and evaluating the potential market demand for the wine bars. The sample size is going to be determined by the resources the company can bring to bear on the project. While it is true that a larger research budget would allow us to have a greater sample size, we are confident that our collection of general demographic data along with specific, market-oriented information will directly answer the questions posed by the research objectives. A single methodology on a larger sample, while potentially informative, will carry the risk of myopic, skewed data. Distributing our research resources across multiple methodologies is the best way to get a more comprehensive picture of the issues. [WORD COUNT FOR RESEARCH DESIGN AND SAMPLING PLAN: 286] Data Analysis We will take the raw data from our research and formulate it into useable information using standard research procedures. Specifically, we will: Use the omnibus survey of 10 questions to collect general demographic information and specific market preferences from our two target groups of consumers. The data will be tabulated and analyzed for clear preferences and reactions to management's proposals. We will then create a pool of participants for the group discussions from the respondents to the survey, and conduct the meetings; one for each market segment. The transcripts from these discussions will be reviewed and the salient comments compiled under categorical headings. A narrative report will be prepared wherein the comments are organized to present a clear picture of the market segment's reactions and expectations. We will conduct a series of telephone interviews with 2,000 members of the Hertfordshire population, focused within the towns wherein the pubs are located. The results of these interviews will be tabulated and charted according to demographic data and cross-referenced with the specific research objectives. We will conduct in-depth interviews with the 10 landlords of the current pubs. Their responses will be segmented according to the research objectives and quantified into ratios expressing the reaction to enforcement or operational change. We will review all data and present the integrated findings as a final research report to management. By analyzing and presenting the data in this format, we will empower Larghall Leisure Ltd. to infer market impact, consumer response, and landlord cooperation. With this report in hand, management will be able to make informed decisions regarding its concern over underage and binge drinking, and the appropriate operational response. [WORD COUNT FOR DATA ANALYSIS: 278] Time to Completion and Budget The full research project will take approximately four months to complete, at a cost of 49,600. This process is broken down as follows: Reporting. For the sake of expediency and cost efficiency, there will be no formal interim reporting. We will keep management apprised of the progress through less formal means, and present our research results in a comprehensive report at the end of the period. This reporting scheme will allow us to carry out the research without the added costs to management of our compiling interim reports or interrupting the process of data collection and analysis. Task Costing Categories. Given the structure of our research plan, we anticipate the need for only limited travel to conduct the group discussions. All other expenses will be related to telephone interviews, hard costs for data collection and agency expenses for time. Budget. The budget is as follows: Omnibus Survey of 10 Questions 3,000 Conduct group discussion for 18-24 year olds 1,800 Conduct group discussion for 25-40 year olds 1,800 Conduct 2,000 telephone interviews 30,000 Conduct 10 in-depth landlord interviews 5,000 Agency management, analysis, and reporting 8,000 TOTAL 49,600 Time line. We will complete the work on the following schedule: Agency contract for proposal: April 1, 2006 - Marcia Ridder, CEO Omnibus Survey posted: April 15, 2006 - Julie Jenkins, Researcher Survey Data Collected: May 1, 2006 - Julie Jenkins, Researcher Group Discussion 1: May 24, 2006 - Stephen Hawkins, Senior Researcher Group Discussion 2: May 25, 2006 - Stephen Hawkins, Senior Researcher Telephone Interviews: June 1, 2006 - Stephen Hawkins, Senior Researcher Landlord Interviews: June 15, 2006 - Stephen Hawkins, Senior Researcher Data Analysis and Report Compilation: July, 2006 - Robert Stevens, Senior Analyst Delivery of 10 Report Copies: August 1, 2006 - Marcia Ridder, CEO WORD COUNT FOR TIME TO COMPLETION AND BUDGET: 291] Personnel Involved in Project The following agency personnel will have direct responsibilities as noted above. Their CV information is below: Marcia Ridder, Chief Executive Officer MBA, University of Liverpool B.Sc., Boston College 1995-date: Chief Executive Officer, Marcia Ridder Agency 1992-1995: Senior Analyst, International Business Machines 1987-1994: Analyst, Texas Instruments Stephen Hawkins, Senior Researcher Ph.D., Michigan State University M.Sc., Cornell University B.Sc., Cornell University 1999-date: Senior Researcher, Marcia Ridder Agency 1996-1998: Senior Researcher, International Data Management 1993-1995: Research Associate, Department of Statistics, Rutgers Julie Jenkins, Researcher M.Sc., University of Reykjavik B.Sc., University of Reykjavik 2003-date: Researcher, Marcia Ridder Agency 2001-2003: Graduate Student Robert Stevens, Senior Analyst Ph.D., Oxford University M.Sc., New York University B.Sc., Missouri Southern State University 1995-date: Senior Analyst, Marcia Ridder Agency 1991-1994: Senior Analyst, Data Management Solutions 1981-1990: Analyst, Peter Wyles Research WORD COUNT FOR TIME TO COMPLETION AND BUDGET: 130] References Coleman, L.M. and Cater, S. (2003). What do we know about young people's use of alcohol. Education and Health, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 50-55 Coleman, L.M. and Cater, S. (2005). Underage 'risky' drinking: Motivations and outcomes. Report to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, pp. 1-74 Engineer, R., Phillips, Al, Thompson, J. and Nicholls, J. (2003). Drunk and Disorderly: A Qualitative Study o Binge Drinking among 18-24 year-olds. London: The Home Office QuickMBA, (2004). SWOT Analysis. Retrieved March 11, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://quickmba.com/strategy/swot Wikipedia, (2006, 8 March). Hertfordshire. Retrieved March 10, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Hertfordshire Appendix A - Questionnaire Part I - Demographic Data How old are you Answer 1-5 where (1= Read More