Ducati Customer Perception and Brand Loyalty - Essay Example

Research Proposal on Ducati Perception and Brand Loyalty By [Presented to] of [December 04, Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Introduction Every research tries to underpin something new in order to add value to the existing social and business environment. The research proposal is based on identifying Ducati customer perception and brand loyalty. Ducati Motor Holding is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer that produces motorcycle for road use and racing purpose (Kresnak, 2008). Ducati motorcycles are known for high performance and sturdy looks that often attract customers in different parts of the world. However, the maintenance part is pretty expensive embedded with expensive services. Everything has something positive and negative about it but with negative aspects also; the popularity of Ducati has been surging to new heights (Leenen, 2000). This can be considered as an intriguing phenomenon and the research will explore it in a logical and illustrative manner. 1.2 Research Aim The research aims at identifying the key reasons behind the popularity and brand loyalty of Ducati in Melbourne, Australia in spite of key issues associated with the brand. 1.3: Research Objectives The research objectives are as follow: To analyze the customer perception on Ducati To identify the brand loyalty of Ducati along with analyzing reasons 1.4: Research Structure The research structure has been divided as follows: Introduction- this part of the research will offer an overview of the selected topic along with highlighting key points over Ducati. Literature Review- this part of the study is very important and information will be collected from wide arrays of sources and resources to identify the research issue. This part will explore the concepts of customer perception and brand loyalty in an informative and logical manner. Research Methodology- this part will present the research approach, philosophy, research methods and designs along with stating reasons for selecting them. Data Analysis and Findings- this part will analyze data using graphs and charts that will lead to findings and research outcomes. Limitations and Conclusion- this part of the research will highlight the limitations along with concluding the research based on research findings and outcomes. 1.5 Research Purpose The primary purpose of the research is to explore different perceptions of people using Ducati along with analyzing their brand loyalty. 1.6 Research Gap There have been many research papers on customer loyalty and perceptions over a product but not many research papers have analyzed these elements based on negative aspects. The research tries to find reasons for the popularity of Ducati motorcycles in spite of negative aspects and facts about poor after sales service and customer service. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction The main purpose of this chapter is to underpin theories and concepts on customer perception and brand loyalty along with relating them with Ducati customer perception and brand loyalty. This will help in achieving the proposed aim and objectives of the research. 2.2 Literature Underpinning Customer perception is often defined as the feeling and emotions of customers based on a product and service. Customer perception is based on product’s attributes and acceptance in the market (Hawkins (2007). Positive customer perception often helps in accepting the product and services while negative perception over a product often leads to little desired for the product. Ducati has a brand appeal and value that attracts customers across the world. More importantly, motorcycles are used for road and racings catering to two different segments. It can be assumed that racing being a sport often attracts the youth to relate themselves with speed, power and attractiveness. This creates a sort of perception that often creates a desire to own the motorcycle. This part requires thorough analysis of the customer perception and understanding over Ducati motorcycles that will be done in the actual research in an illustrative manner (Thompson, 2000). The success and acceptance of any product depends on the number of its loyal customers. Ordinary customers turn into loyal customers only when their needs and demands are satisfied in a desired manner. Brand loyalty comes from the successful acceptance of brands’ attributes in the short as well as in the long run (Aaker, 2005). This suggests that Ducati motorcycles must have certain attributes that created loyal customers but at the same time in spite of poor after sales services and customer services, the brand loyalty is still in place. This can be considered as an intriguing factor that needs to be analyzed in order to understand the real meaning of brand loyalty. For this purpose, the concept of brand loyalty will be integrated with empirical evidences, social psychology and marketing theories to analyze the reasons for brand loyalty. The literature review will also include comparison of ideas and thoughts collected from academic journals and books along with relating them with the proposed objectives of the research. Chapter 3: Research Methodology 3.1 Introduction This chapter illustrates the research philosophy, approach, designs and data collection methods in a logical manner. 3.2 Research Philosophy Saunders (2003) defined research philosophy as a perspective that differs from individual to individual based on their knowledge and thinking. This research is based on positivist approach that includes statistical analysis, hypothetical tests and mathematical analysis. As data will be collected from primary sources and resources, positivist philosophy will help in achieving the research objectives. 3.3 Research Approach Research approaches defines the scope and pattern of the research. It includes deductive and inductive approaches (Donald, Cooper, 2006). The research favors deductive approach based on discussing a general idea; “Ducati customer perception and brand loyalty” and narrowing it down through primary and secondary research methods to achieve desired results. 3.4 Research Design Research designs are classified under descriptive and explanatory designs. Descriptive research design is based on primary research while explanatory design is based on secondary data and analysis. The research favors both the designs in order to collect primary and secondary data. 3.5 Data Collection Methods Data will be collected from primary sources and resources through questionnaires and secondary sources through past research papers, academic journals and books. These data will be later analyzed in the data analysis part in a logical and illustrative manner. 3.6 Questionnaire Design In order to achieve research aims and objectives, questionnaire will be designed based on Likert Scale and multiple choices. At the same time interviews will be conducted with selected respondents based on self selection sampling method. The questionnaire will include 10 questions while the interview will have five questions based on the research aim and objectives. 3.7 Population and Sample Selection Sample is the part of the population that helps in achieving the research goals and objectives. The research includes snow ball sampling and self selection sampling methods to identify respondents. Self selection sampling method will be used to identify respondents for interviews as it allows the researcher to find appropriate respondents from the available population while snow ball sampling method will be used to identify respondents for questionnaires. Snow ball sampling method allows the researcher to identify appropriate users along with asking them to identify people like them to share their opinions and views. The researcher aims at identifying at least 100 samples for the questionnaire and 10 for the interview. The selected respondents will be notified through e-mail and research invitation letter along with the consent form will be mailed to them. After getting their confirmation, the actual research process will be initiated in Melbourne, Australia. Chapter 4: Data Analysis This chapter analyzes the primary data collected through questionnaires and interviews along with presenting them using graphs and charts in an illustrative manner. Chapter 5: Interpretation and Conclusion 5.1: Introduction This chapter will highlight the limitations, findings and future scope of the research based on the underpinning of literature and data collected from primary sources and resources. 5.2: Findings Ducati customer perception and brand loyalty will be presented in the form of findings based on the overall research process. Findings will help in analyzing the extent to which the research aim and objectives have been achieved. 5.3 Limitations and Recommendations There is no denying that every research has certain limitations like time constraints, non-availability of sources and resources and respondents’ feedbacks. This part will highlight all limitations along with recommending solutions to overcome these limitations in a logical manner. Limitations will be analyzed and presented in an ethical and honest manner and recommendations will be based on the understanding over the business and social environment. 5.4 Conclusion This chapter will conclude the research by highlighting the findings and impact of each chapter in terms of value and contribution in achieving in the proposed aim and objectives of the research. 5.5 Bibliography and Appendix This section will present the sources used for the reference work like books, journals, past research papers. This will be followed by an appendix including questionnaires and list of table and charts. Timescale for the Research The time period is just an assumption that is very much flexible and can be changed as per the need and requirement of the research. References Aaker, D. and Mills, M. (2005), Strategic Market Management, 6thEd. John Wiley & Sons, Milton Dei I Hawkins (2007), Consumer Behavior, Tata Mc Graw Hill, New Delhi Donald R. Cooper, Pamel S Schindler (2006), Business Research Methods, The Mc Graw Hill Companies Kresnak, B (2008), Motorcycling for Dummies, Wiley Publishing, Inc., Canada. Leenen, S (2000), Ducati Motorcycle (Italy): Riding traditional business channels or racing through the internet´, INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France Mark Saunders (2003) Research Methods for Business Students, McGraw Hill. Richards, L., Foster, D. and Morgan, R. (1998), Brand Knowledge Management: Growing Brand Equity, Journal of Knowledge Management, 2 (1), 47-54 Thompson, SL (2000), The arts of the motorcycle: Biology, culture, and aesthetics in technological choice´, Technology and Culture, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp.99-115. Quelch, J. and Bartlett, C. (2006), Global Marketing Management: A Casebook, 5thEd. Thomsom South Western, Australia. . Read More