Catering as a Stand-Alone Business - Research Proposal Example

Research Proposal Research Proposal Introduction This report is prepared with the aim of developing the best approaches to carrying out a market research for a small company with the aim of helping in future expansion. Within the report will be the industrial analysis, the company analysis as well as the various methods that may be used in carrying out a successful market research. The methods to be chosen in carrying out of the research will be dependent on the size of the business, the current SWOT analysis of the business, its market share and the current strategies that have been laid down b the company. In starting up a business, there is always the need to get to carry out a very comprehensive research on the various industries. Indeed, it is the research that may help in coming up with the best choice from the array of options that may be at stake. Once on settles on a specific industry, they still have to dig deep on the various tricks and crucial steps to making it in the industry. After an analysis of the available avenues for the choice of business, this is an already established, though small, catering company. In carrying out the research, the analysis of the trends in the industry will be taken into consideration. This will come in terms of the positioning of the company within the market, its key rivals and the possible areas that seem of great threat to the company. This will also help in the formulation of the best strategies by the company so that it may raise its market share. The chosen business is in the catering industry. Catering: as a process, is defined as the provision of beverages and foodstuffs for events. As a business, it deals with the provision of food services from and at various locations (Jacob 2013, 7). Unlike hotels, catering services are mobile; hence, the advantage over hotels in the food industry. The catering process comes in many forms (The Mirror 2011, 9). For the mobile catering, the food is mainly served from vehicles, trucks or carts that are designed for serving food. Catering comes in a full range of events, such as; business meetings, exhibitions, conferences, weddings, special events and other social occasions. The caterers as well as their staff form a very crucial part of the food service industry. The services provided are dependent on the event. These include; cooking and delivery of food to s remote location, cooking, food delivery and service, or a full range of the service. These could be food preparation, service provision staff, clean-up as well as the decoration of the location of the vent. In such a case, the caterer is referred to as Event Management Company (Prlog 2011, 121). Industry overview In this company, the demand for the services is mainly driven by the income base of the consumers and the corporate profits realized. It is only through effective marketing and cost control that any sole proprietor company may realize profits. However, the larger companies take advantage in their ability to offer full-service products as well as room rental, management and entertainment. As such, for any small company, there is need to take advantage of small groups besides offering personalized services. The industry is highly fragmented and suffers from having to compete with the well established hotels and motels in the provision of food services (Apollo Group, Inc. 2010, online). Market research approaches Marketing research, according to Definition of Marketing.aspx (online), is the process of planning, gathering and analyzing information which is related to a marketing decision that any entrepreneur has to make. Marketing research is very vital as it provides the individual with the information that they may need in order to be able to make decisions regarding the best areas to target, segmentation of the market as well as the most appropriate way of positioning the business in relation to the competitors. The research assists in the following key areas: Identification of new customers Improved understanding of the existent customers Setting up of goals that are attainable and realistic Formulation of strategies to be adopted Planning in the direction of business growth Identification of the new opportunities Understanding of the nature and size of the available market bases. Whereas well outlined research assists greatly, poor or inaccurate marketing may eventuate very terrible marketing decisions. Therefore, it is important to see to it that the research is effectively carried out. For this research, the approach that will be used is as outlined in the following steps: Pre-launch Under here, markets for the various food services that are not performing fairly well will be identified through the use of information from wide range of sources. This may include past studies, personal experiences, past analyses and internal papers, market intelligence, super-complaints and complaints from various third parties. There will be an in depth analysis of how well the internal competition within the industry may work for the consumers (Malhotra, Hall, Shaw & Oppenheim, 2010, 34). The consumers’ views will form the major basis for the market studies. In case of a concern, there will be a consideration as to whether to launch a study on the market aspect. Before the launching of the market study, however, a determination on the possible internal issues that may be encompassed will be done as well as the scope of the study issues (Lake 2014, online). This stage may be subdivided into the following steps; Step 1: identification and definition of the problems Before getting into the actual research, there is the need to clearly understand the objectives of the firm, as they guide the research. For instance, in the case of starting up a business, the market niche to be hit should be taken into consideration in order to estimate whether it is viable or not. Step 2: designing and planning of the research Through proper planning and designing, the best results of a research may be attained, while at the same time saving on cost and time factors. This step helps in the determination of the type of research to be undertaken, whether primary or secondary. The primary research usually entails first hand information gathered through surveys and interviews. It may, however, be quite time consuming and expensive, even though it provides the most relevant and reliable information. The secondary approach is quite cost and time effective as it utilizes a very wide range of information, both published and unpublished (Powell 2013, web). For the research, the main data collection methods that will be used include online surveys, questionnaires, telephone interviews, and online respondents. Launch In the launching of the market research, all the relevant personnel and bodies should be gotten aware, such as the stakeholders, the expected customers, employees, suppliers as well as the law enforcement bodies. It is the various bodies that will actually assist in providing the research team with the relevant data that may be needed. The stakeholders will be provided with a very clear and precise contact point. The actual research The research will mainly be based on the consumer perception of the current market situation of the catering industry. These will encompass the perceived satisfaction that they attain from the existent firms providing the services. This will be categorical in terms of: the pricing, the quality of products, the reliability of the services and the market mix exhibited by the existing companies. The market study will be subdivided into segments, whereby the various parties will be dealt with individually, for instance, the stakeholders, the employees, customers, competitors, suppliers, the government bodies as well as the existent consumer bodies. Information gathering will mainly be done through the use of questionnaires administered to various firms, research, desk, consumers as well as anonymous exercises. The stakeholders will, however, be constantly met with in order to discuss the progress of the findings and the probable changes that may be made in the process of evaluating the process. In order to get to determine the manner in which the completion in the industry operates, information may be sought from the various organizations as well as individuals who are independent. Before actual request for the information from the relevant bodies, the team will first try alternative means of getting it, and only request where there is no success. For the success of the research, there is the need for the team that is carrying out the research to ensure that they make very minimal requests in order not to appear very burdensome (Shridhar 2013, n.d.). The actual research will come in the following phases: Industry concentration/ threat of new entrants This is a very vital tool for the determination of the viability of an industry. Besides helping determine the possible competition that may be experienced once in the company, it is a determinant of how possible it may be for the specific company to penetrate the industry. As a small business, the funds may be very limited; hence, an industry characteristic of low threat of new entrants may prove futile to venture into. However, in case it manages, there will be advantages of reduced competition in case the company manages to penetrate the industry. This will also be very effective for the industries that have well founded brand name as they will pick almost immediately. Consumer loyalty This is a very vital for the decision as to whether to get into the industry. An industry with high customer loyalty will prove very futile for new entrants as they may have to struggle to get to the point at which they are able to attract the consumer base in the industry (Rai 2013, 27). The main niche in the industry The evaluation of the main niche in the industry is very vital as it helps in the determination of the line of goods that the new company may take advantage of while penetrating the company. For instance, it will be much easier to get into the food industry in case one is able to deliver the products to the customers rather than the customers having to get to them. This will eliminate the chances of the rival that the catering companies experience from the various hotels. Possible challenges that may be faced An in depth analysis and clear outlining of the expected challenges in the industry is very vital as it helps the company in the determination of the possible counter measures that it can adopt. A company venturing into a new industry well prepared will most likely excel than one that gets in without any prior knowledge of the challenges. This will also entail a proper documentation of the main competitors as they may lead to the fall of the company. Analysis and report documentation The data gathered will then be critically analyzed to help come up with a well informed report which informs the next course of action to take. For the case of the catering industry, the main data analyses that will be undertaken will include the market concentration, the possible positioning in the market and the company’s possible profit margin in a three year term (Powell 2013. n.d.). The gathered information should be interpreted in accordance with the objectives of the research in order to draw the appropriate conclusions that will aid the definition of the next step. The outcomes of the research will actually aid the formulation of the marketing strategy to be undertaken by the company. Further research may be conducted as required in case the outcomes are not sufficient enough to make reliable decisions. Report preparation This is the final and yet the most vital step, that may be overlooked by many. It is the report that outlines the recommendations for any further action with regards to the outcomes arrived at. Even in the case at hand, whereby the research is purely for personal use, the report should come in handy as it helps ensure the justifiability and credibility of the presented information. For a large organization, the report may have to be published and communicated to the various parties involved. The same applies for the case of the sole proprietorship business; the employees, stakeholders, family, consumers and even the suppliers may have to be made aware of the recommendations. Conclusion and Recommendations The various approaches to research with regards to the business proposal may be considered very viable as they will be in a position of outlining the various industry strengths and weaknesses. If the various techniques of data gathering and analysis are well utilized, the conceived business has very high chances of penetrating the concentrated industry and excelling. Since the company is intended to be very small, it may have to take advantage of the competitive strengths of quality rather than quantity as it may not trap a very wide range of customers. As posited by Sheppardson and Gibson (2011), a new company has very slim chances of picking in the food industry due to strong customer loyalty. As such, the company may have to try as much as possible to see to it that it develops a well founded brand presence through forging relationship with the customers. The stakeholders must also be involved in the decisions of the steps to take in the company process as they play very vital role in the influence of the customer turn up. Besides, the company may have to develop a very well established product quality that is very unique and different from those of the rivals in the industry. Bibliography American Marketing Association. (2011). Marketing Power. Retrieved [on 30th November, 2014] from http://www.marketingpower.com/AboutAMA/Pages/ Apollo Group, Inc. (2010). Kudler Fine Foods. Retrieved [on 30th November, 2014] from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Kudler2/internet/about.htm. Capece, D. (2009, 06 09). Developing an on-target value proposition. Retrieved [on 30th November, 2014] from http://sparxoo.com/2009/06/09/developing-an-on-target-value-proposition/ DefinitionofMarketing.aspx (n.d.). CompetitiveIntelligence.com. Retrieved [on 30th November, 2014] from http://www.competitiveintelligence.com/ Lake, L. (2014, n.d.). Customer relationships are key to your marketing strategy. Retrieved from http://marketing.about.com/od/relationshipmarketing/a/crmstrategy.htm Holistic marketing. (n.d.). Retrieved [on 30th November, 2014] from http://www.scribd.com/doc/18640500/Holistic-Marketing. Jacob. (2013) Catering as a Stand-Alone Business: Pt. 1. (NOVEMBER 11, 2013) accessed from http://itsmyingredient.com/2013/11/11/catering-as-a-stand-alone-business-pt-1/ Malhotra, N., Hall, J., Shaw, M., Oppenheim, P., 2010, Essential of Marketing Research - An Applied Orientation, Prentice Hall, United Kingdom. Mission statements. (n.d.). Retrieved [on 30th November, 2014] from http://mystrategicplan.com/resources/mission-statements/ Powell, A. T. (2013. n.d.). Collecting evaluation data: An overview of sources and methods. Retrieved [on 30th November, 2014] from http://learningstore.uwex.edu/assets/pdfs/G3658-4.pdf. Primary and secondary research. (n.d.). Retrieved [on 30th November, 2014] from http://hsc.csu.edu.au/design_technology/producing/develop/2662/primary.htm. Prlog. (2011) “Exclusiveness of Catering Service Providers”. Data retrieved from http://www.prlog.org/11356159-exclusiveness-of-catering-service-providers.html Rai, N. (2013). Impact of Advertising on Consumer Behaviour and Attitude With Reference To Consumer Durables. International journal of management research and business strategy. 2 (2), p75-79. Reidy, M. (2010). Defining engagement: what’s important to consumers when they reach out to your brand. Retrieved [on 30th November, 2014] from http://liminal.razorfish.com/?page_id=13. Sheppardson, C., & Gibson, H. (2011).Leadership and Entrepreneurship in the Hospitality Industry. Oxford: Goodfellow Publishers. Shridhar, M. S. (2013, n.d.). Research methodology: Data collection methods and techniques. Retrieved [on 30th November, 2014] from http://www.scribd.com/doc/2184942/Research. The Mirror. (2011). Taste Success; Catering Industry Has Range Of Roles. Published on (2011, March 24). The Mirror,( London, England). p. 9. Read More