The Chicken Coop Marketing Plan - Case Study Example

?The Coop: Market Research Question One of the first steps in developing a marketing plan is the identification of the research problem (Cant, Strydom and Jooste 159). This research problem incorporates a series of questions that need to be appropriately addressed, so that the marketing plan involved is effective (Cant, Strydom and Jooste 159). According to Kaser and Oelkers, marketing research helps to explore a series of issues, also known as research questions that are critical for achieving the targets set through a particular marketing plan (Kaser and Oelkers 126). The practical implications of the above views are made clear by referring to the case of the firm under examination, i.e. the Chicken Coop. After reviewing the case study it is concluded that there are certain research questions that should be studied and that would be feasible. These questions would be the following ones: a) which of the firm’s dishes is most popular, i.e. which one of the dishes included in the firm’s menu is mostly preferred by customers? b) Which is the average income of people living in areas where the firm operates? The specific research question is vital for understanding the potential of locals to afford the cost of the firm’s dishes; c) Which is the structure of local society in terms of demographics? Reference is made in particular to areas where the firm operates and to specific demographics, such as personal status and age. This research question is important in order to identify the synthesis of local population, as of the number of families involved, but also to identify the potential preferences of the target market. For example, the food preferences of single customers are expected to be different from those of families; d) Which is the key criterion for local people in order to characterize a Quick Service Restaurant as successful. Through the responses of customers to the particular question the firm’s CEO could identify the element of organization that would be improved or changed so that the firm is able to meet market demands. It should be noted that the exploration of the research questions presented above is feasible through appropriate research methods, as indicatively suggested below in Question 3. Question 2 The causes of drop in sales across organizations are not standardized. This means that each firm may face a drop in its sales for different reasons that other firms operating in the same industry (Tyagi and Kumar 335). In the literature, different views have been developed in regard to the facts that can lead to the reduction of a firm’s sales. For example, for Tyagi and Kumar the sales of an organization can decline when ‘unprofitable products are in line’ (Tyagi and Kumar 335). From a different point of view, Williams notes that the lack of effective communication within organization can result to the reduction of the organization’s sales (Williams 561). In addition, the risk for a drop in sales is higher in organizations where the training of employees is not adequately promoted and in organizations where organizational objectives are not clear (Williams 561). In Chicken Coop the drop in sales has been rather unexpected taking into consideration the fact that for a long period, since its establishment the firm has been profitable and it was only in 1995 that the firm’s profits were severely declined. The actual causes of the drop in sales would be made clear not by reviewing the firm’s financial statements but rather by visiting the firm’s units/ restaurants and check the various aspects of daily business operations. The specific method, which was used by the firm’s CEO, is considered as the most appropriate for the specific organization due to the following reason: no signs of excessive exposure of the organization to debts seem to exist. Also, as noted above, up to 1994 the firm’s performance has been characterized by continuous growth. In this context, the actual causes of the firm’s sales would be identified in the organizational environment but also in the firm’s strategic decisions. Through the case study it is made clear that the causes of the drop in sales are highly related to the following two facts: the firm’s managers have stopped to emphasize on value and have started to emphasize on the price of products, in opposition with the firm’s practices in the past (case study, p.6). However, the reduction in prices has resulted to the decline in quality and the increase of customer dissatisfaction (case study, p.6). In addition, new employees were not offered appropriate training, a fact that has led to the worsening of services provided to customers (case study, p.6). Initially, the causes of drop in sales would be identified through a visit in field, as the firm’s CEO did. At the next level, an appropriate research method would be employed for further exploring the particular problem. Question 3 As noted above, Chicken Coop needs to introduce an appropriately customized research plan so that its needs in terms of marketing research are covered. The firm’s managers would have to identify the type of research that would best serve the firm’s needs. In the literature, a distinction is made between primary and secondary research. The first refers to the identification of facts/ ideas that ‘are new to everyone’ (Rugg and Petre 31) while the secondary research reveals ‘something new for the researcher but not for the public’ (Rugg and Petre 32). A combination of the two research methods is possible, for ensuring the credibility of findings (Rugg and Petre 32). For Chicken Coop the primary research is considered as most appropriate due to the following fact: the firm’s CEO need to explore a series of issues related to the firm’s performance. These issues are reflected in the research questions presented in Question 1. The primary research is considered as most appropriate offering the following two advantages: a) it can be organized so that the views of consumers in regard to these issues are retrieved and studied and b) it can offer up to date answers to critical issues (Nargundkar 14). In this context, the primary research is suggested as more appropriate for Chicken Coop. At this point, the following issue appears: would the marketing decisions of the firm’s CEO be supported by technology? The answer would be positive. In fact, the use of a Marketing Information System (MIS) would help the firm’s CEO to evaluate the findings gathered through the primary research. As Pride and Ferrell explain the MIS is quite important for organizations where the development of effective marketing decisions is problematic (Pride and Ferrell 145). MIS is characterized ‘as a framework for the day-to-day management and structuring of information gathered regularly from sources inside and outside the organization’ (Pride and Ferrell 145). In Chicken Coop the use of such framework, i.e. of a MIS system, would offer the following advantages: a) it could ensure that marketing decisions of the firm’s marketing managers would be aligned with organizational objectives and b) it could offer to the firm’s CEO the potential to monitor the firm’s performance on a daily basis. At the next level, the following issue should be discussed: the primary research used in Chicken Coop should be qualitative or quantitative? Qualitative research offers two important advantages: a) it can provide detailed information in regard to the issues under examination and b) it can be customized so that it is fully aligned with the research needs of the organization involved (Flick 25). For example, in Chicken Coop the use of a qualitative research based on primary data would have the form of a questionnaire that would be based on open questions, i.e. not pre-structured questions and which would be distributed to customers. These questions would set the issue under examination and would allow to the respondents to state their view without restrictions or choices among suggested answers. In this way, the firm’s CEO could identify the actual views of customers in regard to the issues under discussion, i.e. the research questions as presented in Question 1 above. Only in this way, an effective marketing plan could be developed helping the organization to enhance its profitability and improve its market position. Question 4 One of the most critical issues when having to develop a marketing plan is the identification of funds necessary for the support of the plan’s various phases. In Chicken Coop the identification of answers in regard to a series of research questions is critical so that the firm’s growth is standardized. Taking into consideration the firm’s marketing needs and the research method chosen, as analyzed above, the budgeting needs of the organization could be described as follows: at least a percentage of 1% of the firm’s profits should be budgeted so that the marketing needs of the firm are fully covered. The potential for a slight decrease of the above percentage should be secured, reaching for example the level of 1.5%, so that any emergent or unexpected cost, in relation to the firm’s marketing research needs, is covered. Works Cited Cant, M., Strydom, J. and Jooste, C. Marketing Management. 5th ed. Cape Town: Juta and Company Ltd, 2009. Flick, Uwe. An Introduction to Qualitative Research. 4th ed. London: SAGE, 2009. Kaser, Ken and Oelkers, Dotty. Sports and Entertainment Marketing. 3rd ed. Belmont: Cengage Learning, 2007. Nargundkar, Rajendra. Marketing Research-Text & Cases. 2nd ed. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2003. Pride, William and Ferrell, O.C. Marketing. 16th ed. Belmont: Cengage Learning, 2011. Rugg, Gordon and Petre, Marian. A Gentle Guide to Research Methods. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill International, 2006. Tyagi, C. and Kumar, Arun. Sales Management. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Dist, 2004. Williams, Chuck. Management. 5th ed. Belmont: Cengage Learning, 2008. Read More