How Can Sainsburys Develop an Effective Marketing Plan to Position Themselves in the UK Supermarket - Research Proposal Example

How can Sainsbury’s develop an effective marketing plan to position themselves in the UK Supermarket? Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 3 Background 3 Problem Statement 3 Research Question 4 Research Objective 4 Rational of the Study 4 Theoretical Framework 5 LITERATURE REVIEW 6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 7 Methods 7 Data Collection Techniques 7 Ethical Issues 7 FINDINGS AND DATA ANALYSIS 8 Contribution of the Study 8 Appendices 11 Appendix 1 11 INTRODUCTION Background The supermarket grocery segment in the UK is steadily growing in size. Although the growth rate has slowed down from 4.2 percent in 2012 to 2.1 percent in 2011 due to the decrease in the rate of inflation in the UK, the growth prospects are still good. The overall demand for the frozen food products is increasing in midsized stores like Waitrose (Grocery News, 2013). Supermarkets like Morrison are also registering slow growth due to recession, but they have also launched 20 new stores which reflect that future prospects are indeed good. However, it has been noticed that there is a lack of new entrants in the market because of economic fluctuations and stagnation of technological advancement in the country. Based on the data achieved from the last year i.e. 2012, it was found that the revenue generated through the supermarket retailing segment was around £134 billion, which reveals an average annual growth of 1.3 percent from 2008-13 (IBIS World, 2013). This segment offers employment to approximately 945,694 people in the UK. According to IGD Research the supermarket segment performed its best in 2001, as a growth of 6.5 percent was registered; this kept diminishing since then and came down to 3.3 percent in 2003. The market fluctuated ever since and in 2011 it was recorded to be around 3.8 percent (Institute of Grocery Distribution, 2012). Tesco has the highest market share in the UK, which is about 30 percent, then comes Asda and J Sainsbury (Grocery News, 2013). Problem Statement The problem statement of this research study is to identify the current status of the supermarket segment in the UK. In order to develop an effective marketing plan for Sainsbury’s, a comprehensive analysis of various supermarkets would be done, especially those which are successfully doing business in the country. The customer’s attitude would be evaluated to understand their views on supermarkets present in the UK. Research Question This research study will try to identify responses for the following research questions: Q1: What is the prevailing scenario of the supermarket retailing industry in the UK? Q2: Who are the major players in this segment? What are their marketing strategies for customers in the UK? Q3: What are the probable marketing plan/ framework that Sainsbury’s can develop to effectively establish itself? Research Objective The objective of this study at first is to identify the existing players in the market and evaluate the market trend accordingly. Secondly, secondary as well as primary data would be collected in order to understand the needs and preferences of the customers in case of shopping from supermarkets. Lastly, a marketing plan has to be designed for a supermarket chain called Sainsbury’s, so that it can effectively grab market share and be among the market leaders in the UK. Rational of the Study This study mainly focuses on designing an effective marketing plan for Sainsbury’s, so that it can grab a higher market share in the UK and carry on profitable business. However, in order to develop an effective marketing plan, the external environment has to be studied thoroughly. This would provide the company with a close outlook of the economic balance in the UK, the existing competitors in the market along with their marketing strategies and the preferences of the customers. The research that would be conducted through collection of primary and secondary data would give the company a deeper insight into the actual market scenario. Theoretical Framework The research hypothesis is the prediction or the expectation that needs to be tested by the researcher. Hypothesis is used in a research to assume a precise description of the stated research question, which the researcher focuses on. Hypothesis generation is considered to be the most creative task within a research. In a research study a good hypothesis is considered of having opportunities which will help to uncover new ideas or knowledge for the researcher. If the researcher does not learn something new from the hypothesis that is developed with the help of research questions, then research would be futile (Grogan, 2005, p. 172-174). In this research study the following hypothesis can be generated on the basis of the research questions mentioned above: Q1) H0: The prevailing scenario of supermarket retailing industry in the UK will not affect Sainsbury’s. H1: The prevailing scenario of supermarket retailing industry in the UK will influence Sainsbury’s. Q2) H0: The marketing strategies of competitors in the UK are not important for determining an effective marketing plan for Sainsbury’s. H1: It is of significance to identify the competitors and their approaches, so that competitive advantages can be integrated in the marketing plan of Sainsbury’s. Q3) H0: Sainsbury’s does not require specific marketing plan for establishing itself effectively. H1: An effective marketing plan has to be designed, so that Sainsbury’s can establish itself strongly in the UK. The research study would be initiated with an introduction, which would include a background of the study, the objectives and the research hypothesis. Further, the review of the literature would be given through secondary sources, which would reveal the past research done on such issues. The research methodology would be ascertained and primary data would be collected. Then a qualitative analysis of the primary data would be made and the contribution of such analysis on the study would be evaluated. Further, recommendations would be stated for Sainsbury’s for an effective marketing plan. LITERATURE REVIEW J Sainsbury Supermarkets Plc was established in the year 1869 in London, the UK. It is the third largest supermarket chain in the UK, which captures a market share of 16.5 percent. The company has faced many ups and downs since the time of its establishment. The year 1992 is recorded as the downfall year for Sainsbury’s because the CEO of the company, John Sainsbury retired and his cousin, David Sainsbury took his place. His managerial mistakes led to the downfall of the well-established company. However, the company picked-up its performance again in 1999 and introduced transformation programs in 2004. Though the turnover of the company has increased over the years, the profit and the earning per share of the company has been reducing since 2006. This might be due to various reasons, such as increasing level of competition, financial crunch, strategic policies of the company (BBC News, 2008). RESEARCH METHODOLOGY It is important to conduct a detailed study of the practical situations for deriving better results from the research. The efforts that are made to derive such results are called research. It can be said that research is a method to derive results from the study that is conducted. It can also be defined as a scientific and systematic search in order to obtain valuable information on different topics. Methods Generally, there are two research methods which are widely followed by researchers around the world. They are namely, quantitative and qualitative method. The quantitative or qualitative method is used after the data has been collected. Qualitative research has the ability to analyze the complex problems of research in details and find solutions for the same; while quantitative research method involves collection, analysis and presentation of data in a numeric form. Statistical tools are utilized to analyze the data and derive at a conclusion. In this study, the qualitative method would be utilized to analyze the collected data and identify strategies to develop a marketing plan for Sainsbury’s. Data Collection Techniques The data would be collected for the research study from both secondary and primary sources. The secondary sources would be helpful in providing the existing data related to the external environment of the UK and the supermarket industry. Ethical Issues This study has focused on ethical issues, which arose during and after the survey was conducted. The participants were educated in details about the rationale and aim of conducting the research. They were also told about the extent of their association and framework related to which they would be questioned. All the guiding principles were followed as confirmed by the Human Ethics Committee and their norms for conducting the research with human subjects were followed by both the researcher and the supervisor of the thesis. FINDINGS AND DATA ANALYSIS The findings from the survey would be collected from the respondents and a qualitative data analysis would be done to identify the external market environment, competitors and their strategies; suggestions would be stated for Sainsbury’s to develop an effective marketing plan. The secondary data would be helpful in supporting and analyzing the primary data, which would further assist in construction of a marketing plan. Contribution of the Study This research study would contribute to the past literature available on supermarket industry and present new insights into the altering trends of customer preferences demographics and the psychographic characteristics. The knowledge and findings of the study would be significant for Sainsbury’s as well as for other companies in this industry. References BBC News, 2008. Sainsburys Reports Rise in Sales. [online] Available at: < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7180397.stm > [Accessed 6 February 2013]. Grocery News, 2013. UK Supermarket (Market Share). [online] Available at: < http://grocerynews.org/2012-06-16-08-27-26/supermarkets-market-share/grocery-stores> [Accessed 6 February 2013]. Grogan, P., 2005. The Use of Hypotheses in Ecology. [online] Available at: < http://post.queensu.ca/~groganp/Hypotheses%20in%20Ecology2foradobe.pdf > [Accessed 6 February 2013]. IBIS World, 2013. Supermarkets in the UK: Market Research Report. [online] Available at: < http://www.ibisworld.co.uk/market-research/supermarkets.html> [Accessed 6 February 2013]. Institute of Grocery Distribution, 2012. UK Grocery Retailing. [online] Available at: < http://www.igd.com/UK_Grocery_Retailing> [Accessed 6 February 2013]. Bibliography Singh, Y. K., and Bajpai, R. B., 2008. Research Methodology: Techniques & Trends. New Delhi: APH Publishing. Srivastava, T. N., and Rego, S., 2011. Business Research Methodology. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Taylor, B., Sinha G.,and Ghoshal., T., 2006. Research Methodology: A Guide for Researchers in Management and Social Sciences. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. University of North Carolina, 2008. Types of Research Methods [Pdf] Available at: < http://www.thesisadvisor.org/upload/Types.of.Research.Methods.SERVE_Center.pdf> [Accessed 6 February 2013]. Wilson, J., 2010. Essentials of Business Research: A Guide to Doing Your Research Project. California: SAGE Publications Ltd. Appendices Appendix 1 Timeline Activity / Months Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct literature to be collected                         Writing of literature review                         Determining the research Methods                         Completion of the first proposal                         Submit proposal                         Approval of the Subject                         Collecting Primary data                         Data Analysis                         Submission of the Report                         Read More