Luminescent Alarms Potential Entry in the Netherlands Market - Research Proposal Example

Table of Contents Executive Summary This report has been produced with the aim of the project objectives, to identify how well Luminescent Alarms would be received by the general public (car owners) in the Netherlands. Luminescent Alarms Ltd is a UK vehicle security company established in 2010 that has developed a new innovative car alarm system. 1. The competition research in the vehicle security market, that shows a high level of competition within the market of vehicle security systems with four direct competitors Traffic Master Ltd, Directed Electronics Inc and Scorpion Automotive Ltd 2. The Porter´s five forces analysis has been developed, in order to identify the active forces that compete in the Netherland’s vehicle security market. 3. The SWOT Analysis of the company´s product and the marker research, has found the strengths of the Luminescent Alarm system that are the product attributes. The main weakness of the alarm system is the unfamiliarity of the product within the market and the competition. Important opportunities and threats have been found within the Car Insurance market research and the Car Dealerships to be considered in further suppliers decisions. 4. The SWOT analysis for Luminescent Alarms’ main competitors Traffic Master Ltd, Directed Electronics Inc, and Scorpion Automotive Ltd has found the main strengths and weaknesses of each of the brands and the opportunities and threat that Luminescent alarms could find in relation to its main competitors. 2. Purpose The purpose of this research is to conduct a market research by carrying out an online survey with the help of a video to establish how well Luminescent Alarms would be received by the general public (car owners) in the Netherlands. The research is also aimed at finding out if there is a demand for its proposed product and to see if its potential customers would buy the new product. Lastly, the report is also aimed at evaluating the customers’ interest and feedback. 2. Background Car crime has been an apparent problem for decades, in practically every country in the world. As reports show that more than 2700 cars are being stolen in Europe on a daily basis and 50% of them are never recovered. Luminescent Alarms offers the solution. Luminescent Alarms is the World’s first silent and visual car alarm. A unique British patent that uses advanced optical technologies. It responds to a signal provided by a standard mobile phone SIM and makes an illuminated flashing message Stolen appear visibly on a number plate when required, but at other times can be effectively invisible. Luminescent Alarms was created by David Richardson and Dr Ashley Knowles to develop and exploit the idea of an anti-theft technology for identifying stolen cars to raise the profile of a stolen vehicle thereby drawing the attention of the public who can respond as a result by calling the police. The Alarm ensures the owner can stay in complete control of their cars security and the police can recover it quickly as possible if it is stolen. When activated the owner and Police simultaneously receive text messages alerting them to the theft. That helps raise the profile and ensure the vehicle is apprehended quickly. The system is tamper proof and can be tracked on device (including computers, laptops and smartphones). Luminescent Alarms LTD wishes to grow and become an international company by entering the market in the Netherlands. The company wants to establish and see if the market in the Netherlands is promising and find out if it has opportunities for its proposed product by carrying out a market research. 3. Objectives The Objectives of this research will be as follow: 1. To identify plausible customers who are more likely to buy the company´s product and help launch targeting. 2. Research the possibility and the need by the company for suppliers in the car dealership sector for the Luminescent Alarms system. 3. The results of information found in the project will be employed by the company as part of its marketing program to persuade stakeholders and future customers about the worth and value of purchasing of the product. 3.1 Market research The main objective of the project is to do a market research and carry out an online survey with the help of video to collect and analyse the data and feedback from potential customers to establish how well and get a view of the overall potential of the proposed product and asses the market demand. We will carry out a detailed analysis of the market in the Netherlands and its potential considering the company’s wish of expanding by entering the market in the Netherlands. The project market research will be based upon the generation of primary market data (the survey), and the use of secondary data/information sources. 3.2 Secondary research To begin with, we will look at the car market as a whole by gathering and collecting published statistical data from the government, private organisations and online information databases. This will include the following: Netherlands Car Registrations Car Registrations in Netherlands averaged 39292.44 cars from 1967 until 2015. Car Registrations in Netherlands decreased to 33944 Cars in February of 2015 from 47946 Cars in January of 2015. Top 10 Stolen Vehicles, Aging from 0-3 years old, in 2014 The top 10 car brands represents 79.1% of all stolen private vehicles aging from 0-3 years old in 2014. Audi, Land Rover and Citroën show a increase to above 30% compared to 2013. Aditionally, Peugot, Seat, Opel and Renault have displayed a significant increase as well. The percentages for Volkswagen, BMW and Toyota have decreased. Car thieves are increasingly targeting newer vehicles because they are more profitable. Percentage of recovered private vehicles 2013-2014 The analysis of the gathered data above will help us narrow down and identify potential customers by segmentation and target the most suited potential customer to distribute the survey to. The main potential customers are: Car owners 3.3 Primary research We will also carry out a primary research through the distribution of the online survey and video to the identified potential customers in the secondary research to establish how well Luminescent Alarms would be received and assess the demand of the proposed product and find out if potential customers would buy the new product. By collecting and analysing the online survey feedback, offering a deeper market and customer insight. 4. Methodology The main information sources that we will utilise will be reliable and valid secondary data, published from the government, private organisations and online information databases. This research will adhere to the positivism principle of philosophy. This philosophy asserts that factual information obtained through observation or measurement is trustworthy (Collins, 2010, p.38). This study will also adhere to the quantitative research design. In quantitative research designs, the main aim of the research is determining the relationships of one thing (independent variable) and another (outcome or dependent variable). There are four types of quantitative designs namely: descriptive, experimental, quasi-experimental or causal-comparative, and co-relational (Reason & Hilary 2001, p. 75). In descriptive research, the subjects being measured are measured once; whereas in experimental research, the subjects are measured twice, before and after the study. In order to have an accurate study, descriptive study normally requires a sample of several hundreds or even thousands of participants; whereas an experimental research study design may only require tens of participants (Reason & Hilary 2001, p. 75). However, the estimation of the relationship is most likely to have less bias if the sample population is massive, and they are selected randomly from the population being studied. Consequently, bias can also be minimized by randomly assigning subjects to the research questions. In all the four types of quantitative research designs, the characteristics of the subjects have a tremendous effect on the relationships under study. Therefore, the effect of the subjects should be limited by using less heterogeneous sample of participants or by measuring their distinctiveness and including in the analysis. In an experimental research design, the variables likely to explain the mechanisms of the study should be measured (Reason & Hilary 2001, p. 75). In this market research, the main work centres on market potentiality of car alarms; thus, a mix method qualitative and quantitative research design is more suitable since the information obtained from experiment will be used by the researcher to make an informed decision whether Luminescent Alarms system has the potentiality of capturing the Netherlands market. Additionally, the mix method research design will enable the researcher to employ the use of several methodologies as well as rely on varied sources to obtain data. This study will specifically chose the experimental quantitative and the qualitative method research, to examine whether Luminescent Alarms system has the potentiality of capturing the Netherlands market. Therefore, in order to exhaustively examine the effects, the researcher will have to study the company’s main competitors in car alarm systems. The researcher will consider all the multiple approaches and facets of data analysis. The process of data analysis will encompass eight fundamental steps/processes namely data requirements, data collection, data processing, data cleaning, exploratory data analysis, modelling and algorithms, data product, and communication. Furthermore, the researcher will check the quality or worth of data as early as possible. For instance, analyzing the data will be through the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) as a tool of data analysis (Roland 2008, 34). Part of data analysis will be to verify information/data in terms of generalizability, reliability, and validity. Since the case study will be a mix of quantitative and qualitative in nature, the researcher will obtain rich and detailed information about the subject matter. The results of the market research and the online survey will be important in establishing if there is a demand in the market in the Netherlands to sell Luminescent Alarms in the future. We will therefore collect and put together a range of information such as: We are going to produce a structured and detailed analysis of market in the Netherlands, using both primary and secondary information sources. Market data: data about car sales/registration, stolen cars, most vulnerable cars to steal, areas where most cars are stolen etc. Distribute the survey to the targeted potential customers (car owners). Evaluate the data, using appropriate academic concepts and frameworks for international market entry product. Produce a consultancy report. 5. Recommendations The recommendations are based on the findings from the data and information collected from the market research in Netherlands. Recommendations provided to the company on whether or not entering the market in the Netherlands is a good strategic move for the company to take at this point in time. Some of the recommendations include: 1. Luminescent Alarms should develop novel operating systems that are compatible with Android software. This is ascribed to the fact that Android OS is the second most used software all over the world. 2. Luminescent Alarms should ensure that there is continuous research for new cutting edge software. This is ascribed to the fact that its products are based on novel technologies in the market. 3. Since there is an already existing tracking system in the market, Luminescent Alarms should lay emphasis on a more advanced tracking system on mobile devices in order to capture a wider market. 4. Luminescent Alarms should lay emphasis on tracking devices and vehicle security systems in order to face the stiff competition from its rival companies. 5. Luminescent Alarms should focus on new cars and not second hand vehicles since their sales are rapidly depreciating. 6. Limitations The primary research cannot be guaranteed for a number of reasons as we think this part is little bit difficult, because it might be difficult to distribute the survey to potential customers in the Netherlands as we don’t have any contacts from the Netherlands. In addition it may possibly be time consuming to collect the primary data considering the short timeframe. Furthermore there is a language barrier as none of the group members speak Dutch, as most of the published reports are in Dutch. These are the main obstacles facing us in gathering and collecting primary and secondary data. 7. Timeframe The research project starts immediately and will be completed on the 1st of May 2015 with the presentation of the findings and the delivery of the report. Action February March April May Finalise terms of reference Conduct market research Carry out the online survey with the help of video Deliver a presentation to David Richardson Produce a consultancy report References Bhattacharya, D. K., 2009. Research Methodology. New Delhi: Excel Books. Creswell, J. W., 2009. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Ltd. Dahel, R., 2001. Telecommunications privatization in Arab countries: An overview. Arab Planning Institute. Doh, J. P., 2000. Entrepreneurial privatization strategies: Order of entry and local partner collaboration as sources of competitive advantage. Academy of Management Review, 25(3), pp. 551-571. Ellis, T. J., & Levy, Y., 2008. Framework of Problem-Based Research: A Guide for Novice Researchers on the Development of a Research-Worthy Problem. Informing Science: The International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, 11, 1–33. Glasser, B., 2005. 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