Assessment Task 1 – Project
For this assessment you must complete the following project. This project forms part of your assessment for this unit and should be completed and presented in a professional manner. Please ensure you complete each of the tasks below and submit with the assessment cover sheet attached.
You must accurately reference all of your external sources of information.
You are employed as the Marketing Manager for Harvey Norman Australia. It is your responsibility to work collaboratively and in consultation with the purchasing department to coordinate the marketing campaigns that are presented on television and brochures. For this project you will need to address the following elements:
Discuss briefly:
- The main elements to be included in the research policies and procedures that is to be followed by the research contractor,
- The main elements to be covered when you internally develop a market research project plan
- The process to gain funding approval to implement market research project plan and work plan
Market research is the key to staying ahead of your competition. Most companies work with market research organisation because they have the level of resources that most retail organisations could only dream of, for the next task you will need to follow the due diligence to select the most suitable contractors. You need to address the following elements:
- Identify the specific requirements for external consultants to follow in themarket research project plan
- Outline the products that your organisation would like the research conducted on
- Discuss the ways of qualifying external consultants from there the potential consultants could be selected
- Discuss the process involved and elements covered when selecting and contracting external consultant
Now that you have appointed the market research organisation you will need to negotiate with the company the timelines and the milestones for this project. This includes achieving an agreed frequency of reports from the marketing organisation and what it is they will be reporting on. This part of the project requires you to respond to how you will:
- Monitor the activities of the market research organisation to confirm adherence to your agreed market research project plan and work plans, and consistency with organisational market research policy and procedures
- Outline what you would expect the marketing organisation to communicate to your at the milestone meetings concerning progress of the plan
Every part of this project is important, however the significance of conducting a complete and thorough evaluation cannot be over stated. You will need to communicate your finding on the services provided by the marketing research company to your key stakeholders as well.
- How would you confirm the accuracy of information and results determined by the market research organisation?
- How would you compare the results of the research against research objectives outlined in market research project plan?
- How would you gauge stakeholder satisfaction with the research process and findings?
- How would you conduct a review of the research process for the purpose of continuous improvement?
- What process would you use to implement modifications if required?
Assessment Task 3 – Case Study
Total Assessment 3 length should be 600- 800 words.
You must accurately reference all of your external sources of information
The following Tasks are based upon the Fix-it-Up Hardware Stores. The chain has 10 stores in your home state and has a strong customer base. Fix-it-Up’s primary customer base is the home renovator. Six of the stores are located in a major city or a large regional town, four stores are located in smaller country towns, and they are divided into two regions; North and South. Four stores are in the north of the state and six stores are in the south. They are all located on major roads. Each Fix-it-Up store is located in an area where new home building permits are increasing and there are new housing estates within 20 – 30 kilometers.
SCENARIO
You are the marketing manager for a chain of hardware stores called Fix-it-Up in your home state. The chain has 10 stores and has a strong customer base. Fix-it-Up’s primary customer base is the home renovator. As part of a strategic review of product offerings, the managing director would like to add a range of floor coverings, including carpet, carpet tiles, sheet vinyl and vinyl tiles. The management team has identified that the first step is to carry out market research to determine the feasibility of adding the floor coverings to the range.
The management team have also identified that the work must be undertaken by a specialist market research firm with extensive knowledge of the target market and who can undertake a wide variety of research methods and complete the process in a timely manner – within three months.
Six of the stores are located in a major city or a large regional town, four stores are located in smaller country towns. They are all located on major roads. Each Fix-it-Up store is located in an area where new home building permits are increasing and there are new housing estates within 20 – 30 kilometers.
The managing director Joseph Fixation has asked you to manage the entire market research process. You will need to liaise with the general manager, Harry Olders and two regional managers. The project team will consist of John Davis the Northern Regional Manager, Jacqui Fixation the Southern Regional Manager. Steve Marshall an IT and Admin Specialist and Elizabeth Spurling the Advertising Coordinator. You have a budget of $20,000.
Steve will manage the communication and IT and Admin processes and can devote 3 days per week to work on this for a period of 12 weeks. You are required to have a report with recommendations within three months’ time from commencement. You can devote 3 days per week for the next 12 weeks and John, Jacqui and Elizabeth can each work 2 days on the project.
The management team meets fortnightly on a Wednesday and requires updates at each meeting; this is the only time all managers can meet.
The management team require you to present a report at the end of the project, including the Project Plan, the Project Brief, the Roles of the Project Team, the Survey Instruments developed, the Work plan Summary and the Post-Implementation Review process outline.
For this Task, you will prepare a market research plan, based on the requirements for market research for the Fix-it-Up Hardware Stores.
You will manage market research activities in accordance with organisational market research policies and procedures for Fix-it-Up Hardware stores.
You are to prepare a market research plan, answer the questions and develop the required documents.
Task 1
Prepare the market research plans, and
- Develop a Project Plan
- Define the research objectives
- Define research requirements
- Prepare budgets and other resource plans
- Determine in house capability and resources
- Describe the data processing methods
- Describe data analysis techniques to be used
- Develop a work plan summary
Engage external consultants, you will need to:
- Develop a Project Brief
- Develop specifications for research components outsourced to external consultants as appropriate.
- Compile a list of preferred consultants/suppliers
Manage market research activity, how will you:
- Manage work plans and performance
- Monitor timeline and project milestones
- Monitor budgets and other resources
- Consult with stakeholders and encourage their involvement
Evaluate the research process
- Describe the post-implementation review process using the market research project plan and work plans
Prepare and present a report on market research findings.
Solution
Assignment One
Task One – Market research
In the marketing research policies and procedures, the main intention is understanding the firm’s brand standing with the customers. The research contractor will be interested in looking into the brand reputation by comprehending the manner in which the firm’s products are perceived by clients (Bell, Bryman and Harley 2018). Getting a gist of the customers’ opinions regarding an entity’s products and services implies that the firm can react appropriately either to build on the advantage to take corrective measures to attract clients. The other element will be looking into the clients’ purchasing behaviors and patterns so that the marketing team develops a customer-oriented approach to publicizing the entity’s products and services (Bell, Bryman and Harley 2018). Market research has to inform the management team about the probable dynamics that are likely to affect the operations of the entity.
Internally, one vital element in the development of a market research project plan is the objectives that the management team wishes to accomplish. It is vital to understand where the sales volume of a firm is at a given time and the desired outcomes in the future (Bell, Bryman and Harley 2018). The research budget is an internal factor which is important to consider in the development of the market study. Ethical issues are elements which are considered in the process of marketing research. It is vital to ensure that there is voluntary participation in the study and that high levels of privacy and confidentiality are maintained (Bell, Bryman and Harley 2018)……………………………………………………To access the rest of the solution for $10, please click on the purchase button.
