Marketing Research    

In order to assist marketers solve particular problems or take advantage of marketing opportunities, marketing research is done. This is the systematic design, collection, interpretation and reporting of information. (Dibb, Ferrell, Simkin, & Pride, 2012) Moreover, marketing research is essential in building an understanding of customers, competitors, marketing trends and the marketing environment.

Market research suppliers

There are two kinds of marketing research suppliers – internal and external suppliers. The former consists of single individuals or committees or departments in the company who needs the research itself, while the latter includes independent businesses outside of the company that provides the service. (Renssen & Tartarin, 2016) One of these external suppliers is Nielsen – an organization that specializes in marketing research and solving problems in fields such as consumerization, innovation, marketing effectiveness, and sales effectiveness. (The Nielsen Company (US), LLC, 2016) Furthermore, Coca-Cola can purchase information from Nielsen’s consumer panel and retail measurement (which focuses on what shopper and consumers buy and how they behave) in order to implement effective consumer marketing solutions. Demand analysis services can also be useful to help establish a more innovative and successful market positions for Coca-Cola. (The Nielsen Company (US), LLC., n.d.) More benefits for Coca-Cola include tapping into areas of business such as brand perceptions, campaign effectiveness across media platforms, and also competitive intelligence.

Another marketing research organization is GfK who “turn market and user experience research into smart business decisions”. (GfK, 2016) Some of their products that The Coca-Cola Company may use for its Classic Coca-Cola are exposure effects (a solution that measures both reach per media and emotional response and provides a simple yet analytical set of actions); future of retail (to provide market insights based on intelligence about expectations and demands of today’s shoppers especially in the soft drink market); and user experience mapping. Moreover, information like purchase frequency, shopping behaviour, and price sensitivity can be generated from the consumer panels in order for Coca-Cola to analyze consumer behaviour and make decisions to improve their marketing strategies.

Short questionnaire to measure customer attitude towards Coca-Cola

1.    Name _________________

2.    Are you    __ Male? Or __ Female?

3.    Age:

a.    Below 18 years

b.    18-25 years

c.     25-35 years

d.    Above 35

4.    Do you purchase soft drinks?

a.    Yes, if so what is the brand? _________________

b.    No

5.    How familiar are you with Coca-Cola?

a.    Never heard of it

b.    I am aware but never used it

c.     Use it only sometimes

d.    Use it on a regular basis

6.    How did you first hear about Coca-Cola? (you can choose one or more answers)

o   TV

o   Radio

o   Magazine

o   Newspaper

o   Internet

o   Friend/Relative/Associate

o   Other ________________

o   Haven’t heard of it before

7.    When was the last time you used/bought Coca-Cola?

a.    Under a month

b.    1-6 months

c.     6 months – 1 year

d.    Not sure

8.    How often do you buy Coca-Cola?

a.    Once per week or more often

b.    2 – 3 times per month

c.     Once per month

d.    Once or twice a year

e.    Less than once a year

f.      Not sure

9.    Do you take advantage of special offers from Coca-Cola?
Strongly disagree  |  Disagree  |  No Opinion  | Agree | Strongly Agree

10. Overall, how do you rate the quality of Coca-Cola?
            Poor  |  Fair  |  Good  | Very Good | Excellent

11. What is it that you would most like to change about Coca-Cola?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. Would you recommend Coca-Cola to someone else?

a.    Definitely not

b.    Probably not

c.     Not sure

d.    Probably

e.    Definitely

References

Dibb, S., Ferrell, O., Simkin, L., & Pride, M. (2012). Marketing Concepts & Strategies (6th ed.). Cengage Learning EMEA.

GfK. (2016). Market research and user experience research experts | GfK Global. Retrieved November 11, 2016, from GfK website: http://www.gfk.com/

Renssen, S., & Tartarin, T. (2016). Marketing Environment week 2.1 Ch 9: Marketing Research. Retrieved November 11, 2016, from Saxion website: https://leren.saxion.nl/bbcswebdav/pid-1463531-dt-content-rid-11069270_4/xid-11069270_4

The Nielsen Company (US), LLC. (2016). Solutions. Retrieved November 11, 2016, from Nielsen website: http://www.nielsen.com/ca/en/solutions.html

The Nielsen Company (US), LLC. (n.d.). Demand Analysis | Drive Profitable Growth | Nielsen. Retrieved November 16, 2016, from 2016: http://www.nielsen.com/eu/en/solutions/demand-analysis.html