The Chicken Coop: Market Research

The Issues

• Daryl Buckmeister needs to come to a decision about1)Whether to invest in market research2)How much money to spend3)Which programs to fund

The Problems

1. Whether to opt for Market Research?

2. How to address the isssue of declining sales?

3. Which Market Research proposal to accept?

The Factors

• Quality Menu/Customer Service• Brand Image Consistency• Competitors• Consumer Preferences• Customer Experience• Food Industry• Standardization levels• Advertisments and Promotions

McMichael’s Proposal

• QIP-Quality Inspection Programme– Strengths

1. Unbiased2. Will lead to standardization3. Enhance performance

– Weaknesses1. Hiring inspectors2. In-depth examination lacking3. Requires an in-depth knowledge of Chicken Coop brand

identity4. Frequent replacement of inspectors5. Threat of identity revelation of inspectors

McMichael’s Proposal

• Taste Tests– Strengths

1. Controlled Enviroment2. Unbiased3. Acts as a testing ground against competition4. Provides insight into customer preferences

– Weaknesses1. Focusses on loyal customers2. Requires renovation of facility3. Does not draw from a representative population of the actual

customer base but only from Waltham4. Tests were performed only on new menu items

Wallace’s Proposal

• BIMS(Brand Image Monitoring Surveys)– Strengths

1. Provides Qualitative data2. Uses Representative sampling3. Provides information regarding advertising effectiveness

– Weaknesses1. High cost of sampling2. Limited Information from a telephonic communication3. Possibility of a low incidence rate 4. Recurring expenses

Wallace’s Proposal

• CES(Customer Experience Study)– Strengths

1. Unbiased2. Participative3. Would result in increased customer focus4. Highlight problem areas

– Weaknesses1. The expense includes paying for rival offerings which

the customer use to base their preferences2. Involves recruitment and training costs

Buckmeister’s Idea

• Customer Feedback Cards– Strengths

1. Economical2. Specific information

– Weaknesses1. Hit rate is low2. Potential customers are not considered3. No comprehensive insights4. Operational issues (Manager may not send the

feedback forms)

Judgment on Time • QIP

– More time consumption in hiring and in-depth examination of food• Taste test

– Less time consumption than QIP• BIMS

– Survey will be time consuming due to involvement of multiple customer’s opinions

• CES– Moderate time consumption due to involvement of customers and

inference could be made in one month• Buckmeister’s idea

– Fastest as compared to all other options– Multiple feedbacks could be analysed in few days

Judgment on Cost

• QIP– High costs involved as hiring inspectors and managing them

• Taste test– Moderate as the infrastructure cost is major which is one time cost only

• BIMS– Most expensive option among all ($20000 to $50000)– Recurring nature of costs increased total costs

• CES– High costs involved due to large number of visits and payment mode is

per visit basis

• Buckmeister’s idea– Most economical in nature

Quality

• QIP– In-depth analysis will give more details to improve quality– Professional quality inspectors will maintain quality

• Taste test– Good indicator of quality of food with respect to the competitors

• BIMS– Quantitative analysis will improve the quality– Quality is dependent on customers response

• CES– Quality will be subjected to selection of customers or research vendor as

“mystery shopper”

• Buckmeister’s idea– Quality will be dependent on depth of questions and their analysis

Judgment on Implementation • QIP

– Details of kitchen and internal operations will be lost– Difficult to conceal identity of inspector after few visits

• Taste test– Not done in a realistic environment– Competitor food may not be as fresh as Coop’s– Loyal customers may be biased towards Coop

• BIMS– Outsourcing to research vendor will help in easy implementation– Incidence rate may be low– People interviewed may not be regular Coop customers– Telephonic interview may lack in depth examination

• CES– Failure to capture variation in peak and off peak hours– Novelty food items may not be comparable across competitors– Customer expectations may differ

• Buckmeister’s idea– Easiest and fastest in implementation– Negative reviews may be discarded by the lower level staff/manager– Doctored reviews----cause of concern

Recommendations

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