Logan Levesque
Simulation Write Up
MKT 378
12/11/23
Introduction
Throughout the simulation, there were many things that Buhi did well and many things that could have been improved upon. At the beginning of the simulation, Buhi made the decision to allocate most of their time and money Into focus groups and surveys while only gathering secondary research on 5-10 articles. This was the wrong choice; while they are gathering plenty of qualitative and quantitative research, they need to balance it with more secondary research to see the best results.
RFPs
Cyclone Wizard: I chose to go with the focus group option of 6 groups of 12 category users from 2 West Coast cities, 2 East Coast cities, and 2 Midwest cities. However, after further review, I would have selected to do a survey with a sample size of 5,000 category users. After review, I concluded that a survey would be a more cost-efficient way of collecting the required data. It was apparent to me that the collection of qualitative data was necessary, but a survey would provide a large enough sample size to collect the necessary data.
Wheelz Delivered: I opted to go with the in-depth interviews consisting of 10 interviews with company executives. Interviewing company executives would have given Wheelz Delivered data on top competitors and market trends. After consideration, it was clear that secondary research was the better option to gather this data. Secondary research on 5-10 articles would allow Wheelz Delivered to collect more accurate data on top competitors, market shares, and market trends.
Superior Immaculate Services: I decided to go with the focus group approach. I am unsure why I made this decision, as the sample size of 40 participants would have been too small to capture accurate data on service ratings on friendliness, price, quality, service, and handling of mishaps. A survey with a sample size of 2,000 participants would have been a more appropriate decision for this RFP. This survey would have provided enough quantitative data to come to a more accurate conclusion.
Veggie Power: Veggie Power required a variety of information in the meat-substitute retail market. They required the popularity of specific products, emerging trends, competitive and retail landscape, and price points of current competitors. For this reason, I decided to select secondary research, reviewing 15-20 articles, websites, and/or databases. This was the best option because the answers to the information above could be easily found on competitor’s websites, industry articles, etc. This option also fits within the company’s budget of $10,000 and time requirement of 2 weeks. The secondary research option costs $8,000 over a duration of 2 weeks.
FindMe Technologies: I opted for the survey option that had a sample size of 2,000 category users. I chose this option because FindMe Technologies is looking for ways to improve its product (A fitness and GPS tracker for pets.) by asking its consumers how they might interact with the product on a daily basis. Looking back, I would change my answer to the focus group option that sees 6 groups of 12 category users from 2 East Coast, 2 West Coast, and 2 Midwest cities. I would change to this option because focus groups give consumers the option to brainstorm together making it more definitive to FindMe Technologies what exactly their potential consumers are looking for.
Buhi Supply Company: This part of the simulation had me come up with 3 research options to complete with a budget of $60,000 and a time requirement of 8 weeks. The options I chose were:
- Secondary research: 5-10 articles, websites, and/or databases with a timing of one week and a budget of $5,000.
This will be good for collecting top competitors, market share, and desirable features. More secondary research would have been ideal, but with the given budget and timing, this was the only option that made sense.
- Focus groups: Four groups of 10 category users from 1 West Coast, 1 East Coast, and 2 Midwest cities. With a timing of 4 weeks and a budget of $43,000
Focus groups are perfect for brainstorming ideas with consumers, the discussions can bring up some unique ideas that may not be currently available on the market. In luggage design, it is important to know what your potential consumers are looking for, and focus groups can create a better picture of what Buhi should be designing.
- Survey: Sample size of 1,000 category users. Timing of 4 weeks and a budget of $11,000
This sample size seems small to me, but it is the only one that would fit within the given budget. A larger sample size would help Buhi get a better picture of what consumers are looking for in their pricing.
These were the best options available for the given budget and time requirement, maximizing the time requirement and coming in $1,000 under budget. This research will also give us a wide range of secondary, qualitative, and quantitative research and should provide good insights into Buhi’s new line of luggage.
Key Findings
I originally chose Lug-xury, Tropic Travel, and Syd’s Bags as my top competitors for Buhi. I am not able to go back and review the articles given to me, but it is clear that I saw Buhi as a higher-end luggage company, while the research showed Buhi to be more competitive with mid-market luggage companies. Noting this, I would change my competitors to Syd’s Bags, Destination Bag, and Go Time. These are all mid-market luggage companies that have features similar to Buhi’s, such as Modern colors, Durable shells, and pockets. On a 1-5 scale (1 being low quality and 5 being high quality), Buhi received a mean score of 4.16, The highest out of all companies, suggesting Buhi is above average compared to other companies. Destination Bags (3.83), Syd’s Bags (3.74), and Jack’s Fly Packs (3.25) were the next highest scores. This suggests that these three companies are possible competitors for Buhi.
When picking features, I originally went with a genuine leather exterior, a modern color palette, a telescopic handle, motorized wheels, and a GPS locator. Genuine leather, motorized wheels, and GPS tracking were too high-end to fit Buhi’s demographic, with consumers preferring a more durable hardshell, spinner wheels, and packets. These features would more ideally fit the needs of Buhi’s consumers. It is clear consumers are looking for a muted, durable bag with simple features.
In terms of price, I had first picked poor price selections. I priced the small bag at $231, the medium bag at $349, and the large bag at $500. These price points were too expensive for Buhi’s customers. I would instead change my price points to $160 for the small bag, $260 for the medium bag, and $350 for the large bag. This keeps Buhi’s luggage at a competitive price without venturing into the High-end luggage market.
Survey
Introduction
This survey, sponsored by the Cyclone Wizard vacuum cleaner company, seeks opinions from those who use vacuum cleaners on a regular basis. Whether or not you have experience with the brand, we want to hear your perceptions about the vacuum cleaner choices available in today’s market. The survey should take no more than five minutes to complete. The deadline for completing the survey is one week from today.
Awareness
List all the vacuum cleaner brands of which you are aware. (Think of all of the vacuum cleaner companies with which you have experience or of which you have heard.)
How familiar are you with the following technology and vacuum cleaner brands? (Being familiar with means currently or previously owning a product from the brand or having experience using one of the brand’s products.)
Brand Attributes
Which words or phrases would you use to describe the following brands: Dyson, iRobot, Bissell, and Roborock. (If unsure, think about what you’ve heard about these brands. What are your perceptions?)
Indicate how much you agree or disagree with these statements regarding [Programmer, insert brand: Dyson, iRobot, Bissell, Cyclone Wizard — repeat sequence for each brand].
Demographics
- What is your gender?
- What is your age?
- What is your income before taxes?
- How much do you and your immediate family spend per year on leisure and travel activities?
- How many long-range trips do you take per year (e.g., out-of-state trips or trips that require flights and/or long drives)?
Sample Size
I chose a sample size of 500, a 99% confidence level, and a margin of error of +/- 1. This was not the correct option because the sample size was just too small, and the level of confidence was too high. I would change the sample size to be at least 1500, with a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of +/- 5.
Sampling
I decided on sampling plan 5
Reynolds Research has purchased a small but highly accurate list of consumers interested in fashion, travel, and accessory apparel. The list includes 500 individuals. To achieve the sample size of 1,680, you decide to request that participants who complete the survey forward the survey link on to others (e.g., family, friends, and co-workers) who they feel would be eligible. Those who are forwarded the link will answer screening questions to assure eligibility. To help increase participation, a drawing of a $100 Amazon gift card will be implemented for all who complete the survey.
This was not the ideal sampling plan because it relied on 500 individuals to forward the email. At that point, you don’t know if the individuals taking the survey fit the right demographic or not. A better sampling plan would be to have a list of respondents in a database and send the online survey via email to a certain percentage of them; this way, you have control over who gets the survey.
Coding Open-Ended Survey Responses
This was not a very difficult task, it was the simplest of the whole simulation. It was comprised of breaking down common phrases that could be said about luggage into one “code word” that would be useful in analytics. The correct choice was the “code word” that the phrase was talking about. I would not change any of my answers for this section.
Final Report
The main limitation of this study was that the survey went out to a purchased list of recipients interested in fashion, travel, and accessory apparel. For this reason, Buhi may not have reached its target market. I saw visualizations on the quality of brands, important features, what luggage inspired by global designs meant to users, and pricing trends. The top competitors were Syd’s Bags, Destination Bags, and Go Time. These were all great choices that really define Buhi as a brand really well. For this reason I would not change anything.
I thought that this simulation provided valuable knowledge about what it is like to conduct a market research study. It was a very realistic experience that taught me that you need to be precise and observe the research very closely if you want to see the best results. I like the state of the simulation now and think it provides a little bit of everything that students can expect to see in a real market research study. Three things I took away from this experience were that you have to pay close attention when conducting secondary research, Surveys are phrased extremely carefully so that the data collected can be utilized in the most efficient way possible, and conducting professional market research takes lots of time and money to conduct correctly.