Market & Social Research

Paper instructions:
…………….You need to select ONE of the following scenarios & Prepare a brief:

a. You are working as Marketing Assistant for a Health and Fitness Centre in Hatfield (NB You may choose another location within the UK if you wish ), and falling numbers of members mean that there is concern about the competition in the area, in terms of facilities offered, pricing, and other issues

b. You are working as Marketing Assistant for St Albans Council and are aware that there is concern by St Albans residents over the collection of rubbish in the area: residents have two bins, one black and one green. Traditional weekly rubbish collections have now been changed to collections of general rubbish one week (black bins), and paper and recyclable materials the second week (green bins). Anecdotal evidence has indicated that residents are not happy with this arrangement and the Planning Director wants to fully understand what the issues are which are causing this resentment

c. You are working for a small company which offers paid, intensive support to students who need support with their work and assignments (this does NOT include writing the assignment for them). The company, although it has been running successfully in America for some time, has only recently set up in England, with their first base being in Hertfordshire, and is aware that there are a number of colleges and universities where students might be willing to use their services. They are not clear, though, precisely what students there are, what support students might need, or what pricing structure to adopt.

d. You have obtained a job working as a Student Adviser for Westchester University. The Vice Chancellor is looking to increase recruitment of students from within your home country, and wants to explore what these students are looking for and what would encourage them to apply to Westchester.

……………This assignment assumes that you are working as Marketing Assistant in ONE (and one only) of these four areas. The Marketing Director, who is concerned about the issues identified above, has asked you to:

i. Carry out some preliminary secondary research on the area so that you have access to all relevant published information (NOT, REPEAT NOT, PRIMARY RESEARCH. You are preparing a BRIEF FOR A MARKET RESEARCH COMPANY TO RESPOND TO – they are the ones who will be carrying out the primary research)

ii. Clearly identify relevant research objectives – no more than five

iii. Prepare a brief to be sent out to a number of market research companies, so that they can respond with an appropriate proposal.

…………The Brief should be NO LONGER THAN 500 words and should follow the format below. In addition there should be a short appendix (another 500 words MAXIMUM) where the secondary information is summarised for the benefit of the research company.

1. Background of the Company/organisation – 60-150 words
2. What you understand the problem to be – 100-200 words
3. Proposed research objectives – 100-200 words
4. Timing – 40-80 words
5. Appendix – summary of secondary data – 500 words
…………. The focus of this piece of work is being able to express yourself in a way which is succinct, concise and professional. This means carrying out the preparatory work and then being able to select, edit, and summarise.YOU ARE NOT CARRYING OUT THE RESEARCH WITH THIS ASSIGNMENT – YOU ARE CARRYING OUT SOME INITIAL SECONDARY RESEARCH AND PREPARING A BRIEF TO ALLOW A MARKET RESEARCH COMPANY TO RESPOND BY SUBMITTING A DETAILED AND RELEVANT PROPOSAL.

Marking criteria:

Understanding of the situation – 10%
Appropriate level of detail – 10%
Identification of clear and appropriate objectives – 20%
Clarity and professionalism of writing – 20%
Bibliography and use of Harvard Referencing – 10% (NB We expect to see evidence of secondary research, plus
reading to support your understanding of briefs and the market research process)
Secondary research summary – 20%
Overall impact – 10%

TOTAL 100%
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