TEAM VERSACORP

Marketing Research Proposal

Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans
Latoya Facey, Graciela Garcia, Chia Chen and Chuck Daly Marketing for Managers BE 315M 4/12/2012

CONTENTS
1. Introduction 2. Objectives 3. Desk Research/Methodology a. Purpose b. Procedure c. Questionnaire d. Qualitative Research 4. Reporting 5. Timing 6. Credentials 7. References

1 INTRODUCTION This proposal outlines the details of a one week marketing research survey conducted in East Hartford, Connecticut by the Versacorp organization. Approval of this proposal will enable future production that will be necessary to support the launch of chocolate covered coffee beans. Hypothesis: Will our target audience like the new flavors of chocolate covered coffee beans? 2 OBJECTIVES The overall objective is to test our target audience and collect information that will allow the organization to examine the reactions of potential customers. This has been broken into the following sub-objectives; 1. Gather questionnaire results and analyze data through a detailed frequency table. Statistics such as; the mean, median and mode will be collected from the questionnaire and documented. This will establish the efficiency of Versacorps marketing efforts and determine which offerings are most in line with consumer objectives. 2. Identify the likes and dislikes from the participants. Versacorp will use this information to shape their corporate strategy and align company goals with customer needs. 3. Determine which product offerings are not working & which should be replaced or dropped. Team Versacorp will use this data and come up with new ideas to expand the current product offerings. 3 DESK RESEARCH/ METHODOLOGY Purpose The desk research phrase will gather information on purchase habits of candy and coffee over the past week. This trend data should give the organization useful information regarding consumers and product advertising. At this point Versacorp, must generate a list of brand names and any pertinent information on competing brands that may be useful in the next part of the research. The desk research will attempt to establish the following; What flavor of chocolate covered coffee beans do consumers like? How often do consumers purchase coffee or candy? How effective was product packaging? How much are consumers willing to spend on coffee or candy? Overall satisfaction

Procedure The survey was given to 100 local college students between the ages of 18 and 23. The sample was selected by using local colleges and universities within 50 miles of the organizations headquarters in East Hartford, CT. The target market was a combination of males and females older than 17 years of age and younger than 24 years of age. Participants were given three flavors of chocolate covered coffee beans; hazelnut-chocolate, vanilla-chocolate and raspberry-chocolate. Once the flavored coffee beans were sampled, participants were asked a series of questions regarding their purchasing habits, taste, flavor and product packaging. Groups of students were also shown packaging concepts finished to a high level and placed within relevant stores i.e. department stores, convenient stores and gas stations to test their reaction. The testing will be in the form of group discussions led by a trained moderator. Questionnaire

Versacorp | Project Candy Dear Participant: Within the next three weeks Team Versacorp will release three delicious flavors of new chocolate covered coffee beans. Please complete the questionnaire and return as soon as possible. Your feedback is completely anonymous. We appreciate your participation Name Address

E-mail Phone University Name Strongly Agree Each individual flavor was represented correctly Packaging was accurate and was displayed properly. My overall satisfaction with your product is high. I would recommend it to my friends. Hazelnut Chocolate Vanilla Chocolate Raspberry Chocolate All Three None Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Which is your favorite Which do you think is most attractive Best tasting Everyday How often do you purchase coffee How often do you purchase candy $2 What is the most you would pay for candy Additional comments: $4 $6 $8 Other Once a Week Once a month Holidays Never

Qualitative Research The most effective survey method used to gather consumer perception was qualitative variable. A one page questionnaire was designed and classified according to the ordinal level of measurement. This level of measurement was used to dictate the calculations that Versacorp used to summarize and present the data. The questionnaire consisted of nine questions which were divided into three subcategories. For this questionnaire it was necessary to show the respondents the product and then observe their reactions. Once the questionnaires were submitted Versacorp organized the information and inputted the results into a frequency chart and graphs. The table below represents the overall satisfaction of students who sampled all three flavors of coffee beans. From this information Versacorp predicts that the release of chocolate covered coffee beans will be successful.

Overall Satisfaction Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree Total

Students 2 3 10 35 50 100

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

60 50 40 30 Series1 20 10 0 Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

4 REPORTING Following the qualitative section of research the product portion of the marketing plan will be submitted. This will include the product name, packaging and label. Once this has been approved an eight-to ten page formal paper and a 25 to 30 minute oral presentation will be given in session five. 5 TIMING The table below shows the suggested timeframe for the release of the final product (chocolate covered coffee beans). Week 1 Activity Review and discuss Marketing Plan

2 3 4 5

Create Marketing Research Proposal Create Product Portion Complete Place and Promotion Submit Developed Marketing Plan

9 CREDENTIALS The product will be release to the public by Team Versacorp, under its directors Latoya Facey, Charles Daly, Graciela Garcia and Chia Chen.

References Lind, D., Marchal, W., & Wathen, S. (2011). Statistical techniques in business and economics. (15 ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Pride, W. M., & Ferrell, O. C. (2011). Marketing. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Research for success. , & Bradley, N. (2008, May). Example of a marketing research proposal. Retrieved from http://home.aubg.bg/students/MCA100/Senior Thesis/sample proposal.pdf