Getting into the minds of the customer Apha Research Consultants is a marketing research consultancy operating in Jamaica for approximately 3 years. Its proprietor and sole employee, Mr. John Waterman is a graduate of the University of the West Indies with an elective in Management Studies. In his previous job before starting with Alpha, Mr. Waterman worked for 10 years with a major research consultancy; 3 of these years he was employed in the capacity of Assistant Manager-Market Research. Mr. Waterman considers himself a very good researcher and with experience and knowledge gained from his previous job along with his Management Studies degree, he believes that he is equip for successfully managing this entity despite only doing one course in market research in his degree programme; completed in semester one of 2000. Alpha Research Consultants offers 3 distinct services – employee satisfaction survey, product demand studies and customer satisfaction survey. These services are priced below market as Alpha’s operating costs are quite low. Over the last 3 years, Mr. Waterman operated from his bedroom where his business costs are largely subsumed under his household expenses. The competition in this area of offering is lukewarm in Mr. Waterman’s estimation as there are only four or five players in the local market; and these players are not well established in what can be described as a grossly underdeveloped market. Mr. Waterman has found that the demand for his services is not very attractive. This he considers a major disappointment as there are so few players in the domestic market. Economic pundits have suggested that the demand for consultancy services has dramatically declined over the last few years with the financial and economic malaise that now characterise the global marketplace. Alpha’s sales in 2008 amounted to US$14, 000 with the company making s slight profit. With 10 months gone in the current year (2009), its proforma financial statement is indicating that sales for the year 2009 was forecasted at US$20,000.00 and at this point, only US$10,000.00 has been realised. Alpha is marketed through flyers and word of mouth and plans are afoot to do radio advertisement and social media campaigns in its effort to boost its promotional campaign. In an informal discussion with the boys on Friday evening, John was advised by one of his friends, who works with a major consultancy firm, that the climate as it exist , there is a market for a customer satisfaction survey in the Eastern Caribbean where lots of restaurants and tourist attractions were established over the last five years. Mr. Waterman plans to expand his operations in an effort to market to an overseas clientele. He is however in two minds with the with the uncertainty faced in the consultancy and related markets. Questions: Alpha has hired you as a strategic marketing planner to assist them in executing an effective Segmentation Targeting Positioning (STP) Plan. Based on your expertise, design an effective STP plan for Alpha Research Consultants. Critically analyse the marketing mix of Alpha Research Consultants. Advise Mr. Waterman on possible segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies that can be employed.
Getting into the minds of the customer
Apha Research Consultants is a marketing research consultancy operating in Jamaica for approximately 3 years. Its proprietor and sole employee, Mr. John Waterman is a graduate of the University of the West Indies with an elective in Management Studies. In his previous job before starting with Alpha, Mr. Waterman worked for 10 years with a major research consultancy; 3 of these years he was employed in the capacity of Assistant Manager-
Mr. Waterman has found that the demand for his services is not very attractive. This he considers a major disappointment as there are so few players in the domestic market. Economic pundits have suggested that the demand for consultancy services has dramatically declined over the last few years with the financial and economic malaise that now characterise the global marketplace. Alpha’s sales in 2008 amounted to US$14, 000 with the company making s slight profit. With 10 months gone in the current year (2009), its proforma financial statement is indicating that sales for the year 2009 was forecasted at US$20,000.00 and at this point, only US$10,000.00 has been realised. Alpha is marketed through flyers and word of mouth and plans are afoot to do radio advertisement and social media campaigns in its effort to boost its promotional campaign.
In an informal discussion with the boys on Friday evening, John was advised by one of his friends, who works with a major consultancy firm, that the climate as it exist , there is a market for a customer satisfaction survey in the Eastern Caribbean where lots of restaurants and tourist attractions were established over the last five years. Mr. Waterman plans to expand his operations in an effort to market to an overseas clientele. He is however in two minds with the with the uncertainty faced in the consultancy and related markets.
Questions:
- Alpha has hired you as a strategic marketing planner to assist them in executing an effective Segmentation Targeting Positioning (STP) Plan. Based on your expertise, design an effective STP plan for Alpha Research Consultants.
- Critically analyse the marketing mix of Alpha Research Consultants.
- Advise Mr. Waterman on possible segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies that can be employed.
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