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Running head: MARKETING RESEARCH PAPER Marketing Research Paper October 16, 2008 Marketing Research Paper Effective marketing strategy and tactics are crucial to the companys success in any industry. Operating in a gourmet food industry requires essential knowledge of marketing strategy and tactics as well as understanding the markets needs. The present paper provides an overview of Kudler Fine Foods activity and justifies the importance of marketing research in the development of Kudler Fine Foods marketing strategy and tactics, and identifies the areas where additional market research is needed. Also, the present paper analyzes the importance of competitive intelligence and analysis in regards to the development of Kudler Fine Foods marketing strategy and tactics. Kudler Fine Foods operates in a gourmet food industry. Kudler Fine Foods is a gourmet grocery store that is focused on expanding its services and improving the efficiency of its operations, while increasing the consumer purchase cycle.
Kudler Fine Foods offers its customers a wide range of the finest and freshest products at relatively low prices with focus on experienced and helpful employees. The key components of Kudler Fine Foods strategy were a combination of affordability and convenience (Kudler Intranet). The main goal in its future strategy is to continue expanding its business by including new features and services (e. g. , a catering service in addition to various in-store events) to meet the customer's needs and to win customer loyalty. Kudler Fine Foods considers such strategy will make the company more successful, increase its profitability and overall business efficiency, while allowing it to become a leader in the industry. Kudler Fine Foods management examines a possibility to introduce catering service through the use of various marketing tactics and effective strategic solutions, as well as by making effective business adjustments in its daily operational activity.
Obviously, the most important step in achieving success is to develop a marketing strategy and identify a marketing mix before developing an effective tactical marketing and sales program that will work together in harmony and will allow to achieve better understanding of Kudler Fine Foods market and customers' needs. Kudler Fine Foods will also need to place special emphasis on consumer research methods, as more thorough marketing research will be required to ensure the company produces the products and delivers services the customers really want, and not Kudler Fine Foods management team thinks the customer may want. (CONSUMER BEHAVIOR: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MARKETING, 2008) Although it is very difficult to recommend specific research methods to be used (primary or secondary) with no extensive and thorough examination of the company's operational activity, it still may be recommended to use both primary and secondary research methods. In application to Kudler Fine Foods activity in gourmet food industry, the company may be recommended to use secondary research methods including the use of information and researches that other companies or research agencies have already conducted. In other words, Kudler Fine Foods should use information that has already been published in food industry related sources, as well as some other information that can be found within the sources published by the U. S.
Government and other official sources. In addition to the secondary research, it is highly recommended to use primary research methods. Primary research methods involve various types of researches the company will design and conduct itself. For example, Kudler Fine Foods may consider finding our whether the consumers would prefer that Kudler Fine Foods collection of wines consists of more quantity of domestic or imported wines and spirits. Properly conducted marketing research will also reduce the risks that are associated with a new product or service (e. g. , Kudler Fine Foods introduction of catering services) to the lowest possible minimum.
In such a way, Kudler Fine Food can use a wide range of methods, such as phone surveys, mail questionnaires, focus groups, observations, to mention a few (Ghemawat, 2003). However, it is important to understand that each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, Kudler Fine Foods can be recommended to use surveys, as they can be very helpful in getting more specific information. Surveys should contain both open-ended and closed-ended questions, where the respondent is asked to provide his/ her own answers, or simply is being asked to select the appropriate answer from a list. Open-ended questions related to Kudler Fine Foods products will be more effective, as the respondents are not limited to a number of options and can provide their own variants of answers. Yet, it should be taken into consideration that surveys are relatively vulnerable to bias because the way a question is being asked (wording, etc) has great impact on the survey outcomes.
Therefore, the essential emphasis should be placed on survey structure and wording to achieve positive outcomes. The company also has to identify the marketing problem it currently faces, as well as to find out the ways and methods how to achieve customer satisfaction. Taking into consideration the peculiarities of Kudler Fine Foods business, it is possible to conclude that company needs to expand its service offers, introducing the new ones, such as an organic food line and catering services. Also, after careful examination it was found out that the company obviously lacks an effective and appropriately organized plan to define the efficiency of Kudler Fine Foods decisions, despite the fact that the company managed to develop and follow strategic objectives.
Therefore, in order to succeed, the company needs to develop more detailed action plans concerning both the launches of their new products and services and the extension of the existing ones to achieve expected positive outcomes. Moreover, as it was already mentioned, the company should place especial emphasis on the development of organic food line. This becomes especially important as the consumers become more interested in healthy lifestyle and healthy food they consume (Globe trotting overseas business opportunities for the US food industry, 1993). Therefore, Kudler Fine Foods needs to introduce a new product line consisting of organic and healthy products, and to educate its customers concerning availability of these products in their store locations. The in-store events should also become a part of Kudler Fine Foods marketing strategy, as the in-store events will add value to Kudler Fine Foods products and will contribute to creation of special positive atmosphere for more than a place, where the consumers can purchase products, but also a special place where the customers may share the feedback. Finally, Kudler Fine Foods focus should remain on continuing delivering value to the customers and service, while still placing emphasis on quality, and health value of the products delivered by the company.
Kudler Fine Foods should understand the importance of consistent marketing strategy, as, if properly implemented, it may change anything about the way the company views marketing. Sound marketing strategy and tactics will allow Kudler Fine Foods to dominate a gourmet food market niche, to offer products and services like no one else in the industry, and to become more successful while maintaining high quality standards. References CONSUMER BEHAVIOR: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MARKETING. (2008). Retrieved October 16, 2008, from web Ghemawat, P. (2003).
The forgotten strategy. Harvard Business Review, 81 (11), 76. Globe trotting overseas business opportunities for the US food industry. (1993, April). Prepared Foods. Kudler Intranet. (n. d. ).
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