STUDY UNITS COVERED : STUDY UNITS 1-2. DUE DATE : 3:00 p.m. 20 AUGUST 2013

Transcription

1 Page 1 of 9 ASSIGNMENT 2 ND SEMESTER : BASIC MARKETING RESEARCH 2 () STUDY UNITS COVERED : STUDY UNITS 1-2 DUE DATE : 3:00 p.m. 20 AUGUST 2013 TOTAL MARKS : 100 INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES FOR COMPLETING AND SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS The complete Instructions to Students for Completing and Submitting Assignments must be collected from any IMM GSM office, the relevant Additional Tuition Centre or can be downloaded from the IMM GSM website. It is essential that the complete instructions be studied prior to commencing your assignment. The following points highlight only a few important notes. 1) You are required to submit ONE assignment per subject. 2) The assignment will contribute 20% towards the final examination mark, and the other 80% will be contributed by the examination, however, the examination papers will count out of 100%. 3) Although your assignment will contribute towards your final examination mark, you do not have to earn credits for admission to the examinations; you are automatically accepted on registering for the exam. 4) Number all the pages of your assignment (e.g. page 1 of 4) and write your name and surname, student number and subject at the top of each page. 5) The IMM GSM requires assignments to be presented in a typed format, on plain A4 paper. Unless otherwise specified, this assignment must be completed within a limit of 1500 words, excluding the bibliography. Students who exceed the word limit may find that only part of the submitted assignment will be marked. 6) A separate assignment cover, which is provided by the IMM GSM, must be attached to the front of each assignment. 7) Retain a copy of each assignment before submitting, in case the original does not reach the IMM GSM. 8) The assignment due date refers to the day up to which assignments will be accepted for marking purposes. The deadline is 3:00 p.m. on 20 August Late assignments will be accepted, but 25 marks will be deducted from the maximum mark, if received after 3:00 p.m. on 20 August 2013 and up to 5:00 p.m. the following day, after which no assignments will be accepted. 9) If you fail to follow these instructions carefully, the IMM Graduate School of Marketing cannot accept responsibility for the return of the assignment. It may even result in your assignment not being marked. Results will be available on the IMM GSM website, on Friday, 4 October 2013.

2 Page 2 of 9

3 Page 3 of 9 Answer ALL the questions Sources: IMM Graduate School of Marketing Basic Marketing Research Learner Guide 2013, including all appendices (below): Shipham, S.O., The MBA research process: A reflective view. Management Today, 28(6) pp Shipham, S.O., The MBA research process: Establishing a business case a business research imperative. Management Today, 29(4) pp Shipham, S.O., Why we ll need the wisdom of the snake. Strategic Marketing, 2012(5) pp Prescribed textbook: Kolb, B., Marketing Research A Practical Approach. London: Sage Publications. Recommended reading: Chang, D. (ed) New Urban Tribes of South Africa. Johannesburg: Pan Macmillan. Cooper, D.R. & Schindler, P.S., Business Research Methods. McGraw Hill Fox, W. & Bayat, M.S., A Guide to Managing Research. 1 st ed. Cape Town: Juta. QUESTION 1 [20] It is widely recognised that the quality of market research depends on the researcher assuming a systematic approach. Indicate how each of the following elements contributes to achieving good marketing research. 1.1 Applies a scientific approach (hypothesis, prediction and testing) (4) 1.2 Uncovers the underlying research question (4) 1.3 Employs a research plan (4) 1.4 Uses measurement tools that are valid and reliable; to collect information (4) 1.5 Analyses and interprets information that is relevant to solving a marketing problem (4) QUESTION 2 [20] All definitions of a global village emphasise that we view the world as being a single community which is closely interconnected through travel, media, and electronic communications. All countries are said to be interdependent economically, socially and politically. While the above may hold true in the broad sense, international companies entering and operating in countries other than their home territory need to adjust their

4 Page 4 of 9 marketing and market research approaches where there are specific differences between countries. For the areas below, indicate how and why you believe the process of market research needs to address differences when taking place in other countries. 2.1 Selection of the company or person completing the research (4) 2.2 Influence of language differences (4) 2.3 Hofstede s Cultural Dimensions (discuss up to 4 dimensions) (12) QUESTION 3 [30] Read the attached case study Backing up their Claims. This case study discusses the use of marketing research in a financial organisation, to provide evidence of customer satisfaction. It describes the process and outcomes of research. You are required to comment on the following: 3.1 Before the research has been carried out, what is Farm Bureau Financial Services management problem? I.e. Your answer should address the underlying business purpose(s) of undertaking customer satisfaction research. (4) 3.2 What would be the advantages of using in-depth interviews instead of focus groups to gather the qualitative information from claim department employees and from claimants? (10) 3.3 What would the value be of including a telephone survey of recent claimants? (8) 3.4 Discuss how the FBFS management used the outcomes of research within the company. Do you believe this was effective use of research outcomes? (8) QUESTION 4 [20] Conducting research in an ethical manner is of prime concern to the profession as a whole and to consumers who are expected to provide information during surveys. 4.1 What steps can be taken by a researcher to ensure protection and use of data (during collection, capture, storage, and after the survey)? (6) And, what steps can be taken to ensure that the research process respects the rights of a. respondents in general during the interviewing process? (6) b. vulnerable respondents such as children, the elderly and handicapped people? (2)

5 Page 5 of 9 c. the sponsor of research (i.e. the client or organisation commissioning the research)? (6) PRESENTATION [10] ASSIGNMENT TOTAL: 100

6 Page 6 of 9 Backing up their claims Article ID: Published: October 2002 Author: Kristi Gale Article Abstract Farm Bureau Financial Services used in-depth interviews and a mail survey to measure claimant satisfaction. Editor's note: Kristi Gale is senior marketing research analyst at Farm Bureau Financial Services, West Des Moines, Iowa. If a person were to ask several employees in the claims department at Farm Bureau Financial Services (FBFS) about their customers' level of satisfaction, you would probably get the same answer, "Farm Bureau Financial Services provides excellent claim service to its insureds." There has always been universal internal belief that FBFS does a good job of providing claim service to its property and/or casualty insurance customers. But however justifiable, this employee pride wasn't enough proof for FBFS management. A more structured evaluation was necessary - and this is just what claims management asked of the marketing research and analysis department. Farm Bureau's claims management approached Dan Koster, director of marketing research and analysis, and commissioned a study on property and casualty claims satisfaction. All involved were eager to find out what FBFS customers thought of the claims process. If indeed Farm Bureau's claims process produced high marks from insureds, the company would definitely want to get the word out to potential clients! Farm Bureau Financial Services is an insurance and investment company doing business in a 15-state marketing region. In a typical year, the claims center receives approximately 72,000 calls on claims for automobile, homeowner, and farm insurance. The company processes property and casualty insurance claims in six states: Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Most of the processing is conducted through its home office in West Des Moines, Iowa.

7 Page 7 of 9 Farm Bureau had confirmed the influence of the claim experience on customer satisfaction and loyalty in past marketing research studies. FBFS management also knew that a reputation for good claim service is a major draw to attract new customers. Several claims satisfaction research studies had been conducted in the past, but most resulted in simply an overall read of satisfaction - which provided a useful benchmark but didn't explore or quantify what drives satisfaction from a customer's point of view. The task of managing the study fell to Kristi Gale, Farm Bureau's senior marketing research analyst. She partnered with Grapentine Inc., a marketing research firm located in Ankeny, Iowa, and Larry Constantineau, a marketing and research consultant with MarketViews, Inc., Traverse City, Mich. Together they began developing the three-stage claimant satisfaction study. Determine issues The first stage began with in-depth interviews conducted among claim department management and employees and FBFS claimants to determine all the issues associated with claimant satisfaction. The objective of the initial management interviews was to provide an overview of claimant needs and expectations along with standard corporate procedures that were designed to meet those needs. It also clarified management's interests and goals regarding claimant satisfaction. The employee interviews explored their perspectives on claimant satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Finally, claimants were queried about their needs and expectations, sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction, and any problems and complaints that had arisen. Telephone interviews were then scheduled with recent claimants (those who had had a claim in the previous six months) by the research team. Claimants from each line of business - auto, farm, and homeowner - were interviewed. The significant issues from this qualitative phase were then condensed into processes and sub-processes, and subsequently formulated into a quantitative survey. Develop a model The second stage consisted of a mail survey, which was used to develop a model that would help the claims department understand and identify the most important satisfaction drivers for claimants. Within the survey, customers evaluated FBFS claim service on 62 attributes that described various characteristics of company claim performance. The quantitative study was also intended to develop a baseline measurement of Farm Bureau claimant satisfaction and to identify the levels at which claimant expectations and needs were being met. The marketing research and analysis department used the information gained from this study to provide insights and suggestions to management on how Farm Bureau Financial Services could best serve its customers in terms of claims service.

8 Page 8 of 9 The analysis The third stage consisted of analyzing the data. Various statistics were utilized to understand the drivers of customer satisfaction and loyalty, and their relative importance. Farm Bureau discovered several important findings. First, the results indicated the drivers that were most important to customers in a claim situation. They are (in order of importance to the customer): settlement and repair work conducted; the claims adjuster; company accessibility and communications; the role of the agent; claim service representatives (800-number); company service rates. With this information, FBFS now has guidelines for managing claims department functions based on customer-defined drivers of satisfaction. Farm Bureau also discovered through this research that customers' satisfaction with the claims process is quite high. In fact, customers seem to have an even greater level of company loyalty and satisfaction after a claim - a significant finding. Sharing the good news With tangible evidence on the level of claims satisfaction, the next steps included presenting findings to claims management, the FBFS management team, claims employees, and the field force to: provoke discussions about key issues; develop specific action plans linked to key drivers of satisfaction/loyalty and establish goals for improvement in the next year; identify and develop proactive communication tools for claims employees; continue tracking customer satisfaction and loyalty with additional research. Farm Bureau realized the research findings indicated great news for the company, but now the question became how to let the general public (i.e., prospective customers) know about FBFS's top-notch service. The answer: advertise it. "The results of our claims satisfaction research seemed a natural fit for advertising," says Scott Shuck, FBFS vice president of marketing services. "But one obstacle we faced was how to best communicate the information from the research study. To keep them credible, we wanted the ads to have a 'realness' to them. Any company can make an advertising statement that they've got a good claims process, so we wanted to address that we truly had a reason to make such a statement - our customers are telling us so. " Under the guidance of Nancy Doll, director of advertising and public relations, ads were developed using a customer testimonial approach. The headline in one print ad, "When is it right to claim fast, fair service? When we're not the only ones talking," was used to serve up actual customer quotes praising how FBFS handled their claims. Photos representing the customers' damages were used to help tell the story.

9 Page 9 of 9 Other advertising focused on the quantitative research findings. Newspaper and radio ads for each multi-line state were developed and placed. "These ads really illustrate the great work our agents, adjusters, and claims offices are doing on the front lines," says Shuck. "And they also indicate that Farm Bureau Financial Services employees are doing a great job behind the scenes to enable those folks to consistently meet and exceed our customers' expectations in a claims situation." Case History used with grateful acknowledgement to Quirk s Marketing Research Review. Kristi, G., Backing up their claims. [Online] Available at: [Accessed: 8 March 2013]