Marketing Research Assignment: Holden Commodore

Question

Task: The outputs of this assignment will be:

1. A discussion of the target market alternatives for the new Commodore. Recommend one.
2. A discussion of the alternative ways of defining the ‘Population’ for a research study on the Commodore target market. Recommend one
3. A discussion of the alternative ways of defining the ‘Sampling Frame’ for the research on the Commodore. Recommend one.
4. A discussion of the alternative ways of defining the sampling approach for the research on the Commodore. Recommend one.

Notes on Group Work In your group discuss how you will manage the completion of the assignment.

Answer

The basis for the marketing research assignment is a case study, which reports about the new initiative of the Holden – entering into the online car sales market that would be the first for the Australian market. Apart from this, the marketing research assignment outlines the strength of Holden in the automobile sector, in context of the Australian market

Executive Summary
The marketing research assignment researches the marketing aspects of Commodore, which is the new vehicle launched online by the automobile importer and manufacturer Holden. The basis for the marketing research assignment is a case study, which reports about the new initiative of the Holden – entering into the online car sales market that would be the first for the Australian market. Apart from this, the marketing research assignment outlines the strength of Holden in the automobile sector, in context of the Australian market. There are four discussions constituting this marketing assignment that offer critical insights into the Commodore market study and evidence of critical thinking to conclude the marketing research assignment. There are recommendations appended with the discussions on the various alternatives infused with the marketing concepts and theories.

1. A discussion of the target market alternatives for the new Commodore. Recommend One.
Commodore is a car produced and sold by Holden from the year 1978. The last edition of the car, Commodore VF, the final series of the fourth and last generation of original Holden series of Commodore, was manufactured and sold from 2013 to 2017. The car is a mid to long size sedan that mainly caters to the executive and higher middle class consumers aged between 18-45 years with special focus on the stereotype Australian preferences for large cars.

Selection of target markets is dependent on the market segmentation process that divides the present or potential markets for a particular product based on the demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioural factors. The basic marketing strategy businesses follow for this segmentation involves choosing between “concentrated”, “differentiated” and “undifferentiated” strategies. With concentrated approach Commodore cars would only be available for the traditional buyers of definite age groups and in a specific design either sedan, SUV or UTE varieties. As per the history of Commodore, the individuals preferring tough or executive cars generally purchased it and the strategy was profitable too. In case of differentiated approach, Commodore may target different types of consumers by designing a variety of models, but will have to have its customised strategies well in place to meet the demands of the diverse tastes. In cases like serving the Asian markets, where small budgeted cars are more in demand, implementation of such a strategy is feasible. The final undifferentiated approach would target different consumer categories with a stable offering (Metaxas, 2015).

Recommendation
It is advisable by this marketing research assignment that Commodore should cater to the young Australians in view of the changing demographics of the evolving multicultural Australia and other countries. This means understanding their basic purchasing behaviour and adapting the marketing strategies accordingly (Anisimova, 2016). The young population is more inclined to buy products online and love to travel a lot while maintaining a certain reputation and open to trying out new things. In alignment to these attributes, it is recommended by marketing research assignment that the Commodore must focus on online shopping, which it has already ventured. This is something that is new to automotive sector along with its quality of being hassle-free in terms of delivery, maintenance and finance, as compared to the conventional selling. However, it will not be a prudent strategy to deviate from the brand image and losing the valuable brand loyalists. Hence, there should be equal focus on maintaining the brick and mortar selling equipped with excellent dealership and after-sales services. Further, manufacturing of more mid-size to small models to acquire the lower middle class consumers and make the presence felt in the international markets. All this is possible under the differentiated approach of market segmentation strategy and hence that stands as the best option for Holden Commodore. ?

2. A discussion of the alternative ways of defining the ‘Population’ for a research study on the Commodore target market. Recommend One.
Population is an important element for conducting any type of research. According to the responses of the population, results and recommendations can be provided to the findings of a research project. According to Parodi, (2015) population has been defined as collection of units that those who provide responses for a particular research of survey. Population is an infinite unit, which becomes finite when different parameters are included in it. The parameters are included according to the type of survey conducted. Adding parameters like age, gender, preferences, income derives appropriate samples for the survey. In the article named ‘Population sampling in longitudinal surveys’ many authors have given their ideas and opinions about different ways of defining population for conducting a research project. The different ways discussed by the authors in the above-mentioned articles could use the managers of Holden to choose their effective population for their new car and new marketing strategies in the market (Heeringa et al., 2017). There are two types of population namely accessible population and target population. Accessible population implies people in the population who are accessible for the survey. This type of population is a subset of target population. Accessible population may not meet the criterions of being effective samples for the research (Goldstein et al., 2018). On the other hand, target population refers to the population, who are suitable for conducting the research project. Target population fulfils all the criterions that fixed by the researcher. The various criterions can be income, preferences, family size, age, sex and accessibility.

Recommendations
According to the requirements of Holden, they should use the target population method to conduct their survey or research regarding the launch of the new car Commodore through the online procedures. Target population is the best method to get accurate results for the various surveys Holden will conduct in future. One thing that needs to be kept in mind is that the target population should be accessible in nature. Further, the target population can be divided into different criterions according to the particulars of the survey. Dividing the population into age, sex, preferences, income, needs for daily transportation can help in segregating the target population. After calculating the different responses gathered from the samples, the organization will be able to get accurate results for the survey.

3. A discussion of the alternative ways of defining the ‘Sampling Frame’ for the research on the Commodore. Recommend One.
It is not possible on the part of the researcher to obtain data from all the target population for conducting a market research. The ‘Sampling Frame’, in this context refers to the actual or source material from where the market research data is derived for further analysis (Taherdoost, 2016). However, the selection of sample frames cannot be a random process. It requires a pre-scrutiny, so the frames suggested are representatives of the entire population, considered for research purpose.

Sampling frame, in other words, are the list of sampling units, which assists the market research process by providing a source for selection of samples. A viable alternative for defining a sampling frame is to consider the data from other competitors in similar lines to continue market research. Another alternative definition of sample frames would be the collection of the sample units in the negative sense of the information required and concluding the required.

The sampling units may not be similar to the observational units in market studies. The accumulation of sampling units helps in arriving at the quantitative information based on the observations that estimates the population parameters. Sampling frames are important the pinpointing the units, as well as, identifying them. Some desirable features for the structure of sampling frames are accuracy and completeness, possessing a unique recognition feature, its relevance as per date and containing supplementary information (Silverman, 2015).

Recommendation
To conduct a market research for Holden Commodore, the company must engage the researchers in surveying young boys in age group 18-35, who have love for cars and plan to buy one in near future. Another sample must take the study of rival companies into consideration, to understand the purchase behaviour of the targeted or potential consumers. Such sample frames must be in reference to the automobile companies that design more than one category of cars. Moreover, sampling units from the government research studies to understand the present economic and overall spending behaviour of the population may be necessary for launching new models of Commodore.

4. A discussion of the alternative ways of defining the sampling approach for the research on the Commodore. Recommend One.
Sampling comes forward as an important element of conducting a market research. When appropriate sampling methods are used, they yield better results for the research project. Sampling approach can be described as the process that is used to select samples or individuals for the research project (Gentles et al., 2015) The article named ‘A Manual for Selecting Sampling Techniques in Research’ has reflected on all the elements of sampling methods and approaches used in the surveys and research projects. The ways to select samples determines the population chosen for conducting the research. Therefore, it is evident that sampling approach and population are inter-related intensely. Sampling approach can be broadly distinguished into probability sampling approach and non-probability sampling approach. Further, there can be many classifications of the above-mentioned approaches. Probability sampling approaches uses random samples from the population (Alvi, 2016). This sampling approach divides into stratified random sampling, systematic random sampling and cluster random sampling. In the non-probability sampling approaches, there is not only one approach included. It includes various methods such as quota sampling, convenience sampling, purposive sampling, snowball sampling and self-selection sampling. Non-probability does not randomly select samples from the population (Bryman and Bell, 2015). Only those samples are selected, which will be able to provide effective responses for the questions asked in the survey.

Recommendations
The organization Holden should use the non-probability sampling approach for conducting its research on Commodore. There is a particular sampling methods helps the researcher to understand the traits in the population. The feasibility of this sampling approach is more in this marketing research assignment. In addition to this, too much of financial assistance is not required for using the sampling approach. The time and cost effectiveness of the non-probability sampling method will yield effective results for the survey. In the non-probability sampling approach, a combination of methods will be used. An amalgamation of the snowball technique and the convenience sampling will help the organization to get better results for Holden in this marketing research assignment. According to the results of the surveys, the organization will be able to draft its marketing strategies effectively. Marketing research assignments are being prepared by our marketing assignment help online experts from top universities which let us to provide you a reliable get assignment help service.

References
Alvi M. (2016). A Manual for Selecting Sampling Techniques in Research. [online] Available at: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/70218/1/MPRA_paper_70218.pdf [Accessed 26 Sep. 2018].

Alvi M. (2016). A Manual for Selecting Sampling Techniques in Research. [online] Available at: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/70218/1/MPRA_paper_70218.pdf [Accessed 26 Sep. 2018].

Bryman, A. and Bell, E., 2015. Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA.

Gentles, S.J., Charles, C., Ploeg, J. and McKibbon, K., 2015. Sampling in qualitative research: Insights from an overview of the methods literature. The Qualitative Report, 20(11), pp.1772-1789.

Goldstein, H., Lynn, P., Muniz-Terrera, G., Hardy, R., O’Muircheartaigh, C., J. Skinner, C. and Lehtonen, R. (2018). Population sampling in longitudinal surveys. [online] Eprints.lse.ac.uk. Available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/64705/1/Skinner_Population_sampling_in_longitudinal_suverys.pdf [Accessed 26 Sep. 2018].

Heeringa, S.G., West, B.T. and Berglund, P.A., 2017. Applied survey data analysis. Chapman and Hall/CRC.

Metaxas, T., 2005. Market research and target market segmentation in Place Marketing procedure: a structural analysis. Marketing Territoriality (Territorial Marketing, Application Possibilities, Development Trends), Department of Trade and Marketing, The Poznan University, Academy of Economics, Poland, pp.50-74.

Parodi, B., 2015. Biobanks: A definition. In Ethics, law and governance of bio banking (pp. 15-19). Springer, Dordrecht.

Silverman, D., 2015. Interpreting qualitative data. Sage.

Taherdoost, H., 2016. Sampling Methods in Research Methodology; How to Choose a Sampling Technique for Research. International Journal of Advance Research in Management, 5(2), pp.18-27.