BSBMKG607B Manage Market Research Student Workbook PDF

Manage market research
BSBMKG607B
Student Workbook

Student Workbook
BSBMKG607B Manage market research
1st Edition 2010
Part of a suite of support materials for the

BSB07 Business Services Training Package
Acknowledgment
Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council (IBSA) would like to acknowledge Equip
Grow Lead Pty Ltd for their assistance with the development of this resource.
Writers: Emily Logan, Shane MacDonald and Peter Baskerville
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Published by: Innovation and Business Industry First published: August 2010
Skills Council Ltd
1st edition version: 1.0
Level 11
176 Wellington Pde Release date: August 2010
East Melbourne VIC 3002
Phone: +61 3 9815 7000
Fax: +61 3 9815 7001
Email: [email protected]
www.ibsa.org.au
ISBN: 978-1-921788-89-5
Stock code: MKG607B'
Table of Contents
Introduction .........................................................................................................................1
Features of the training program .................................................................................1
Structure of the training program ................................................................................1
Recommended reading ................................................................................................1
Section 1 – Market Research.............................................................................................2
What skills will you need? ............................................................................................2
The role of market research .........................................................................................2
Qualitative and quantitative research .........................................................................3
Research techniques ....................................................................................................5
Data analysis .............................................................................................................. 10
Section summary ....................................................................................................... 11
Further reading .......................................................................................................... 11
Section checklist ........................................................................................................ 11
Section 2 – Research Plan .............................................................................................. 12
What skills will you need? ......................................................................................... 12
Elements of project planning .................................................................................... 13
Policy and procedures ............................................................................................... 20
Legislative requirements ........................................................................................... 21
Section summary ....................................................................................................... 28
Further reading .......................................................................................................... 28
Section 3 – Manage Research ........................................................................................ 29
External providers ...................................................................................................... 29
Evaluating proposals ................................................................................................. 32
Managing consultants ............................................................................................... 33
Communication skills ................................................................................................ 35
Section summary ....................................................................................................... 47
Further reading .......................................................................................................... 47
Section 4 – Evaluate Outcomes ...................................................................................... 48
Review, research and plan outcomes ...................................................................... 48
Reviewing the research process ............................................................................... 50
Reporting on the research process .......................................................................... 52
Section summary ....................................................................................................... 58
Further reading .......................................................................................................... 58
Glossary ............................................................................................................................ 59
Appendices ....................................................................................................................... 60
Appendix 1: Case study ............................................................................................. 60
Appendix 2: MacVille policy and procedure manual................................................ 69
Appendix 3: Marketing plan – Zelda’s Espresso ..................................................... 78
Student Workbook Introduction
Introduction
Features of the training program
The key features of this program are:
 Student Workbook – Self-paced learning activities to help you to understand key
concepts and terms. The Student Workbook is broken down into several sections.
 Facilitator-led sessions– Challenging and interesting learning activities that can
be completed in the classroom or by distance learning that will help you
consolidate and apply what you have learned in the Student Workbook.
 Assessment Tasks – Summative assessments where you can apply your new
skills and knowledge to solve authentic workplace tasks and problems.
Structure of the training program

This training program introduces you to marketing research. Specifically, you will develop
the skills and knowledge in the following topic areas:
1. Market research
2. Research plan
3. Manage research
4. Evaluate outcomes.
Note: the Student Workbook sections and Session numbers are listed next to the topics
above.
Your facilitator may choose to combine or split sessions. For example, in some cases, this
Training Program may be delivered in two or three sessions, or in others, as many as eight
sessions.
Recommended reading
Some recommended reading for this unit includes:
 KnowThis.com, 2010, viewed June 2010, <http://www.knowthis.com/principles-
of-marketing-tutorials/marketing-research/importance-of-marketing-research/>.

© 2010 Innovation & Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 1 of 90
Section 1 – Market Research Student Workbook
Section 1 – Market Research

This section introduces the key concepts of market research, including qualitative and
quantitative data, research and analysis techniques.
Scenario: Research projects
As the senior marketing manager, responsible for internal staff and the engagement of
external consultants, you will be required from time to time to manage a market
research project. These projects are often created when an organisation wants to
expand into new markets either geographically or with new products. To manage
market research projects effectively you will be required to understand fully the role of
market research. As a background to your role you will also need to understand the
differences between qualitative and quantitative research, to know how to select
appropriate research techniques and to complete a data analysis.
What skills will you need?

In order to work effectively as a marketing manager, you must be able to:
 understand the role of market research
 compare qualitative and quantitative research
 select appropriate research techniques
 complete data analysis.
The role of market research

Research is the process of gathering information. In order for an organisation to
successfully sell products and services, they must understand the mind of the customer –
their values, attitudes and opinions. The role of marketing research is to gather, analyse
and interpret this information.
The information gathered provides guidance and support for the decisions made by
marketing managers.

Page 2 of 90 © 2010 Innovation & Business Industry Skills Council Ltd
Student Workbook Section 1 – Market Research
The marketing research process typically includes the steps outlined

below:
1. Define the problem: clearly identify the
information that is required for decision making, Define the
which becomes the objective of the research.
This is usually formed as a question to be
problem
answered.
2. Research design: marketing research will usually
fall into one of three categories, depending on
the objective. Determine the
 Exploratory research is used to gain more research design
information about an unfamiliar topic or
issue.
 Descriptive research is used to generate
a description of something that is
occurring, such as the buyers of a Collect data
specific product, or competitors in the
market.
 Causal research investigates the
relationship between variables.
3. Collect data: includes determining data types and
sources, designing forms of data collection, and
Analyse data
determining the sample size.
4. Analyse data: involves interpretation of data to
determine findings of research. This is look at in
greater detail later in this workbook.
5. Report findings: presents the outcomes of Report
research against the problem defined in the first
stage, and makes any relevant
recommendations.
Qualitative and quantitative research

Data and information is classified as either qualitative or quantitative.
Quantitative data is numerical information that can be displayed using charts, tables and
diagrams. It can be easily measured and analysed to determine quantity or extent of
factors being investigated.
Qualitative data is focused on words and observations, not numbers. This can include
stories, interpretations, characteristics and descriptions that cannot be captured from
quantitative data.

Learning activity: Quantitative and qualitative data
From your understanding of the above, review the Market Research Report in Appendix
1 and identify two examples of quantitative data and two examples of qualitative data.
Quantitative data Qualitative data
Data validity
It is important to ensure that data is obtained from trusted sources, to ensure it is valid
and reliable. There are questions that you should consider when selecting existing data
for use in the marketing process:
 What was the researcher’s objective in collecting the data?
 What data was collected and what is it supposed to measure?
 When was the data collected?
 What methods were used?
 How is the data organized?
 What information is known about the success of that data collection? How
consistent is the data with data from other sources?
Learning activity: Research findings 1
For the case study provided in Appendix 1, describe how you could confirm the validity
of information and data included in the report.

Essential qualities of information

The aim of any data collection activity is always to aid in decision making. The decisions
that are made will only be as good as the data collected. It is essential then that data is
‘quality tested’ to ensure it will produce the desired results.
Data should be:
 Accurate: Information collected through audit activities should be precise and a
true reflection of the relevant events, subjects and issues.
 Relevant: Data collected should be directly related to the intent and objectives of
the audit or collection process.
 Reliable: Data must be verifiable and well supported by background information.
Research techniques
There are two techniques used to describe data collection – primary and secondary.
Primary data collection refers to data collected by the user. Data collected is unique to
the organisation and is not publicly available unless the researcher chooses to publish it.
Some common methods of primary data collection include interviews, focus groups,
surveys. questionnaires, observations and diaries.
Secondary data is collected by someone other than the user. It can be sourced from
existing survey results, databases, statistical research organisations, published reports,
case studies and published texts.
Organisational requirements for gathering data

Every organisation has different requirements that govern how information is collected
and held. There may be specific guidelines for accessing certain types of information,
such as customer details or product development plans.
Requirements and guidelines may relate to:
 legal obligations
 reporting guidelines
 records
 resources and equipment
 ethical standards
 policies and procedures.
It is important to find out what restrictions may be applicable to the information and data
you gather before you conduct an audit.
Primary data collection techniques

Primary data collection refers to data collected by the user. Data collected is unique to
the organisation and is not publicly available unless the researcher chooses to publish it.

Interviews
Interviewing can be used to identify the underlying reasons and motivations for people’s
attitudes, preferences or behaviour. They can be individual or group-based.
Advantages Disadvantages
 serious approach by respondent  need to set up interviews
resulting in accurate information
 time consuming.
 good response rate
 geographic limitations
 completed and immediate
 can be expensive
 possible in-depth questions
 normally need a set of questions
 interviewer in control and can give
 respondent bias – tendency to
help if there is a problem
please or impress, create false
 can investigate motives and feelings personal image, or end interview
quickly
 can use recording equipment
 embarrassment possible if personal
 characteristics of respondent
questions
assessed – tone of voice, facial
expression, hesitation, etc.  transcription and analysis can
present problems – subjectivity
 can use props
 if many interviewers, training
 if one interviewer used, uniformity of
required.
approach
 used to pilot other methods.
Focus groups
A focus group is an interview conducted by a trained moderator in a non-structured and
natural manner with a small group of respondents. The moderator leads the discussion.
The main purpose of focus groups is to gain insights by listening to a group of people from
the appropriate target market talk about specific issues of interest.
 allow for data collection on emotive  often learn what people say they do
issues as people are quite willing to or think, not what they actually do or
give their opinions and impressions think
of items
 there is the possibility of group think
 allows several different
designs/approaches to be shown in
 one or two individuals can dominate
the group, creating an inaccurate
order to facilitate conversation on
view of what users’ overall opinions
what it is they are looking for in a
are
product
 flexible format
 can be time-consuming, and
expensive (often relies on an
 Good for obtaining data from people incentive to get attendees)
with low levels of literacy.
 requires very effective facilitation
skills to conduct.

Questionnaires
Popular means of collecting data, but are difficult to design and often require many
rewrites before an acceptable questionnaire is produced.
 can be used as a method in its own  design problems
right or as a basis for interviewing or
 questions have to be relatively
a telephone survey
simple
 can be posted, e-mailed or faxed
 historically low response rate
 can cover a large number of people (although inducements may help)
or organisations
 time delay whilst waiting for
 wide geographic coverage responses to be returned
 relatively cheap  require a return deadline
 no prior arrangements are needed  several reminders may be required
 avoids embarrassment on the part  assumes no literacy problems.
of the respondent
 no control over who completes it
 respondent can consider responses
 not possible to give assistance if
 possible anonymity of respondent required
 no interviewer bias.  problems with incomplete
questionnaires
 replies not spontaneous and
independent of each other
 respondent can read all questions
beforehand and then decide whether
to complete or not.
Observations
Observation involves recording the behavioural patterns of people, objects and events in
a systematic manner.
Observational methods may be:
 structured or unstructured
 disguised or undisguised
 natural or contrived
 personal
 mechanical
 non-participant
 participant, with the participant taking a number of different roles.

Diaries
A diary is a way of gathering information about the way individuals spend their time on
professional activities. They are not about records of engagements or personal journals of
thought! Diaries can record either quantitative or qualitative data, and in management
research can provide information about work patterns and activities.
 useful for collecting information  subjects need to be clear about what
from employees they are being asked to do,
 different writers compared and  diarists need to be of a certain
contrasted simultaneously educational level
 allows the researcher freedom to  some structure is necessary to give
move from one organisation to the diarist focus, for example, a list
another of headings
 researcher not personally involved  encouragement and reassurance are
needed as completing a diary is time-
 diaries can be used as a preliminary
consuming and can be irritating after
or basis for intensive interviewing
a while
 used as an alternative to direct
 progress needs checking from time-
observation or where resources are
to-time
limited.
 confidentiality is required as content
may be critical
 Analyses problems, so you need to
consider how responses will be
coded before the subjects start filling
in diaries.
Samples
A sample is a small subset of a population that is used as a representative for that
population as a whole. For example, to determine the average amount university students
in Australia spend on food, instead of asking every university student in the country, a
sample could complete a questionnaire. Using a sample, as opposed to a census of the
entire population, is more cost effective and less time consuming. It also can usually give
an accurate portrayal of the population with a relatively small sample size, though this
depends on the degree of similarity within the population: the larger the differences within
the population of interest, the larger the sample size required.
When sampling it is vital to define the target population. This may be determined by
establishing the crucial characteristics of the population. For example, a baby food
manufacturer may target women who are able to have children. The next consideration
when defining the target population is the specific tangible characteristics of the
population. For example, instead of ‘women who are able to have children’ this may be
defined instead as ‘women between the age of 18 and 50’ . Though this example may
exclude some women who may have children and include some who cannot, it is a much
more specific description. This should introduce more quantitative, definite measures by
which the population, and hence sample, may be defined.

Unfortunately, in most cases, all elements of the population are not able to be identified
or contacted. For this reason, a sampling frame is developed. This is a list of elements of
the target population that may be included in a sample. Discrepancies will exist between
the target population and sampling frame and it is important to be aware of these when
determining what the sample frame will actually be. Sampling frame error is the error in
results attributed to elements of the population not being accurately represented in the
sampling frame.
Other limitations of sampling a population are random sampling error and non-sampling
or human error. Random sampling error is the discrepancy between results from a
randomly selected sample and those obtained by a census. For example, if an
organisation knows that 80% of its customers are female and 20% male, but a sample
taken is made up of only 60% female and 40% male, random sampling error is the
difference between the known true value and that of the sample (i.e. in this case it would
be 80:20 verses 60:40). The degree of random error can be lessened by increasing
sample size, however, this is more costly and time consuming.
In contrast, non-sampling errors are not random; they come from the design of the study.
This may be sample frame errors, mistakes in sample selection, or non-responses. For
example, if data was collected via a telephone survey during the day, this is likely to
capture specific demographics in a non-proportional manner to the target population. If it
is conducted via email, only people with email or will participate.
Secondary data collection techniques

Secondary data is collected by someone other than the user. It can be sourced from
existing survey results, databases, statistical research organisations, published reports,
case studies and published texts.
It is important to ensure that data is obtained from trusted sources, to ensure it is valid
and reliable. There are questions that you should consider when selecting existing data
for use in your audit:
 What was the researcher’s objective in collecting the data?
 What data was collected and what is it supposed to measure?
 When was the data collected?
 What methods were used?
 How is the data organised?
 What information is known about the success of that data collection? How
consistent is the data with data from other sources?

Data analysis
The method of data analysis is dependent on both the objectives of the research and the
nature of the data collected (qualitative or quantitative and primary or secondary). This
analysis may be either descriptive, which usually provides a broad summary of the data
collected, or inferential, which requires a scientific method and statistical analysis of
data.
Non-statistical forms of analysis

Cluster analysis looks at creating internally homogenous and externally heterogeneous
clusters within a market. This is not a statistical test, but rather a series of algorithms.
Frequency distribution or percentage distributions are a common way to transform a lot of
data into manageable information. This simply records either the number of times a
particular variable occurs, or the percentage of the time that it occurred. An example of
frequency distribution and one of percentage distribution is bellow.
Favourite drink Frequency Favourite drink Percentage
Water 242 Water 39
Cordial 37 Cordial 6
Coffee 192 Coffee 31
Tea 93 Tea 15
Milk 56 Milk 9
620 100
Learning activity: Research findings 2
For the case study provided in Appendix 1, develop a brief summary of the report
findings here, and note (for your organisation) the relevance and usefulness of findings
against research objectives.

Section summary
You should now understand the role of market research, qualitative and quantitative
data, research techniques, and data analysis.
Further reading
 Quick MBA, viewed June 2010,
<http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/research/>.
Section checklist
Before you proceed to the next section, make sure that you are able to:
 understand the role of market research
 compare qualitative and quantitative research
 select appropriate research techniques
 complete data analysis.

Section 2 – Research Plan Student Workbook
Section 2 – Research Plan

This section is about planning and establishing the process for undertaking marketing
research, within organisational and legislative requirements.
Scenario: Planning
The first stage of a market research project is the planning. As a senior marketing
manager you will be required to set the framework in which this planning task can be
completed in the most effective and efficient way. To do this you will be fully aware of
your organisation’s policy and procedures as well as the legislative requirements that
impact on this activity. Add to this a sound understanding and application of the
elements of project planning and you will have the tools that will assist you in
developing a research plan.

In order to work effectively as a marketing manager, you must understand:
 the elements of project planning
 organisational policy and procedures
 legislative requirements.

Student Workbook Section 2 – Research Plan
Elements of project planning

Planning marketing research is much like planning any type of project. There are many
key details you must know before you being. In the case of a marketing manager, this
planning is crucial, as you are often generating a plan to give to someone else to
implement. This could be a staff member, or external consultant, so it is important that
the plan clearly states what is needed and expected. Here we look at the key
components of project planning, in order to develop a marketing research plan.
Conceptual planning
Conceptual planning is planning designed to give an overview or general understanding of
the project and its requirements. It is important to have a clear understanding of each of
the following elements of the project:
 a broad definition or explanation of what the business or

Purpose
organisation wants from the project.
 the breadth and depth of the project

Scope
 any limitations for the project should be listed here.
Objectives  the required objectives of the project.
Milestones
 the specific, measurable outcomes within the project.
and timelines
Contracts and  any legal constraints or contracts binding this project to

legals particular outcomes or requirements.
 the stakeholders (internal and external) in this project and

Stakeholders
their role for this project.
Issues and  the issues and barriers that may present for this project
barriers  usually listed with ways that potential barriers be overcome.
 the budget available for this project, and how it is to be

Budget managed
 any known major expenses and income streams.
Monitoring  how monitoring and reporting is expected to occur

and reporting throughout this project.

Learning activity: Scenario reflection ‘concept’
For the Case Study provided in Appendix 1, which of the concept planning headings
could be addressed with the information you have? List them and briefly describe the
relevant information.

Detailed planning
Detailed planning is gives clear guidance to the project administrator of exactly what they
should be doing and when they should be doing it. For management of any project, it is
important that the requirements of the project brief or contract are being met, whether it
is an internal or external job, large or small. Some typical requirements within a project
brief that need to be met are:
 project scope  project description
 performance standards  completion requirements
 agreed timelines  timelines
 goals and objectives  staffing.
Detailed project planning should include descriptions of the following:
 A list of all stakeholders involved with this project, including

all people working on the project.
Stakeholders
 The list should include their exact roles and any specific
reporting requirements.
 A description of the specific activities needed to do or

complete within this project.
Activities  The activities incorporate and provide full details for a
combination of the purpose, scope and objectives from the
conceptual planning stage.
 Description of any constraints for the project. Some

common restraints may be:
o cost – where there is a fixed budget with no
possible extensions
Constraints
o attendees – where there is an absolute upper or
lower limit for attendees
o legals – where various forms of legislation may
affect proceedings.
 Details of the venue identified as suitable with a description

of the alternate venues that have been chosen from.
 Include the key criteria that the venue must meet, and the
Venue
estimate costs for planned usage.
 Attach a location map showing where the venue is, if
possible.

 Details of all resources available to you to complete this

project.
Resources
 Include in this a description of whether the resource is
completely or partially available to the project.
 Description of all deliverables for this project, with clearly

observable milestones and activities to be detailed.
Timeline  Factors for timeline are to include a description of factors
that may affect the timeline negatively and what can be
done to constrain or manage it.
 Details of all of the tasks, activities and resources available

Resource and
to this project, and a description of how they will be
task allocation
allocated to meet the required timelines.
 A full budget breakdown, describing all expected costs and

attendee income.
Budget  Many organisations also require a cash flow budget, which

is the budget broken down against the timeline of the
project, comparing and summarising cash flow against
phases (separated by milestones) of the project.
 Description of how the planning and management of the

project will be monitored throughout all stages of the
Monitoring
project, and against all tasks, activities, milestones and
other external requirements.
 Description of who reports go to throughout this project.

 Lines of authority must be clearly outlined, including the
Reporting budget approval process (this should reflect organisational
policy and procedure and any other statutory or auditing
requirements).

Learning activity: Research guidelines
Develop simple step-by-step guidelines to be used for conducting marketing research.

Make sure you include as many phases as you can think of, from establishment of
scope of research through to verifying the accuracy of data.

Objectives and activities

Project administrators are involved in a range of activities for a project, beyond
completing the planning documentation. Some typical activities associated with projects
are:
 coordinating staff
 ensuring tasks are carried out
 communicating advice/information to team
 managing meetings, including preparation of minutes, papers and reports
 preparing project plan
 preparing project documentation
 monitoring financial arrangements
 monitoring timelines
 monitoring progress.
Key steps in the process of identifying activities included in the range of the project are:
what who
what what time
contraints should or
what needs to how are when limits are who could do
be done? there?
there? the task?
Step 1: What
This is the most basic of steps, but planning must start at the stage of
examining what needs to be done. Part of defining what needs to be
done is being able to construct a list of all tasks, activities and
objectives. Sometimes these three terms are interchanged, but
typically:
 Tasks are things that need to be done.
 Activities are things that administrators are involved with.
 Objectives are things that must be achieved.
Step 2: How
For the tasks that have been identified in the project, describe how they
are meant to be done. This may include restraints about only being
done a certain way (e.g. painting must be roll-finished) or may be a
constraint for the type of finish (e.g. any type of finish, so long as it is
waterproof).

Step 3: When
For all of the tasks, activities and objectives identified and associated
with the project, it is of vital importance that the project administrator
understands when each of them are due and which of them are
dependent on other tasks. This combination of due dates and
dependencies often describes the order that things must be
undertaken to complete the project successfully.
Typically within a project a number of standard timelines and
administrative milestones are required to be met. These can include:
 contract requirements
 developing a work plan
 use of project planning software
 timelines
 progress reports
 achievement of key tasks/project phases
 measurement/achievement of set outcomes
 completion of tasks
 completion of contract phases/requirements.
Step 4: Who
The final step in the planning process is determining who can or could
complete the required task and allocating the task to them. Project
administrators must review the available resources for the project, and
if necessary submit a report to the project manager requesting further
support if the required person is not available.
Budget
One of the most critical aspects of planning for a project is the management of the
expenditure for the project. The bulk of project costs are beyond the control of the project
administrator, however the administrator is still expected to monitor and report on all
financial activity related to the budget, as well as recommend ways to handle cost
overruns where possible.
Some key areas to consider when reviewing expenditure are:
 allocated costs
 capital expenditure
 labour costs
 cost of materials and supplies
 overhead costs
 sub-contractor costs.

Different industries and projects have different standards for items included in the
budget. A good way to check standard costs for the industry your project is in is to review
the budgets of previous projects conducted for the organisation. Another option is to
research on the internet for projects of a similar nature and the expenses they involved.
Note typical areas where cost overruns occurred when doing internet research to help in
your planning.
One of the most common approaches to budgeting in project management is bottom-up
budgeting. This is where the cost of each individual item, task or activity is calculated
independently of others. Then each individual cost is combined to find the total budget.
The strength of this is that we already know we have the tasks broken into their smallest
pieces, so there shouldn’t be any hidden costs with this process.
The opposite budget approach is top-down budgeting, which starts with a fixed amount,
and is then broken down to each department. This is not uncommon for a home project,
where a fixed budget amount is known or agreed upon before the project is conceptually
planned. In the business environment, a feasibility study of some form can be used to
give an indication of the likely size of a budget, before a project concept plan is
developed.
Policy and procedures

Policies and procedures
Policies and procedures document how an organisation functions. They exist to provide a
common way of approaching routine tasks, and to ensure the organisation complies with
its legal and ethical obligations.
When undertaking marketing research, you must be aware of the policies that affect you
and the task, and ensure that your team and the outcomes they achieve abide by these
policies. While these policies will cover every area of business operation, there are a
number that could directly affect your research project. Some of these are listed below.
 affirmative action  occupational health and safety
 bullying and harassment  privacy
 internet and email usage  risk management
 media  sexual harassment.
A sample of these policies has been included in Appendix 2 of this workbook.
Develop new policy documents

In order to facilitate your market research project, it may be necessary for you to develop
new policies and procedures. This may be to document the process being followed, or to
bring clarification for tasks where no guidance is already provided in existing policies.
In general, when writing policy, you should keep in mind the size and specific needs of the
organisation or project. Policy should be clear and concise – don’t include lengthy
processes or procedures that will be difficult to maintain or comply with.

The structure for policy documents will vary from organisation to organisation, but some
common elements included are:
 purpose statement – the context of the policy, why it is required
 scope – the application of the policy (particular location, workgroup, etc.)
 procedure – how the policy is implemented
 roles and responsibilities – who is responsible for what in the implementation of
the policy
 legislation – reference any legislation with which the policy specifically complies.
Policies should be reviewed regularly, or at the commencement of each new project, to

ensure they are still current and relevant to the tasks being undertaken.
Legislative requirements
Legislative and regulatory requirements that affect the market research project must be
carefully considered by the marketing manager, to ensure that the project is compliant
and does not present risk for the business. Some key areas of legislation to consider are
discussed below.
Discrimination
You might notice in the list of laws that there are a few key terms that are repeated. One
is discrimination. This term refers to the act of preferring one person to another, or
refusing to provide a service to someone because of a trait or characteristic that they
have. In other words, refusing to interview a blind person for a job where sight was not
necessarily a prerequisite would be discrimination against a person with a disability.
Deciding not to promote a woman because she might want to have baby at some time in
the future would be discriminating against her on the basis of her gender. An example of
racial hatred would be if someone shouted an insulting term to a player during a football
match that referred to the colour of their skin.
Generally speaking, it is illegal for employers to discriminate against employees or those
applying for employment on any of the grounds below:
 race  family responsibilities
 colour  pregnancy
 gender  religion
 sexual preference  political opinion
 age  membership or non-membership of a union
 physical or mental disability  national extraction
 marital status  social origin.

Learning activity: Discrimination
Discuss the application of discrimination to the marketing function. Describe three

ways this legislation affects your role as the marketing manager.

Direct marketing code of practice

1
The Australian Direct Marketing Association has produced a code of practice with the
purpose of ensuring honest and fair dealings of those within the information based
marketing field.
Main features of the code of practice are:
 privacy protection
 adhering to the National Privacy Principles
 compulsory do not mail/do not call service made
 remove names and contact details of customers
 mandatory ‘cooling off’ period
 customer is able to cancel contract within seven days, this right must be stated on
the contract
 compliance requirement extension to suppliers and non-members
 the conduct of members’ agents, subcontractors and supplies, is the
responsibility of the member
 telemarketing standards of practice
o a direct marketer by means of the telephone must:
- identify themselves
- state the purpose of the call
- ensure their name, address and telephone number is listed in an
accessible directory
- if requested, give the name of the individual responsible for
customer inquiries
- offer to call back if they have called at an inconvenient time
- provide a clear opportunity to accept or decline the offer
- only make calls at a time that complies with specific legislation,
and in all other circumstances is between 9am and 8pm and not
on Christmas day, Good Friday or Easter Sunday.
- release the telephone line of the customer within five seconds of
them hanging up
- not pretend they are undertaking market research when they
intend to sell goods or services
- not contact a customer more than once within 30 days for the
same or similar campaign without the customer’s prior consent.
1
Australian Direct Marketing Association, 2010, ‘ADMA Direct Marketing Code of Practice’, viewed
July 2010, <http://www.adma.com.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=1985>.

 e-commerce standards
 code authority
o independent complaints body which investigates unresolved customer
complaints regarding both members of the ADMA and non-member
companies.
Defamation
These laws aim to protect the reputation of individuals against indefensible attack, while
also maintaining freedom of speech. In order for this to apply, the defamed person must
prove that the information was published to a third person, that they (the defamed
person) were identified and that the communication was defamatory.
For more information on defamation legislation in your state, use the following links:
 SA – Defamation Act 2005, viewed June 2010,
<http://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/DEFAMATION%20ACT%202005/CUR
RENT/2005.50.UN.PDF>.
 QLD – Defamation Act 2005, viewed June 2010,
<http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/D/DefamA05.pdf>.
 NSW – Defamation Act 2005 viewed June 2010,
<http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/da200599/>
 WA – Defamation Act 2005, viewed June 2010,
<http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/wa/consol_act/da200599/>.
 VIC – Defamation Act 2005, viewed June 2010,
<http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/da200599/>.
Learning activity: Defamation
Discuss the application of defamation to the marketing function. Describe three ways
this legislation affects your role as the marketing manager.

Privacy
The National Privacy Principles regulate the way information is handled by private sector
organisations such as creditors and debt collectors. The principles, as stated by the Office
2
of the Privacy Commissioner are:
1. Collection
Organisations must ensure that individuals are aware their personal information
is being collected, why, who it might be passed on to and that they can ask the
organisation what personal information it holds about them.
2. Use
Personal information may not be collected unless it is necessary for an
organisation’s activities and must only be used for the purpose it was collected.
Many direct marketing mailers will now have to offer the recipient the opportunity
to elect not to receive further mailings.
3. Data quality
Organisations must take steps to ensure personal information they collect is
accurate, complete and up-to-date.
4. Data security
An organisation must take reasonable steps to protect the personal information it
holds from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or
disclosure.
5. Openness
An organisation must have a policy document outlining its information handling
practices and make this available to anyone who asks.
6. Access and correction

Generally, an organisation must give an individual access to personal information
it holds about the individual upon request.
7. Identifiers
An organisation must not adopt, use or disclose an identifier that has been
assigned by a Commonwealth government agency.
8. Anonymity
Organisations must give people the option to interact anonymously whenever it is
lawful and practicable to do so.
2
Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner, 2001, Guidelines to the National Privacy Principles,
viewed August 2010, <http://www.privacy.gov.au/materials/types/download/8774/6582>

9. Transborder data flows

An organisation can only transfer personal information to a recipient in a foreign
country in circumstances where the information will have appropriate protection.
10. Sensitive information

Sensitive information (such as status of someone's health, political opinions or
sexual preference), may only be collected with the consent of the individual
(unless a public interest exception applies).
There are several key obligations around information collection:
Whenever possible collect

Only collect information Collect information by fair
information directly from
that is necessary. means.
the person.
Take reasonable steps to Do not disclose

Take care about the type
let people know that information about the
of information contained
personal information has person to a third party that
in messages left on
been collected and what you are collecting
answering machines.
is going to be done with it. information from.
Generally, personal information should only be used and disclosed for the purpose for
which it was collected.
Learning activity: Application of national privacy principles
Discuss the application of privacy to the marketing function. Describe three ways these
principles affect your role as the marketing manager.

Trade Practices Act

The Trade Practices Act 1974 deals with almost all aspects of the marketplace: the
relationships among suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, competitors and customers. It
covers anti-competitive conduct, unfair market practices, industry codes, mergers and
acquisitions of companies, product safety, product labelling, price monitoring, and the
regulation of industries such as telecommunications, gas, electricity and airports.
While it deals with many areas of trade, it is the consumer protection provisions that have
the most impact on marketing activities. Generally, these provisions regulate or prohibit a
range of unfair trade practices, including:
 misleading and deceptive conduct
 the making of false representations in relation to the sale of goods and services
 unconscionable conduct
 unfair terms in consumer contracts and standard form consumer contracts.
The aim of the provisions is to strengthen the position of consumers relative to sellers,
distributors and manufacturers by ensuring that businesses compete fairly on price and
quality, and by implying into consumer contracts non-excludable conditions and
warranties as to quality, fitness and title.
Learning activity: Trade practices
Discuss the application of trade practices to the marketing function. Describe three
ways this legislation affects your role as the marketing manager.

Section summary
You should now understand how to establish the process for undertaking marketing
research, within organisational and legislative requirements.
Further reading
 Australian Government Office of the Privacy Commissioner; viewed July 2010,
<http://www.privacy.gov.au>.
 Project Smart, 2010, ‘Project Planning – A Step by Step Guide’, viewed July 2010,
<http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-planning-step-by-step.html>
Section checklist
Before you proceed to the next section, make sure that you understand:

Student Workbook Section 3 – Manage Research
Section 3 – Manage Research

This section is about managing the research process, including contracting and
communicating with external providers.
Scenario: Using specialists
Outsourcing specialist work to external professionals has been a growing trend in

organisations. This is because few organisations can afford to employ people whose
specialist skills are only required on an ad-hoc basis. As a senior marketing manager,
you will be required understand the role of external providers, make the appropriate
selection to match the organisation’s needs and then communicate with and manage
these external engagements. You will also need to research activities to secure the
best outcomes for the organisation.

In order to work effectively as a marketing manager, you must understand:
External providers
The task of conducting market research is commonly outsourced to research
professionals and consultants. These consultants may have particular areas of
specialisation, or may be able to offer a range of services, and can often save you the
time and money that would be required for you to complete the research yourself.
Consultants can be used to:
 facilitate focus groups
 conduct surveys and questionnaires
 conduct interviews
 undertake quantitative research
 complete tracking studies
 conduct polls.

Section 3 – Manage Research Student Workbook
Learning activity: Choosing consultants 1
For the case study provided in Appendix 1, describe the requirements for a consultant
within the identified project.

Contracts with providers

When contracting external consultants, there are a number of factors to consider.
1. Be prepared. Preparing a research plan, as outlined in the previous chapter, can
help you articulate what you need to know and how it will help your organisation.
2. Get quotes. Don’t just ask one supplier, approach several, and have them submit
proposals for services they can offer.
3. Know what you want. Determine criteria for evaluating proposals and choosing
between suppliers.
For the case study provided in Appendix 1, reflect on the consultant requirements you
defined in an earlier learning activity and create a list of selection criteria to be used
when choosing a consultant.

Evaluating proposals
When requesting proposals from potential suppliers, you need to have a clear idea of
what you want. Is the price the most important factor, or are you looking for a creative
solution? Or, is it just a tried and tested method you are after?
Once you have proposals from your suppliers, here are some things to look for:
 Does the supplier understand what you need and why you need it?
 Have they justified their reasoning for the research method they are proposing?
 Are you required to provide any materials for the research?
 Is the proposal based on any inaccurate assumptions? Did you provide the right
information?
 Can the consultant work within your timeline?
 Is the cost within your budget? Are there additional costs not included?
 Is quality or cost more important? Is the price of one supplier higher due to more
experienced personnel or specialised techniques?
You may find that multiple suppliers can satisfy these requirements. In this situation, you
should also consider the following:
 Is there ‘added value’ offered by a particular supplier?
 Does one supplier have experience or skills particularly relevant to your situation?
 Does one supplier ‘fit’ better with you or your organisation?
For the case study provided in Appendix 1, and using the section criteria you
established in an earlier learning activity, identify which consultant you think would be
most suitable for use in this project. Justify your decision.

Managing consultants
Once you have engaged your consultant, managing your relationship with them is a case
of good communication. The contract you establish should clearly outline the services you
require, as per your research plan. Your consultant should be providing you with regular
progress reports, which you should review against the timelines and milestones outlined
in the contract. If communication lines remain open, and progress is evident, you will find
working with a consultant a rewarding experience.
Establishing key performance indicators

Key performance indicators, also known as KPIs, are measurable goals. Establishing KPIs
with your external provider will ensure the nature of your working relationship is clear, and
progress can be easily monitored.
KPIs are used to help an organisation define and evaluate how successful a project is.
The KPI when properly developed should provide clear goals and objectives, coupled with
an understanding of how they relate to the overall success of the project.
When setting KPIs there are three basic principles you need to be aware of:
Of fundamental importance and is ‘a make or break’ component
K in the success or failure of the project. For example, the level of

staff turnover is an important factor in business operations, but it
may not be critical (key) if the company has no problem in
Key attracting new staff and continuing productivity.
Can be clearly measured, quantified and easily influenced by the
P
organisation. For example, bad weather influences many tourist
related businesses, but the organisation cannot influence the
weather. However sales growth in holiday packages may be
important performance criteria but the targets set must be
Performance
measurable.
Provides leading information on future performance. A
I
considerable amount of data within the organisation only has
value for historical purposes, for example annual trends in sales
or how long it takes for invoices to be paid. By contrast, rates of
new product development provide excellent leading edge
Indicator
information.

Learning activity: Monitoring reports
For the case study provided in Appendix 1, develop brief notes below describing the
progress of the project overall, and give details about the adherence of work activities
to the research plan.

Communication skills
Regardless of who you’re managing, or at what level, you cannot be successful without
the ability to communicate effectively.
Effective communication
Deborah Wall, author of Communication Skills for Business says ‘Communication is the
process of giving or receiving information by means of a code or symbol such a speaking,
writing, using sign language or electrical or electronic devices’. All communication is two
way; there is a sender and a receiver. Good communicators recognise this and therefore
take the time to develop not only the message and its delivery, but also the ability to
understand their audience.
There are six basic variables in communication:3
• Refers to the sender. Your ability to organise your ideas into words,
Encoding visuals, symbols, or any other form that will help you communicate
your message.
• Refers to the receiver. The receiver’s interpretation of the message
Decoding sent by the encoder. Your audience’s ability to understand the words,
ideas, imagery and symbols in your message.
• The vehicle or method used for the transmission or sending the
message. This not only includes your personal preparation but also
Medium
includes such mediums as speech making, video conferencing, email,
newsletter, phone, etc.
Message • The actual information, its content and relevance to the listener.
• The reaction and response by the people receiving your message
Feedback
both during and after your message is transmitted.
• Any interference that may occur while the message is being
transmitted. This includes noisy environment, disorganised message,
Noise
wrong choice of medium, misreading the audience’s ability to receive
the message, technology failure, etc.
3
Wall D., 1990, Communication Skills for Business, Communication Training and Documentation,
New South Wales.

The Encoder
This refers to you; the sender or communicator of the strategy. There are at least four
building blocks for your personal preparation; confidence, conviction, charisma and
clarity. Think of the worst presentations you have attended; the speaker probably didn’t
possess these qualities.
1. Confidence – You are the leader and people are looking to you for direction,
inspiration and answers. If you are nervous, fumble over words, constantly lose
track of your thoughts and appear unconvinced, the audience will sense it and
disengage from listening to you. Confidence grows when you overcome fear.
2. Conviction – Be well prepared and convinced of what you are saying. Ask yourself
‘Do I really believe what I’m saying?’ Every message that people receive is filtered
through the messenger who delivers it, if you are unconvincing then don’t expect
the audience to embrace what you’re saying. Conviction is about certainty and
hope; believing that what you are saying, if implemented, will bring positive results.
3. Charisma – Do you have the ability to connect with your audience? It is more than
having an extroverted personality, it is about empathy too. Ask yourself ‘Do I care
about these people and their futures?’ People are interested in leaders who are
interested in them; their dreams, welfare and security. When a person has
charisma, they possess a contagious enthusiasm for the future and the
possibilities it holds both for them and others.
4. Clarity – Speak clearly and communicate your thoughts, ideas and vision with
clarity. If you have large amounts of detail, statistics and facts to share, along with
specific strategies, it is important to have well prepared notes. Having good notes
will add clarity and minimise confusion. Take the time to carefully select words
and phrases that portray your ideas and capture the attention of your audience.
Good preparation increases the clarity of your message.
5. Preparation – It is important that you are well prepared to communicate the
mission and strategy of the organisation. The better the preparation the stronger
the presentation.
6. Notes – Prepare your presentation with clearly written notes. Make sure they are
presented in a clear font large enough to be read at a glance. Fonts similar to
Tahoma, Arial and Franklin Gothic can be easily read. Major thoughts and
important points should be highlighted in some way on your page. If you struggle
with structuring sentences or using correct terminology, then ask for help from
someone who has good writing skills.
7. Rehearse – Practice what you want to say. If your presentation is to be recorded
in DVD format for circulation or uploaded to your website, then your production
team will assist you in the appropriate editing. This will help because there is
plenty of room for mistakes. If your strategy will be recorded and circulated in
written form, then engage the services of a proof-reader to assist you with the
final product.
8. Body language – About 55% of all that is communicated is related through body
language and facial expression. Eye contact with your audience is also critical. It is
a sign of respect to look at people when you are speaking to them. If you have
poor notes and you are not well rehearsed, then your eye contact will be
minimised because you will be constantly looking down at your page.

Learning activity: Getting to the point
Read the following paragraphs and then provide a bullet point executive summary that
is not more than six sentences long.
‘Strategic planning is a process organizations should engage in on an ongoing basis,
regardless of the length of the plan. Some organizations engage in tactical planning,
which is essentially a one year strategic plan. Tactical plans are developed when an
organization is brand new or develops a new program or service that wasn't included in
the original strategic plan. Generally, however, most strategic plans are 3-5 years.
Although some plans could be longer, it is difficult to predict opportunities, threats, and
trends in the field beyond three years. Whether the plan's duration is one year or
longer, the important thing to keep in mind is developing a plan that strategically
moves the organization in the right direction.
Without strategic planning and a resulting plan of action, the organization will not have
a clear idea of what it is doing, why it is doing it, and where it is going. If there are no
goals and objectives in place to address stakeholder issues/concerns, improve
programs/services, or grow the organization, it may not be able to continue meeting
the needs of the very people it is supposed to serve. In addition, the lack of a plan
could compromise public trust, result in a loss of funding, or prevent the organization
from pursuing new funding opportunities and partnerships. Without planning, an
organization becomes stagnant’.4
4
Sharon Mikrut, 2010, ‘Strategic Planning – What it is and Why it is Important’, viewed August
2010, <http://ezinearticles.com/?Strategic-Planning---What-it-is-and-Why-it-is-
Important&id=4077450>.

The Decoder
This refers to the receiver, your audience and people in your organisation, those listening
to the strategy presentation. In assessing your audience, it is important to ask yourself a
few questions.
 Who am I speaking to?
o size of group, average age, level of leadership within the organisation etc
 What is the nature of our relationship?
o personal, unknown, professional, casual, distant, indifferent,
misunderstood, resistant, strained, hostile etc.
 What interests them the most? – interests, passions, attitudes, sport, music, etc
With regards to work, is their highest interest in making decisions, taking action,
observing, following, self-preservation, weekly routine, technology, wages etc?
 ‘What is their knowledge level?’ – consider educational background, experience,
skill set, understanding of the industry, understanding of the subject you are
presenting, ability to interpret technical terminology, jargon, abbreviations etc
 ‘What is their preferred mode of communication?’ – visual, audio, interactive,
participatory, etc. Consider their attention span.
Learning activity: Decoding your message
Draw three or four different shapes on a piece of paper in any arrangement you want
(see the example below). Allow no one else to see what you have drawn. You must
have only the paper in your hand. The shapes must have no dimensions written on
them. Form a group of three or four people. Each person in the group needs to have an
A4 size piece of paper, a ruler, a pencil and an eraser.
Describe what you have drawn on your paper without using technical terms such as
triangle, circle, rectangle, square etc. You are allowed to use descriptive terms like line,
straight, round, curve, etc. You can make comparisons such as ‘draw a shape that
looks like a sail on a boat.’ You can use approximate measurements e.g. ‘draw a line
about five centimetres long that joins the curve at its halfway point.’ You must not be
able to prompt or assist any individual beyond these instructions. You are not allowed
to see what each group member is drawing. Preferably they are not able to compare
one other’s drawings either.
The goal is to see how well you can communicate your ideas and to see how well the
group can decode your message and draw a picture that resembles yours.

The Medium
This refers to the vehicle or method used for the transmission or sending of the message.
 Speech – Effective public speaking is a unique skill that not everyone possesses.
If you are making a speech, consider your ability to deliver the presentation, to
hold the audience’s attention and develop interest in the strategy. Consider the
size and diversity of your audience and ability to retain the information. Whether
your speech is to a live audience or via web-streaming (to an audience not visible)
the dynamics are similar.
 PowerPoint – is great for visually reinforcing a point within your speech or
presentation. Also, PowerPoint provides your audience with the opportunity to
write down some key information or consider the consequences of what was said.
 Media clips – are a good way to ‘break up’ the presentation and assist in holding
the attention of the audience. Movies, news reports, documentaries, interviews
and the wealth of material on YouTube provide plenty of material to assist with
your presentation.
 Testimonials – your message is reinforced when someone is able to repeat your
thoughts and ideas to the audience through sharing their personal experience.
This person could be someone who is well respected in the organisation or
someone who has benefited from strategic changes recently implemented.
 Video conferencing – is an effective and popular form of communication, primarily
used for communicating to a small number of key stakeholders. It is much more
interactive than speech making. Preparation and clarity on issues relating to the
strategy are important, as those engaged in the video conference will more than
likely ask you questions and require some sort of immediate response. Body
language and other communication dynamics are still relevant.
 Phone conferencing – is an extremely popular and efficient way to communicate
to key stakeholders in various locations who may not have the technology to
engage in video conferencing. Again, the need for preparation and clarity remains.
 Email – possibly the most popular form of communication. The advantages are;
speed of delivery, electronic copy can be reproduced by the receiver, the amount
of information and detail that can be sent, the document becomes a source for
future reference, everyone receives exactly the same information. The major
disadvantages are; emotions, motives and instructions can be misinterpreted; it
requires the sender to have good writing skills, and not everyone will take the time
to read the document.
 Brochure or newsletter – are good tools for the constant reinforcement of the
mission and strategy. They require good writing skills, graphic design ability and
finance to produce the quality and quantity of materials
 Posters and banners – also good tools for the constant reinforcement of the
mission statement and core values. Requires the information to be clear and
succinct and the ability to read important messages at a glance. Requires eye
catching graphics.
 Combination – Sometimes the best approach to effective communication is not
one method but a combination of a few or all of the above methods.

The Message
Consider the information, its content and relevance to the listener.
 Content – The content of your message should answer the audience’s question
‘Why should I listen to you?’ Make a statement in what you say in the first two
minutes of your message. Grab the audience’s attention by presenting the
problem, perspective, opportunity or compelling issue that they need to hear.
 Believability – Build credibility by stating some recent achievements and results.
Celebrate progress and give recognition to those who have helped to establish
those results.
 Connection – Create emotional connection with your audience. Acknowledge the
success, hard work, dedication and loyalty of the audience. Tell stories that relate
to their needs and experiences. Be aware of the implications of your message
upon your audience.
 Technology – Where appropriate, use media, music, PowerPoint, etc. to help build
your message and add variety.
 Reinforcement – Repetition reinforces your main theme and creates a ‘sticky
point’. A phrase or a slogan that is easy to remember and carries significant
meaning goes a long way in creating a meaningful and lasting message.
 Response – A good message seeks to answer questions before they are asked.
During your preparation and deliver, imagine yourself in the audience asking why
and how? As an audience member, have you received a satisfactory response?
 Word usage – Try to eliminate ‘um’ and ‘ah’. It is a habit most of us have, however
good speakers discipline themselves not to use these ‘fillers’. Use positive terms
when communicating vision and strategy such as substituting phrases like ‘we
could’ for ‘we can’ and ‘we should’ for ‘we will’.
 Action – What action do you want your audience to take? What do want them to
do in response to what you have said? Remember, they are also expecting you to
take some action and to lead by example. It is key that you do not over-promise
and under-deliver.
 Time – Be aware of the clock; the audience may tire of your voice after a certain
amount of time, so make sure your message is succinct and effective.
 Voice – Body language and facial expressions dominate communication; use
voice inflection and modulation in appropriate places.

Learning activity: Voice modulation
This exercise demonstrates how important voice modulation is when communicating to

others. Using the phrase ‘I didn’t say he works hard’ and by accentuating one word
more than the others, observe how the meaning of the phrase is altered. For example:
 ‘I didn’t say he works hard’ – by accentuating the ‘I’ you are indicating that
perhaps someone else has made a comment about the man.
 ‘I didn’t say he works hard’ – by accentuating the ‘didn’t’ you are denying that
you said he works hard.
Now describe how the meaning is changed in the next four examples:
 ‘I didn’t say he works hard’ – by accentuating the ‘say’
 ‘I didn’t say he works hard’ – by accentuating the ‘he’
 ‘I didn’t say he works hard’ – by accentuating the ‘works’
 ‘I didn’t say he works hard’ – by accentuating the ‘hard’

Feedback
This refers to the response of the audience to your message. Feedback in this sense is
not referring to how well you delivered the presentation but rather feedback on the
content and implications of the strategy.
Feedback is a vital tool in the fine tuning and improvement of the organisational strategy.
As the key stakeholders and employees hear the strategy they are well able to reflect
upon issues that you may not have considered. After all these are the people who will
ultimately be responsible for implementing the organisational strategy and action plans.
Input from the key stakeholders is vital, not only for success, but for establishing
ownership of the strategy. Ownership is built through participation. While every person in
your organisation cannot make their voice heard on every issue within the strategic
planning, you must solicit and act upon feedback from other members of the
organisation.
It is important to establish what feedback you want and when you want it. Some options
are outlined below; during, immediately following, sometime after or for review.
 During the presentation – First of all ask yourself if it is practical to receive
feedback during the presentation? If you want feedback whilst you are making the
presentation then you will need to create gaps in appropriate places. You will also
need to allow time for the questions and answers to take place. If others in the
room are meant to benefit from the feedback, then the questions and the
answers need to be articulated clearly.
 Immediately following the presentation – if you would like to receive feedback
after the presentation, similar to a Q&A time, then you need to create time for this
to occur. If you want the feedback in writing, then it is recommended you produce
a feedback form instead of a blank piece of paper. In this way, you can save time
and extract specific information that may be helpful to improving the strategy.
 Sometime after the presentation – the best time to receive feedback could
possibly be after the key stakeholders, departmental leaders and employees have
had time to reflect upon the implications of the strategy as it relates to their daily
work.
 Review – it may be best to receive feedback from your employees after they have
had time to commence implementation. Sometimes there are unforeseen
challenges that effect the implementation of a strategy. Implementing a
mechanism for feedback will be helpful in gaining an ongoing perspective and
creating the avenue for continuous improvement.

Noise
This refers to any interferences or distractions that may occur during your presentation.
1. Venue – choose a venue where you can control the environment which includes
external noise, interruptions, seating, lighting and air-conditioning. This is not only
important for public speaking but also if you are recording to digital format.
2. Microphone – a PA system and microphone with amplification maybe needed so
that you can be heard clearly by all of the audience.
3. Technology – it is important that your technical and media equipment works
properly. It is very distracting when the DVD doesn’t play and the microphone has
consistent feedback problems (to offer a couple of examples). Engage the
services of a professional technician for these items.
4. Timing – your audience maybe distracted by practical work issues e.g. stock take
or by the time of the day e.g. too early in the morning. Choose the appropriate
time to speak about important issues such as vision and strategy.
5. Medium – if your employees are not use to sitting in a room for two hours
listening to presentations then regardless of their importance, they may be
distracted. Consider creating breaks and interactions in the presentation at
regular intervals.
6. Personal – it is best to ask your employees to turn off their mobile phones and
laptop computers so that they can focus on what is being presented.
Learning activity: Do I really listen?
Complete the Active Listening assessment used by Harvard Business School on the
following link, viewed June 2010, <http://www.ilmpm.lmmattersonline.com/courses/
hmm10/coaching/active_listening_self-assessment.html>
Discuss your results with people you know well. Do they agree with the assessment? Do
you? Note your thoughts below.

Ten laws of effective communication

Hugh MacKay, social researcher, psychologist and author of ‘The Good Listener’ offers us
the following helpful principles on effective communication: 5
1. It’s not what our message does to the listener, but what the listener does with our
message, that determines our success as communicators.
2. Listeners generally interpret messages in ways which make them feel comfortable
and secure.
3. When people’s attitudes are attacked head-on, they are likely to defend those
attitudes and, in the process, reinforce them.
4. People pay most attention to messages which are relevant to their own
circumstances and point of view.
5. People who feel insecure in a relationship are unlikely to be good listeners.
6. People are more likely to listen to us if we also listen to them.
7. People are likely to change in response to a combination of new experience and
communication than in response to communication alone.
8. People are more likely to support a change which affects them if they are
consulted before the change is made.
9. The message will be interpreted in the light of how, when, where and by whom it is
said.
10. Lack of self-knowledge and an unwillingness to resolve our own internal conflicts
make it harder for us to communicate with other people.6
Methods of communication
There are many different forms and methods of communication you could use to convey
your message. Quite often it’s not an ‘either – or’ decision but a matter of utilising a
combination of two or three methods in order to communicate effectively. Here is a list of
possible methods:
 presentation/speech  poster
 face-to-face meetings  newsletter
 phone/video conferencing  press release
 written letter  digital recording
 email  social networking.
 brochure
5
MacKay H, 1998, The Good Listener: Better relationships through better communication’, Pan
Macmillan. Sydney.
6
Mackay pp. 332 – 333.

In the event that the main thrust of the communication at the time involves a lot of detail
and has serious and long-term implications for the organisation, the need for
reinforcement becomes vital. Therefore utilising written and visual communication
methods would be needed, allowing the employees and other key stakeholders to have a
constant point of referral. These are issues that cannot afford to be miscommunicated or
misunderstood through a one-off speech made at a staff meeting.
Choosing the best method

When choosing the best method of communication, and in view of the six variables
previously listed above, (encoding, decoding, medium, message, feedback and noise); it
is important that you choose the method that suits the culture and needs of your
organisation. Some of the factors that you could consider in this process are:
1. Who are you trying to communicate to?

If you are speaking about changes within the organisation that will affect not only
your employees, but also your service providers, suppliers and customers, then
you are communicating to more than one audience. This will possibly require
different forms and methods of communication at different times. For example,
personal face-to-face meetings with service providers may be necessary, while a
newsletter may be a more appropriate means of communication to all of your
regular clients outlining the change.
2. Which method is practical?

For example, you may prefer to deliver a speech but if it is difficult to bring all of
your employees together in one place at the same time then this may not be the
best method. In the same way, you may prefer to use video conferencing but if
some of your intended audience do not possess the technology, then the method
is not practical.
3. What do you want the audience to remember?

Although a compelling speech is powerful, the majority of it is soon forgotten.
However something in writing may last longer, a significant quote a little longer, a
slogan or motto longer still, and perhaps an image, symbol or icon even longer. If
the message conveys a list of significant structural and policy changes that
employees and others must be aware of, then perhaps it should be reinforced in
writing with a brochure, policy document or similar.
4. How much time do you need?

Again if the time required is equivalent to 30 minutes of talk time, then consider
how best to deliver this message. Consider the addition of power-point slides,
media clips, testimonials, etc. Perhaps a written or digital recording could then be
made available to all key stakeholders. If you are not confident of holding the
attention of your audience for 30 minutes then perhaps a speech is not the best
method of communication for you. A brochure accompanied by a well produced
media DVD presentation might be a better option.

5. Does everyone need to hear the same thing?

In essence, the answer is ‘Yes’. You don’t want to send mixed messages about
the strategy or future direction of the organisation. However, it is true that not
everyone needs to hear the same level of detail. For example, if there is a policy
change that everyone needs to be aware of, but primarily effects the daily
operations of only 30% of employees, then a good communication method may be
for you to meet face-to-face with the 30% of employees and simply email or send
a memo to the other employees. Alternatively, allow the departmental heads to
pass on the necessary information via a written letter.
6. How much feedback do I need?

If you are speaking or presenting to an audience of 100-150 people the likelihood
of receiving and responding to feedback constructively is low. However, if you
were communicating to an audience of 15 -20 people in a seminar room, then the
likelihood for feedback is much higher. You could pause throughout your
presentation and invite questions, or alternatively you could provide written
feedback forms for the larger audience.
7. What method will be the most effective?

Ultimately you want to communicate your message effectively, therefore the extra
cost or hassle it may require to implement one or more of the above methods may
be worth it to achieve the result you need.
Learning activity: Choose a method
Which method or combination of methods would you choose to communicate the

following situations to the employees in your organisation?
An employee has
resigned.
A new product is being

released.
New safety guidelines for

use of equipment.
Policy regarding sick

leave and absenteeism.
New procedure for

emergency evacuation.

Establishing a new
branch interstate.
Revised policy regarding

use of technology.
Another director has

been appointed.
New performance goals

for customer service.
New community charity

initiative.
Section summary
You should now understand how to manage research activities and communicate
effectively with external providers.
Further reading
 Purdue University, Purdue Extension, 2010, ‘Selecting and Managing
Consultants’, viewed June 2010, <http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/EC/EC-
719.pdf>.
Section checklist
Before you proceed to the next section, make sure that you understand:

Section 4 – Evaluate Outcomes Student Workbook
Section 4 – Evaluate Outcomes

This section is about evaluating and reporting the outcomes of marketing research,
ensuring the needs of stakeholders are met. This also includes reviewing and improving
the research process.
Scenario: Review the process
Once the market research is completed, your role as senior marketing manager turns
to one of review. You will use this review process to help you manage a similar project
more effectively and efficiently in the future. This process involves reviewing the
research project outcomes, seeking feedback from stakeholders, reviewing the entire
research process to see where improvements could be made and then reporting on
those improvements to your manager so that a better result can be achieved next time.

In order to work effectively as a marketing manager you must be able to:
 review, research and plan outcomes
 measure stakeholder satisfaction
 review the research process
 report on the research process.
Review, research and plan outcomes

Once you have been presented with the findings of the research undertaken, it is
important to review the outcomes against the original objectives. There are a number of
questions to consider:
 Do you have what you need?
 Has the problem been solved or the question been answered?
 Was the research conducted in the required timeframe?
 Are you able to use and implement the information provided by the research?
 Do the research results alter support your plans or require them to change?
Some of the answers to these questions may cause you to review the process by which
you undertook the research. This may include making changes to future research plans,
or using alternate consultants or suppliers.

Student Workbook Section 4 – Evaluate Outcomes
Learning activity: Research outcomes
For the case study provided in Appendix 1, use the space below to assess the overall
performance of the project, especially as compared to the initial research
requirements/objectives.

Reviewing the research process

As with any project, it is important to review the marketing research process and make
amendments for any future projects to be undertaken. This review should take into
account:
 Scope: was the project actually completed? Were there any deliverables or
milestones not achieved? Why?
 Quality: was the outcome of the research useful? Were our objectives
reasonable?
 Cost: did the project stay within budget? Did we receive value for money, based
on the quality of the outcomes?
 Schedule: was the project completed according to the agreed timeline? Did you
allow sufficient time for the project?
When conducting a review, you could consider the following methods:

 Individual interviews: with each member involved in the project. This can provide
honest insight, but may also create discrepancies which need to be clarified. This
method can also be quite time consuming.
 Debrief session: group meeting with all those involved. This can be a successful
way of gaining insight into the process and clarifying post-project issues, while
allowing you to gauge the interaction of individuals. However, this forum can be
dominated by one or two opinions and needs to be well facilitated.
 Surveys: use a questionnaire. This can be a quick way to gain consistent feedback
from everyone concerned. However, in order for the feedback to be useful, the
survey needs to be well designed.
Stakeholder satisfaction
There are a number of people or groups within your organisation who may have a vested
interest in the market research you have commissioned. It is important that these people
are satisfied with both the findings of the research, and the way in which it was
conducted, as this can affect the success of future research projects. These stakeholders
may include:
 Chief Executive Office
 Board/management committee
 marketing personnel
 other managers or supervisors
 production staff.

Determining the satisfaction levels of these groups and individuals can be as simple as
asking them. You may wish to give them an opportunity to provide written feedback, or to
participate in a review session of the project. Below are some questions you may
consider asking:
 How were they involved in the process?
 Did it inconvenience them?
 Was the inconvenience acceptable in light of the outcome?
 What changes could be made to the process to better facilitate their participation
in future?
 Will the research outcomes assist them?
Learning activity: Stakeholder feedback
For the case study provided in Appendix 1, summarise the feedback provided by
stakeholders in the space below, and describe how this feedback can be used in the
management of future research projects.

Reporting on the research process

Once you have conducted a review of the research process, the outcome of this review
should be documented and incorporated into the policies, procedures and guidelines that
governed the research process, for the sake of future projects.
This can be best documented in a report.
Preparing reports
When preparing a report, consider these questions:
 What is the problem and purpose of the report
 What is the scope of the report?
 Who is the target audience?
 How much does the audience know about the topic?
 What will recipients do with the report?
 What is the length of the report?
Audience analysis
Different audiences may require different information at different levels of complexity.
Therefore it is important to consider in relation to the audience:
 what they need to know
 their position in the organisation
 their responsibility to make decisions based on this report
 the most appropriate level of technical complexity of language
 education level
 prior knowledge of the topic
 level of interest in topic
 knowledge of the report’s topic (e.g. purpose)
 personal demographics (e.g. age, alliances, attitudes)
 expectations of business report
 number and type of visual aids.
This information gives a better idea of the information to be included in the report.

Report format
The structure and format of a report is usually influenced by:
 the type of information
 the complexity of the information or recommendations
 the experience of the report writer and/or auditor
 organisational standards
 the audience for the report.
A standard report consists of five key sections:
Title page
The title page should contain:
o the report title which clearly states the purpose of the report
o full details of the person(s) for whom the report was prepared
o full details of the person(s) who prepared the report
o the date of the presentation of the report.
Introduction
The introduction should:
o clearly state the purpose of the report
o provide background information to establish the context for the report
o identifies the source of data and methodology of its analysis
o include limitations encountered and this affects the conclusions of the
report
o Indicate the scope of the report and clarify key terms.
Body
The main body of the report should outline the key findings of your research. The
body should contain a discussion and analysis that is presented in a logical
sequence using sentences and paragraphs. It should be divided into sections
outlined by heading and subheadings. The use of numbers to aid in these
division can be helpful, for example, 1, 2, 3 and so on may be used for main
headings, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 etc. for subheading and 1.2.1 for example for further
subdivisions.
If you are presenting primary data you should include:
o data collection techniques/methods used
o findings or results
o discussion and explanation of your findings.

If you are presenting secondary data include:

o the source information organised under appropriate topics with sub-
headings
o analysis/discussion of the sources you are reporting.
Conclusion
The conclusion should summarise the key points from the main body of the
report. It should clearly relate to the objectives of the audit. No new information
should be included here.
Recommendations
Your recommended strategy or course of action based on the findings of the
report. They must be supported by the data presented in the body of your report.
Recommendations:
o are given only when asked for
o are based on the conclusions
o are suggested options (or choices) for solving the problem/s
o may say how they may be implemented
o should be sensible and feasible.
You may also wish to include any of the following additional components in your report:
 executive summary
 table of contents
 attachments or appendices
 reference list
 glossary
 index.
Learning activity: Title page and introduction
From your understanding of the above, write out a title page and an introduction for a
research process review report you may write, based on the Case Study in Appendix 1.
(60-100 words).


Language for report writing
Be precise Use short sentences and be simple and direct. Avoid using excess
words and cumbersome phrases. Express your meaning clearly and
do not use clichés, jargon or ambiguous terms.
Be objective Present data impartially and without bias. Present facts and avoid
using emotive terms. Clearly distinguish opinion from assumptions.
Be accurate Ensure your report is free of spelling and grammatical errors. Proof
read your work carefully before finalising and presenting it.
Be impersonal Avoid the use of personal terms like ‘I’, ‘my’ and ‘me’.
Learning activity: Research reports
Use the internet to find some sample research reports. Find three reports, and describe
how they are similar to or different from the report format standards outlined above.
List the name of the company issuing the report, along with the company or consultant
the developed the report, if available.

Organisational requirements for producing reports

Your organisation may have templates or style guidelines that direct how documents are
to be produced. This may include directions for use of company logos, headers and
footers, page numbering and file naming protocols.
You should ensure your report follows all necessary guidelines, contains all the relevant
information and is presented professionally. Have a colleague check your work for details
you may have missed.
Learning activity: Checklist
Use the checklist below to review the Market Research Report in Appendix 1:
 Does the title tell you what the document is about?
 Does the introduction clearly state why the document was created?
 Does the body of the report present information in a clear and logical order?
 Is the language used clear and precise?
From your understanding of the standard formatting requirements described in this

section, how could you improve presentation of the marketing plan?

Section summary
You should now understand how to evaluate research outcomes, and review the research
process.
Further reading
 Monash University, Language and Learning Online, 2010, ‘Report writing’, viewed
July 2010, <http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/quickrefs/15-report-
writing.xml>.
Section checklist
Before you this workbook and assessments for this Unit of Competency, make sure that
you are able to:
 review, research and plan outcomes
 measure stakeholder satisfaction
 review the research process
 report on the research process.

Student Workbook Glossary
Glossary
Term Definition
Competitors Businesses that sell products and services in the same market
Customers The purchasers of the products of a business
KPI Key performance indicator – measurable outcome for an activity
Market The group of individuals and/or organisations that have needs

for products and the ability, willingness and authority to
purchase those products.
Marketing The competitive, economic, political/legal, technological and

environment social factors surrounding the customer and affecting the target
market
Marketing strategy A plan of action for identifying and analysing a target market,
and the activities required to meet the needs of that market
Suppliers Providers of the components and materials required to produce

and provide products and services.
Target market Specific group of customers on whom a business focuses its

marketing efforts

Appendices Student Workbook
Appendices
Appendix 1: Case study
Planning
Your are the marketing manager for a three store chain of large furniture stores in Sydney
called Easyture. Easyture specialises in lounges and dining room items. As part of the
strategic plans of the business, the Board want to broaden the store offer by including
bedroom items in the assortment mix. The Board identified the need to carry out market
research to determine the market feasibility of adding the bedroom items category to
Easyture assortment. They have requested that this work be undertaken by a specialist
market research firm with extensive knowledge of the target market and who can
undertake a wide variety of research methods and complete the process in a timely
manner.
The CEO has asked you to manage the entire market research process for the Board. You
are asked to liaise with the general manager of store operations and the group production
manager. Initially, you are required to develop the guidelines for conducting the market
research, which must adhere with Easyture’s policy and procedures. The scope of
research to be undertaken encompasses the greater Sydney area.
The CEO explained that the market research report together with your summary must be
ready to be presented to the Board in 12 weeks time. You have been allocated a budget
for the project of $20,000 to cover external consultants and associated external material
costs. You are required to stay within this budget. Easyture’s policy and procedures
requires that you submit a resource usage application for all resources required in the
project both internal and external.
Your marketing team consists of a Julie the Public Relations expert, Ron the advertising
specialist and Jeff an administration officer. You have asked Julie to take responsibility for
the operational aspects of the project and estimate that it will take up 50% of her time
over the next 12 weeks. Jeff will also be involved for about 20% of his time in attending to
administration matters. You estimate that you will need to allocate 30% of your time to
manage the overall project.
According to Easyture’s policy and procedures the following detailed Work Plan Summary
needs to be undertaken:
Definition/scope phase
 Define research objectives.
 Define research requirements.
 Determine in-house resource.
 Compile a list of preferred consultants/suppliers.

Student Workbook Appendices
Consultant/supplier selection phase

 Define consultant/supplier selection criteria
 Develop consultant/supplier selection questionnaire
 Develop Statement of Work
 Evaluate proposals
 Select consultant/supplier.
Research phase
 Monitor milestone achievements
 Consultant/supplier performance management.
Reporting phase
 Review Market Research report with stakeholders
 Prepare summary report.
The CEO meets with you and you and Julie to discuss the plans. The CEO explained that it
is Easyture’s policy to always engage external consultants when deciding on major
category changes because it provided some objectivity to the decision making process.
The three preferred consultants are:
1. Ng Accounting (27 Pitt Street Hawthorne NSW): prepared the business plan for
Easyture but who don’t have specialist market research staff
2. Datafix Consulting (78 Queen Street Sydney NSW): a local specialist market
research firm based in Brisbane specializing in home based products and
markets.
3. Marsh and Partners (58 Lonsdale Street Brisbane QLD) a national marketing firm
based in Brisbane who consult on all issues relating to branding and marketing
for all industries. They specialise in fashion, cosmetics and consumables.
The CEO explained that there was extensive information available in the company
archives concerning customer feedback and surveys that has been collected by the
stores over the past few years. This could prove useful in the research. The CEO also
explained that you would need to have a member from head office do the information
extraction work which could take up to 20 hours to complete.
The CEO would like to see a report that covered five main areas:
1. The Industry overview
2. The target category and market
3. Business environment
4. Competitors
5. Conclusion

Julie prepared a list of preferred suppliers together with the products and services that
they supplied to help determine the materials needed in accordance with the CEO’s
directive that it be a credible source, within the budget and easily accessible. These
materials could be included in the project if required and within budget:
 Furniture Trade association has an Australian wide industry report for $1,200
 Australian Bureau of Statistics has Census data for the target area that is mostly
free but will cost about $250 in search fees
 IBIS market report covers each major market in Australia including the greater
Sydney area – $1,100
 Australian Chambers of Commerce has Australia wide surveys on industries
$1,500
 Furniture Magazines and Publications is an international magazine covering
innovations in home wares $250 per quarter
 Newspaper subscriptions covering local issues $100 per quarter.
Resource usage application

Resource Resource quantity Internal or external External resource
description costs
You and Julie meet with each of the consultants identified by the CEO and explain to the
need to meet the time frame set by the board. You know that the Definition/Scope Phase
together with the Consultant/Supplier Selection Phase will take 2 weeks. You also realise
that you will need a week at the end to prepare your reports.
Julie explains that there is an expectation that they will be able to complete the following
tasks in the time frame allowed.
 Develop market research information needs questionnaire
 Document information needs
 Identify information to be gathered in research
 Identify source of information
 Identify research participant
 Identify research technique
 Identify timing requirements and budget

 Conduct research
o Primary Market Research including customer surveys, focus groups and

interviews with Easyture staff/managers and customers.
o Secondary Market Research including the materials provided by Easyture.
 Document research findings
 Develop research report.
A week and a half into the project you receive the following responses from the preferred
consultants.
 Ng Accounting quote $10,500. Will need to engage external research staff. Will
need 14 weeks to complete the report. Cannot do focus groups.
 Datafix quote $12,000. Have specialist staff available in the furniture field. Can
complete the work within 12 weeks. Can apply all methods of research.
 March & Partners quote $14,000. Will send research staff from Brisbane. Can
complete the work within 12 weeks. Can apply all methods of research.
Engaging and monitoring

The CEO has decided to use Datafix Consulting to carry out the Market research work in
relation to Easyture’s plan to add the lighting fittings category to the assortment offer.
Working from head office as 556 Clarence street Sydney NSW, you organise to have a
contract drawn up that covers all the areas of agreement in relation to the work including
milestones.
The following activities occurred during the market research project.
 The phases Definition/Scope and Consultant/Supplier Selection were completed

by the second week of the project. 5% complete.
 Develop market research information needs questionnaire – on time.
 Document information needs – one week late – 10% complete.
 Identify information to be gathered in research – one week late.
 Identify source of information – one week late – 15% complete.
 Consultant requests Easyture purchase all research materials – You approve

everything except for the Australian Chambers of Commerce, Australia wide
surveys costing $1,400.
 Identify research participant – on time.
 Identify research technique – one week late.
 Identify timing requirements and budget – two week late – 30% complete.

 Consultant requests more time – You do not grant it.
 Primary Market Research including customer surveys, focus groups and

interviews with Easyture staff/managers and customers. – Completed on time
except for interviews with all Easyture managers and group buyer – 50% complete
 Consultant reports difficulty working with store managers.
 Secondary Market Research including the materials provided by Easyture.-

Consultant requested internal customer data be taken off-site – You do not grant
it – Completed on time – 70% complete
 Document research findings – on time
 Develop research report – two days late – 100% complete.

Sample contract
Contract for Supply of ___________

This Contract is made on the Date ____ Month ____ Year ____, between
_____________________(name) ,and _____________________(ACN)
City of ______________, State of _______,
and
_____________________(name) ,and _____________________(ACN)
City of ______________, State of _______.
For valuable consideration, the parties agree as follows:
1. (detail of Agreement is detailed here, _________________)
2. No modification of this Contract will be effective unless it is in writing and is signed

by both parties.
3. This Contract binds and benefits both parties and any successors.
4. Time is of the essence of this contract.
5. This document, including any attachments, is the entire agreement between the
parties.
6. This Contract is governed by the laws of the State of _______
Signatures
The parties have signed this Contract on the date specified at the beginning of this
Contract.
Signature Signature
Name Name
Witness Witness
Witness name Witness name

Review
You receive the following market research report from Datafix Consulting (see following
pages). You sent out the market research report as well as your variance summary of the
marketing activities taken to key stakeholders and asked them to reply by email.
Later, in discussion with the principals of Datafix Consulting, you are made aware of the
location and availability of source data on which the report was based. These include the
original responses to the customer surveys, taped interviews, focus groups (with signed
participant consent forms) and notes taken during conversations with Easyture’s staff,
managers and customers. Copies of secondary data was also available, crossed
referenced and physically identified in the report and source document. Where possible,
Datafix Consulting used the scientific method of careful observation, formulation of
hypotheses, prediction and testing in their research. They also spoke of using multiple
methods to ensure greater confidence in the findings.
When asked about the lack of time spent with the Easyture managers, Datafix consulting
spoke about the healthy scepticism they have built toward assumptions made by
managers about how the markets work. They also said that the intellectual divergences
between the mental styles of line managers and marketing researchers often got in the
way of productive relationships. The marketing researcher's report may seem abstract,
complicated and tentative, while the line manager wants concreteness, simplicity and
certainty. Datafix suggested they be involved in the earliest part of the planning process.
In fact, why not make them permanent feature in the marketing strategy team?
Emails from stakeholders

The general manager said in an email, ‘I was disappointed that Datafix did not speak to
the store managers more. They have real ‘day to day’ contact with customers and have
much knowledge about what customers want. Perhaps next time they could be involved
formally in the process.’
The group production manager said in an email, ‘The report confirms what we thought
about the new category. I would have liked to see more opinion from the consultants
describing what they believed that the business environment data meant in terms of the
business opportunity.’
The CEO said that the ‘feedback from the Board was to pass on their congratulations to
you on a job well done given the short time frame.’ You replied that a research of that
magnitude would normally require a 12-14 week turn around. The CEO agreed.

Market research report
Market Research Report

For: Easyture
By: Datafix Consulting
Scope: Conduct market research to determine the market feasibility of adding the bedroom items
category to Easyture’s assortment.
The Industry
The specific category, ‘bedroom items’, is part of the home firnishings market. Home furnishings
are linked to the domestic new dwelling and renovations industry.
Industry Size – The market for new dwellings and renovations is Australia wide with particular
concentrations in demand in the high population growth states of Queensland and Western
Australia. In New South Wales there is significant demand in the Sothern corner of the state in
which the greater Sydney sector fits.
The value of new dwellings and renovations market in the greater Sydney areas is estimated in
2009/10 at $4 billion. The size of the home furnishings business in that market is estimated in
2009/10 as $150 million. The ‘bedroom items’ category within the home-wares business is
estimated in 2009/10 at $25million. There are approximately 15 independent outlets currently
supplying this category. Our research identifies that 95% of people that purchase home
furnishings are also in the market for bedroom items.
Industry Growth- The new dwelling and renovations markets industry in Australia is growing at
3.2% p.a. and has been holding a long term growth rate of 2.7% p.a. The greater Sydney area is
growing at 4.0% per year. Outlook for the coming years is that this industry will continue to
grow at above national averages and remain ahead of the long term trend by at least one
percentage point. The bedroom items category within this industry is estimated to follow the
same trend lines.
Target Market Statistics

The target segment is the ‘bedroom items’ category. The target market for this category are
Easyture’s existing customers and new customers that share the same profile as the existing
Easyture’s customers.
Target Market Size – All households that are engaged in constructing new dwellings and
renovations in the greater Sydney area are the target market for Easyture’s ‘bedroom items’
category. This equates to 50,000 households p.a. in the 2009/10 years. These numbers are
expected to grow in the coming years in line with the growth in the new dwellings and
renovations industry in the greater Sydney area.
Income and Activity Rates – The Easyture customer profile is skewed towards 25-45 year of age,
professionals and managers in employment with a combined household income averaging at
$120,000 per annum. Households spend on average $600 per year on home-wares.
Education - The Easyture customer profile is skewed towards higher education featuring both
vocational and university qualifications. As a group, those customers born overseas tend to
spend 50% as much on home wares as customers born in Australia.

Business environment
Easyture operates within a business environment that has many facets.
Demographics: Population is growing in the target market ahead of the national trend. There
has been a steady increase (5% p.a.) in two income households over the past decade and is
estimated to continue at the same rate.
Economy: The economy is expansionary with a per annum growth in GDP of 3.2%. Average
incomes have increased above the trend line for inflation. Unemployment is low at 4.1% and
steady.
Social: The customers in the target area are concerned about environmental issues. They actively
participate in recycling programs including the use of re-usable shopping bags.
Technological: Fast internet speeds are available for the target market. The shift in turning
tradesmen equipment into Do-It-Yourself continues to gain ground.
Political: Governments are pushing for more medium density living in town-houses and units to
cope with the growing population. The government is giving incentives for home wares that do
reduce resource use or help minimize waste.
Competitive Factors
There are no chains in Sydney offering bedroom items in the target market.
Direct Competition- There are 15 competitors in the target area which are each independently
owned. They offer similar assortments as Easyture, although many offering entertainment
equipment which is not in Easyture’s offer. One national chain that does offer very similar
products to Easyture (including bedroom items) does not have a store in Sydney, choosing the
north and south coast instead.
Porter's 5 Forces- The competitive environment does not represent a significant squeeze on
Easyture’s profits, however the power of suppliers is an area that has significant play in Easyture’s
target market.
Indirect Competition- Home designers will represent a potential competitor in the ‘bedroom
items’ category. Often they have the opportunity to sell ‘bedroom items’ to customers and so
undercut retailers.
Conclusion
The market research supports the view that the ‘bedroom items would be a feasible category
addition to Easyture’s assortment, given the positive customer response, the growth in the
market and the lack of organised competition.
Sources
Furniture Trade association – Industry data
Australian Bureau of Statistics – Greater Sydney area
IBIS market report 2009/10 Home furnishings
Home furnishing Magazines and Publications International
Newspaper – The Sydney morning herald

Appendix 2: MacVille policy and procedure manual

 Affirmative Action
 Bullying and Harassment
 Internet and Email Usage
 Media
 Occupational Health and Safety
 Privacy
 Risk Management
 Sexual Harassment.
Affirmative Action policy

Introduction
An affirmative action programme means a programme designed to ensure that:
 appropriate action is taken to eliminate any employment discrimination against
women
 measures are taken to promote equal opportunity for women.
Reverse discrimination against men is not involved. Promotion and other employment
decisions will continue to be based on merit. There are no quotas.
Legislation
This policy complies with the Commonwealth Affirmative Action (Equal Employment
Opportunity for Women) Act 1986
A series of objectives will be developed as part of an Affirmative Action programme.
Procedures for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the programme will be
designed, and an assessment will take place of the achievement of these objectives.
Responsibility for the Affirmative Action Programme for Women

It is the responsibility of the business manager, along with all levels of supervisory staff to
see that the Affirmative Action Programme for Women is properly developed and
implemented. Management will ensure that the personnel policies and practices that
operate within the organisation are reviewed. The review will identify any practices which
are discriminatory or which may be necessary to achieve equal employment opportunity
for women. Staff participation is strongly encouraged.

Bullying and harassment policy

Macville is committed to providing a working environment this free from bullying. Working
relationships and standards of behaviour between employees are important workplace
issues. Macville code of conduct sets out principles for behaviour required in the
workplace, namely that:
 all people should be treated with respect
 all employees should develop an awareness about the impact of their behaviour
on others
 there is agreement about what is appropriate behaviour at work.
Macville considers that bullying in the workplace is inappropriate and unacceptable
behaviour, and those employees found to have either committed or condoned such
behaviour in the workplace may be subject to disciplinary action.
Definition: a bully is a person who uses strength or power to coerce others by fear and
that to bully is to oppress, persecute, physically or morally by (threat of) superior force.
Bullying is physical or psychological behaviour or conduct where strength (including
strength in personality) and/or a position of power is misused by a person in a position of
authority or by a person who perceives that they are in a position of power or authority.
While bullying is normally associated with unequal power relationships, peer to peer
bullying is not uncommon and is an equally unacceptable behaviour at Macville.
A variety of behaviours and acts my constitute bullying which, over time, create a negative
workplace environment. These may include:
 sarcasm and other forms of demeaning language
 threats
 verbal abuse
 shouting
 coercion
 punitive behaviour
 isolation
 blaming
 constant unconstructive criticism
 deliberately withholding information that a person needs to exercise her or his
role or entitlements within the organisation
 repeated refusal of requests for leave or training without adequate explanation
and suggestion of alternatives.
Bullying may be perpetrated by an individual who may be a work colleague, a supervisor
or a person/s who is part of the work environment.

Employee’s responsibilities:
 ensure that their actions do not negatively affect another staff member’s career,
health or well-being and are consistent with the Macville code of conduct.
 encouraged to try and resolve issues of workplace bullying at the local level,
directly with the person they believe is responsible for bullying. If issue is not
resolved in this way, an employee may lodge a formal complaint.
Employer’s responsibilities:
 provide a safe work environment that enables staff to carry out their work
responsibilities free from bullying. This includes investigating complaints of
bullying thoroughly and expeditiously and reviewing work units where bullying has
been found to have taken place.
 educate themselves and their employees on the issue of harassment and bullying
to avoid its incidence and to inform employees of procedures to deal with the
problem should it occur.
Internet and email usage policy

To ensure the efficient, lawful and ethical usage of internet and email resources.
Policy
 Internet and email access is provided for the purpose of work related to Macville
business operations and some limited personal use.
 Internet and email usage should be able to withstand public scrutiny and
disclosure. Unauthorised access, transmittal or storage of any material that might
bring Macville into disrepute is prohibited.
 Macville information should not be made available via the internet or email
without approval.
 Macville staff should not use the internet or email in a way that could defame,
harass, abuse or offend other users, individuals or organisations.
 Macville staff should not create, knowingly access, download, distribute, store or
display any form of offensive, defamatory, discriminatory, malicious or
pornographic material.
 Macville staff should not disrupt or interfere with the use of internet or email
services.
 Macville reserves the right to monitor and audit any or all internet and email
activity undertaken by staff using Macville resources. Staff may be called on to
explain their use of the internet or email.
 Violations of this policy may result in restriction of access to internet/email or
disciplinary action, including dismissal, at the discretion of the Business Manager.
Media policy
This policy outlines the protocol for dealing with media representatives. While due care
needs to be observed when speaking to media as outlined below, it is important to
remember that the media is to be treated respectfully and in a professional manner.

Policy
 No comment is to be made by a staff member to media representatives on behalf
of Macville in relation to any matters unless authorised by the Business Manager
to do so.
 Staff members are not permitted to make personal comment to the media in
relation to matters concerning Macville or its business operations.
 Staff members are not to give the contact details of any Macville employees to the
caller unless specifically directed to by Business Manager.
 A caller from the media may not identify themselves as a media representative.
Therefore, callers who are asking questions that are beyond the usual enquiries
should always be referred to the Business Manager.
Occupational health and safety policy

Macville cares about the safety of our people and recognises that injuries result in
needless suffering to individuals and their families.
We are committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment for our employees,
contractors and visitors.
All Macville employees, whatever their role, carry the primary responsibility to ensure that
the work they undertake or supervise is carried out safely and without injury. Our first
priority must always be the well-being of our employees. No task is so important that a
person’s safety is put at risk. We believe that all accidents are preventable and are
therefore, committed to the goal of ‘No Injuries’.
In the event of a workplace hazard or injury, an Incident/Hazard Report form must be
completed and submitted to the Workplace Health and Safety Office. The form must
detail:
 Incident date
 Name of person submitted report
 Time of incident/hazard
 Location of incident/hazard
 Incident/hazard type
 Description of incident/hazard
 Persons involved
 Witnesses
 Injuries sustained
 Description of injuries
 Actions taken to minimise hazard or reduce risk post incident.

Privacy policy
Macville is committed to protecting your privacy. It is bound by the National Privacy
Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 and all other applicable legislation governing
privacy.
Where appropriate, Macville will handle personal information relying on the related bodies
corporate exemption and the employee records exemption in the Privacy Act. Our respect
for our customers’ privacy is paramount. We have policies and procedures to ensure that
all personal information is handled in accordance with National Privacy Principles.
This Privacy Policy sets out our policies on the management of personal information –
that is, how we collect personal information, the purposes for which we use this
information, and to whom this information is disclosed.
1. What is personal information?
o Personal information is information that could identify you. Examples of
personal information include your name, address, telephone number and
email address, or more complex information like a resume.
2. How does Macville collect and use your personal information?
o Some of the ways in which Macville collects personal information is when
you send a job application to us or when you email us. These uses are
discussed below.
3. What happens if you don’t provide personal information?
o Generally, you have no obligation to provide any personal information to
us. However, if you choose to withhold personal information, we are
unlikely to be able to respond to your application or query.
4. To whom do we disclose personal information?
o We engage third party service providers (including related companies of
Macville which may be located outside Australia) to perform functions for
Macville. Such functions include mailing, delivery of purchases, credit card
payment authorisation, trend analysis, external audits, market research,
promotions and the provision of statistical sales information to industry
bodies.
o For our service providers to perform these function, in some
circumstances it may be necessary for us to disclose your personal
information to those suppliers. Where disclosures take place, we work
with these third parties to ensure that all personal information we provide
to them is kept secure, is only used to perform the task for which we have
engaged them and is handled by them in accordance with the National
Privacy Principles.
5. How do we protect personal information?
o At all times, we take great care to ensure your personal information is
protected from unauthorised access, use, disclosure or alteration. We
endeavour to ensure that our employees are aware of, and comply with,
their obligations in relation to the handling of personal information. Only
properly authorised employees are permitted to see or use personal
information held by Macville and, even then, only to the extent that is

relevant to their roles and responsibilities. Your personal information will

not be sold to any other organisation for that organisations’ unrelated
independent use. Further, we will not share your personal information with
any organisations, other than those engaged by us to assist us in the
provision of our products and services (as described above).
6. What about information you provide in job applications?
o If you submit a job application to Macville, we will use the information
provided by you to assess your application. In certain circumstances,
Macville may disclose the information contained in your application to
contracted service providers for purposes such as screening, aptitude
testing, medical testing and human resources management activities. As
part of the application process, in certain circumstances, you may be
required to complete a pre-employment health questionnaire. You may
also be asked to undergo a pre-employment medical assessment. In that
case, you will be asked to give specific consent to Macville to disclose
your questionnaire to its service providers for the purposes of arranging
the medical assessment and for the relevant service providers to disclose
the results of the assessment to Macville.
o If you refuse to provide any of the information requested by Macville, or to
consent to the disclosure of the results of your medical assessment to
Macville, we may be unable to consider your application.
7. Is the personal information we hold accurate?
o We endeavour to maintain your personal information as accurately as
reasonably possible. However, we rely on the accuracy of personal
information as provided to us both directly and indirectly. We encourage
you to contact us if the personal information we hold about you is
incorrect or to notify us of a change in your personal information.
8. How can you access or correct the personal information we hold about you?
o Wherever possible and appropriate, we will let you see the personal
information we hold about you and correct if it is wrong. If we do not allow
you access to any part of the personal information we hold about you, we
will tell you why.
9. Macville’s internet policy
o Macville generally only collects personal information from its website
when it is provided voluntarily by you. For example, when you send us an
electronic message with a query about Macville or its products. We will
generally use your information to respond to your query, to provide and
market our services to your or as otherwise allowed or required by law.
o For the same purposes, Macville may share your information with other
members of the Macville group (including those who are located outside
Australia) and their respective service providers, agents and contractors. If
we do this, we require these parties to protect your information in the
same way we do.
When you visit this website or download information from it, our internet Service

Provider (ISP) makes a record of your visit and records the following information:
 Your internet address;
 Your domain name, if applicable; and
 Date and time of your visit to the website.
Our ISP also collects information such as the pages our users access, the documents they
download, links from other sites they follow to reach our website, and the type of browser
they use. However, this information is anonymous and is only used to statistical and
website development purposes.
We use a variety of physical and electronic security measures, including restricting
physical access to our offices, firewalls and secure databases to keep personal
information secure from unauthorised use, loss or disclosure. However, you should keep
in mind that the internet is not a secure environment. If you use the internet to send us
any information, including your email address, it is sent at your own risk.
You have a right of access to personal information we hold about you in certain
circumstances. If we deny your request for access we will tell you why.
Use of cookies
A cookie is a small message given to your web browser by our web server. The browser
stores the message in a text file, and the message is then sent back to the server each
time the browser requests a page from the server.
Macville makes limited use of cookies on this website. Cookies are used to measure
usage sessions accurately, to gain a clear picture of which areas of the website attract
traffic and to improve the functionality of our website.
When cookies are used on this website, they are used to store information relating to your
visit such as a unique identifier, or a value to indicate whether you have seen a web page.
We use session (not permanent) cookies. They are used to distinguish your internet
browser from the thousands of other browsers. This website will not store personal
information such as email addresses or other details in a cookie.
Most internet browsers are set up to accept cookies. If you do not wish to receive cookies,
you may be able to change the settings of your browser to refuse all cookies or to notify
you each time a cookie is sent to your computer, giving you the choice whether to accept
it or not.
MacVille risk management policy
Purpose
Risk is inherent in all business activities. The aim of this policy is not to eliminate risk,
rather to manage the risks involved in all MacVille activities to maximise opportunities
and minimise adversity.
Effective risk management requires:
 A strategic focus
 Forward thinking and active approaches to management
 Balance between the cost of managing risk and the anticipated benefits

 Contingency planning in the event that mission critical threats are realised.
Policy
MacVille will maintain procedures to provide a systematic view of the risks faced in the
course of our business activities.
 Establish a context: the strategic, organisational and risk management context
against which the rest of the risk management process in MacVille will take place.
Criteria against which risk will be evaluated should be established and the
structure of the risk analysis defined.
 Identify Risks: identification of what, why and how events arise as the basis for
further analysis.
 Analyse Risks: the determination of existing controls and the analysis of risks in
terms of the consequence and likelihood in the context of those controls. The
analysis should consider the range of potential consequences and how likely
those consequences are to occur. Consequence and likelihood are combined to
produce a priority rating for the risk.
 Treat Risks: for higher priority risks, MacVille is required to develop and
implement specific risk management plans including funding considerations.
Lower priority risks may be accepted and monitored.
 Monitor and Review: oversight and review of the risk management system and
any changes that might affect it. Monitoring and reviewing occurs concurrently
throughout the risk management process.
 Communication and Consultation: appropriate communication and consultation
with internal and external stakeholders should occur at each stage of the risk
management process as well as on the process as a whole.
Establish the context

Communication and consultation
Identify risks
Monitor and review
Analyse risk
Treat risk

Sexual harassment policy

Macville recognises that sexual harassment is a serious issue and is committed to
providing a workplace free from sexual harassment.
What is sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment is any deliberate verbal or physical conduct that is unwelcome and
uninvited, embarrassing, demeaning, offensive or compromising. It can be experienced
anywhere in the workforce and by both men and women.
It has nothing to do with mutual attraction or genuine affection between people. Such
friendships, whether sexual or not, are a private concern. It should not be confused with
genuine compliments or behaving with common courtesy.
Sexual harassment may include such actions as:
 dirty jokes, derogatory comments, offensive written messages (email/sms), or
offensive telephone calls
 leering, patting pinching, touching or unnecessary familiarity
 persistent demands for sexual favours or outings
 displays of offensive posters, pictures or graffiti.
If such behaviour makes you feel:

 offended and humiliated
 intimidated and frightened
 uncomfortable at work.
then it is against the law.

Macville considers sexual harassment an unacceptable form of behaviour which will not
be tolerated under any circumstances.
Macville, undertakes to educate all employees on the issue of sexual harassment to avoid
its incidence and to inform employees of procedures to deal with the problem should it
occur.

Appendix 3: Marketing plan – Zelda’s Espresso
Marketing plan for

Zelda’s Espresso
December 2008

Table of Contents
1.0 Executive Summary ...................................................................................................80
2.0 Situation Analysis ......................................................................................................80
2.1 Market Summary .................................................................................................80
2.2 SWOT Analysis .....................................................................................................82
2.3 Competition .........................................................................................................83
2.4 Service Offering ...................................................................................................84
2.5 Keys to Success ..................................................................................................84
3.0 Marketing Strategy ....................................................................................................85
3.1 Mission.................................................................................................................85
3.2 Marketing Objectives ..........................................................................................85
3.3 Financial Objectives ............................................................................................85
3.4 Target Marketing .................................................................................................85
3.5 Positioning ...........................................................................................................86
3.6 Strategy Pyramids ...............................................................................................86
3.7 Marketing Mix ......................................................................................................87
3.8 Product development ..........................................................................................87
3.9 Marketing Research ............................................................................................87
4.0 Financials, Budgets, and Forecasts .........................................................................88
4.1 Break-even Analysis ............................................................................................88
4.2 Sales Forecast .....................................................................................................88
4.3 Expense Forecast ................................................................................................88
5.0 Controls ......................................................................................................................89
5.1 Implementation Milestones ................................................................................89
5.2 Marketing Organization ......................................................................................90
5.3 Contingency Planning .........................................................................................90

1.0 Executive Summary

Zelda’s Espresso will be the leading pre-made focaccia cafe in Clayfield, catering to the
growing need for fast tasty food. The signature line of innovative, premium, focaccias
include imported ingredients and local delicacies. Zelda’s Espresso also serves exotic
desserts and beverages (not including alcohol).
Zelda’s Espresso will reinvent the fast lunch time service experience for individuals and
groups with high discretionary income by selling tasty, pre-made products at a market
price, designing functional, convenient locations and providing customer service to the
level required.
2.0 Situation Analysis

Zelda’s Espresso is close to entering their third year of operation. The cafe has been well
received, and marketing is now critical to its continued success and future profitability.
The store offers an extensive offering of pre-made focaccias. The basic market need is to
offer individuals, groups and take away customers fresh, creative, exotic, attractive, pre-
made focaccias and desserts. Zelda’s uses homemade sauces, organic vegetables and
imported meats and cheeses.
2.1 Market summary

Zelda’s Espresso possesses good information about the market and knows a great deal
about the common attributes of our most prized and loyal customers. Zelda’s Espresso
will leverage this information to better understand who is served, their specific needs, and
how Zelda’s can better communicate with them.
Market analysis
2.1.1 Market demographics
The profile for a Zelda’s Espresso customer consists of the following geographic,
demographic and behaviour factors based on a local Chamber of Commerce report:
 Overview Clayfield
o large % of office workers (58% of daytime trade)
o area growing at 8% per year
o retirees steady at 7% of the population.
 Geographic
o Our immediate geographic target is the area of Clayfield with a population
of 90,000.
o A 30 km geographic area is in need of our services.
o The total targeted population is estimated at 35,000.

 Demographics
o Young professionals:
- ages 20-50, this is the segment that makes up 58% of the
Clayfield day time market according to the Clayfield Chamber
of Commerce
- who work close to the location
- who have attended university and/or graduate school
- with an income over $60,000
- who eat out most times for lunch during the week
- who tend to patronise fast service cafes.
 Behaviour factors
o Customers who enjoy a high quality meal without the mess of making it
themselves.
o There is value attributed to the convenience of food and time taken to
prepare it.
2.1.2 Market needs

Zelda’s Espresso is providing its customers with a wide selection of pre-made focaccias
that are unique and pleasing in taste and utilise top-shelf ingredients. Zelda’s Espresso
seeks to fulfil the following benefits that are important to their customers.
 Selection. A wide choice of focaccia options.
 Accessibility. The patron can gain easy access to the cafe with minimal wait.
Undercover awning planned by council to cover the street to the main office tower
 Customer service. The patron will be impressed with the speed of the service.
 Competitive pricing. All products/services will be competitively priced relative to
comparable high-end focaccia/Italian cafes.
Above all, Zelda’s believes that fast service and a wide assortment of focaccias, in a work-
based clinical environment, is the key to our customers’ needs and wants.
2.1.3 Market trends

The market trend for cafes is headed toward a more sophisticated customer. The café
patron today relative to yesterday is more sophisticated in a number of different ways.
 Food quality. The preference for high-quality ingredients is increasing as
customers are learning to appreciate the qualitative differences.
 Speed. As lunch times become more pressured, patrons are learning to
appreciate the speed of service offered by the industry.
 Selection. People are demanding a larger selection of foods; they are no longer
accepting a limited menu.

The reason for this trend is that within the last couple of years the café offerings have
increased, providing customers with new choices. Café patrons no longer need to accept
a limited number of options. With more choices, patrons have become more discerning.
This trend is intuitive as you can observe a more sophisticated cafe patron in larger city
markets such as Sydney or Melbourne, where there are more choices available.
Zelda’s strongly believes that customers are more interested in speed of service than any
other issue. This will be why they shop with us and become loyal patrons.
2.1.4 Market growth

In 2008, the global focaccia market reached $7 billion dollars. Focaccia sales are
estimated to grow by at least 6% for the next few years. This growth can be attributed to
several different factors. While not all focaccia is ‘good for you’, particularly the cheese
based sauces, focaccia can be very tasty and quick to prepare. Zelda’s sees no real
substitute for what it provides.
2.1.5 Economy
Based on economic forecasts, Zelda’s Espresso assumes that interest rates are staying
steady and so will have no affect on the disposable income of their customer base. The
same assumption is made about employment levels, where Zelda’s assumes that
unemployment levels will remain the same at 5.8%.
2.1.6 Political
From research carried out, Zelda’s identifies that the Government focus and emphasis in
future legislative direction will be about ‘growing the economy’, which Zelda’s see as
being positive for their business model. As a business operating in Australia, Zelda’s will
abide by the law in all its dealings and comply with legislation that impacts on its business
activities.
2.2 SWOT analysis

The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses within the
company and describes the opportunities and threats facing Zelda’s Espresso.
2.2.1 Strengths
 Excellent staff who are highly skilled at food preparation.
 Great retail space that is functional and efficient for a commercial urban district.
 High customer loyalty among repeat customers.
 Fast food offerings that exceed competitors offerings in quality, speed and
accessibility.
2.2.2 Weaknesses
 A limited marketing budget to develop brand awareness.
 The struggle to continually appear innovative in a stable product market.

2.2.3 Opportunities
 Growing market with a significant percentage of the target market still not aware
that Zelda’s Espresso exists.
 Increasing sales opportunities in office workers.
2.2.4 Threats
 Competition from local cafes that respond to the fast service offerings at Zelda’s
Espresso.
 Pre-made focaccia café chains found in other markets coming to Clayfield.
 A slump in the economy reducing customers’ disposable income spent on eating
out.
2.3 Competition
National competition
 Focaccia Buzz: Offers consumers maximum choice, allowing the customer to
assemble their focaccias as they wish. Food quality is average.
 Focaccia Bite: Has a limited selection but the focaccias are made with high-quality
ingredients. The price point is high, but the food is quite good.
 Focaccia Mia: Offers focaccias that are reasonably fresh, reasonably innovative
and at a lower price point.
 Verdi Focaccia: Has medium-priced focaccias that use average ingredients, no
creativity and less than average store atmosphere.
It is Zelda’s belief that the existing unwritten code of business activity, where each chain
stays within their founding geographic market place, will remain in the foreseeable future.
Local competition
 Johnny’s: An upscale cafe that has a limited selection of focaccias. Although the
selection is limited and pricey, the focaccias are quite good. Average price $25;
market share 16%; growth 8%.
 Peri Focaccia: A café with a decent focaccia selection, however quality is
inconsistent. Average price $19; market share 10%; growth rate 5%.
 Niccolo: An upscale café with a large wine selection and good salads. Service can
often be very slow. Average price $22; market share 12%; growth rate 7%.
Zelda’s do not see the competitors changing their marketing strategy or product offer in
the foreseeable future.

Growth and share analysis

 Individuals – growth in potential customers 7%. Estimated customer numbers in
2010 is 12,000.
 Groups – growth in groups 9%. Estimated customer numbers in 2010 is 9,000
 Take away – growth in take away 13%. Estimated customer numbers in 2010 is
25,000.
2.4 Service offering

Zelda’s has created pre-made focaccias that are superior to those of its competitors.
Customers can taste the quality of the product in every bite. The following are
characteristics of the product:
1. Dough for the focaccias is made with imported flour.
2. Cheeses are all imported.
3. Vegetables are organic and fresh with three shipments a week.
4. Meats are all top-shelf varieties.
Zelda’s prides itself on providing service that is on par with the fast service chains.
Zelda’s will ensure that all aspects that are involved in the delivery of satisfaction to the
customer will work using an integrated approach.
At a glance--The prototype Zelda’s store:

 location: commercial, suburban neighbourhood, or urban retail district
 design: bright and functional
 size: 50 – 100 m2
 employees: five to eight full time plus casuals
 seating: 15-25
 types of transactions: 60% take away, 40% sit down.
2.5 Keys to success
Location, location, location

Zelda’s site selection criteria are critical to success. Scott Thornton, former partner of a
coffee shop chain, helped us identify the following site selection criteria:
 Daytime and working populations.
 Shopping patterns.
 Customer car parking counts.

2.6 Critical issues

Zelda’s Espresso is still in the speculative stage as a franchise concept with one store
starting as the prototype. Its critical issues are:
 Zelda’s needs to continue to take a modest fiscal approach and expand at a
reasonable rate, not for the sake of expansion in itself, but because it is
economically wise to do so.
 It is essential to keep costs down with pre-made, not custom choice products.
 There need to be multiple sales that include coffee and cold drinks
3.0 Marketing Strategy

Zelda’s advertising budget is very limited, so the advertising program is simple. Zelda’s
will do direct mail and local advertising, with coupon inserts in the Infomag likely to be the
most successful of the campaigns.
Zelda’s will try to get articles in the Infomag. Previous friends who have had their cafe
featured in the Infomag has seen a dramatic increase of sales immediately after the
article was published in the Infomag.
3.1 Mission
Zelda’s Espresso's mission is to provide office workers with the fastest service and
tastiest focaccia meal in the Clayfield precinct. We exist to attract and maintain
customers. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers.
3.2 Marketing objectives

1. Generate at least $35,000 in sales per month within the first 12 months.
2. Increase our customers to 200 customers per day by month 12.
3. Establish brand recognition in our target market so that at least one in three
people recognise our brand in a random survey taken in 12 months time.
3.3 Financial objectives

1. A double-digit growth rate for each future year.
2. Reduce the overhead per store through disciplined growth.
3. Continue to decrease the variable costs associated with food production.
3.4 Target marketing

The market can be segmented into three target populations:
 Individuals: people who order by themselves.
 Groups: a group of people, either friends or a group of relatives dining together.
 Take out: people that prefer to eat Zelda’s food at their desk or at a different
location than the actual café.

The Zelda’s customers are aged between 20 and 50, making up 58% of Clayfield
(Clayfield Chamber of Commerce). Pre-made focaccia stores have been very successful in
high rent, mixed-use commercial areas. These areas have a large day population
consisting of office workers and families who have household disposable incomes over
$40,000.
Combining several key demographic factors, Zelda’s arrives at a profile of the primary
customer as follows:
 sophisticated people who work nearby
 shoppers who patronise the stores in the area.
3.5 Positioning
Zelda’s Espresso will position itself as a reasonably priced, upscale, pre-made focaccia
café. Clayfield consumers who appreciate high-quality food will recognise the value and
unique offerings of Zelda’s Espresso. Patrons will be single as well as families, ages 20-
50.
Zelda’s Espresso positioning will leverage their competitive edge:
 Product. The product will have the freshest ingredients, including homemade
sauces , imported cheeses, organic vegetables and top-shelf meats. The product
will also be developed with speed of assembly in mind.
 Service. Zelda’s will only employ experienced fast-service staff who can create
meals that are delivered to customers within their time scales.
By offering a superior service in speed, Zelda’s will excel relative to the competition and
achieve its objectives.
3.6 Strategy pyramids

The single objective is to position Zelda’s as the premier pre-made focaccia café in the
Clayfield area, commanding a majority of the market share within five years. The
marketing strategy will seek to create customer awareness regarding their services
offered, develop that customer base, and work toward building customer loyalty and
referrals.
The message that Zelda’s will seek to communicate is that Zelda’s offers the fastest,
most reasonably priced pre-made focaccia in Clayfield. This message will be
communicated through a variety of methods. The first will be direct mail; the direct mail
campaign will be a way to communicate directly with the consumer. Zelda’s will also use
ads and inserts in Infomag.
The final method for communicating Zelda’s message is through a grassroots PR
campaign. This campaign will invite people from Infomag for lunch to get a couple of
articles written about Zelda’s. Because the level of effectiveness of articles in Infomag is
high and involves low/zero cost, Zelda’s will work hard to get press in the Infomag.
Zelda’s also believe that the local patrons far prefer to receive information from the cafe
via flyers in the letterbox.

3.7 Marketing mix

Zelda’s marketing mix is comprised of these following approaches to pricing, distribution,
advertising, promotion and customer service.
 Pricing. Zelda’s pricing scheme is that the product cost is 40% of the total retail
price.
 Distribution. Zelda’s food will be distributed through a take away model where
customers can come to the cafe to pick it up.
 Advertising and promotion. The most successful advertising will be ads and
inserts in the Infomag as well as a PR campaign of informational articles and
reviews that are also within the Infomag. Promotions will take the form of in-café
entertainment and ‘free meal’ give-aways.
 Customer service. Zelda’s philosophy is that whatever needs to be done to make
the customer happy must occur. This investment will pay off with a fiercely loyal
customer base who is extremely vocal to their friends with referrals.
3.8 Product development

It is envisaged that new products will be developed on a regular basis in line with menu
changes which are targeted to take place every three months. The plan for product
testing is to offer ‘free meals’ to regular customers, staff and their families. By getting
feedback from these people, changes can be made or products ‘canned’ so that only
tested and proven products make it onto the menu list.
3.9 Marketing research

During the initial phases of the marketing plan development, several focus groups were
held to gain insight into a variety of patrons of cafes. These focus groups provided useful
insight into the decisions and decision making processes of consumers. An additional
source of market research that is dynamic is a feedback mechanism based on a
suggestion card system.
The last source of market research is competitive analysis/appreciation. Zelda’s will
continually patronise local cafes for two reasons. The first is for competitive analysis,
providing Zelda’s with timely information regarding other café's service offering. The
second reason is that local business owners, particularly café owners, are often part of
an informal fraternal organisation where they support each other's business.
Access to ongoing market research will be achieved via the publications from the Café
Association which Zelda’s has recently become a member.

4.0 Financials, Budgets and Forecasts

This section will offer a financial overview of Zelda’s Espresso as it relates to the
marketing activities. Zelda’s will address Break-even Analysis, sales forecasts, expense
forecasts, and how those link to the marketing strategy.
4.1 Break-even analysis

The break-even analysis indicates that $35,000 will be needed in monthly revenue to
reach the break-even point.
Fixed costs are estimated at $21,000. Variable costs are 40% of sales, therefore sales of
$35,000 will be sufficient to pay for the fixed and variable cost.
4.2 Sales forecast

The first year will be used to get the café up and running. By year two things will get
busier. Sales will gradually increase with profitability being reached by the beginning of
year two.
Gross profit is anticipated at 60%, with individual and group sit-downs contributing 65%
and take away contributing 60% gross profit.
Sales forecast
2009 2010 2011
Total sales 400,000 520,000 640,000
Gross profit 240,000 312,000 384,000
4.3 Expense forecast

Marketing expenses are to be budgeted so that they are ramped up in the first year.
Marketing expense budget

Expenses 2009 2010 2011
Direct mail 4,000 5,000 6,000
Magazine adv 11,000 10,000 8,000
Promotions 3,000 5,000 7,000
Total 18,000 20,000 21,000
Ongoing sales forecasting will use the services of Action Marketing who will advise on all
aspects of the marketing function that Zelda’s will be engaged with. Action marketing will
also be given access to the marketing cost data so that they can periodically examine and
validate marketing costs in line with industry benchmarks.

Profitability outcomes budget

Profitability Average price Gross profit
Focaccia $20 55%
Beverages $5 70%
Total 60%
5.0 Controls
The purpose of the marketing plan for Zelda’s Espresso is to serve as a guide for the
organisation.
5.1 Implementation milestones

The following milestones identify the key marketing programs. It is important to
accomplish each one on time, and on budget.
Milestones
Advertising Start Date End Date Budget Manager Department
Marketing plan 1/01/200

completion 9 2/01/2009 $0 Maria Department
Banner ad 1/02/200
campaign #1 9 4/01/2009 $3,754 Maria Department
Banner ad 1/10/200
Total Advertising
Budget $8,654
PR Start Date End Date Budget Manager Department
Other $0
Other $0
Total PR budget $0
Direct
marketing Start Date End Date Budget Manager Department
Direct mail 1/10/200
Insert campaign 1/10/200
#1 9 1/04/2009 $2,252 Maria Department
Direct mail 1/10/200
Insert campaign 1/10/200
#2 9 1/01/2010 $2,940 Maria Department
Total direct
marketing
budget $9,086
Totals $17,740

5.2 Marketing organisation

Mario Zelda, the owner, is primarily responsible for marketing activities and has the
authority and responsibility over all company activities that affect customers’ satisfaction.
Mario is owner in addition to his other responsibilities. Action marketing has been
engaged to provide marketing services as required. Outside resources for graphic design
work and creativity are also to be utilised.
Feedback will come from in-store feedback forms and local customer surveys.
5.3 Contingency planning

Difficulties and risks:
 problems generating visibility
 overly aggressive and debilitating actions by competitors
 entry into the Clayfield market of an already existing, franchised pre-made
focaccia cafés.
Worst case risks may include:
 Determining that the business cannot support itself on an ongoing basis.
 Having to liquidate equipment or intellectual property to cover liabilities.


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Manage market research

Part of a suite of support materials for the

Structure of the training program

BSBMKG607B Manage market research

Section 1 – Market Research

Scenario: Research projects

What skills will you need?

 understand the role of market research

 compare qualitative and quantitative research

 select appropriate research techniques

 complete data analysis.

The role of market research

BSBMKG607B Manage market research

The marketing research process typically includes the steps outlined

Qualitative and quantitative research

BSBMKG607B Manage market research

Learning activity: Quantitative and qualitative data

Quantitative data Qualitative data

Learning activity: Research findings 1

BSBMKG607B Manage market research

Essential qualities of information

Organisational requirements for gathering data

Primary data collection techniques

BSBMKG607B Manage market research

BSBMKG607B Manage market research

BSBMKG607B Manage market research

BSBMKG607B Manage market research

Secondary data collection techniques

BSBMKG607B Manage market research

Non-statistical forms of analysis

Favourite drink Frequency Favourite drink Percentage

Water 242 Water 39

Coffee 192 Coffee 31

Learning activity: Research findings 2

BSBMKG607B Manage market research

 understand the role of market research

 compare qualitative and quantitative research

 select appropriate research techniques

 complete data analysis.

BSBMKG607B Manage market research

Section 2 – Research Plan

What skills will you need?

 the elements of project planning

 organisational policy and procedures

BSBMKG607B Manage market research

Elements of project planning

 a broad definition or explanation of what the business or

 the breadth and depth of the project

Objectives  the required objectives of the project.

Contracts and  any legal constraints or contracts binding this project to

 the stakeholders (internal and external) in this project and

 the budget available for this project, and how it is to be

Monitoring  how monitoring and reporting is expected to occur

BSBMKG607B Manage market research

Learning activity: Scenario reflection ‘concept’

BSBMKG607B Manage market research

Detailed project planning should include descriptions of the following:

 A list of all stakeholders involved with this project, including

 A description of the specific activities needed to do or