International Business Academy

PROJECT 2 - Methodology

OCTOBER 26, 2015

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING, STATISTICS AND METHODOLOGY
ALEXANDRA BURLACU, BARBARA SZALONTAI, NICU VOINEAG
MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND INTERNATIONAL SALES, IBA
Marketing Management Class 15f

Our analysis based on the transportation habits of 34 young Danish people. We used the
statistical facts to summarize the answers which were given by them.

I.

Summary

As KIA Motors is getting bigger as a company, and tries to expand on the international market, it
needs to expand its potential target group as well. In order to do that, a new customer base is
necessary; the company needs to approach the younger generation. From this angle, KIA knows
that to become popular among this sphere, it needs to make itself more preferable for the youth.
For KIA, its well-known that once you win a customer at a young age, that person will be loyal
to the brand. That fact explains why the company wants to reach the younger generation, and
form it into the target group. To accomplish this, they use different platforms to reach the
attention of young Danish people. In our research we want to point out the opinion of this target
group, based on our online surveys and on our individual interviews. Its a needed and thorough
research, because based on the statistics, the company will also learn about its strong and weak
points, to be aware of what they should really focus on, how to produce and advertise the cars in
a more efficient way. Our survey includes the qualitative and quantitative questions as well. We
thought, using the online platform will be more accessible, easier and faster to get informed
about the answers and opinions, and transportation habits among the young Danish people. In the
problem proposal we stated that KIA is not really a part of the car market of the millenials, and
that it is not widely known by the Danish youth. Based on the online survey, 45% of the Danish
youngsters have a car, furthermore, we asked them about their needs and expectations, what are
the most important regards of buying a new car. Naturally, the main focus was on the KIA
models, as we have already mentioned above, this car brand is not so popular among this
generation.
Hereinafter, we analyze our research, based on the answers we got through the online platform
and through the individual interviews.

II.

Introduction

In our project, we try to focus on the data that we got from the Danish youth, for instance to find
the answers of KIAs question for the market.
What are the transportation habits of young Danish people?
How KIA should reach the younger generation?

Buying a car as a young person, is definitely one of the biggest decision in the period of being at
that age, but moreover, its such a big responsibility. Young people can be interested in the brand
awerness or in the price/quality relationship, maybe they just want something cheap but others
think that status is very important. KIA tries to get in the head of youngsters nowadays. Even
though Kia really seems like its reaching the tops of car industry recently, this generation
doesnt seem like they are really impressed by the brand. Based on these perspectives, we tried to
form into charts our online survey, to get a more clear view about the questions among the
Danish youth.

Bought by Hyundai in 1998, Kia has stepped out of the reputation of being a
Mazda copycat to creating leading-edge designs with a German influence.
Kia is an up-and-comer in the American market that is consistently earning
high marks and delivering a great value for the money.
(http://autoweek.com/vehicles/kia)

III.

Problem proposal

As we can see, based on the result of our surveys, the problem about KIA is that they are not
really a part of the car market of the millenials. Therefore they dont have a wide branch
awereness or a lot of knowledge about their habits of transportation.

IV.

Delimitation

We tried to include as much different information as we could in this project. We have included
two online surveys, in this way we could reach a large variety of people in an easy, cheap and
fast way. Because the survey is online we had the opportunity to reach the people not only in
Kolding but also from other cities here in Denmark, so we have a wide picture about the market
and the needs of youngsters. We also tried to make sure we have responses from people with
different ages because buying a car if you are 18 is still different from buying a car when you are
25. Besides, we conducted a series of 4 individual interviews to enable us to have a better
opinionated view in the matter. Our target group for the survey was all youngsters between 18
and 25 years of age.

V.

Methodology

We put a lot of effort in collecting helpful information in our desk research sessions. We find it is
very important to have our own research when we are writing about such subjects, since
background information influences the way we build up our case. We collected a lot of
information through the online surveys, that we used as primary resources. As means of
quantitative research, the use of surveys proved to be a quick, useful tool that is easy to analyse
and interpret. But because we really wanted to understand the problem and the causes we also
held some individual interviews. The individual interviews have a qualitative value, considering

that the environment of a face to face conversation is rather encouraging people to open up and
speak out their mind. We read reports and articles on the subject, looked at some statistics about
KIA but also about the demographics of Denmark and both economical and cultural habits. Both
the library of the university and the internet have been employeed in our quest to understand the
young Danish adult market sector.
VI.

Background research analysis

In order to gain a better understanding of the habits in view of transportation of the young
Danish population, we must first gather insight on the business environment, the general
mindframe of the demographics and their economical power, as well as on the countrys culture
and policy.
To do this we have taken the path of using secondary data available to us. As for the results, we
understand that in a country where the sector of 15-25 years of age holds 13,1% of the
population and the age sector between 25 and 54 has the largest span of 39,2% of the population,
out of which 90% of the families with children own a car, and where also only 45% of the
population owns a car, there is a relatively wide market to be approached and explored.
We have also come to be aware of the fact that Denmark has a very well-organized public
transportation system, along with a high quality infrastructure that includes cycling lanes all
around the country. This could be a reason to be discouraged when thinking about buying a car.
On the other hand, our research resulted in teaching us that the annual income per capita in
Denmark is one of the highest in Europe: 178 607,62 DKK. As much a pointer to the satisfactory
business situation of the country, as it is an indicator of general wealth, thus, the posibility to
aquire a car. We find this to be a more complex problem when we discover that buying a car in
Denmark comes with multiple (high)taxes. Many people might prove reluctant when confronted
with the process.
Furthermore, we got familiaized with the concept of the Millennials, that is the generation of
people born approximately between 1986 and 2000. Scientists and commentators have described
them as follows: half of Millennials (50%) now describe themselves as political independents
and about three-in-ten (29%) say they are not affiliated with any religion (...) Just 26% of this
generation is married (...)also the first in the modern era to have higher levels of student loan
debt, poverty and unemployment, and lower levels of wealth and personal income. The
Millennials appear to be slightly harder to access.
VII. Quantitative research: Chart analysis
(We converted the answers of the online survey into values, using charts to represent and formularize the
merits in percentage. )

As mentioned before, the 2 surveys were conducted on 34 young Danish people. With the first
couple of questions we have gotten to familiarize ourselves with the respondents, as such: 47%
of them own a car, out of which 75% own a used car.
When questioned about the most important aspects of purchasing a new car, the ratio price
budget, came up as the most important one, followed shortly behind by fuel consumption and

quality. Also vaguely mentioned was safety. These facts indicate that Danish youngsters are
realistic about their priorities and needs, and also that they are practical and decisive, since most
of them have a precise idea of what they want to accomplish.
As for their preferences in cars, the young form fillers, opt for brands like Volkswagen, Audi or
Volvo. Only 14% respondents opted for Kia. 41% prefer petrol consuming cars and 64% intent to
buy a car in the near future.
Further more, the poll shows that 50% of the youth would spend between 100 000 150
000DKK, and the other 50% between 70 000 100 000DKK for a new car, and amounts ranging
from 0 6000DKK and 6000 10 000DKK, in a 50 50% ratio, for a used car.
When asked to rank their most sought-after attributes in a car, respondees went for attractive
prices, low consumption, aspect and safety. Some of them mentioned previous experience with
the brand being an advantage.
Considering the shopping venue, Danish youth prefers, in a 45% proportion, dealerships, while
the second and third place draw between private owners and car park.
VIII.

Qualitative research: Individual interviews

After having established our basic ground in view of the general habits of Danish young adults,
we constructed a series of in depth questions together with script that would help us gain more
information about our points of interest. We managed to interview 4 Danish people with the
average age of 23, out of which 3 males and 1 female.
After the usual familiarization, we resolved in asking them about their view on the matter of
owning a car. 75% of them owned a car, for which the motivation was the practicality and the
convenience it presented in moving around between places of relative distance.
All 4 of the interviewees agreed that they only started thinking about a car when they had a
specific budget on hand and a similar price in mind. 2 out of 4, wanted a economic-city car for
the advantages it offered, while the 3rd owner admitted to have received it as a gift, even though
having been involved in the chosing of the car. The respondent that did not own a car opted for a
larger, more up-to-date car, this being one of the reasons why he did not own a car yet: wanting
to save enough for his dream car.
Speaking of dream cars, given the oportunity, all 4 would go for a sport, powerful and most
importantly, expensive car. The notoriety a brand offers to its clients is apparently very important
among young Danish people.
The inquery about their priorities when buying a car, shifted since even though the importance of
the price was still high, this time manual steering was almost as important and consumption was
on a lower level than specifications like good technology on board or comfortability.
Every respondent admitted to being put off by the Danish taxation system and the ensurance
policy.

IX.

Conclusion

Having followed our pre-established plan and having accomplished the tasks of researching,
producing new research and analyzing the results, we can now draw to our conclusions:
1. Out of our online survey we can conclude that the youngster have a lot of reasons to buy
or wanting to buy a car, like freedom and independency, so on, which definitely points to
a sector of the Danish automotive market that is not covered yet. On the other hand, by
having conducted the qualitative research we observed what are the specifications that
matter most for the prospective buyers and how they rank them.
2. Due to factors like policies, taxation, the Millennials or a good public transportation
system, it is very difficult for companies like Kia to enter the market and gain a
favourable position.
3. Despite the limited number or respondents that we have covered, answers seem to be
consistent and patterns appear regarding Danish youth preferences; fact that makes us
believe a more thorough and expanded research could benefit the companys interests.

X.

Bibliography

1. Pew Research Center, www.pewsocialtrends.org ,

www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in-adulthood/ , found on 17/10/2015
2. IndexMundi, www.indexmundi.com,
www.indexmundi.com/denmark/age_structure.html , found on 17/10/2015
3. EcoCouncil, www.ecocouncil.dk , www.ecocouncil.dk/documents/andet/1733-150417motor-vehicletaxation/file , found on 20/10/2015
4. OECD BetterLifeIndex, www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org,
http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/denmark/ , dound on 20/10/2015
5. Kasriel-Alexander, Daphne, 2013, Danish Consumers in 2020: A Look into the Future
Consumers in 2020, Euromonitor International, Online, Euromonitor International
6. Statistics Denmak, www.dst.dk , https://www.dst.dk/en/Statistik/emner/biler , found on
21/10/2015

XI.

Apendix

1st questionaire percentages:

10

2nd questionaire percentages:

11

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