English Language Teaching Centre

Management English
Project Work

AH REUM HAN
AYAKO IAMURA
CHIN- JEN CHENG
I-THING TSENG
KELLEN MARQUES

THE CHANGING ROLE OF MUSIC

STORES
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CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................................................2

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1: SOCIAL CLASS CLASSIFICATION....................................................................................5

TABLE 2: SOCIAL CLASS DISTRIBUTION IN THREE MOST POPULAR PRODUCTS............5
TABLE 3: FREQUENCE OF SHOPPING FROM MUSICAL TASTE................................................6
TABLE 4: IMPORTANCE OF SERVICES.............................................................................................7
TABLE 5: PREFERENCE OF SERVICES .............................................................................................7
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TABLE 6: FREQUENCY OF SERVICE BEEN USED BY SOCIAL CLASS.....................................7

TABLE 7: KIND OF PROMOTION ........................................................................................................8
TABLE 8: SOURCE OF INFORMATION .............................................................................................8

1. INTRODUCTION

The retail music store market is declined. Because of the recession impacts and other
competitions, it can be challenging for retails to generate revenue to survive in this
competitive market.

Album sales have decreased significantly with the raise of free music download sites.
In addition, the innovation of technology, like multi-functional mobile and MP3 Players
influences not only the business circumstance frequently, but a rising prices of album.
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For these reasons, music stores need to adopt new strategies and changes their
management methods in terms of different types of costumers’ demands.

Therefore, our project takes Sheffield for an example to investigate the changing role of
music retail store. This report has three main ideas: segmentation, service and
promotion. It contains the suggestions to measure the music market and re-establish
new strategies.

2. METHODOLOGY

The questionnaire was conducted by randomly selecting 50 people on the street. After
that, we collected all the data to three foci.

Firstly, segmentation is essential to categorize customers into different social classes

by their jobs, incomes, and the consumer competence. For the purpose of
segmentation, we asked 5 questions which indicated customers’ social class, music
taste and frequency of purchase.

Secondly, services are important to improve customers’ satisfaction. For the purpose of
services, we asked three questions to indicate customers’ preference of music and
satisfaction of services.

Thirdly, promotion is essential to build up a channel between retails and customers to

influence, inform, and persuade potential customers’ purchases. For the purpose of
promotion, we asked 2 questions which showed the effects of advertisement and the
consumers’ demand for discount.

Through these aspects, we expect to have a thorough analysis of the public options
and draw a conclusion about the application in music stores.

3. FACTS INVOLVED

3.1 Segmentation

By following the social grade classification made by the National Readership Survey,
we used six class sectors, but only five groups we are able to collect into the system
due to the lack of respondent from Class A. The reason might be the time and location
did not show any sample of class A.
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Table 1: Social class classification

Table 2: Social class distribution in three most popular products

Modern technology,
such as DVD/Blue-ray,
is taking over the
market of traditional
media like albums. In
the data, there are
86% people who
chose to buy CD,
DVD/Blue-ray or
Game which are the three most popular products in music stores. On the other hand, in
this sector, people from all the classes tend to buy DVD more than CD, and only class
B and E were interested in buying CD.

Besides, students are the most important customers in music stores and they tend to
buy Games. We assume that to satisfy this major group of customers, music stores
need to diversify products, like games.
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Table 3: Frequence of shopping from musical taste

A big
difference
between
people
who never
purchase
in music
stores

To find out the relationship between music types and frequency of shopping, the data is
analysed across these two sectors.

The frequency of shopping may vary between different music tastes. In this case,
people were divided into two types with similar music tastes, and then sorted by the
frequency of shopping. The numbers of percentage in each shopping frequency are
different between these two groups.

In these two charts, there is a big difference between people who never shop in music
stores. The reason might be the segmentation for R&B, Pop, and Rock is students who
have more free time for shopping. Therefore, music stores can focus on the music
selection for Classic and Jazz to attract more customers to purchase.

3.2 Service

Services must be offered in music stores. It is essential for music stores to attract
consumers to purchase products. Besides, the satisfaction from costumers is
significantly effective for a long-term business. Hence, for music stores, how to
approach costumers for the substantial relationship is considered one of the most
important strategies in the business field.
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According to the data, it depicts people in Sheffield consider the services are important.
In the scale of 4-7, it reaches 40.8%. Also, the scale of ‘very important’ has the second
largest percentage, 24.5%.

Table 4: Importance of services

Music stores have
offered five main
services: pre-
played console,
corporate voucher,
to change and
return the
products,
membership and
benefits, and the
possibility to buy
other products
such as accessories and technologies.

Table 5: Preference of services

In these sections,
three of them are
above 20%, and
the most significant
service is to
change and return
the products if they
are still in good
condition.

Table 6:
Frequency of
service been
used by social
class

That diagram
divides the
frequency of
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service been used by social class. Significantly, the class E uses the service more
often than the others. Most of them use it sometimes, but some of them never use
it.

In general, even though various services may not have a direct connection with
purchasing goods and may be taken for granted by customers, they are still one of the
main strategies music stores try to get a tight grip to costumers. However, it is
necessary to understand costumers’ demand to offer various services which are
efficient, flexible and cost-free.

3.3 Promotion

Table 7: Kind of promotion

The first table provides
the most powerful
promotion channel to
make the products in the
spotlight is advertisement
which reaches nearly
80%, and in
advertisement’s terms,
the common models to
spread the information of
new products are by TV, radio, internet, etc. Compared with the other sections, there is
a big gap between advertisement and the other three sectors which only obtain less
than 10% respectively.

Table 8: Source of information

The reason limited people

to know the information, for
instance, is many
customers have to go to
retail shop or access the
website separately. It
means new information
must be aware by
demonstration. In other
words, it is quite few people to visit and access directly to shop. In contrast, TV and
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advertisement can be recognised easily without paying more attention, so music stores
can approach a wide range of people. Furthermore, the segmentation of each product,
the DVD/Blue-ray figure is more than half covered on the advertisement section.

Moreover, the most valuable and effective promotion is the instant discount of 10% for
old products. In this chart, it reaches 65% more than other sectors. Secondly, the
modes of the voucher for 5% on new products and the bonus for 15% old products still
have small attraction for customers, and they reach above 30% of the pie.

As a result, most customers prefer a discount instantly instead of expecting for the next
purchases by voucher or bonus even which may have more value than the instant
discount. Therefore, according to the data, the most effective promotion channel to pull
marketing is introducing new products by advertisement and the most potential method
to push marketing is promoting the instant discount for products.

4. CONCLUSION

According to our investigation, there is an interesting result. Consumers tend to buy

DVD more than CD in music stores. This fact converts the general idea about music
stores which are expected to gain their largest profit by selling CD. Therefore, we
assume this is the reflection of product diversification.

Besides, from the three main popular services, we analyse three possible costumers’
demands: flexibility, variety, and loyalty. Firstly, the flexibility is music stores satisfy
customers by changing and returning products. Secondly, a variety of products is
essential to support the last service. Thirdly, if music stores can possess these
services, it will encourage consumers to join the membership which is the third
important service and to improve the loyalty. After that, we presume when music stores
gradually accumulate their reputation, they will have a group of regular consumers and
income to develop new products or to invest other niches.

Furthermore, the effective advertisement and the most valuable promotion are both
powerful strategies, especially instant discount for old products which need various
products to support. Therefore, compared with traditional music stores, nowadays it is
more challenging and complicated to apply different management skills for reaching the
target. The role of the music store has been changed, and it will continue its
transformation to survive in further competitions.
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How do music retail stores attract customers in Sheffield?

5. REFERENCES

Type of customer = Segmentation

Brown
1- Age , Adam . O'Connor ,Justin . Cohen, Sara. “Local music policies within a global
music industry:
less than 19
20-30
cultural quarters in Manchester and Sheffield”. Geoforum 31 (2000)
437±451
31-50
more than 51

Mattila , Anna S. Wirtz , Jochen, “Congruency of scent and music as a driver of in-store
2- Job
Doctor, Lawyer, university professor, company director, bank manager, nenior army officer
evaluations and behavior”. Journal of Retailing 77 (2001) 273–289
Teacher , journalist, pharmacist, social worker, company manaiger, self-emloyed
Nurse, shopkeeper, secretary, typist, computer programmer, air hostess
Carpenter, painter, electrician, train driver, baker, police constable, mechanic
Railway porter, cleaner, machine operator in a factory, milkman, bus conductor, agricultural worker, window cleaner, supermarket
Social Grading on the National Readership Survey, 1985, Joint Industry Committee for
Old-age pensioners, unemployed, the disabled, Student

National
3- How often Readership Surveys.
do you buy products from a music store?
Once a week or more
Once a month or more
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promotion
Once a year or more
Never. Why __________________________________

4- What type of product do you buy at the music store?

DVD/Blue-ray
CD
Game
Accessories
Others

5- What kind of music do you usually buy in the music shop?

POP
R&B
Classic
Jazz
Rock
World
Others

Services
6- What kind of services are important for you in music stores?
Pre- player console
Corporate voucher
To change and return porduct
Membership and benefit
Other product (technologies , books, cinema and concert tickets )

7- How often do you use the services in music stores?

Always
Often
Sometimes
Seldom
Never

8- In the scale from 0 to 10 , how much of the music store services is important to you when you go there?
8-10
4-7
1-3
0

6.9-APPENDIX:
Promotion
QUESTIONNAIRE
What source of information enabled you to know about the new products?
Advertisement (TV, radio, web etc.)
Communication event (concert, live etc)
Demonstration (trial listening in store)
Information on Package

10- What is most valuable of the following?

Instant Discount (10% for old product)
Bonus for next products (15% for old product)
Collaboration (gift poster)
Voucher (5% for new product)