INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY

CENTRE FOR DISTANCE LEARNING

GHAZIABAD
End-Term Examinations – June 2009
Subject Code : IMT-03 Time Allowed : 3 Hours
Subject Name: Marketing Research Max. Marks : 50

Notes: (a) Answer any FOUR questions from SECTION-A and CASE STUDY as given in SECTION-B.
Each Question (SECTION-A) carries 9 MARKS and (SECTION-B) Case Study carries 14 MARKS.
(b) No doubts/clarifications shall be entertained. In case of doubts/clarifications, make reasonable assumptions and proceed.
(c) For students enrolled in January 2008, July 2008 and January 2009 batches, the Question Paper would be treated for
70 marks instead of 50 marks.

SECTION-A MARKS : 36

1. What are the four types of scales used in measuring data?

2. What is a research design? Explain the key components of a research design in detail.
3. You have been asked to commission a customer satisfaction survey for a baby diaper brand ‘Penguin’. Which
survey method would you consider appropriate and why? Who would your respondent be? How would you
select your sample?
4. What are the various types of research methods? Elucidate the advantages and disadvantages of each of
these.
5. What are the problems associated with secondary data? Elucidate the various sources of secondary data
available to a marketer.
6. Explain the need to segment a market. What are the various demographic variables on the basis of which
consumers can be segmented?
7. Write short notes on the following:
a. Simulated test markets
b. Focus groups

SECTION-B (Case Study) MARKS : 14

Rural Search

When Nitya, an MBA project student from IMT, Ghaziabad, met Manoj, General Manager (Marketing) of Subhasri Cosmetics
Pvt. Ltd., he was delighted as he had a research project in hand. The company launched last year a new brand of ayurvedic
soap ‘Fresh’ in Andhra Pradesh. The soap was positioned as family health soap with 24 hour fragrance. Made available in two
pack sizes – 75 gm and 100 gm, it was priced at Rs. 6 and Rs. 8 respectively.

The Problem

Though sales of the brand were initially encouraging, they did not reach the expected level by the end of the year. This raised
the basic question: “Why are sales picking up slowly and what can be done to improve the situation?” Manoj explained his
concern to Nitya and further said: “Let us examine the problem in detail.”

¾ First, price cannot be a barrier but the perception that it is a cheap quality product might have hampered the sales. You
know, rural people are also now looking for value products.
¾ Secondly, promotion effectiveness is one difficult aspect, we have only used radio ads, cinema slides, wall paintings
and point of purchase displays.

Nitya added, “I think we need information on consumer awareness levels, brand preferences, and media habits to devise future
promotion strategies”. Manoj agreed with her and asked her to undertake a survey.

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Research Plan
Nitya developed a research plan in consultation with Manoj.
Objectives
¾ To determine the brand awareness, usage and preference levels of toilet soaps among consumers
¾ To know the media habits of and social influences on consumers
Data Sources
The secondary data sources include census reports of AP and the Thompson Rural Index. They are useful in identifying districts
and villages. Primary data sources consist of consumer survey.
Sample
It is decided to select one district randomly from each of the three regions of AP – Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telengana; using
the Thompson Rural Index. In the next step, 6 villages from each district are chosen based Manoj’s intuition and nderstanding of
the AP market. It is decided to cover atleast 100 consumers from each district. It is decided to select the chief wage earner
(CWE) of the household as the respondent. The CWE is the person who contributes the most to the household income. The 100
consumers shall be selected using snowballing approach.
Data collection
The primary data collection instrument is the questionnaire.
Questionnaire for Consumers
1. Why do you use toilet soap?
- Just like that
- All purposes
- Selective usage
2. Which brand of toilet soap are you currently using?
- Lifebuoy
- Margo
- Lux
- Dove
3. For how long have you been using this soap?
- Less than one month
- Past six months
- Over a year
4. What brands of toilet soaps do you like using?
(open ended – record response)
5. How did you come to know about the soap you are using now?
- Friend
- Relative
- Neighbour
- Television
6. How many persons are there in your household?
- 1-2
- 3–4
- 5–6
7. How many soaps does your household use?
- 1–2
- 3–4
- 5–6
8. Which newspaper do you read?
(open ended – record response)
9. Do you listen to radio?
- Yes
- No
10. Do you watch TV?
- Yes
- No
11. Do you go to watch movies?
- Yes
- No

Questions
1. Critically evaluate the sampling plan developed by Nitya.
2. Did the questionnaire meet the desired research objectives? Support your answer with a suitable argument.
3. Suggest appropriate changes in the questionnaire used for the consumer survey.

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