Applegate_sreekanth.docx

Market Research - Applegate Chevrolet Case Katikuti Sreekanth Roll no: 230 Section B Manager: Jim Travis, Location: Petoskey, Michigan 1. What market information could help Travis decide whether or not to seek a Yugo franchise? Customer awareness about Yugo car how many potential customers are aware of Yugo Car at all? This information will help Travis understand about the penetration of the car in the customers. If it is relatively well known, he does not have to worry about pushing the product into customer minds on his own. Perception of Yugo car in the customers – Would selling Yugo make the customers think that the dealership is low on quality? One of the concerns that Travis had was about his dealership’s quality image. If we can understand what the customers really think about the car, it will solve the problem. If high percentage of customers are perceiving it as affordable car with decent quality rather than just a cheap car, Travis wouldn’t have to worry about the dealership’s image. Qualities that the customers look for in a car while buying in Petoskey – What would the customers prefer: Affordable car with decent quality or expensive car with best quality? Price, Quality, Brand – This helps us to determine the number of customers in the area who are only price sensitive and in turn to estimate the potential new customers and also the customers who might shift to Yugo from low end Chevrolet. Market share of domestic and foreign cars in Petoskey Percentage of customers who bought foreign cars from his dealership. This helps us to determine the level of conservatism that Travis is worried about. If it is too high, then the Yugo car might not earn him the expected profits. Apart from the marketing information mentioned above, Travis should also determine the profitability of Yugo car and the number of cars he should sell to achieve the breakeven. 2. Could marketing research be used to gather that information? Yes. Both primary and secondary market research can be used to gather the information required to make the decision. The market research will help us to answer the concerns of Travis by providing valuable customer insights about their buying behaviour.

3. Describe the research in as much detail as possible. Primary Research

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In depth Interviews Interview the existing customers of dealership to find out what they look for while buying a car Interview the customers who bought foreign cars to understand the change in mindset of those customers These interviews will help answer the questions about the possible number of customers he might lose, who switch from low end Chevrolet to Yugo and also the prospective new customers. Surveys and questionnaires Survey the existing customers who drive the Yugo about their satisfaction level and whether they would recommend Yugo to their friends or not. Conduct surveys on a sample space to understand the aspects that the people of Petoskey are considering while buying a car. Analysis from internal information How the trends of buying car have changed across the years How the sales were affected due to price changes in a particular model of car Secondary Research Find out whether there is a dealership similar to Applegate which has started selling Yugo cars and review that situation. Understand the phenomena of Yugo cars in the country along with both success and failure stories of dealerships. Expert reviews about the car and relative reception of the customers in various areas can be observed. Market share of domestic and foreign in the Petoskey area and how the composition of the market has changed over the years.