EOC Week 2: Sample Survey

This questionnaire is meant to be quick and relatively painless way to sample what people think about fragrances. This is anonymous and voluntary. Circle or write your answers where necessary. Thank you for your time and cooperation.

1.            Which gender do you identify with?        Male                      Female                 Other

2.            Does scent attract you when meeting new people?        Yes         No          I don’t know

3.            If someone stinks, does that give you a bad impression?                               Yes         

No          I don’t care

4.            Do you enjoy the smell of Vanilla?           Yes         No          I don’t care

5.            Do you enjoy the smell of Lime?               Yes         No          I don’t care

6.            Do you enjoy the smell of Leather?         Yes         No          I don’t care

7.            Do you enjoy the smell of Musk?             Yes         No          I don’t care

8.            Do you enjoy the smell of Peppermint?                                Yes         No          I don’t care

9.            Rate these scents from most favored to least?  __  Vanilla           __  Lime               __  Leather         __  Musk             __  Peppermint

10.          Does the way you smell may have an effect on people’s opinion of you?              Yes            No          Maybe            I don't care

EOC Week 2: Survey Research

Considering that the midterm project involves fragrances, I did some market research on colognes and perfumes. One of the more recent researches done was done by Packaged Facts on The Latino Health and Beauty Care Shopper. The Background of the report said, “Over the past decade, spending by Latino consumers on personal care products grew more than 40%, nearly three times faster than it increased among non-Latino consumers.” And they continue with “By 2015 Latinos will make up 20% of 18- to 49-year-olds, an age group critically important to HBC marketers, and will account for a growing share of consumers of HBC products in the future.”(1) This lead me to rationalize this to be relevant for some exploratory research. “Exploratory research can be useful in helping to better define a marketing problem or identify a market opportunity. Problems are usually not as obvious as they may seem.” (pg 45)  

Descriptive research “Describes characteristics of objects, people, groups, organizations, or environments; tries to “paint a picture” of a given situation.”(pg45) According to the report, ”Latinas are 25% more likely to use perfume and 48% more likely to use toilet water…” (Diluted perfume, not the stuff dogs drink) “…One in five (21%) used perfume, cologne or toilet water at least eight times in the past seven days. The Victoria’s Secret perfume brand performs the best among Latinas. Compared to women on average, Latinas are 63% more likely to pick Victoria’s Secret in this HBC product category.”(6) So there would be an opportunity to create a scent that could be sold in Victoria’s Secret for men. After all, women are the ones that are more likely to make the purchases for men. “Latino men are 14% less likely to choose unscented … and are significantly more likely to select … brands with aromas such as spice (41% more likely) and lemon/lime (11%).”(11)

The opportunity is the Hispanic market for a scent for men makes a lot of sense to me and I look forward to coming up with a fragrance for men. “Causal research seeks to identify cause-and-effect relationships to show that one event actually makes another happen.” (47)

http://academic.marketresearch.com.ai.libproxy.edmc.edu/product/display.asp?productid=6497880&curl=&surl=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2Easp%3Fprid%3D1082825501%26query%3Dcologne%26cmdgo%3DGo&prid=1082825501

Week 1: What I am expecting from this class

According to the American Marketing Association’s definition of Marketing Research it is the “…function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information--information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process.” I expect to gain the skills to do the marketing research that I may need to do for my future job. By the time these eleven weeks are up, I’ll be able to specify the information required to address issues, learn how to design methods for collecting information, manage and implement the data collection process, analyze and understand the results, and then know how to communicate the findings and their implications.

My hope is that I will know what it takes to make the market research vital for a business’ success. I want to be able to provide insight into a company’s existing customers and identify the potential for new customers, to classify the customer’s needs and behavior patterns, analyze the competitors and spot business opportunities, and help resolve business problems to better assist with developing decisions and strategies. On top of this, I want to supply good marketing research. As stated by Reference for Business, “Following are the characteristics of good marketing research: 1. Scientific method… 2. Research creativity… 3. Multiple methods… 4. Interdependence of models and data… 5. Value and cost of information… 6. Healthy skepticism… [and] 7. Ethical marketing.”

Lastly, I expect to know how to perform the fundamentals of research that is described by Scott Smith, Ph.D., in his article found in Qualtrics Insights.  I should be able to “Ask the right questions, ask the right people, ask questions the right way, obtain answers to questions, relate answers to the needs of the research user/client, and communicate effectively and in a way that the client understands.” Provided I get all of this down, I should pass the class and have more added to my arsenal when I get into the business world.