Module 5
Toys! I suppose the name is enough for anyone to have a psychological throwback to their childhood. Moreover, seeing a child playing with a toy gives an utmost joy to the parents and when this desire of generating happiness for children is combined through the process of prudent market research, not only the child gets their desired product, but it also benefits the company manufacturing those toys in the form of higher sales and profitability figures.
Fortunately for me, I had a recent experience of visiting a LEGO store where the newly launched TRANSFORMER toy series was creating a rage amongst the children and a sample of the STAR WARS toy range was put on for display while the movie was yet to be released. While the children in stores were equally excited about the TRANSFORMER series toys, they were showing the equal anxiety for the STAR WARS based Lightsabers and other category of products. This observatory pattern was a clear indication that STAR WARS based toys will receive a warm welcome from the children and LEGO can cash the brand equity of the film franchise and it did that appropriately. According to Financial Times, the company witnessed 60% rise in profit figures owing to blockbuster sales of STAR WARS based toys.
Learning from the experience, I believe that the buying preferences of our target customers will be accurately observed by distributing pre-launch samples in the toy stores and then observing the inclination of the child towards the toy. The observation will be done through in-store cameras where we will observe the behavior pattern of the child while he plays with the toy, whether the toy specifically attracted him to enter the store and his behavior once he is taken away from the store by his parents.
Summarizing the outcome of this exploratory research, we will be able to create an observational data entirely based on the video footage and then the decision will be taken as which toy product received maximum attention and what factors attracted them most, i.e. store layout, toy packaging, et cetera.(Malhotra, 2010)
References
Richard Milne, N. C. (2015, September 2). Sales jump secures Lego’s crown as world’s biggest toymaker. Retrieved February 11, 2016, from Financial Times: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f03d0188-513d-11e5-9497-c74c95a1a7b1.html#axzz3zrifu0K3
Malhotra, N. K. (2010). Marketing research: An applied orientation, 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Reply#1:
Dear April,
I must say that in a concise discussion,you have explained your point very appropriately. I absolutely agree with the view of the focus group that as far as children is concerned, their preferences for any product can be obtained using observations or exploratory basis.(Mcgeee, 1997) Another viewpoint here is that since the preference pattern of children are highly dynamic and they do not connect with a toy for a long time, relying on descriptive or causal research will be a costly tool of market research as any company in to toy manufacturing will be looking for an early-bird entry advantage. Therefore,considering the given scenario, it is highly suggestive that such companies should rely on observational data.(Malhotra, 2010)
Regards,
Jay
References
Malhotra, N. (2010). Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation. 6th ed. (Sixth ed.). Prentice Hall.
McGee, T. 1997. Research with Kids and Teens: Getting Inside Kids’ Heads. Retrieved from http://doyleresearch.com/resources/articles/research-with-kids-and-teens-getting-inside-kids-heads/
Reply#2:
Dear Jennifer,
I strongly propose my consent and appreciate that you have discussed the issue of observer bias in this discussion. Many a times, I have learnt about the situations when a company’s executives, being confident in their product, ignore observational pattern or enforce biases in the data collected. Such approach, if applied to data collected for a child’s behavior,will only backfire and result in losses for the company.
Henceforth, relying on a data collected through mechanical means for the product launch, will be most appropriate in the given situation.(Malhotra, 2010)
Regards,
Jay
References
Malhotra, N. K. (2010). Marketing research: An applied orientation, 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Rumsey, D. J. (n.d.). Types of Statistical Data: Numerical, Categorical, and Ordinal. Retrieved February 13, 2016, from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/types-of-statistical-data-numerical-categorical-an.htm
