Page 106 - DMGT547_INTERNATIONAL_MARKETING

Unit 5: International Market Research

c. The respondent does not find sufficient time to answer, as he is to answer the questions Notes
immediately and there is possibility of supplying information simply based on options
and estimation.
d. In the absence of observational information, respondents cannot be classified according to
age, education, occupation and economic conditions.
Questionnaire: Under this technique, the respondent is contacted through mail. A questionnaire
is despatched to the overseas respondent along with a covering letter explaining the purpose of
the study and an envelope. Sometimes, a gift is also offered to the respondent. The respondent
sends back the completed questionnaire to the surveyor for analysis.
This method is economical if the response is positive and prompt. The cost is also low per
respondent. This method can be extensively used because the distant areas are possible to be
covered with limited expenses.

The main drawback of this technique is that the response under this method is quite poor.
People are not bothered to answer and send back the questionnaire. Moreover, only limited
amount of information can be collected because of lack of response.

5.6.4 Survey Reporting

Information collected through desk research and the field survey is analysed and interpreted to
arrive at a meaningful conclusion regarding the various aspects of marketing strategy.
Mathematical models may also be profitably used in analysing the data, especially demand
data. A survey report is then drawn detailing the data collected and the conclusion drawn.
The utility of survey report is that it enables the firm to arrive at a marketing decision that will
help the firm to promote its products in the market to achieve its marketing objectives. The
marketing decision may be taken in the following areas:

a. Product: Product decisions relating to the type of product that can be sold in the overseas
market in competition with the other brands, its specifications, and its acceptability in the
market.
b. Market: The market decision relates to the total demand of the product in the market, the
firm’s share in the market, target customers and on whom effort should be concentrated.

c. Price and delivery: The decisions relate to the price at which the product can be sold in the
market and the interval or periodicity of delivery to ensure that there is no lack of stock in
the market.
d. Distribution and promotion: The distribution decisions relate to the appointment of
agents, distributors or to the provisions of warehouses or stockists as the case may be.
Decisions as to sales promotion method to be adopted in achieving the market objectives
are undertaken in the report. These decisions cover all aspects including advertisement,
sales promotion, visual aids, promotional shows, fairs and exhibitions, etc. A combination
of these methods is usually adopted to achieve the best results.

Task Conduct a market survey, using a questionnaire, to find out the consumer durables
purchase habits of people and their brand preferences (Indian brands vs. foreign brands).

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