Introduction
Market research is an important area that demands careful consideration before taking a decision on issues related to finance. A number of establishments in the contemporary society have failed miserably in their ventures. The failure to conduct sound market research to ascertain the real issue on the ground affecting the venture is the main reason.
Most organizations rush through their decisions without having the backing of a thoroughly conducted research. The primary aim of any business venture is profit-making (Johnson 1995). To achieve this, the company has to look into the behavior of the customers and ascertain the best strategy to use to drive its objectives. In addition, market appraisal is necessary if competition is to be contained.
Governments and other social institutions that employ this initiative before rolling out their products to the market have made a huge impact and realized most of their objectives. Most firms view market research as an expensive venture. However, the importance outweighs the costs incurred during the process.
It provides sufficient information to policy markers leading to well thought decisions. New firms normally overcome traditional companies who fail to apply market research. This is because of the constant changes in tastes and preference of consumers.
This article will analyze the research adopted by Minor league on how they can maximize their revenue in the sport. Baseball is a new sporting activity that is being introduced to a society where basketball and hockey were dominant.
The administration is keen to look into ways in which these small sporting clubs can maximize their revenues without exploiting them. The paper will elaborate the various stages undertaken up to findings of the study. Market research inferences have been compared with the objectives to ascertain whether the goals of the survey have been realized (Johnson1995).
Research adopted by Minor leagues
When conducting a market survey, it is prudent to understand the research problem (Barr & Hums 2011). The research problem will help in designing the appropriate method to use during the research. In the given case, the research problem is how to maximize revenue in Minor leagues. The population given is largely youths and the question is appropriate for the research.
The researcher, Mr. Lary who is also the marketing director of an upcoming baseball minor team, was keen to obtain the national data and relate it with its objectives. Past studies are paramount when doing a market research. From past research, the researcher established that attraction to baseball was high to families who had school going children.
Falcoms, a hockey team, had announced its exit if they failed to sell additional 300 tickets in the season. This acted as a wakeup call to Buckingham, the marketing director of the new minor baseball team.
There are several problems that were faced by the marketing director; stiff opposition from the stakeholders of the team nearly brought the survey to its knees. Time constraint was also another factor that faced the researcher in the course of the survey (Barr & Hums 2011).
The researcher at his initial stages of the survey had to establish the nature of the research population. The main intention of this was the provision of accurate findings to be used in decision making on how the young team could maximize revenue. From his point of view, Springfield is unexploited in terms of games. People of this state travelled long distances to Boston to watch games.
This is a situation he had an intention to use to his team advantage. The researcher’s objective was to ascertain the number of people who were willing to turn up during the games and how the charges were going to be fixed. The state of this chosen sample was important on the final inferences.
First, the chosen sample was the successful teams and their interviews were carried out by phone. From the findings of this sample market, the researcher realized the need to harmonize group sales and concession sales to gain maximum revenue.
The initial mode of sending interview questions through mail could take long. This mode of interview was reviewed and a more convenient one of a website designed. The online interviews were not successful to a good extent; they were rejected as too complicated.
This necessitated the application of another mode. Before reaching an ultimate design of a market survey, several pilot projects should be undertaken. The final questionnaire design should be easy to answer and able to address all the objectives of the study (Barr & Hums 2011).
Developing a sample is an important part of market survey. This is the part of population intended to answer the ultimate question of the problem. In relation to the baseball Minor leagues surveys, persons who lived above the poverty level were interviewed (Barr & Hums 2011). The reason behind this is that they would be able to afford payment of tickets.
The population that is below the poverty line may be willing to watch the game but is not able to pay for their tickets. The aim of the researcher was to get responses in relation to attendants’ pattern and price sensitivity. The results were a representation of the Springfield state although biased to families with children below 18 years.
The research addressed the research question and the objectives of the researcher. The notable findings in the survey were pointing on how most of the minor league teams had a fully designed financial year and how financial obligation was addressed. They include the affordable pricing of their tickets and the use of concessional sales to raise an extra income for the firm.
The ticket and concessional revenue are two sources that reasonably address the objective of the researcher. For the new firm to break-even, the researcher’s advice in accordance to the findings is paramount. Buckingham was keen to understand fully the profile of the league’s customers.
The research established that the economic state of some customers could discourage them from purchasing the tickets. The researcher based his research on the population above the poverty line.
The pricing of the tickets was meant to be higher than the college rates. The maximization of profit to that extent would be ultimate. However, the prices were to be affordable to discourage the movement to Boston to watch the leagues. The pricing of other leagues will necessitate the researcher to advice his team accordingly; to price their tickets at a lower price than the rest of the competitors.
According to the ticket packages, the findings showed that attendance reduced as game number in relation to seasoned game tickets increased. With a single ticket, 100% attendance was realized. Maximizing attendance is one of the objectives of the firm. Moreover, the researcher with his boss agitates for a full capacity stadium. These findings are prudent and qualify for adoption.
The article has addressed the question of market survey in a vivid manner and has explained the various processes used when carrying out a research. The researcher, though experiencing pressure from the head of the company, managed to carry out a study that will benefit the minor league in the long run as improvements in the future will be minor.
Another problem experienced in the survey was the lack of enough time to conduct the survey. Buckingham for example abandoned his initial interview method because of the constraint. However, the inference has ensured prudent pricing of tickets and maximization of revenue in accordance with attendance.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the firm’s decision organ has a basis for its choices and how to influence the market of Springfield. The hockey club failed to capture the market because it did not carry out a survey to establish the criteria of capturing the market. From the article, it is advisable for firms to invest in market research before rolling out their services.
This will save the firm a lot of finance and time wastage in a venture. In addition, a flexible decision organ is important if companies are to enjoy the fruits of a research. Rigid leadership and slim budgets are other problems that need to be addressed to make surveying smooth.
Government’s national survey data demands constant update to ensure that up-to-date data are acquired easily. Individual needs vary from time to time but with frequent update of survey figures, government will reduce the costs incurred by firms in conducting fresh surveys. Reduction in cost ultimately increases the minor leagues revenues by cutting down the costs.
List of References
Barr, C. & Hums, M. 2011, Principles and practice of sport management. Jones & Bartlett Publishers: Burlington.
Johnson, A. 1995, Minor League Baseball and local economic development. University of Illinois Press: Illinois.