The marketing researcher’s role is to generate insight to aid the marketing manager’s judgment. Marketing research is the activity that connects the marketer to the client, user, and public through knowledge used to uncover and identify marketing issues and opportunities, as well as to develop, improve, and assess marketing activities (Kotler & Keller, 2016). This paper will give actionable insights regarding the market research for Tim Hortens’ ice cream cone project with diagnostic knowledge on the specific market that might impact the product and what that means for the company.
There are several objectives for the market research due to the complexity of new product implementation. According to Kotler & Keller (2016), marketing executives must exercise caution in defining the problem widely or excessively specific for the marketing researcher. However, it might be helpful, to begin with general objectives that would provide initial and the most critical data. First, the research should be “exploratory—its goal is to identify the problem and to suggest possible solutions” (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 125). Namely, the research should identify what preferences and demands are there among the customers concerning the new project for Tim Hortens. The research might reveal the tendencies among the target market regarding their specific taste in Canadian restaurants and shops, as well as varieties in their preferences. Tim Hortons focuses on breakfast, lunch, and supper; introducing new products was not successful as many of the franchisees had difficulty keeping up with a quick service turnaround (Edmiston, 2022). Hence, it is valuable to know whether demand for the new product exists, what it is specifically, and whether it promises profit so that loading the service would pay off.
The next purpose involves estimating demand by conducting descriptive research. The first question concerns the offer of ice cream cones to the target market of Tim Hortens. As such, there might be different segments among the target market, such as generation Z and millennials, which might have different preferences (Marshall, n.d.). In this case, the research should establish what specific target market the company should offer the product more. According to Perch (2022), Tim Hortons targets floaters. These are consumers that live on a low budget but what to provide the best for their families. This is evident in the company’s commercials: those are focused on comfort and long-lasting relationships, those working for a living but not living to work (Perch, 2022). Hence, one of the objectives is to decide what price the company should charge for the ice cream to keep the customers buying it and the other products to support the CRM. Therefore, the questions to research include how many customers and from which segments would purchase the ice cream and how many of them could afford it in addition to the standard Tim Hortons products.
Next, this research plan should provide information regarding its scope. As such, the research should start with gathering available secondary data by using a combination of resources, such as the internet and checking out rivals. For example, this study will provide information about the broad audience in Canada, reveal some of the preferences existing in the market regarding ice cream, and what the offers of existing companies that sell out. However, it might not be enough for marketing the product since this information does not state anything about the specific audience of Tim Hortons, which are the visitors of its shops and restaurants (Pytlik, 2019). Hence, the firm needs to collect primary data by the company to prevent product failure and retain the CRM.
There are several methods for acquiring the much-needed data for Tim Hortons. First, through observation, researchers can get new data by quietly monitoring people as they purchase or consume things (Kotler & Keller, 2016). As a result, one can detect some behavioural patterns among the visitors to the shops, such as in what manner they prefer to choose the products, for whom (maybe they can purchase ice cream for children), and others. A questionnaire, which is a series of questions that are presented to respondents, is useful for the purpose of the research. Respondents can answer open-ended questions on their own terms. This method is particularly valuable in exploratory research for determining the preferences among the target market. Several personal interviews can provide even more information, but they are expensive. According to Kotler & Keller (2016), with a valid selection, samples of less than 1% of a population can typically yield acceptable dependability. Thus, one needs to carefully select 1% of the target market of Tim Hortons, which is Canadian “floaters,” define several segments among them and provide a diversified data collection consisting of observation, questionnaire, and personal interviews.
After the company finalizes the primary SWOT analysis of the product so that to decide whether its production is justified by the demand and profit, they can begin to implement the research. At this stage, some of the secondary data mentioned earlier can come up and give quick insights into the research purpose. Then, after the managers produce some theories about the product, it is reasonable to begin to seek specific primary data until enough information about the consumers’ preferences exists to produce and test the ice cream.
References
Edmiston, J. (2022). “We also must win in espresso”: Tim Hortons charts new phase in multi-year turnaround. Financial Post. Web.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed.). Pearson.
Marshall, K. (n.d.). Tim Hortons marketing messaging: How do they do it? Profit Works. Web.
Perch, D. (2022). Target market of Tim Hortons. The Social Grabber. Web.
Pytlik, G. (2019). Tim Hortons brand hits 50 with style. Adwiz. Web.