Introduction
Through marketing research, the company is able to understand the needs of its customers. Because companies embark on entering the worldwide market, they are compelled to understand how market research deviates from the domestic standards when carried out in global markets. Companies willing to enter into the international market have the priority of focusing on research capacity and markets that have better growth potential.
Marketing research focuses heavily on industrialized countries. This reflects how big and attractive the market is to the company. Nevertheless, some countries with high growth potential are the new global market economies. For companies to succeed in international markets there is the need for a shift of focus towards market assessment in all markets. Companies also need to develop and acquire the capacity to carry out research in the above-mentioned markets.
The advent of technology in mass communication, regional, and global media, has created an environment in which several segments of the worldwide populace are coming up with a variety of expectations and preferences for services and products. The desire in these developments is to have higher standards of living. In light of this, the market segment of teenagers depicts converging interests in music, fashion, sports, and films among other preferences.
This comes in an era where modern trends and products are diffused globally via dynamic media. There exist similarities between market research carried out at the regional and global scale. These similarities are in the research problem, the design for the research, the final report, and recommendations. However, differences between the aforementioned marketing research forms come from social, cultural, economic, and political factors in particular regions. A comparison of marketing research results is also a major source of disparities between the two forms of marketing research (Juran & Godfrey 1999, 28).
With regard to marketing research, companies are faced with numerous questions as they make their operations more global. Some of the questions emanate from the thought of how the companies will maintain a meaningful dialogue with customers as they enter a realm characterized by dispersion in undertaking activities. Marketing research also entails discovering the markets that will offer sale opportunities for the services and products of a company.
Moreover, there raises the question of how particular companies will design strategies based on customers and customized for segments in the global market. Hence, market research remains the principal nexus between the customer base and the marketing management of the organization (Kolb 2012, 80). Technological advances have made data collection during marketing research more complex. Moreover, the increase in technological sophistication of communication has facilitated broader data collection and rapidity never witnessed previously. Because of these developments, management of marketing research entails mastering the tools necessary in understanding biases and limitations Bradley 2007, 58).
The nature in which firms are expanding in new geographical frontiers to take advantage of growth opportunities, calls for the collection of comprehensive information on marketing research. Furthermore, to achieve this, there exists a need for research in underdeveloped regions such as Africa. The move has numerous challenges in the collection of accurate and reliable behavioral patterns information, predicting customers’ responses in the markets, and interpreting the implications of the marketing strategy (Crouch & Housden 2012, 319).
The global expansion of firms and similar integration of product markets across the globe have fueled a change in decision issues that face the firm. Consequently, the need for research and information has increased. Developed countries like Japan have experienced increased pressure for the consolidation of market research because of the removal of market barriers and infrastructural changes. As a result, attention has shifted towards entering more countries and an examination of the differences and similarities in consumer behavior and response patterns across the world.
Analogously, slow growth recorded in the above markets has led to the shift of market potential to budding market economies. Countries like India and China are the contemporary areas of focus in marketing research. Firms aspiring to become global leaders have to expend vast resources in these markets. Prior to entry in these markets, there is the need for the collection of information through marketing research with the aim of assessing opportunities, determining how to price, position, distribute, and promote their products, and if to develop variants in the local markets (Craig & Douglas 2005, 201).
Marketing research aids in connecting the company with its customers. Moreover, through marketing research, customer behavior is interpreted with the aim of formulating effective strategies in marketing research. Communication barriers between the companies and their customers render the company incapable of understanding new customer trends, and other factors that affect the company’s customers. The contemporary consumer environment is characterized by over-communication and over-choice and growth can be achieved only by companies with relevant skills in engineering feasible strategies targeting micro-niches in the macro-market.
There exists a trend whereby companies enter the market without knowing the specific segments’ perceptions and needs. Such companies are at risk of market failure. Incorporating the behavior of consumers is important in marketing research. Since the outset of the 21st century, marketing research has grown on unprecedented scale. Research organizations have amassed vast revenues as the need for marketing research enters the global domain. In 1995, 25 international companies engaging in marketing research amassed $5.7 billion. Half of this amount emanated from the proceeds in outside countries (Nigam 2005, 50-55).
Castle Leisure Case
In the contemporary world, organizations face numerous challenges emanating from the competition and sophistication of customers with regard to their needs. The entertainment industry has not been left out because casinos are facing the same predicament. In response to this, a couple of organizations are adopting better philosophies and production methods in an attempt to record the ideal growth level through profits.
Full quality management is a Japanese concept stipulating the need for all workers in an organization to participate in the improvement of services and quality of products. Mann & Kehoe (1995, 12-15) reveal that Total Quality Management is an efficient system that achieves quality via the combined efforts of the organization’s employees. Castle Leisure needs to adopt such a concept to record an increase in sales from online and offline customers. This proposal aims to direct the marketing strategy at Castle Leisure to understand the differences in the requirements of off-line and online Bingo customers.
Statement of the problem
At Castle Leisure, there are differences between the requirements of the offline and online Bingo customers. These differences are attributable to the lack of implementation of a quality management system to facilitate an increase in customers in both categories. The application of this strategy will be instrumental in deciphering disparities in the requirements of the aforementioned categories of customers.
Research Objectives
The objectives of the study were general and specific. The former objective was to find out the differences in customer requirements between off-line and on-line bingo games. On the other hand, the Specific objectives of the proposal were to determine the difference in customer requirements between offline and online bingo games, to find out the different product preferences of the customers, and to establish if the offline and online customers are the same.
Research Questions
The research questions in this study were; to what extent has a difference in customer requirements between offline and online bingo games challenged the organization? What is the customers’ preference? What is the difference between offline and online customers?
Significance of the proposal
This proposal will be significant to a number of stakeholders.
Future Researches
The research will provide valuable information regarding the difference in requirements between offline and online bingo games. The study will also contribute to the general body of knowledge and form a basis for future research.
Limitation of the study
The limitation is an aspect of research that may influence the results negatively, but over which, the researcher has no control. The researcher cannot manipulate the independent variables because their manifestation has already taken place.
Literature Review
The literature review chapter presents the need for quality management, past studies in the subject area, and an indication of the international and the local perspective. It captures the critical review of theories that have been studied by other researchers and proponents of quality management. From the literature review, the researcher will be able to come up with a conceptual framework for the study.
Past Studies
An increase in the sophistication of the preferences of the customers compels companies to desist from jeopardizing the satisfaction of the customer. Firms need to strive to record improvement in the value of their products and services from an economic viewpoint. The quality management approach is an instrumental aspect to be adopted by firms willing to record sales and objectives notwithstanding the category of consumers. The process of improvement in the company should entail a focus on the satisfaction of the customers, and the adoption of a quality framework (Nigam 2005, 205).
From several statistical findings, there exists a strong relationship between quality management implementation and the dedication of stakeholders in ensuring that there is a growth in sales. The level of implementation of quality management is dependent on the attitudes of entrepreneurs towards change, the involvement of the employees in operational and strategic decisions, and the policies adopted by the firm. It also depends on the firm’s dynamism and culture, its competency in the managerial domain, and its resourcefulness enables in sustaining competitive advantage (Nigam 2005, 205).
The Theory of Quality
Different approaches in the domain of improving quality reflect competing ideas that seek to influence activities in the marketplace. The diversity of approaches to quality contributes to variability in the approaches used by companies and increases the chance of failure in organizations. Several theories on the management of organizations trace their roots from the models postulated by Frederick Taylor and Elton Mayo.
The theory of quality management grew from theories on management in organizations. Several theorists have shaped the quality management concept. One of the major realizations in light of this is that as the quality of services and products improves, the cost goes down, and the production increases. Quality control in statistics facilitates quality and productivity improvement as a platform for the identification of improvement areas.
The quality management theory posits that performance is enhanced by designing products and services to meet or exceed customer expectations. This is achieved via the empowerment of workers to find and eliminate factors undermining services and products. In this regard, quality management enhances effectiveness in organizations through the promotion of stakeholder satisfaction, maintained improvement, and proactive leadership in the firm (Golomski 1994, 60-62).
Research Methodology
In this chapter, there is the design used in the research study, target population, sampling design, the procedure of data collection, the instruments used in data collection, reliability, the validity of the research instruments, data analysis, and the administration of the instrument procedure.
Research Design
This study will adopt a survey design descriptive in nature. Descriptive surveys are designed to measure the characteristics of a particular population, at a fixed point either in time or comparatively over time (Kumar 2000, 44-46). The design is considered appropriate for the study because according to Kumar (2000, 45) a survey entails a description, analysis, reporting, and recording of existing or pre-existing conditions. Gay (2004) posits that the survey method is used widely to come up with data vital in the evaluation of current practices and providing a benchmark for decision-making.
Target Population
The population of this study will include four hundred and twelve employees of Castle Leisure of which 15 are senior managers, 32 are functional managers, 76 are supervisors and 289 are clerks.
Sampling Design
A stratified Random Sampling design will be adopted. The sample size to be used will be 30% of the total population at Castle Leisure. According to Baker & Mouncey (2003, 5-7), a sample size of between 10% and 30% is appropriate for a descriptive case study such as the one necessary for the situation at Castle Leisure.
References
Baker, S & Mouncey, P 2003, ‘The market researcher’s manifesto,’ International Journal of Market, vol.45, no. 4, pp. 415-433.
Bradley, N 2007, Marketing Research: Tools & Techniques, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Craig, CS & Douglas, SP 2000, International marketing research (2nd Ed.), Wiley, New York.
Crouch, S & Houdsen, M 2012, Marketing Research for Managers, Routledge, London.
Golomski, W 1994, ‘1S0 9000-The Global Perspective,’ Food Technology, vol 48, no. 12, pp. 60-62.
Juran, JM & Godfrey, AB 1999, Juran’s Quality Handbook, McGraw Hill, New York.
Kolb, B, 2012, Marketing Research for Non-profit, Community and Creative Organizations, Routledge, London.
Kumar, V 2000, International marketing research, International marketing research, Prentice Hall PTR, New Jersey.
Mann, R & Kehoe, D 1995, ‘Factors affecting the implementation and success of TQM,’ International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol.12, no.1, pp. 11-23.
Nigam, S 2005, Total Quality Management: An Integrated Approach, Excel Books India, New Delhi.