Dupont Case Study. First, Dupont

¶ … DuPont case study. First, DuPont must identify their target market that would be interested in designer carpet for their home. From this demographic, they must then collect data from these specific consumers and then analyze the data to determine their needs. Once these are determined, marketing information that explains how DuPont's designer series fills these needs must be disseminate, again, to their target market. The management decision problem facing DuPont is two-pronged. First, they must determine if the Designer Collection will truly be an accepted segment in the residential market.

Second, they must determine if it's possible to get the samples and marketing materials in place to have an effective launch at this year's trade show. The answer to the first question is yes. DuPont should introduce their Designer Collection. Americans have become more and more image conscious, and this type of carpeting will allow image conscious consumers to express their unique style in their choice of carpeting. Chapter 3: Question 3: Causal research typically looks to discover why something is happening, rather than what is happening.

It could be used, in this case, in order to determine why there is a trend to allow carpet to be more than just a backdrop to the furnishings in a home, but, it's more important to find out if this is happening, in the first place, using non-causal or descriptive research. Chapter 4: Question 4a: fashion trends article from Floorcovering News may contain a bias to be trendier than the average American.

Designers are often on the cutting edge of interior design and may not represent a large portion of the regular population, yet. Chapter 4: Question 4b: DuPont sales history for 1997-2001 may be biased in that it doesn't contain information regarding specifically designer carpet sales, in the residential market, as this is a new segment. Chapter 4: Question 4c: Again, a chart of sales of residential carpet, from the Census of Retail Trade, may provide valuable general data, but it will not include data specific to residential designer carpet sales.

Chapter 4: Question 4d: Bibliographic works concerning carpet fashion are often written by designers. These works often contain fashions that are beyond where society, as a whole, currently is, which leads to a bias to be more avant-garde than the average consumer would be. Chapter 6: Question 4: As an extension of word association techniques, sentence completion techniques can be used to uncover the underlying motives of why consumers choose the carpeting they do.

These may include: choose which carpet I'm going to purchase primarily by the carpeting in my home should be Chapter 8: Question 1: Income level must be sufficient to give the consumer the ability to pay the higher price of designer carpets, prior to their purchase. This higher income level must be present when the consumer makes their purchase decision to buy designer carpet. If the consumer's income level is not sufficient, they will not purchase the designer carpet.

Chapters 9 & 10: Question 2: There are several non-comparative scales that could be utilized for these purposes. Attitudinal scaling will allow DuPont to better understand the consumers' feelings about their carpet, using two dimensions of the product. A Buying Intent or Purchase Intent scale will let them measure the likelihood that the consumer will make a purchase. A Hedonic scale will measure their general opinion of the product. An Itemized Rating scale will allow DuPont to understand the consumers' motivations. And a Nominal scale will be useful in determining demographic information.

Chapter 11: Question 1: a. What is your favorite construction of carpet fibers? This question is not well formulated as it needs to consider the option of "other" in addition to the high possibility that the consumer does not have a favorite construction at all. What style of carpeting do you have in your office? This question is well formulated, however has little to do with the residential application of designer carpet.

Do you intend to buy a new carpet soon? This question needs to be more specific in the time frame of carpet purchase, soon is too vague to be useful. d. Do you believe, as most Americans do, that U.S. citizens should buy American-made carpets? This question leads the respondent with the phrase "as most Americans," which should be removed. e.

Will you buy designer carpets given that they cost slightly more than traditional carpets? A choice of "uncertain" should be included, and the question should be rephrased to "Are you likely to by" rather than "Will you buy." Chapter 11: Question 2: 1. Do you currently have carpeting in your home? 2. Are you considering adding and/or replacing carpeting in your home? If Yes, how soon? Less than 3 months/More than 3 months but less than a year/More than a year 3.

Rate the following carpet attributes according to importance, to you personally (1 is the most important, 7 is the least important). Color Durability Name brand Price Stain resistance Style Warranty 4. How likely are you to be willing to pay more for a carpet that was not only technically superior but fashionable superior as well to traditional carpets? (1 is not likely at all - 5 is very likely) 5. Where are you most likely to make your next carpeting purchase? Carpeting Store/Home Improvement Retailer/Online/Other 6. Your gender: Male/Female/Prefer not to answer 7.

Your marital status: Married/Single/Prefer not to answer 8. Your age: 18-24/25-34/35-50/Over 50/Prefer not to answer 9. Your ethnicity: African-American/Asian/American Indian/Hispanic/Caucasian/Other/Prefer not to answer 10. Your total household income: Less than $20K/$20K-$35K/$36K-$65K/$66K-$100K/Over $100K/Prefer not to answer.