Personal interviews

Personal interviews are similar to focus groups in the meaning that they refer to direct dialogues between the researcher and the audience -- in this case a single individual; the conversations are generally recorded for further analysis. The main advantage of this approach is that of an honest reaction to a product or a campaign promoted; the company could easily capitalize on its experience with the prospective customer and could significantly improve its offering. Nevertheless, there is the major disadvantage that personal interviews take time, consume resources, and are not applicable at a large scale as they are not statistically reliable (All Business, 2009). The main resources used by this methodology revolve around the answers gathered from the interviewed individuals.

Observation

The direct observation of current and prospective customers relies primarily on the analysis of their behavior when in contact with a given product, service or campaign, and not aware that they are being observed. When people know that they are being watched or that their answers are being recorded, they tend to change their behavior in order to seem richer, "cooler" and so on. However, they act naturally when they are not aware they are being observed. Given this status quo, the main advantage of observation is that of eliminating the subjectivity of the focus groups and personal interviews. The disadvantage relies in the reduced statistical applicability, combined with the fact that it implies tedious work.

Field trials

Finally, field trials would mean that XYZ Inc. placed a limited amount of its top-selling product within...

This approach would ensure that the product is actually tested within normal market conditions (All Business, 2009). The resources for this methodology would once more be constituted by the people reacting to the product sold by the company. The main advantage of this approach is that of an honest reaction, obtained within normal conditions. The main limitation refers to the possibility of the customers purchasing the product not being content, meaning not only that these individuals are lost as potential customers, but also that they spread negative publicity through word of mouth.
Given the complexity of the situation in which XYZ Inc. considers the introduction of its top-selling item onto the Indian market, the marketing research should be constructed on a combination of three primary methodologies. First off, the company should conduct surveys to identify the opinion and demand of customer for the product sold. Concomitantly, the marketing team at XYZ should observe the natural behavior of the Indian customers. Finally, field tests should be implemented to test the reaction of the Indian consumers to the XYZ's product. This combination of methodologies will have the advantage of increased reliability, but also of financial savings if modifications have to be brought in order for the product to better appeal to the foreign market.