Technology fluency concepts and skills

¶ … Fluency

In the world of business, there are constant challenges that must be faced on a regular basis. Where, various products and services that are being sold by the company, must receive effective promotion and marketing, to have the right amount of support to be successful. In the case of Royal Barton, the company faces similar issues, with the marketing of its new product the Royal Bee. This is an electronic, fresh water fishing reel, designed for use with one arm. To determine how the company can be able to overcome these challenges requires conducting a research project that will examine these different variables. To achieve this objective means that you must examine: the marketing problems / informational needs of the company, the type of surveys that could be selected, how technology can speed up data collection, what are possible errors / omissions and what tools / tactics should be utilized to obtain high levels of responses. Together, these different elements will provide the greatest insights, as how to Royal Barton can conduct an effective survey.

What marketing problem does Royal Barton face? What are his information needs?

The biggest marketing problem that Royal Barton faces is a lack of exposure. Where, the product innovations have made profound impact upon the world of fishing. Yet, the majority of outdoor sportsman is unaware of the product itself, much less the various uses. The information needs of the company are: increasing effective communication and helping to build brand awareness in the minds of the fishing enthusiasts. This means that we need to examine how these favorable perceptions can be created in the minds of consumers. To achieve this objective, requires being able to identify what consumers like and dislike about the Royal Bee. This will provide insights about how to effectively market the product, to the wide variety of sportsman.

What type of survey, personal interview, telephone interview, or mail survey should Barton select?

The kind of survey that will be conducted is through the mail and telephone interviews. The targeted list for survey can be obtained by: purchasing a list of fisherman that subscribe to various fishing magazines, through list providers such as Info USA. They can provide the information that is required in real time, while offering a number of different tools to help stream line the process. A second list for the telephone survey would have to purchased, from a lead company, that will compare the names on the list with the federal do not call list. These are people who wish not be contacted about various surveys or by other marketers. Once these two lists have been obtained, is when you can begin conducting the survey about the Royal Bee. ("National Do Not Call Registry," 2010)

Specifically address how technology can be used to speed the marketing data collection process and to formulate more precise answers to complex questions related to the product in this case study.

Technology can help to speed up the data collection process, by analyzing the different responses based upon the most popular selections. At the same time, respondents can give their email address to the company, if they are interested in seeing a demonstration of the product. This would help Royal Barton, to be able to build a list of possible customers who are interested in what they have to offer. At the same time, the company can send respondents various demonstrations, to see their perceptions of the Royal Bee. In general, this kind of survey would more than likely take place in several different stages, with a simple mail in survey and the telephone survey serving as an effective way of creating initial responses. Those respondents, who are to have continued communication with the company, will then be shown different features of the product through the use of an email demonstration. Where, there would be a link to a website that participants can look at and share their views about the product. This is significant because, it would help the company see the general responses from fisherman about the product. While being able to see, what groups of sportsman are most interested in the product and what features they like the best. This will allow the company to be able to identify a core audience they can market the product to and what specific actions should be taken, to reach out to this group of consumers.

What sources of survey error are most likely to occur in a study of this type?

The biggest errors that the surveys will encounter are: having to small of a sample and over looking information that is important to key demographics. The situation surrounding the size of the sample is problematic, because you will never fully know the exact views of the product, for all of the different demographics of fisherman. That being said, to mitigate these effects, the survey size would be sent out to a large enough group, that they should be able to account for this issue.

The demographic information is significant because, it will tell you what specific factors are most important to a particular group of people. For example, a professional fisherman may have different likes and dislikes about the product in comparison with someone who is participating in the sport as a hobby. Then, you have the underlying levels of strength and the age / ethnic group of the person. These different areas would be covered in the first portion of the survey and would be optional. If this information is not addressed, it will cause the findings of surveys to be general, which will not help the company address its marketing issues. As a result, any kind of survey that is conducted must be able to take these different variables into account, to ensure accuracy.

What means should be used to obtain a high response rate?

A tactic that could be used to ensure a high response rate is to offer, survey respondents that chance to win one of several different Royal Bees, for participating in the completed survey. At the same time, the company could also provide all respondents with a discount coupon of 25% off the purchase of the Royal Bee. These various tactics would work effectively, because they are offering all survey respondents, a discount in purchasing the product and chance to win a free Royal Bee. These two elements would have a psychological impact upon fisherman, by helping them to save money and obtaining their views. When you use this in conjunction with the various surveys, this strategy will ensure that a large portion of the sample size will participate. As they feel that they are receiving a benefit for their participation. Once this takes place, is when the number of people participating in the surveys will increase. At the same time, it will help to make the population sample as accurate as possible, by attracting the highest number of respondents.