Information Sources and Priority Paradise Kitchens Inc. was started by cofounder
ID: 343267 • Letter: I
Question
Information Sources and Priority
Paradise Kitchens Inc. was started by cofounders Randall F. Peters and Leah E. Peters to develop and market Howlin’ Coyote Chili, a unique line of single serve and microwavable Southwestern/Mexican style frozen chili products. The Howlin’ Coyote line of chili was first introduced in Minneapolis-St. Paul market and expanded to Denver two years later and Phoenix two years after that.
To the company’s knowledge, Howlin’ Coyote is the only premium-quality authentic Southwestern/Mexican style frozen chili sold in grocery stores. Its high quality has gained fast, widespread acceptance in these markets. The company believes that the Howlin’ Coyote brand can be extended to other categories of Southwestern/Mexican food products such as tacos, enchiladas, and burritos.
Paradise Kitchens believes its high-quality, high-price strategy has proven successful. Since the Howlin’ Coyote line of Southwestern/Mexican foods has successfully expanded into 15 markets across the United States, Paradise Kitchens is currently drafting a marketing plan to support their newest product line extension, Earth Coyote Organics (ECO), an extension of the Howlin’ Coyote line with a focus on organic ingredients and earth-friendly marketing.
Please refer to Appendix A in your textbook for additional information on Paradise Kitchens and Building an Effective Marketing Plan.
Marketing research is the process of defining a marketing problem and opportunity, systematically collecting and analyzing information, and recommending actions. While marketing research is not perfect, marketers conduct marketing research to reduce the risk and thereby improving marketing decisions. Marketing research plays a key role in building an effective marketing plan.
While completing this activity, please refer to Appendix A in your textbook for additional information on Paradise Kitchens and Building an Effective Marketing Plan.
Read the case below and answer the questions that follow.
Early in the process of writing the marketing plan for Earth Coyote Organics, the owners of Paradise Kitchens should identify information needs for which data will need to be gathered. Once the information needs are identified, the owners will need to determine which sources of information would be most appropriate to satisfy the needs identified. The final step in addressing information needs is prioritization during which the urgency of the information needs is identified.
While working on the marketing plan for Earth Coyote Organics, the owners identified numerous information needs. To help them organize their informational needs and prioritize their marketing research objectives, the Paradise Kitchens' owners created a spreadsheet.
The owners recognize that data is available from a number of sources including both secondary data and primary data information sources. Secondary data includes two types: internal data that comes from inside of the firm, which includes financial statements and customer letters and external data that comes from outside of the firm, which includes U.S. Census reports and business magazines. Primary data is often classified into three basic categories: observational data, questionnaire data, and other sources of data.
Given the different types and vast amount of data available to Paradise Kitchens, it is important that the owners first identify the most appropriate source of information for each information need and then a priority for each need. Once the owners have completed the spreadsheet, they can begin the process of gathering the necessary data to complete their marketing research needs.
1. Generally speaking, it is _______ to gather secondary data than it is to gather primary data.
comparable in terms of speed and expense
slower and more expensive
faster and more expensive
slower and less expensive
faster and less expensive
2. The viability of the Earth Coyote Organics line is very much dependent on the overall size of the organic foods category. Thus, in preparing the Industry Analysis portion of the marketing plan, _______ should be reviewed to determine the overall sales level of organic foods.
Nielsen Company media research
individual customer interviews
Organic Trade Association annual reports
U.S. Census Bureau reports
past and current issues of Food Engineering Magazine
3. Paradise Kitchens' marketing plan currently has identified the Hispanic market as its primary target for the Earth Coyote Organics product line. To complete the Customer Analysis portion of the marketing plan, Paradise Kitchens should consult _______ to gain an insight into the geographic concentration of the Hispanic population.
U.S. Census Bureau reports
Organic Food Trade Association annual reports
observational research in markets
Nielsen Company media research
reports from focus groups of Hispanic customers
4. Paradise Kitchens wants to better understand how consumers currently shop for frozen foods. For example, do consumers spend considerable time looking at options or do they make quick decisions on the spot? To gain insight into frozen food(s) shopping behavior, Paradise Kitchens should collect _______ data.
sales
predictive
internal
observational
secondary
5. Paradise Kitchens wants to know if the Earth Coyote Organics line is likely to cannibalize the sales of its current Howlin' Coyote product line. Therefore, Paradise Kitchens needs to uncover the attitude that its current customers have toward organic foods. A good source of this information for Paradise Kitchens would be
annual reports of the Organic Trade Association.
data from U.S. Census Bureau reports.
secondary data.
questionnaire data.
observational data.
6. Collecting data on the current sales of organic foods in the United States _______ for Paradise Kitchens.
should not be a priority
should be a high priority
should be a low priority
7.
Paradise Kitchens needs to develop ideas for new products with wide market appeal to be included in the Earth Coyote Organics line. Utilizing _______ would likely be the best method for identifying the "next big thing."
Organic Trade Association annual reports
U.S. Census Bureau reports
observational data
secondary data
focus groups
Information needed Attitude of current customers toward organic food:s Demographics of organic food customer segment Current sales of organic foods in United States List of competitors in the organic market Howlin' Coyote current products' positioning Geographic concentration and current buying power of Hispanic population Ideas for products to be included in the Earth Coyote Organics line In-store purchase behavior of frozen food shoppers Source of info rmation Priority most important 2-somewhat important 3-least import antExplanation / Answer
1. It is faster and less expensive to gather secondary information than primary information since secondary information is received from internal and external sources where no significant investment in time and money is required whereas to gather primary information, visits have to be made to various places which needs time and money.
2. Organic trade association annual reports must be reviewed since they give the accurate figures of past years sales level of organic foods.
3. US Census Bureau Reports must be consulted to gain an insight into the geographic concentration of the Hispanic population because these reports give accurate information about geographic concentration of population.
4. Observational data: The research team must go from store to store and collect data based on observing the customers and talking to them about their shopping patterns. This will provide most accurate data.
5. Secondary data: As the company wants data about its internal customers, so best source would be internal data from the company itself.
6. Collecting data on the current sales of organic foods in the United States should be a high priority for Paradise Kitchens since it wants to enter into the organic foods market, so the sales of organic foods is very important for the company.
7. Focus groups: Focus group discussions among theorganic food industry professionals as well as general public will be the best method for identifying the "next big thing" in organic foods since it generates more number of ideas from people through focus group discussions.