Please Answer both these questions from the texts Maxfli: Going for the Long Bal
ID: 386281 • Letter: P
Question
Please Answer both these questions from the texts
Maxfli: Going for the Long Ball For decades, Maxfi (www.maxi.com) has been one of the top names in quality golf equip- ment. On December 31, 2002, TaylorMade-Adidas Golf acquired Maxfli to boost its mar- ubs, and other golf accessories. In its early stages, Maxfli's approach to the s. This was a standard formula, but one that was challenged in the 1990s as more share in the golf ball segment from less than 1 percent to 7.5 percent. Maxfli p balls, cl uces golf ry was similar to others: produce good products marketed through the traditico nels (e.g., pro shops, golf specialty stores) and use PGA professionals to market its more companies entered the industry. By 1998, Maxfli discovered that its growt of what people in those markets needed. Maxfli began conducting exploratory research market share dropped below par.It lost sight of its target markets and the understanding because it was unclear as to what direction to steer the company Maxi began exploratory research by conducting focus groups to uncover the motiva- ons behind golf ball purchases. It wanted to understand how consumers identified golf er 13 San balls (e.g., by brand name, manufacturer, or some unique identifier). The focus-group research indicated that every golf ball needs an identifier. This identifier allows one golfer to tell another about the type of golf balls he or she uses. The ability to do this is important to most golfers. "This signaled to us that we needed to not only get the Maxfli brand into peo- ple's minds but also to give them the nomenclature hook that allows them to be inside the games, Dennis Rooke, Maxfi's head of marketing, explains. The focus groups also revealed that golf was as much a mental challenge as it was a physical one. Therefore, Maxfli's goal became to quiet that little voice inside golfer's heads. It wanted to figure out what types of products golfers were looking for and present them in a way that eased their state of mind. Following the focus groups, in order to research deeper, Maxfli conducted a telephone survey. Maxfli used a Synovate national panel as a cost-effective means to generate a repre- sentative sample of golfers who could be accessed via the telephone. The sample was then stratified by purchase points, where they played golf, and other variables. There are several different types of golfers and each category had to be represented for the findings to be meaningful and conclusive. The research showed that although many golfers were quality oriented, there was an even bigger segment that could be called the fashion crowd of golf Maxfli then wanted to find out if its brand fit the needs of the so-called "fashion crowd" Based on the research findings, Maxfli determined that it should offer all levels of golf balls and position its products with a youthful attitude. Each ball had its own identity so that it could be discussed among golfers. In golf, "the ball you choose says a lot about you." Maxfli used exploratory research in the form of focus groups and descriptive research in the form of a telephone survey to make sure its line of golf balls met consumer needs. in 2004, Maxfli undertook focus groups and surveys and found that the market for high-performance golf balls consisted of two distinct segments. Therefore, Maxfli decided to split its high-performance golf ball portfolio into two lines with different pric es and target market segments. Revolution, with three SKUs (stock keeping units) ha price range of $35 to $40 per dozen. Noodle (it's long and soft), also with three SKU has a manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of $25. D-Tec with two SKUs rounds the golf ball lines. The balls, targeting different skill levels, are sure to be a success with the reliance on marketing research to which Maxfli is committed For Maxfli, creating products that met consumer needs is the first step in maintaining a leadership position in the golf industry. Maxfli is continually looking for the edge that pull customers to its products. Maxfli has been successful at solidifying its place in the market through good consumer research and creative marketing approaches. estions hat was the research design adopted by Maxfli in determining a direction for the company? Was it appropriate? Discuss the role of qualitative research in uncovering the motivations behind golf ball purchases. Are focus groups the most appropriate technique for this purposeExplanation / Answer
1- That was adopted by Maxfli in determination of direction for the company was exploratory research method. In which type of research method focus Group and descriptive research is used as main tool for all the research involved in this project. Research done in this project was done in form of telephonic surveys. These two specific research methods were highly efficient in identification of the main reason behind less sales of golf balls. Information which was collected from these survey directly indicated that there were two specific market segment of high performance golf balls therefore company decided to specifically split their portfolio into two parts for targeting specific market segment by splitting the prices in two lines.
2- Qualitative research played an important role in uncovering the overall motivation behind goalball purchases, by using the qualitative approach of research company was able to successfully identify the problems regarding less sales of gold balls in their operating structure. This type of qualitative research provided better availability of opportunities by looking into the focus groups for enhancing the overall availability of opportunities for understanding behaviour of a specific group of people rather than focusing on other market segment.
Definitely Focus Group was the best approach for this is specific condition as availability of analysing the situation in a better way and help the company for creating proper strategy of the splitting the product line into two phases by using focus Group research method.