Research Proposal Marketing Practice or Method

Question: Discuss about the Research Proposal for Marketing Practice or Method. Answer: Introduction Brand can be defined as a marketing practice or method that helps the customer to differentiate the product of the respective firm from other companies and hence leaves a long term impression on consumers mind towards the product or service. Branding is an activity which outlines the level of the trustworthy relationship between the customer and the firm (Grewal Levy, 2011). Branding can be viewed as a sum total of all the following (Hutt Speh, 2013). Logo of the business firm Design of the product Name and term Symbol Brand promotion and so on Branding is considered one of the imperative factors to predict the upcoming sales rate and growth factor for a business firm. There are some essential elements related to branding that must be analysed to examine the expected sales of the firm. These elements are satisfaction level of customer, behaviour of the consumers, buying decision ability and so on. The higher management of the business has to actively get involved in the brand positioning (Jolibert, 2012). It has been observed that a business which has a major contribution towards the overall sales is influenced by the effective branding and activities. Therefore, it is essential to determine these major factors and aspects, which affect the branding position in the business firm (Kerin, Hartley Rudelius, 2011). Research Statement Problem Effective branding provides stability of the firm in regards to sustaining in the competitive market structure. It is a combination of brand personality, relationship, positioning of the respective firm which has direct impact on the sales. Hence, the researcher has selected the research topic as Impact of branding on the sales of Blackmores products. This proposal also analyses the impact of effective branding towards the satisfaction and loyalty of the customer towards the firm and their products. Research Objective A study of relevant factors that affect the implementation of branding activities in the firm. Factors related to the branding which would enhance the sales of the firm Research Questions In this research work, the concerned researcher has some essential questions which will be addressed and the elemental suggestions will also be determined to answer the research statement question based on the research analysis. The central research questions are highlighted below What are the factors impacting the effective branding of the firm? What are the elemental features of branding that help to enhance the sales of the firm? How can a firm develop an effective and appropriate branding for their products or service? Research Methodology A suitable methodology helps the researcher to develop a structural framework for the current research work. It also includes systematic planning, tools and techniques to conduct and analyse the research study. There are mainly three factors to conduct the current research study work (Flick, 2015). 1. Research design 2. Research approach 3. Research philosophy Researcher has decided to adopt positivism philosophy research methodology for the research study. The objective of the researcher to select this philosophy methodology is that it will provide the real facts for the research topic. In addition to that, deductive/empirical method will be selected to evaluate the basic research postulations based on the available theories. Descriptive research design will be adopted since it assumed to be the most accurate method to collect the data and information from the targeted sample (Hillier, 2006). Figure 1 Research Methodology Research Process The prime step in this regards is to understand the research topic and their respective aspects. In the next step, the aim is to find the possible outcomes and a detailed study for the research problem statement with the help of previous researches which would form literature review. The next and essential step is to decide the appropriate data collection techniques from relevant sources under the outlined research methodology. Collected data will be analysed using statistical techniques and then expressed in various graphs and figures in the MS excel (Lieberman et. al., 2011). Data Collection Methods and Analysis Data Collection The researcher has decided to use both the data collection method mentioned below. Quantitative data collection method Qualitative data collection method In this regards, a survey will be conducted with the help of quantitative data collection technique and a semi-structural interview session will be organised under qualitative data collection method (Hastie,Tibshirani Friedman, 2001). Source for Data Researcher will use primary data and secondary data to collect the various responses from the respective individuals. Primary data sources Conducting various surveys and interview session are the prime sources to collect the primary data which will include set of responses and recommendation resulting from questionnaires (set of questions). The questionnaire survey will be conducted with preferably be conducted face to face and if the same is not feasible, then the response would be solicited on e-mail. For the interview session, the researcher will conduct a one to one session with the selected individuals either face to face or over the telephone depending upon the viability (Hillier, 2006). Secondary data sources Requisite data will be gathered from the available articles, journals, websites, books, research papers. For this research study the researcher will be used the below mentioned tools and procedures (Liebermann et. al., 2011). Online/offline survey questionnaires Personal and telephonic interviews Various checklists, general meetings and observations MS excel or SPSS to analyse the data Analysis procedure It has been selected by the researcher that the sample size would be 25 which would include 20 employees and staff of Blackmores and 5 managerial level professionals. These sets of employees would provide the necessary information about the importance of branding at the company and how over time, it has had an impact on the sales of the firm. Also, the perception associated with Blackmores as a brand and its role in the buying process would also be understood. At the analysis phase of the research study, the researcher will minutely examine the collected data and information and then express the relevant outcome and figures in percentages, ratios, figures, tables using appropriate tools. Possible Outcomes The expected outcome of the research study is that the major aspect and factors related to the branding of the Blackmores and their effective impacts on sale would be better understood. These extensive research studies will help to understand the imperative elements of the branding. It will also provide identification about the branding status and effectiveness of the respective firm, various conception and expectation for the betterment of the brand and indirectly to the sale. A set of recommendation will also be obtained from the respective employees based on the study to build a long lasting branding image on customers mind. References Grewal, D Levy, M 2011, Marketing, 4th ed., McGraw Hill/Irwin, New York Flick, U, 2015.Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research project, Sage Publications, New York Hastie, T, Tibshirani, R Friedman, J 2001, The Elements of Statistical Learning, Springer Publications, New York Hillier, F. 2006, Introduction to Operations Research, 4th eds. McGraw Hill Publications, New York Hutt, M Speh, T 2013, Business marketing management. 6th ed., Cengage Learning, Sydney Jolibert, A 2012,Marketing management, 5th ed., Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire Kerin, R, Hartley, S Rudelius, W 2011, Marketing, 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York Lieberman, FJ, Nag, B, Hiller, FS Basu, P 2011, Introduction To Operations Research, 9th ed.,, Tata McGraw Hill Publishers, New Delhi.