unit 4.3 and 4.4 forecasting and research

Draw porter’s generic strategies matrix

What are generic strategies

Decision making tools that outline the ways that any business can use to gain a competitive advantage

Ad Hoc

Research completed at certain times e.g when sales spikes

Continuous research

Always researching e.g sales info, customer satisfaction

Primary research

Collecting new info for a specific reason

List 4 types of primary research

Surveys

Interviews

Focus groups

Observation

What is an advantage and disadvantage of focus groups

Adv - products can be tried and tested

Dis - expensive and time consuming

What is an advantage and disadvantage of Observation

Adv - shows what customers truthfully do

Dis - ethical? , expensive and time consuming

What is an advantage and disadvantage of interviews

Adv - in depth analysis

Dis - non quantifiable data, time consuming, expensive

Secondary research

Using pre-collected information

What are 4 types of secondary market research?

Market analysis

Academic journals

Government publications

Media articles - may be unreliable

What are 3 pros of secondary market research

Cheaper

Wide range of sources

Large sample sizes

What are 3 negatives of secondary market research

Could be outdated

Needs to be manipulated to your specific needs

Competitors also have access to the same data

What is a pro and con of random sampling

Everyone has an equal chance

But may lead to unreliable results

What is a pro and con of quota sampling

Reliable and representative

Takes longer

What is quota sampling

the researcher selects the sample so that it is comparable to the target market e.g if 40% of the target market is male, 40% of the sample should be male

What is a pro and con of convenience sampling

Quick and easy

Could create biased results

What are the 5 D’s of ethical considerations

Damage - protect people and environment

Deceitful - present data openly, not misleading

Deceptive - let people now thief views are being recorded

Disclosure - breach of confidentiality

Detachment - interviewer must be free from bias

sales forecasting

technique used to predict a firm’s level of sales over a given time period

advantages of sales forecasting

improved cash flow, improved stock control, improved efficiency, helps secure loans, improved budgeting

disadvantages of sales forecasting

limited info, guesswork, GIGO, external influences may lead to unpredictable chnages

time series analysis

predicts sales by identifying the trend from a sequence of sales figures

what 3 types of variation does time series analysis depend on

cyclical, random, seasonal

test marketing

launching a new product to selected customers to predict a response