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How To Structure A Thorough Research Proposal
Posted By: steven * on 11/2/2004 11:53 AM (CST) 250 Points
having trouble with structure of research report on internet trends for shoe company

Posted by: Peter (henna gaijin) Accepted Answer
11/2/2004 3:31 PM (CST)
I would do a SWOT and PEST analysis for the company in relations to the Internet.

http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/swot/
http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/pest/

http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/research/ talks about market research, and toward the bottom has a standard table of contents for the report, which may be a good starting point for you.
 
Posted by: steven * Author Response
11/2/2004 6:15 PM (CST)
thank you peter.it is a great help
 
Posted by: thinkmor Accepted Answer
11/3/2004 5:57 AM (CST)
Steven

Don't boil the ocean.

You can easliy get lost if you collect alot of data (& alot of it can be irrelevant) without a clear objective for your research. Collect the most important information relevant to your objectives.

It helps if you establish a list of possible hyotheses early on so you can either prove or disprove your initial gut instincts. Prioritise your hypotheses and filter them as you go along. Don't forget to "Kill" you babies if your facts are proving your initial hypotheses wrong so don't make your solutions fit your hypotheses if you want honest research that can lead to competitive insights.

Somme questions to think about for your research:

How well do we understand customer needs?

Do we have a distinctive way to segment the market?

Have we got a clear idea of how customer needs will change in the next 5 years?

Your research will benefit from using more strategic research like market segmentation, Usage and Attitude studies. Tactical research will only give you short term answers and not help you build and understand the bigger picture.

Good market research will integrate new and existing research building a composite picture by combining data from many sources. This can include:

External research
One off studies
Industry/Company Articles
Sales reports
Company Annual reports
Customer data
Interviews

There will be inconsistencies along the way and it will be your job to cross reference and validate data which will add to your research experience and skills.

It's much like a Judo match where you are wrestling with the information to pin down the underlying issues. You need to continuously ask WHY or 'What's the So What?" - "What does this tell us? - How is it useful? What recommendation does this lead to?" Alot of common sense is forgotten as you get entrenched in data so remember to perform regular sanity checks.

Before you do anything, start by designing a sound research strategy. A good market research strategy will spell out how you will achieve your objective to gain superior consumer/customer understanding as a map to capture major substantial competitive advantage.

Remember, market research should be integrated & creative just like communications because if it isn't you will have wasted your time and valuable resources with little NEW insights to determine actions to be taken.

If you need a little more help feel free to email me.

Hope this helps.


Zahid Adil
 
Posted by: jose04 Accepted Answer
11/7/2004 1:42 PM (CST)
Hello Steven

Internet trends for shoe company...

That calls for some focused google searching.

Ultimately you could be concerned about sales and fashion trends in the shoe markets. You would also be interested in how to build relationships with potential clients waiting out there for your products.

Your research report should have the objectives, scope, and importance of the study well identified, and crisply written. The swot and pest approach to formulating your thoughts will be your best bet. THese formulations are essentially research propositions which, may be converted to appropriate hypotheses, suiting your study objectives.

The meat and muscle for your report will be your analysis component, wherein you explain what you have assessed about the internet trends. The 'how's' and 'why's' of collecting and analysing data (primary or secondary) would explain your methodology for the study.

Presentation and arguinig out your case, with appropriate references and sources will give added punch and vigor to your claims to follow.

You could conclude with your summary of findings and suggestions and recommendations for future action. Your experience and true understanding of the problem analysed by you, will be evident in all the phased of your project.

Wish you all the best!

Hope these thoughts help!!
 
Posted by: Brainiac* Accepted Answer
11/19/2004 3:36 PM (CST)
Hi Steven,
Some excellent advice up there. I would suggest you follow a structure which best suits your project description rather than directly lifting it off from a website.
Normally, you could talk about
1. Executive Summary describing the entire report.
2. Introduction to the Topic
3. The traditional marketing avenues for a shoe company.
4. The newer or more unconventional marketing trends such as internet etc.
5. a comparision of the traditional and Modern methods based on various variables such as cost of advertising, pricing on the internet, contribution margins etc.
6. A SWOT
7. Possible Ideas on entering this channel of distribution or marketing.
8. Research Method used, Findings etc.
9. Observations and Conclusions.

I hope this helps, Do let me know if you need anything else.
Au Revoir.
 
Posted by: ASVP/ChrisB Accepted Answer
11/19/2004 8:45 PM (CST)
You may find this link helpful

http://www.marketresearch.com/map/prod/924735.html

Good Luck

ChrisB
 
Posted by: Val (Moderator)* Moderator Response
11/20/2004 4:07 PM (CST)
Hello all. I am closing this question, since its more than 10 days old. We do this to make sure members' contributions are rewarded in a timely manner and to improve the visibility of newer questions.

Thanks, so much, for participating!
Val (Moderator)
 


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