Business Research Method Case Analysis Sohom Karmakar PGP/19/231The Coop: Market Research Problem

For the first time ever, the "Coop" is experiencing a decline in sales by 6% in 20 of 76 "Coop" restaurants even though the overall growth rate was steady for the chain. The marketing problem is to understand why sales were down in the slumping stores which were considered the strongest before the decline. Four main problems were identified which are Pricing, Quality, Service and Brand Image. Among the key methodologies suggested by the company heads the principal recommendations can be tabulated as:-For the Pricing problem Focus Groups can be used to gather localized results while Quality Inspection Program that can be deployed to assess the Quality issue will ensure strict check for all concerned distribution channels. On the other hand while the Customer Experience Study will be able to portray the true problems of Service, Brand Image Monitoring Survey can be used to understand the problems in Brand Image perception among the minds of the public with respect to competitors.However, all these methods involve certain trade-offs like cost, reliability and time which must be adjusted for while analysing the results of the respective evaluations.