final - etiquette julie market research report

8/13/2019 FINAL - Etiquette Julie Market Research Report

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MARKET RESEARCH REPORTA Marketing Research Study of Julie Blais Comeaus Target Audience

ADM43 5 Promot iona l P lann ing Prac t icumSubmitted on November 12, 2013


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INTRODUCTION

Confidence and Credibility Thats the subtitle of entrepreneur and etiquette expert Julie

Blais-Comeaus debut into the publishing world. Tasked with building a promotional plan

that will push Julies new book to bestseller status, to our team, these words mean so

much more. Solid data is necessary to give our recommendations credibility, and to giveJulie the confidence to implement these recommendations given her tight marketing

budget.

The purpose of this research study is to determine what strategies will be most effective

in promoting Julie and her new book to her target market of students and recent

graduates. The research seeks to understand the target markets attitudes toward

etiquette as a behavior, and their interest in etiquette as a learning topic. Furthermore,

information was sought regarding factors related to the consumption of books and

professional development information in general.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

Based on the questions presented in the survey and the mandate of creating a

promotional plan for a book on etiquette, our research objectives are as follows:

Is there a category need for etiquette books; and if so, which groups perceive agreater need for improvement in terms of etiquette (based on age, field of study,

gender)?

Which areas of etiquette do students and graduates perceive themselves to bemost adept in, and which areas require improvement?

What are the most common sources of professional development information forstudents, and which mediums do they use to absorb the aforementioned

content? What are the most important factors that consumers take into consideration when

deciding to purchase a book?

After formulating these research objectives, the survey was distributed, and the results

were analyzed to provide greater insight in order to create an effective promotional plan.

RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY

The survey was composed as a collaborative effort between all of the students within the

Promotional Planning Practicum course. After creating a draft and revising it multiple

times, the finalized survey was made available online using the Qualtrics software. Theetiquette survey was primarily distributed through email and social media (Facebook &

Twitter)both methods involved sharing the Qualtrics link with our student peers. Our

tweets promoting the survey were re-tweeted and favourited by Telfer School of

Management.

After 10 days of data collection, we were able to obtain 212 responses (note, due to

some incomplete surveys, the total number of valid responses for some questions is

lower).


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Using SPSS, basic frequency analyses and mean calculations were done to get an

overview of the data. We also performed Independent one sample t-tests and ANOVA to

compare responses within different categories. We examined a series of correlation

matrices and used multiple linear regressions to determine the importance of some

professional behavior and interest options on overall behavior and interest categories.

OVERVIEW OF DATA

Below are graphs and tables that outline the demographic details of respondents. Note

that some variables were regrouped for the analysis to allow for a more even distribution

of responses.

As can be seen, the majority of survey respondents were females and individuals

between the ages of 18-21.


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Furthermore, nearly two-thirds of the survey respondents were registered in and

attending university, while only 8% of respondents are currently in college. Due to the

social circles of the survey distributors, nearly 50% (88 respondents) are currently

enrolled in a business/management program; 26 students are enrolled in a social

sciences-related program; and 25 are enrolled in an arts program. Due to the lack of an

even distribution across the field of study, there wasnt enough data to do a reliable

analysis with that variable.

In addition to these demographics, we also noted that the surveyed sample is extremely

price sensitive and has an active digital life. Many of the respondents owned a plethora

of multimedia devices, and use these devices to consumer literature as well as

professional development information, as demonstrated below:

How much would you be willing to pay for this book on etiquette?

Please indicate which of these devices you personally own. (Check all that apply)


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Please indicate the formats that you have used to read a book. (Check all that apply)

Do you use any of the following sources for self-improvement/professional development

information? (Check all that apply)

As illustrated with this graph, reaching Julies target market via a digital strategy will be

key given the popularity of mobile devices.

Chi-square analysis revealed that there is a significant difference with regards to the

usage of news articles and blogs depending on the respondents age. From the data

collected, we can say that people aged over 26 use these two sources significantly more

than people under 25. With regards to social media, it is no surprise that people under

25 use this source significantly more than people over 26.

Similarly, current students are using social media as a source more than graduates,

while graduates use news articles and blogs more frequently. This is an interesting

finding, as Julie will need to focus her digital strategy using specific channels, depending

on the message. For example, older respondents who need practical advice in a work

environment may benefit more from a news article. However, recent graduates looking

for a job may search for job networking advice using social media.


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DATA ANALYSIS

Buying Habits & Etiquette Perceptions

Various factors were compared with the ultimate goal of achieving our research

objectives and to provide insight for our promotional plan. We wanted to discoversignificant differences between our respondents in relation to their buying habits and

etiquette perceptions. The following comparisons reveal some information that was

obvious prior to the survey, but serve as a confirmation nonetheless. It is worth noting

that although statistics can prove that there are differences among respondents, we

cannot conclude causationof these differences.

GenderFemales are significantly more likely to buy an etiquette book than males, in addition to

being more likely to read an etiquette book or Julie's book if it were provided at no cost.

As demonstrated in the graph below, more specifically, females are more likely to buy

Julie's book than males.

Considering that the scale is out of 4 (1 being very unlikely to buy, 4 being very likely to

buy), we must remember that overall, all respondents are unlikely or very unlikely to

purchase this book on etiquette. Although females are more likely, they still remain

"unlikely to buy" in the grand scheme. This relates to our intended strategy of

emphasizing category need for our promotional plan. Although there is a clear gender

difference, this can be related to our literature research finding from the Print

Measurement Bureau, which stated how females generally read more than males. Our

data analysis also revealed that visual appeal was a significantly more important

deciding factor for females when deciding to purchase a book than males.

However, none of the other choices from this question proved to vary significantly

between genders. Similarly, most behavioral ratings and interest in learning about

professional skills ratings were not significantly different between males and females.

-

Male 1.6923

Female 2.0851

1.0000

1.5000

2.0000

2.5000

3.0000

3.5000

4.0000

Likelihood of Buying Etiquette Julie's Book


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The relevant differences are highlighted below. As demonstrated, females often rated

higher on the 4-point scale:

Please indicate how you behave in these professional situations Male Female

I behave in a proper manner when in a work environment 3.24 3.52

Please indicate how interested you are in learning how to Male Female

Exhibit confidence during a first impression 2.43 2.87

Contribute meaningful information when in a meeting 2.55 2.97

Behave in a proper manner when in a work environment 2.11 2.56

AgeOlder respondents, particularly above 25, are significantly more likely to read and buy a

book on etiquette. As noted below, the likelihood to buy Julie's book also increasedsignificantly with age:

1 1.25 1.5 1.75 2 2.25 2.5 2.75 3 3.25 3.5 3.75 4

Ibehaveina

propermanner

wheninawork

environment

Please indicate how you behave in these professionalsituations

Female Male

0 1 2 3 4

Exhibit confidence during a first

impression

Contribute meaningful information whenin a meeting

Behave in a proper manner when in a workenvironment

Please indicate how interested you are in learning how to

Female Male


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Age Please Indicate how likely you are to purchase this book (Rating 1-4)

18-21 1.7

22-25 1.9

26+ 2.4

We can speculate that this higher rating is attributed to more work experience and a

better appreciation for etiquette given higher exposure to the workplace, more

disposable income/less price sensitivity, or more free time to read. Older respondents

also rated higher on their current behavior, as seen below.

This raises an interesting paradox: older respondents are more likely to purchase an

etiquette book, but believe that they already behave professional in certain situations.

They have a higher interest for the book, but less of a need. For our promotional plan,

we will take into consideration that although the younger students and graduates rate

1

1.5

2

2.53

3.5

4

18-21 22-25 26+

Age

Please indicate how likely you are to purchasethis book (Rating 1-4)

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

18-21 22-25 26+

3.333.56 3.523.40

3.693.52

3.21

3.55 3.57

2.93

3.113.43

Age

Respondents' perception of etiquette behavior (Rating 1-4)

Please indicate how you behave in these professional situations:-I interact professionally in a meeting.

Please indicate how you behave in these professional situations:-I dress appropriately in a professional setting.

Please indicate how you behave in these professional situations:-I behave in a proper manner when in a workenvironment.Please indicate how you behave in these professional situations:-I eat and drink the right way when socializing withprofessionals.


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themselves lower on current professional behavior, their purchase intent is low. This is a

challenging yet useful finding, since it relates to the bigger challenge of creating category

need for the younger "up and coming" market.

Education Status

Responses regarding post-secondary education were similar to those found with age;those who are notcurrently registered at college or university are significantly more likely

to read a book on etiquette if it were available at no cost.

Similarly, respondents who chose "graduated" or "not applicable had a mean rating of

2.2 out of 4, compared to university/college students' rating of 1.8 on likelihood to

purchase Julie's book.

Once again, likeliness of purchasing the book remains low, but there is a notable

difference. For our marketing strategy, it is worth noting these differences when

considering different marketing strategies for Julie's book for current students versus

graduates.

2.34

2.64

1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.00 2.25 2.50 2.75 3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00

Reg

istered

University/

College

Graduated/NA

If it were available at no cost to you, how likelywill you read a book onetiquette?

Areyoucu

rrentlyregisteredina

post-se

condaryinstitution?

1.8361

2.1795

1.0000 1.5000 2.0000 2.5000 3.0000 3.5000 4.0000

Registered

University/

College

Graduated/NA

How likelywill purchase this book on etiquette?Ar

eyoucurrentlyregisteredina

post-secondaryinstitution?


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Participation in Professional Development EventsAs anticipated, respondents who have attended a networking event, a professional

development workshop, or a career convention rated significantly higher on purchase

intent to buy an etiquette book and Julie's book, in addition to being more likely to read

the book if provided at no cost. These respondents also rated significantly higher onsome behavior ratings, as shown below.

Considering that workshops and guest-speaking events are a critical part in Julie's

business, these events should be promoted in conjunction with her book. It is possible

that respondents who have attended and will attend these events are more proactive in

developing their skills and therefore more likely to take such measures, including reading

self-help books.


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Likeliness to BuyComparing levels of purchase intent (very unlikely, unlikely, and likely/very likely) against

other data revealed some additional insights. Respondents with high purchase intent

consistently rated higher on interest to learn all professional skills. They also rated

themselves higher on some behavioral questions, such as "I Interact professionally in a

meeting." Interestingly, these respondents also rated format as a significantly more

important factor when deciding to purchase a book. Therefore, those who are more

interested in purchasing an etiquette book are influenced by the format of the book, while

those who are less interested in buying the book in the first place are less concerned

with format. Consequently, this is useful because depending on whom the marketing

strategy is focused on, format may or may not be an important factor to emphasize.

How likely are you to buy a book on

etiquette?

Importance of book format [paper, PDF, e-

book, mobile] (Rating 1-7)

Very unlikely 4.1618

Unlikely 4.2459

Likely/very likely 5.3704

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Importance of book format [paper, PDF, e-book, mobile] (Rating 1-7)

How likely are you to buy a book onetiquette?

Very unlikely Unlikely Likely/very likely


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We also examined the different sources that respondents use for professional

development information to see how their responses varied. For example, respondents

who use blogs, social media, school-based resources, and live events as a source are

more likely to read an etiquette book at no cost - which is not surprising. However, they

are also more likely to buy Julie's book. Therefore, perhaps people who use sources for

information have a higher interest in acquiring more knowledge.

Once again, these people are more likely to purchase Julie's book, but only with an

overall rating between 2 and 2.2, which is still on the unlikely spectrum of the scale.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Importance of book format [paper, PDF, e-book, mobile]

(Rating 1-7)

3.78724.254

5.3684

How likely are you to buy this book onetiquette?

Very unlikely Unlikely Likely/very likely

1.0000 1.5000 2.0000 2.5000 3.0000 3.5000 4.0000

Live

Eve

nts

Social

Media

Blogs

1.7838

1.7407

1.7882

2.1923

2.0000

2.0513

How likely are you to buy this book on etiquette?

So

urceforProfessional

Dev

elopmentinformation

Yes No


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As previously mentioned, many of the findings from this analysis proved to be rational

and intuitive. For example, those who spent more time each month reading material for

professional development (5 hours +) were more likely to read the book if available at no

cost and to buy Julie's book. They also rated higher on various professional behavior

and interest ratings. Notably, these avid readers value advice from friends significantly

more than those who read less than five hours a month.

This could be useful when taking into consideration channels of distribution for Julie's

book. If she is to sell her books in book stores, where more avid readers are present, the

importance of word of mouth promotion is ever more important for these consumers.

The same conclusions can be drawn from "How many self-improvement/professional

development books read in past year" as this also measures volume of reading amongst

respondents. Conversely, weekly time spent on personal reading does not have a

significant impact on likelihood to purchase Julie's book. The distinction therefore lies in

the type of books people read (self-improvement vs. leisure). Lastly, but not surprisingly,

respondents who have spent more money on books in past year (aside from course

textbooks) are more likely to purchase Julie's book.

Analyzing Continuous Data

The survey divided all the major continuousvariables into four sections. The first section

included the most important questions in the survey:

(1) Would you read the book if it were free; and(2) Would you buy the book.

These were the quintessential questions of the survey. While the general consensus

from respondents was no to both questions, the data collected in each has helped

predict other patterns from other three sections. The three following sections will be the

basis for the proceeding analysis:

2.002.37

2.94

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

0 hours 1 to 4 hours 5 hours +Ifitwere

availableatnocostto

you,

how

likelywillyoureada

bookonetiquette?

How many hours per month do youread material for professionaldevelopment (excluding for school or...


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! The important factors when deciding to purchase a book! The interest levels for etiquette education.! The etiquette behaviour habits of surveyors

Important Factors When Deciding to Purchase a Book

The factors used in this section were: 1) Availability, 2) Recommendations, 3) Format, 4)

Topic, 5) Price, 6) Endorsement, 7) Length, 8) Author Reputation, 9) Online Reviews,

10) Loyalty, 11) Popularity, 12) Advice from Friends, 13) Visual Appeal.

Julie herself should take each of these factors into account when she is deciding how to

focus her book because most are manageable and can be influenced. For instance, Julie

is the one who decides the price of her book, which can have a large impact on its

success. Although she herself cannot endorse the book, Julie is able to influence people

to positively endorse the book and promote her brand image.

Advice from friends and recommendations as well as visual appeal and length werehighly correlated1, meaning that respondents did not see a major difference in the sets of

factors. Since visual appeal and the length are so similar this might give a large indicator

into what buyers want to see when they are shopping for books. The visual appeal and

length of a book are generally viewed as two separate categories, but it might seem that

when a user is looking at books attractiveness, the length is a significant factor. This

cannot currently be changed for Julies book, but it is an important distinction to make

when buyers are deciding to make the purchase, and could influence her future books.

When deciding how to market any specific book, it is important to realize what factors

are the most important. Therefore, we took two different approaches for this analysis,

and we believe each approach was insightful for a for Julie's promotional plan.

Firstly, using factor analysis we are able to reduce all our variables from twelve factors to

four stages. The stages refer to the ordera buyer might take when deciding how or why

to purchase a book. The coloured values indicate the importance of the original

questions in each stage, the higher the number the more important it is2.

1Highly correlated for the rest of the report will refer to a correlation higher than .5

2Anything above .5 is highly important and is marked in yellow, anything above 0 is marginally

important and marked in green. All other values were left blank signifying that they were not

important.


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1. Stage 1 - All factors are important, because when first deciding to pick a booknothing should be left out, but the most important factor is the books

attractiveness (visual appeal and length).

2. Stage 2 - Less factors are important, but now we see that advice from friends andrecommendations are now the most important.

3. Stage 3 - Topic is now the most important factor with several less importantfactors accompanying it.

4.

Stage 4 - Topic and author reputation are now the only significant factors andshould therefore be the centre of focus3.

If we follow this process, it gives us a concrete indication on what Julie should focus on

in the future. As noted, everyone focuses on the attractiveness of a book, its popularity,

etc. They then begin focusing on recommendations from those close to them. Lastly,

when all else is considered the topic becomes the most important and is the ultimate

decidingfactor. This process can be used to decide what buyers are looking for when

they are looking for books to purchase. Throughout all four stages, the only two factors

that remained important were the author's reputation andtopic.

Using a different approach (regression), we were able to look at the importance of these

factors in terms of whether or not the respondent would read the book.

3Popularity of the author and availability to contact the author are auxiliary to the reputation of the

author specifically.

Please indicate the importance of the

following when deciding to purchase a book.1 2 3 4

Visual Appeal .696 -.282 .029 -.295

Length of book .646 -.184 .261 -.305

Popularity .639 .239 -.015 .272Loyalty .565 -.413 -.141 -.092

Endorsement .561 .202 -.509 -.008

Author reputation .480 .204 .201 .570

Format (paper, PDF, mobile, e-book) .464 -.179 .398 -.212

Availability to contact author .429 -.067 -.518 .279

Online reviews .416 .393 -.312 -.019

Price .365 -.340 .226 -.074

Advice from friends .277 .722 .227 -.264

Topic .199 .038 .517 .583

Recommendations .062 .799 .145 -.283


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Once again, topic is the most important factor when deciding to purchase a book. The

issue that plagues Julies' business is the fact that most people do not think they require

literature on etiquette. That is why so many people stated that they would not buy thebook, because the topic did not interest them. In our final presentation we plan to create

a need for what Julie is offering, and in doing so increase her chance of selling to her

audience.

Interest Levels for Etiquette EducationRespondents were asked to indicate how likely [they] are in learning how to act in certain

professional settings. Our findings indicate that the responses in this section were highly

correlated4. This could mean many things, but we can draw two possible conclusions:

1. Surveyors did not see the difference between all the different choices in thisquestion

2. Surveyors see the difference, but were equally uninterested in all of them, and assuch gave them all similar scores

Since not many people were interested in the subject matter (etiquette), and since the

topics within the interest question were all different, it is more likely that the answers

were correlated because surveyors see the difference between each choice, but

were equally uninterested in all of them, and as such gave them all similar scores.

Therefore, emphasis needs to be put on changing the perceptions that are hindering the

worldwide success of Julies' business.

This trend was followed through in the factor analysis where all the importance factors

were weighted virtually the same from .7 to .9.

4All values (except 3) were greater than .5 and as such are deemed highly correlated.

Available at no cost to you versus Bookfactors


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The largest perception barrier to overcome is that people do not think they require

etiquette education, and this is why many people are so uninterested in the subject

matter.

This particular model shows us that how you interact in a meeting and the way in

which you follow up with the person afterwards were the most important for

respondents. Interestingly, how to dress appropriately and contribute meaningful

information in a meeting were deemed unimportant. This might be because people don't

believe they need to learn this, and can manage to do so on their own. While the data isnot concrete it does give us an indication of what this batch of potential consumers are

looking for in the market. Our conclusion is once again that the topic is currently not

important for many people, and we need to create a sense of importance for etiquette

education.

Etiquette Behavior Habits of Surveyors

0.890.86

0.84 0.83 0.830.79 0.78

0.760.74

Follow

up

appropriately

after

making

a

Interac

t

professionally

in a

meetin

g.

Commu

nicate

effectively

with

technol

ogy.

Exhibit

confide

nceduring

a first

impress

ion.

Eat and

drink

theright

way

when

socializ

Build

extensi

veprofessi

onal

networ

king

Behave

in a

propermanner

when

in a

work

Dress

approp

riatelyin a

professi

onal

setting.

Contrib

ute

meaningful

informa

tion

when

Total 0.243 0.118 0.071 0.054 0.021 0.018 0.016 -0.018 -0.057

-0.100-0.0500.0000.0500.1000.1500.2000.2500.300

Available at no cost vs. Interest levels


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Julie has a vast amount of knowledge, but as demonstrated above, it is important to

structure the discussion around important factors depending on the audience. For this

reason and many more we feel the book is probably not her best tool to educate, but

rather the brand (and in essence Julie herself). The book is static while Julie can change

at any opportunity based on the need of her audience. Nonetheless, the book serves as

a tangible and helpful resource that needs to be promoted in conjunction with her

speaking activities.

Lastly, through regression we were able to view how people actually perceived

themselves in terms of etiquette behaviour situations.

As is to be expected, many people thought very highly of themselves in terms of

dressing appropriately, as well as building extensive professional networking contacts.

However, although many people were uninterested in learning about etiquette, when it

was phrased in terms of behaviour, many people have very low views of themselves in

terms of those same skills. This simply amplifies the point that while many people may

not see the value in having these skills at face value, they do know that there is value in

having them in the work place (or in meetings, or interviews, or job searching). The need

is there, Julie simply has to take advantage of it.

LIMITATIONS &CRITIQUE OF SURVEY

First, an anticipated limitation was that our data set was composed of primarily students

from Ottawa. Consequently, this resulted in most of the participants being University of

Ottawa or Carleton students, between the ages of 19 to 29. The data was most likely

affected by this small variation in age. For example, price and/or purchase related results

I dress

appropr

iately

in a

professi

onal

setting.

I build

extensi

ve

professi

onal

networ

king

contact

I

contrib

ute

meanin

gful

informa

tion

when in

I eat

and

drink

the

right

way

when

socializ

I

behave

in a

proper

manner

when in

a work

environ

I follow

up

appropr

iately

after

making

a

professi

I

commu

nicate

effectiv

ely

with

technol

ogy.

I

exhibit

confide

nce

during

a first

impress

ion.

I

interac

t

professi

onally

in a

meetin

g.

values .295 .276 .027 .017 .016 -.035 -.051 -.107 -.139

-.200-.150-.100-.050.000.050.100.150.200.250.300.350

Available at no cost versus behaviour


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could be more biased since students tend to be more price-sensitive. In addition,

students may have been in a rush to complete the survey for us as a favor, and therefore

did not take the time to answer the questionnaire sincerely. Next, Julie's intent is to gain

nationwide and eventually worldwide recognition. This data set was concentrated in

Ottawa, which may not be representative of Canadians as whole.

In addition to these limitations, there are elements or additional questions that we could

have included in our questionnaire to increase the reliability and completeness of our

data.

First, perhaps there could have been a question asking if respondents are currently

employed or looking for a job, to measure their employment intentions in the near future.

This could confirm that graduates or students looking for full time employment are more

interested in self-improvement books, therefore influencing where Julie should promote

her book and what kind of benefit it could provide for these job-seekers.

Next, we could have asked what year the student is currently in if he/she is attending

university or college. This would have been difficult to word given the variation in lengthof programs, but it could have been useful to gauge peoples interests depending on if

their studies are just beginning or nearly complete.

Last, the likeliness ratings to read and buy an etiquette book and Julie's book were

influenced by the four-point scale. Since there was no neutral option, respondents were

forced to pick one side of the spectrum, either likely or unlikely. As anticipated, most

respondents chose the negative side of the scale, causing a large variation in data

between the two sides. Nonetheless, we believe that this information is telling and

emphasizes how students and recent graduates are not interested in purchasing a book

that they thinkthey do not need.

CONCLUSION

As a result of this study, we have gained a greater understanding of Julies target market

necessary to develop an effective promotional plan. Our findings have revealed

consumer purchase intentions, attitudes towards etiquette, and behaviour regarding the

consumption of books and professional development content. In answering each of the

research objectives identified at the beginning of this study, valuable conclusions have

been drawn which will form the basis of the campaign.

The most notable of these conclusions, and a recurring theme throughout the study, is

the lack of a perceived category need in Julies target market. The low purchase intent

for Julies book and etiquette books in general and the low levels of interest in learningabout etiquette clearly show that university students and graduates do not see the value

of etiquette in their lives. This is present even in spite of lower perceived personal

etiquette behavior, as we see in younger consumers.

This is why we have decided that the focus of our promotional campaign should be to

generate category need and stimulate category trial among Julies target market. Since

there is very little we can do to convince someone to buy a book on a topic they dont


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see value in, we must sell the subject of etiquette itself and the many benefits of the

knowledge it provides. As weve seen in the analysis, its possible that the more

exposure one has to the effects of etiquette as in graduates who have more

experience, and those who attend networking events the more interested they are in

learning more about it.

We believe that by developing a hunger for etiquette knowledge in Julies target market,

sparked by messaging that emphasizes, as Julie so expertly puts it in her workshops,

the Whats in it for me? of practicing personal etiquette, Julie can not only reach her

goal of becoming a bestselling author, but enhance the success of her business overall.

final - etiquette julie market research report

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