Market Research Assignment on Holden Commodore

HC2022 Market Research Assignment 2 – Group Project 30 marks 

Form a group consisting of 4 members. 

Read the Holden Commodore online launch case (see page 2 and 3) 

The outputs of this assignment will be: 

1. A discussion of the target market alternatives for the new Commodore. Recommend 

one. 2. A discussion of the alternative ways of defining the ‘Population’ for a research study 

on the Commodore target market. Recommend one. 3. A discussion of the alternative ways of defining the ‘Sampling Frame’ for the 

research on the Commodore. Recommend one. 4. A discussion of the alternative ways of defining the sampling approach for the 

research on the Commodore. Recommend one. 

Notes on Group Work In your group discuss how you will manage the completion of the assignment. Note who will do which part of the assignment. Everyone should discus all the elements of the assignment. An appendix should be attached to the assignment which will contain material from each of the participants 

Suggested process for effective groupwork: 

• Each member of the group to find two journal articles on issues relevant to this research. 

• Each member to present their selected journal articles to a group meeting and discuss how they might influence the research – in this meeting you should demonstrate your grasp of a wide range of ideas and you capacity to discuss these ideas. 

• Build your report around the ideas contained in the journal article with comment and evaluation by the group. 

Use Harvard referencing in-text as well as in your bibliography 

Please include in your report: Holmes Cover Sheet, Title Page, Table Of Contents, Executive Summary, Sections 1 to 4 (as listed above), page numbers, reference list. 

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Case: Holden Commodore Online Launch 

ALL-NEW, NEXT-GENERATION COMMODORE AVAILABLE TO BUY AHEAD OF LAUNCH AT THE CLICK OF A BUTTON 

• Holden launches online store, Australia’s first of its kind, full end-to-end online car buying experience. 

• All-new, next-generation Commodore available to buy online now, ahead of official on-sale date. 

• Simple as click – trade-in – buy – drive, with your new car delivered straight to your door. 

• Customers can choose their car, organise trade-in and online finance and book home delivery at a time that’s convenient. 

• Holden’s continues its evolution to a sales, engineering, design and technology company. 

Holden continues its tradition of offering Australian automotive first of its kind initiatives, with the launch of the Holden online store, allowing customers to click their way to a new Holden, at the touch of a button on any device and from the comfort of their own couch. 

As it continues its transformation to a sales, engineering, design and technology company, Holden brings the full end-to-end car buying experience online, with customers able to pick their car and specify its build, trade-in their existing car, organise finance and select a home delivery date that’s convenient for them. 

“Holden’s always been at the forefront of the Australian industry, this is the latest in a long line of customer-focused initiatives we’re excited and proud to offer Australian drivers,” said Chairman and Managing Director Mark Bernhard. “And what better car to purchase online than the all new, next-generation Commodore – a truly sensational car.” 

Recent research suggests that up to 30% of consumers would consider buying a car entirely online without entering into a dealership. 

“Ten years ago, we were tentatively buying clothes online and it was inconceivable to buy big ticket items like TVs through the internet, but as consumer tastes change and confidence in online commerce has grown, so too has Australian consumers desire to purchase at a time and location that is convenient to them. It’s only a matter of time before the digital revolution reaches automotive retailing. 

“A car can’t deliver or service itself. Our dealers are the backbone of our online store and have been involved in creating the online shopping experience since its inception. Their guidance on how to optimise the experience has been excellent. 

“Although the online car buying experience finishes at the click of a button, the car owning experience is a long-term relationship, that’s where the dealers step up, home delivering the car and providing exceptional customer care for the lifetime of the car.” 

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The Holden online store operates in much the same way as other traditional bricks and mortar retailers have evolved online in Australia, designed to provide a great customer experience no matter which way they buy. Our dealer base will be the foundation of our online store by providing their invaluable logistics and sales support capabilities, as well as building a relationship with the customer, providing ongoing maintenance and warranty services for the life of the car. Whichever way a customer chooses to buy their new car, Holden will continue to provide a great customer experience. 

This new way of purchasing the latest car will by no means replace the traditional way but in much the same way online retailing has shaped consumer expectation in other industries, Holden is thinking ahead as the future of personal mobility, technology and automotive retailing evolves at a fast pace. The Holden online store joins our ride-sharing start-up Maven and connectivity platform OnStar, as just a few examples of how Holden is preparing for the future of personal mobility. 

“Will online car buying be for everyone? No, or maybe not yet, for us it’s about offering the choice. Consumer buying habits continue to evolve and we’re constantly anticipating what’s coming so that we are ahead of the game and how we can offer the best customer experience alongside our dealer partners. 

“We put this country on wheels and we’ll continue to lead personal mobility for Australian drivers and passengers well into the future with the best products, the best technology and the best people, to provide our customers with an unparalleled experience,” said Mark. 

Starting first with a pilot in metro Melbourne, Holden’s online store will offer most of the Holden passenger vehicle range including the new 2018 Commodore, Equinox, Astra and Trax and will expand to more metropolitan markets and additional car lines in time, depending on customer response. 

A key feature of this online store is the trade-in valuation which is transacted online (trade-in is collected at time of delivery). Also the breadth and depth of range combined with direct finance referral at checkout makes the Holden offer unique in Australia. The Holden online store is truly a mobile experience, available on any device. 

Visit www.holden.com.au/buying/buy-online. 

To stay up to date with Holden news, connect with Holden: 

• Holden Media Site 

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/holdenaustralia 

• YouTube: www.youtube.com/holdenaustralia 

• Twitter: www.twitter.com/holden_aus 

• Instagram: @HoldenAustralia 

source: http://media.gm.com/media/au/en/holden/news.detail.html/content/Pages/new s/au/en/2018/Feb/0215-online-store.html, released 15 february 2018, downloaded 22 march 2018 

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Marking Guide [based on the written report (20 marks) and the presentation (10 marks)] 

HD 

• shows clear evidence of wide and relevant reading and an engagement with the conceptual issues; 

• develops a sophisticated and intelligent argument; 

• shows a rigorous use and a confident understanding of relevant source materials; 

• achieves an appropriate balance between factual detail and key theoretical issues; 

• provides evidence of original thinking. 

D 

• engages closely with the case study; 

• shows some evidence of wide and relevant reading and an engagement with the conceptual issues; 

• shows some sophistication of argument; 

• shows an intelligent use and a good understanding of relevant source materials. 

CR 

• offers critical insights and shows evidence of critical thinking; 

• shows a good understanding of the major factual and/or theoretical issues, and addresses the relevant literature on the topic; 

• develops a focused and clear argument and articulates a sustained train of logical thought; 

• shows clear evidence of planning in the formulation of the written answer and includes a judicious choice of sources and methodology. 

P 

• shows some understanding of relevant major theoretical and/or factual issues; 

• shows evidence of planning in the formulation of the written answer, makes selective use of appropriate sources, and demonstrates some knowledge of the literature; 

• shows, at various points if not throughout the entire text, examples of a clear train of thought or argument; 

• presents basic models / diagrams, where appropriate; 

• provides an appropriate conclusion to the textual argument(s). 

FAIL • fail to answer the question or develop an argument; 

• fail to demonstrate knowledge of the key issues or arguments; 

• contain clear conceptual or factual errors or misunderstandings; 

• are poorly organised and/or poorly written.

Introduction

Research planning is vital part of any study. It is crucial for the researchers to define the population, target audience and sampling in a proper way so that research planning is efficient. The efficiency of the marketing and organizational strategies also depend upon the efficiency of the research planning. The purpose of this report is to examine Holden Commodore online launch case and discuss different things such as target audience, alternative ways of defining population, sampling frame and alternative way of defining sampling approach. Holden has launched an online store, wherein, the organization aims at providing full end-to-end online car buying experience to the users. This new generation experience of buying cars online is available via official website of Holden Commodore. The new cars are delivered straight at the doorstep of the customers and they have the option to select from wide-variety of cars. The customers get the option to book home delivery at a time when it is convenient to them.

1.      A discussion of the target market alternatives for the new Commodore. Recommend one

Target market is an important component for an organization when introducing a new product or a service. As per Lewis, (2015), target market is defined as the group of customers within the serviceable available market of the organization that it has decided to serve. Target market includes consumers who have similar characteristics and considered to buy the product for sure. As far as new Commodore is concerned, the company has chosen a restricted market segment initially since the online store is still in its starting phase. The online car buying is not started everyone due to the fact that the company is planning to offer a choice. Since the buying habits of the consumers evolve significantly so there is a constant need for the company to plan strategically and see what best they can offer to customers. The first few vehicles to be introduced at Holden’s online store include Commodore, Equinox, Astra and Trax. The company has firstly targeted pilot in metro Melbourne. The company’s agenda is to put Australia on wheels so that they are providing exceptional experience to the drivers and passengers in the country. However, a new target segment for the company is professionals who need economical and high-quality cars for commuting daily so that they can move to one place to another effectively.

The Holden online car store can use a series of steps to define their population. It is vital for the researchers to look at the current customer base and then take decision for the features and interests. Also, it is vital that people like these benefits and use them in their daily life. Also, Holden should look for its competitors who have planned to grow strategically in a similar way (Lewis, 2015). There is no need to go after the same market as there are wide-ranging target market options available for a firm. Holden needs to ensure that it analyses the features of its cars and ensure that these features are likely to provide customers with a  better option than what competitors are offering. However, one key thing that Holden needs to ensure that it targets not everyone but choose target audience based on the age, location, gender, education, marital level and income of the people. It is also vital that the company targets the audience depending upon the psychographic attributes includes social behavior, values and mindset of the people concerned with the same product.

Hence, it is vital to define the target market in a proper way and instead of generalizing the target market, taking a specific sample is vital. The efficiency of the research planning forms a base for the success of the company.

2.      A discussion of the alternative ways of defining the ‘Population’ for a research study on the Commodore target market. Recommend one.

Population is defined as a complete set of elements that include some features designed by the sampling criteria fulfilled by the researcher. The population includes target population and accessible population. The target population is also known as universe (Neuman, 2013). This includes the people to which the researcher generalizes the findings of the study. These are specific people for which product or service is introduced rather it includes general audience. On the other hand, accessible population is the portion of the population to which the researcher has effective access. It is a part of target population only. The accessible population is limited to a region or a state.

There are plenty of ways to define population. However, a research population is a well-defined group of people having same features (Neuman, 2013). The people in a certain population have traits and characteristics that are common. The research population is chosen depending upon the use of the product. The population for Holden is people who love cars. But Holden has specifically targeted pilots in Melbourne since the consumer tastes keeping evolving and the company can target a wide audience gradually.

3.      A discussion of the alternative ways of defining the ‘Sampling Frame’ for the research on the Commodore. Recommend one.

Sampling frame is used by a research to conduct a study and develop findings. Sample may be defined as the people or objects selected for participation in a study. In a sample, people are referred to as the subject. The process of choosing a group of people, events and other elements to conduct a study is called sampling (Patton & Cochran, 2015). As far as sampling frame is concerned, it is a list of the all the elements in the population from which a sample is chosen for the study. So a sampling frame is like generalized form of sample.  It is significant to use a frame to determine everyone in a population and they have a fair chance for being chosen for the study.

It is vital to clarify all the units that one is interested in researching. The units include people, organizations and documents. The units make population of interest and it is vital to define the population is a specific way (Patton & Cochran, 2015). However, it is possible that Holden, being a start-up would not be able to study every unit. So it is vital to choose a proper research area and then use a sample frame. Sampling frame can enable Holden to define all the units in one frame and hence it is easy for the marketers to choose it effectively so that proper participants can be chosen for study. When proper participants are not chosen, it can influence the findings of the study that can be either accurate or inaccurate. Hence, it is vital to choose the participants and sample framing properly.

4.      A discussion of the alternative ways of defining the sampling approach for the research on the Commodore. Recommend one.

There may be different methods or approaches used for sampling. The method to be chosen depends on the need of the researcher. The common sampling approach used by most researchers includes random sampling. In this approach, every member of the population has a equal probability to be selected as a subject (Patton & Cochran, 2015). This approach increases the sample’s representatives of the population while decrease the sampling error. For Holden online store, random sampling is the best approach that can be used by the researcher. Random Sampling can help Holden to choose a sample and conduct observations with much accuracy and ease of use. However, there is no easy way to extract a research sample from a huge population and there is hardly any need to divide the population into small steps. The key requirements of randomness are the selection process wherein every member has an equal opportunity to be selected. When subjects are chosen at random, it helps in generating a sample which is a representation of the sample (Patton & Cochran, 2015). Therefore, Holden is required to use a representative sample to make generalizations. For instance, Holden can choose people who are interested in buying sports cars and can target people based on their psychographic attributes. The survey conducted among these people will help the organization decide about the kind of cars that sports lovers may be needed. Also, random sampling will ensure that all people have non-zero probability to be selected. This way, participants will have fair chance of being selected.

Conclusion

To conclude, a research study is conducted after careful planning of target audience, sampling and primary research. A primary research can help companies like Holden to define their target market in a proper way. Once the target market and sampling is done properly, the company can develop marketing strategies based on them and the success rate of these increases rapidly. Therefore, there is a need for Holden to conduct the research in a proper way. It can be indicated from the report that Holden needs to conduct a thorough research planning to ensure that the sampling is done in a proper way and why it is vital for the organization to focus on appropriate sampling.

References

Lewis, S. (2015). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Health promotion practice, 16(4), 473-475.

Neuman, W. L. (2013). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Pearson education.

Patton, M. Q., & Cochran, M. (2015). A guide to using qualitative research methodology.

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