Conducting A Market Survey On A New Soap Brand: Analysis And Findings

Method of data collection

The inception of a new product by a company into the market can be met by myriad of challenges (March, 2009). Challenges can range from product unawareness to product not attracting any loyalty and competition from similar products. At this stage it is usually very important for any business venture to strategize on how it can endear its product to the customers in the market.

One of the major aspects that can form the basis of a better strategy is conducting a market survey about any particular product (Kotler, 2012). It is from research survey that a business will be able to understand the customers’ perception about their product (Romano, 2009). A new brand of soap with two versions had just been introduced in the market; version 1 which is solid soap and version 2 which is liquid soap. Since the products are not that old in the market, I decided to conduct a survey to have an understanding of the customers’ behaviour about their new brand of soap.

Method of data collection 

In this survey report, I employed primary method of data collection. As such a questionnaire was used. I saw it appropriate to use questionnaire since it was easy to work with given the number of respondents (20). With the use of a questionnaire, the i was able to get first-hand information from the respondents. This is important as there as secondary methods such as journals are usually not current and therefore may not capture the important aspects answering the objective of the research. The questionnaire contained ten questions all of which were closed to enable the research manage the responses collected. The questionnaire was as below while the data has been attached on a separate excel sheet.

Summary of the data set 

The data collected in this research survey report was both qualitative and quantitative. It was qualitative in that it had variables which were not numerical in nature. Such variables were gender, place of origin, product liking and product version. On the other hand, the quantitative variables included the amount the respondents were willing to pay for the new soap, their monthly income and age.

With the categorical variable “gender”, the research survey is able to establish product version liking by gender or whether there is a correlation between gender and other variables such as duration of using the new soap. The numerical variable “willing to pay” will help the research survey determine the amount of money people were willing to part with to purchase the new soap brand. The monthly income of the respondents will aid the research establish whether there is a correlation between the amount respondents were willing to pay and their monthly salaries.

Gender 

A table and graph representing distribution of respondents by gender

It can be observed from the table and graph above that the number of males and females who took part in the survey was not the same. The number of males was more than the number of females. The males were 11 in number while the females were 9 in number. Therefore the female represented 45% of the total number of respondents while the males represented 55% of the total number of respondents.

Summary of the data set

Age 

A graphical and tabular representation of respondents by age

Table 2 

It can be observed from the table and graph above that the number of males and females who took part in the survey was not the same. The number of males was more than the number of females. The males were 11 in number while the females were 9 in number. Therefore the female represented 45% of the total number of respondents while the males represented 55% of the total number of respondents.

Age 

A graphical and tabular representation of respondents by age

Table 2 

It can be observed from the table and graph above that the number of males and females who took part in the survey was not the same. The number of males was more than the number of females. The males were 11 in number while the females were 9 in number. Therefore the female represented 45% of the total number of respondents while the males represented 55% of the total number of respondents.

Age 

A graphical and tabular representation of respondents by age

Table 2 

The table and graph above shows the ages of the respondents who took part in the research survey. It can be observed that most of them were in the age bracket of between 31 to 40 years. These were 9 in number representing 45% of the total number interviewed. The second largest group in terms of age were those between 41 to 50 years. They were 6 out of 20 interviewed representing 30%. The least in number were those that were between 20 to 30 years. They were 5 in number therefore representing 25% of the total number of the respondents.

Product liking

The table and graph below show the distribution of respondents by product like/hate

Table 3

Figure 3 and table 3 above shows the distribution of respondents according to whether they like or hate the new soap brand. It can be seen clearly from the graph and the table that majority of the respondents interviewed like the new soap brand. 14 out of the 20 people interviewed liked the soap. This represents 70% of the total number of respondents. The people who said they did not like the product were 6 out of the total 20 people interviewed. They represent 30%. It can therefore be concluded that majority of the people like the new soap if the above statistics is anything to go by.

Version of the soap

The table and graph below show the distribution of respondents according to version of soap they like

Table 4

The new soap brand had two versions. Version 1was the solid soap while version 2 was the liquid soap but of the same new brand. The respondents were asked to choose the brand that they liked most and the table and graph above show their responses. It can be observed that 7 out of the 20 respondents said they liked neither version. They represented 35% of the respondents. Those who liked version 2 which is the liquid soap were 7 representing 35%. Those who like version 1 which is the solid soap are 6 out of 20 which represents 30% of the total number of respondents interviewed.

Gender

Origin

The table and graph below show the distribution of respondents by place of origin

Table 5

The table and graph above gives a tabular and graphical representation of where the respondents come from. It can be observed that most of them came from the city of Sidney. Respondents from Sidney were 8 while those from Brisbane and Melbourne were 6 each.

Presence of substitute

The table and graph below show whether respondents had substitute soap

Table 6

Data analysis – descriptive statistics 

1. The table below shows a summary statistics of monthly income of the respondents in dollars

Table 7

The table above shows a descriptive statistics of the respondents, monthly income. This was necessary for this research survey as the level of monthly income would influence the purchasing power of the new brand of soap. It can be observed that the mean monthly income was 401.15 dollars. The median salary level was 438.5 dollars. The least earning respondent earned 202 dollars per month while the highest earning respondent got 596 dollars in a month.

1. The table below shows a summary statistics of amount the respondents were willing to pay for the new soap brand in dollars

Table 8

The table above shows a descriptive statistics of the amounts the respondents were willing to pay for the new brand of soap. This was necessary for this research survey as the amount they were willing to pay would be used as a basis of establishing new prices for the new brand of soap. It can be observed that the mean amount that they were willing to part with buying the soap was 2.34 dollars. The price that was suggested by many respondents was 3.2 dollars. This is shown by a mode value of 3.2. The least price that the respondents were willing to pay was 0.3 dollars while the highest amount that they were willing to pay was 3.3 dollars. 

The table below shows a summary statistics of respondents’ age  

Table 8

The above table shows the summary statistics of the respondents’ ages. It can be observed that the mean age of the respondents is 35.1 years. The modal age on the other hand is 43. The oldest respondent was 49 years old while the youngest respondent was 21 years old. The median age was 35.5 years.

Hypothesis testing 

In order to relate monthly salary and amount the respondents were willing to pay for the soap, a t-test was conducted to establish whether there was a significant difference between the two variables and whether there was a relationship between the two variables.

Hypothesis

H₀: There is no significant difference between monthly salary and amount the respondents were willing to pay for the new brand of soap.  

Versus

H₁: There is a significant difference between monthly salary and amount the respondents were willing to pay for the new brand of soap.  

Table 9

From the t-test results above, it can be observed that the p-value computed is less than the level of significance (.00 < .05). The decision therefore is that the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative accepted. The conclusion therefore is that there is a significant difference between monthly salary and amount the respondents were willing to pay for the new brand of soap. The Pearson correlation coefficient gives a value of -.2 meaning that there is a very weak relationship between the two variables but on the negative.

Conclusion

From the analyses above, i came up with various conclusions. Many customers still value the new soap so much. This is confirmed by the fact that 70% of the respondents interviewed attested of not having an alternative soap. However, the 30% that had alternative soap should be encouraged by the manufacturing company of the benefits of the new soap. When it came to the version of the two soaps (solid and liquid), the two versions are liked differently by the customers. Most customers prefer version two which is liquid soap compared to version one. It is therefore important for the management to focus more on producing version 2 of the soap while at the same time conducting marketing for version 1 of the same soap.

References

Kotler, P. (2012). Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

March, R. (2009). Tourism marketing myopia. Tourism Management, 411-415.

Mowlana, H., & Smith, G. (2003). Tourism in a global context: the case of frequent traveler programs. Journal of Travel Research, 33, 20-27.

Romano, C. (2009). Research strategies for small business: a case study. International Small Business Journal, 7, 35-43.

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