OPPORTUNITIES RESEARCH FOR ZOROK BEER COMPANY

Introduction

Launching a new product on the market is an essential business strategy for companies

because their purpose is to increase the sales and maximize the profits. However, they have to

face a lot of challenges when their products are sold on a competitive market. Today, beer is one

of competitive products in the Vietnam market. However, selling a new product from a foreign

beer brand like Zorok in the market where consumers are familiar with the traditional beer

brands is a major challenge that SABMiller Company must overcome. Therefore, finding out the

solutions to promote the consumption of products and to increase the sales is an essential task not

only for SABMiller but also for other beer companies that want to introduce their new products

to consumers.

Question 1: Briefly describe your company. Identify potential problems or issues (current

or future) that your company might address with a research study.

Company description: Zorok is a beer brand of SABMiller, a company that has a branch

in Vietnam. Launching a new product on the competitive market like Vietnam is a major

challenge for a foreign beer brand. Analyzing market carefully is an important factor that help

the company understand the needs and tastes of consumers. This is also an important factor that

decides the success of this new product line.

Problems Statement: There are three symptoms when the company launches a new

product on the Vietnam beer market. Firstly, consumers are familiar with traditional brands such

as SaiGon, Heineken, Halidaetc ... Zorok is a new brand. Moreover, the beer brand is produced

by one of the largest milk companies in the United States. Secondly, many consumers are
ordering the traditional beers in the restaurants which are funded by Zorok. Thirdly, consumers

have hesitant attitude when they try new flavor of Zorok.

The problems include (1) there are negative flavor gaps that make consumers unfamiliar

with new flavor of beer (2) marketing campaigns of Zorok in financing the restaurants is not

differentiated and not attract consumers (3) there are negative perceptions of consumers for a

milk company diversifying to sell beer product now.

2. What indicators are prevalent demonstrating that the company is effectively (or

ineffectively) using research studies within the organization?

Purpose of your research

Using appropriate research techniques, Zorok beer will have solutions to overcome its

problems, improve the sales revenues and successfully launch the new brand in the market.

Research provides company more exact information on what consumers need, their perceptions

and marketing campaign of positioning products.

(Beneficial indicators or Research outcome indicators:

Then the company can find the solutions to handle its problems, to improve brand

perception, to increase sales and to attract more consumers. Based on the survey assessment of

the market, the company can formulate the right marketing campaign and positioning brand

which help to increase the company sales revenues. Meanwhile the focus group interview in the

company will contribute to the initiatives, comments and ideas for product launching strategy

and hence to improve the sales of Zorok beer. Moreover, Zorok also finds out which advertising

campaigns will bring the highest efficiency.

 These are indicators that the company is effective to use research study for making

decision of solutions.

3. How might the company use secondary research? How might they use primary

research?

The company can find the solutions to handle its problems, to improve brand perception,

to increase sales and to attract more consumers by looking for the available data resources,

implementing survey and internal focus group interviews.

Secondary research: to collect the secondary data from the Internet, corporate Web

sites, commercial associations, scientific papers, trade magazines, available market research and

internal company documents. The secondary research will collect all the relevant information of

targeted consumers, behaviors and habits, any previous launching campaign of new brand beer

which includes successful story and lesson learnt. It is necessary for the company to investigate

the market (size, growth rate, share), competition, brands, distribution channels, price,

consumers behaviors, styles of beer, lifestyles and attributes to beer brand in previous available

market research. For internal resource of secondary data, the company in VN can learn the best

practices report of launching new beer product in other country, successful story and lesson learn

to verify any similarity between Vietnam and other country in the region.

Moreover, the fact that consumers are normally familiar with traditional beer taste and

hesitate to try a brand new beer is also reviewed by available market analysis.

Primary research includes consumer surveys and focus group interview within the

company. Market survey will help to understand consumer perceptions, attitudes and factors of
buying decision for the new beer brand or Zorok beer. Research team goes to the field, beer

shops and restaurants, meets respondents directly. A researcher may ask consumers about their

attributes of beer choice (brand, price, taste, and promotion), regular drinking day and brand,

reasons for hesitating new beer taste, brand perceptions .. These surveys will be conducted in

forms of questionnaires. They may interview drinkers to answer questionnaires, probably with

promotional gifts for respondents. The survey can be implemented by email, internet and phone.

However, the accuracy and response rate should be lower than interview. The other primary

research tool is focus group interview. Researcher and moderator will implement focus group

interview among the relevant managers and directors to look for the initiatives, comments and

ideas for product launching campaigns, timing, budgets and hence to improve the sales of Zorok.

Question 4: What might this company do in the future to expand its research?

Include your rationale.

By using secondary data research to investigate available market research as well as

consumers behaviors of beer products, and primary research tools such as internal focus group

interviews, surveys through questionnaires, Zorok beer company will have solutions to overcome

its problems, improve the sales revenues and successfully launch the new brand in the market.

Therefore, the company can expand its research by how to implement the marketing campaign

for Zorok beer efficiently and effectively. The additional research in the later stage can be the

relationship between the advertising cost and sales revenues, between the first trial of Zorok

beers and sales revenues, between where the beer is sold (beer shops/beer clubs/restaurants) and

sales revenues.
 Reference

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