mkt220 business research method case study
Please read the case carefully.Questions from 1-6 come from the case.
William Rosenberg opened the first Dunkin Donuts in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1950. Residents
flocked to his store each morning for the coffee and fresh doughnuts. Rosenberg started
franchising the Dunkin’ Donuts name and the chain grew rapidly throughout the Midwest and
Southeast. By the early 1990s, however, Dunkin’ was losing breakfast sales to morning
sandwiches at McDonald’s and Burger King. Starbucks and other high-end cafes began sprouting
up, bringing more competition. Sales slid as the company clung to its strategy of selling sugary
doughnuts by the dozen.
In the mid-90s, however, Dunkin shifted its focus from doughnuts to coffee in the hope that
promoting a more frequently consumed item would drive store traffic. The coffee push workeddoughnuts make up a mere 17 % of sales. Dunkin’ sells 2.7 million cups of coffee a day, nearly
one billion cups a year. And, Dunkin’ sales have surged 40 % during the past four years. Based on
this recent success, Dunkin’ now has ambitious plans to expand into a national coffee
powerhouse, on a par with Starbucks, the nation’s largest coffee chain. Over the next few years,
Dunkin’ plans to remake its more than 5,400 US shops in 34 states and grow to double that
number by 2020.
But Dunkin’ is not Starbucks. In fact, it does not want to be. To succeed, Dunkin must have its
own clear vision of just which customers it wants to serve (target segment) and how (value
proposition). Dunkin’ gut feeling is that Dunkin’ and Starbucks target very different customers,
who want very different things from their favorite coffee shops. Starbucks is strongly positioned
as a sort of highbrow third place – outside of home and office – featuring couches, eclectic music,
wireless internet access, and art splashed walls. Dunkin’ has decidedly lowbrow, everyman kind
of positioning.
With its makeover, Dunkin plans to move upscale – a bit but not too far – to reposition itself as a
quick but appealing alternative to specialty coffee shops and fast-food chains. Yes, Dunkin’ built
itself on serving simple fare to working class customers. Inching upscale without alienating that
base will prove tricky.
Newly appointed Dunkin’ CMO, Tony Weisman, wants to conduct a marketing research study.
They currently do not know which steps to take to come up with a clear understanding of which
direction they should take. This is why approached you.
2
Question #1: Dunkin’ will be conducting a marketing research project (15 pts) and they are
asking you
(a) What are the steps of a typical marketing research project ? (customize the steps for the
Dunkin’ case)
(b) Please discuss why it is essential to start the research process with the right question
formulation.
(c) What is the primary research question in this Dunkin’ case? What does Dunkin’ want to
know? Please provide an elaborate answer.
There are 5 more questions attached below. thank you so much!
Do you need a similar assignment done for you from scratch? We have qualified writers to help you. We assure you an A+ quality paper that is free from plagiarism. Order now for an Amazing Discount!
Use Discount Code "Newclient" for a 15% Discount!
NB: We do not resell papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
