Marketing Research

Marketing research (MR) is a unique method of evaluating an organizations' internal and external environments. A SWOTT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and trends) analysis is often considered to be an outlined segment of market research. It is a foundational element to new business ventures and/or restructuring, reshaping, reformulating, and enhancing the current organizational culture. MR is a comprehensive analysis of strategic positioning within the marketplace. According to Trish G. Byrnes (2003) the research process may involve asking pertinent questions as it pertains to the organizations main objective, such as; Where the organization wants to go in terms of globalization, or shareholder wealth maximization? Is the product or service relevant to the marketplace? Is the product needed at this time? What is the cost to finance such a product or service? What are the current trends? Byrnes further suggests that MR may require qualitative and quantitative data in order to determine the best strategic approach, especially during times where a products life cycle is uncertain. "As businesses continue to develop and mature in the new millennium, marketing decision makers will face a variety of new and more complex challenges, problems, and opportunities from changing legal, political, cultural, technological, and competitive landscapes that directly impact their firms' operations."(Hair, Bush, and Ortinau, 2003).

Kudler Fine Foods is a gourmet food shop founded by Kathy Kudler. This organization was for the sole purpose of providing top chefs with the ingredients and tools that can be essential for preparing meals. In today's society, most organizations are expanding their global reach by entering the world of e-Commerce, with that in mind an organizations first impression of professionalism and customer satisfaction may depend on an organizations first presentation to consumers. For instance, consumers can determine whether they will conduct business transactions with an organization based on the company's visible exterior, which can also be a direct relation to whether the organization has an appealing website with easy navigation. Market research will inform an organization as to the needs and demands of a specific target audience. Currently consumers are searching for convenience and cost effectiveness and are prone to shopping online as opposed to the traditional methods of shopping. Market research will provide quantifiable data that will allow a decisions makers to establish web presence, identify opportunities in the marketplace, identify potential risks, and obtain the most desired outcome as a result of effective product placement online and offline.

The Kudler Fine Food website is unpretentious, it is easy to navigate from page to page. On each page there is a description of the company, the company product, and the services Kudler provides. The best thing about the site is the easy navigation and that the company have categorized their products into five sub-divisions such as: bakery, meat & seafood, produce, cheese & dairy and wine on the first page of the site, this makes it easier for perspective clients or customers to click on exactly what they want without searching through a long list of items and wasting valuable time searching for those items. Another issue with the website is the company's history, vision and mission statement which are conveniently located on the intranet portion of the website for employees within the company to view, if anything this information should be viewed by future customers in order for the public to gain full knowledge of what the company represents and their goals for the future.

Although the Kudler Fine Food website is small, simple and straight to the point about the services they provide, there is always room for improvement. Unlike many of the traditional websites that crowd the internet, Kudler Fine Foods did not properly catch the eye of their target audience well. The main thing that stood out the most was when a customer clicks onto the Kudler Fine Foods site it will lead the customer to the home page with a brief synopsis of Kathy Kudler the founder and CEO of the company. If a customer is new to a website, and say for instance they have never heard of the company or organization before, the website should first introduce the company to the customer by stating who they are, what they represent, what products they can offer the customer, and what promotions they will provide the customer if they are rendered services from the company's website.