You are Required to Investigate the Business of Your Choice from the RETAIL Industry: Business Investigation Coursework, SMU, Singapore

BUSINESS INVESTIGATION: GAIN CITY

A business needs to improve its marketing mix, in response to competition and trend, so as to continue to attract its target customers.

You are required to investigate the business of your choice from the RETAIL industry. The business must have a physical location in Singapore that customers can go to.

Information gathered in Task 1 will support your answers in Tasks 2 to 5.  You will produce a report to write your answers to Tasks 2 to 5. You are required to cross-reference the information sources deployed in your answers.

Task 1: Information Gathering 1

Name your chosen business and state its physical location. Based on requirements in Tasks 2 to 5, provide relevant information about your business from two primary and a variety of secondary sources on:

• the nature of the business and its customers
• its marketing mix and customer service
• competition and trend affecting the business

Examples of primary sources are:

• survey questionnaires and results
• observation notes
• photographs from onsite observations of the business/competition

Examples of secondary sources are:

• the business’s own website and/or social media
• other related websites or online reviews
• brochures, printed advertisements
• newspapers, magazines and other printed materials

Task 2: Nature of the Business and its Customers Based on the information you gathered in Task 1:

Describe the nature of the business  You may include, for example:

• What type of business it is within the industry
• What are its main categories of products
• What the business is best known for
• How many outlets it has in Singapore/globally

Describe the types of customers the business attracts, and the needs and wants of these customers. 

You may include, for example:

• types of customers according to their age, gender, occupation, income, lifestyle, geographical location, etc.
• the needs and wants of these customers that the business helps to satisfy

Task 3: Marketing Mix and Customer Service of the Business Based on the information you gathered in Task 1:

Explain how the marketing mix is used by the business to meet its customers’ needs and wants. 

 You may include, for example:

• Product – what the business offers and how attractive it is to customers
• Price – techniques used by the business and how they appeal to customers
• Place – how/where customers in Singapore can buy the products
• Promotion – techniques used by the business and how they appeal to customers

Explain how the business has provided customer service, giving examples of good and/or poor service.

You may include, for example, how customer service is provided when the business’s staff: 

• approach customers
• present product information to customers
• close the customer experience
• provide after-sales service
• perform service recovery

Task 4: Competition and Trend in the Service Industry Based on the information you gathered in Task 1:

Describe competition and trend that the business might need to be aware of.   

You may include, for example:

• a competitor of the business and what it offers to customers
• a changing customer expectation and/or technological development

Explain how competition and trend might affect the customer experience provided by the business.

You may include, for example:

• how customer experience might or might not change in response to competition
• how customer experience might or might not change in response to a changing customer expectation and/or technological development

Task 5: Decision-making and Recommendation Based on everything you now know about your chosen business:

Make two suggestions to improve the marketing mix of the business. Support your suggestions with reasons from your findings in Tasks 1 to 4.

In making your suggestions you may include, for example:

• different aspects of the marketing mix to improve
• how to improve these aspects of the marketing mix
• reasons for these improvements based on your findings from Tasks 1 to 4 [8]

Recommend which one of the two improvements suggested in 5 (a) the business should adopt. Consider the impact this recommendation might have on the business and on its customers.

In making your recommendation you may include, for example:

• the different ways in which this recommendation will affect the business itself
• how the business’s customers will be affected by this recommendation