Research Design for Introducing a New Product

Chevron Lanka Lubricants PLC, being our client with the

request to do a market research on the problem which they have to decide upon is the market leader in the lubricants industry. This is a research proposal that has been designed to point out the necessity of market research for Chevron on the basis of their new product launch Havoline Deposit Shield.
The research has been conducted to verify the whether the

new product launch is an effective one for the company and whether Chevron should further market the product or should stop replacing the new product instead of their prestigious product Havoline..

Research objectives are very important to researchers as it explains the purpose of the research in measurable terms and defines standards for what the research should accomplish (Zikmund.W, 2003). Thus, the research objectives of our research are as follows;
Find out the target market and the segmentations of Havoline Deposit Shield. Find out whether the target market is aware of the new product, Havoline Deposit

Shield. Find out whether the consumers are willing to change to a new brand or they are willing to purchase the existing product. If so, the reasons behind it. Find out how many competitor brands are there for Havoline Deposit Shield, since intensifying competition is their main challenge, rather threat. Find out whether the bargaining power of consumers is high or low since it implies the fact that whether consumers has a wider range of choice or not. Find out about the current marketing strategies of Chevron in implementing the new product as marketing strategies plays an important role in a products success. Find out how effective these strategies are to identify whether these strategies helped Chevron in reaching its target market (audience)

 Research design is the determination and a statement

of the general research approach or strategy adopted for the particular project. It is the overall plan for collecting and analyzing the information obtained to decide on the solution. There are two main data in the design:
Primary Data Secondary Data

 Secondary data research is also called as desk research.

This is where the needed information is collected without any fieldwork. (Luck.D & Rubin.R, 1999) In order to analyze about Chevron we mainly used their annual reports. The secondary data sources were as follows;
Newspaper articles, advertisements, etc. The Internet, Mobitel website, etc. Annual reports, messages from the BODs, etc. Research reports from stock brokers, consultations agencies, etc. Brochures, flyers, mailers, etc.

 The main focus behind collecting such information is

to identify and understand about the following aspects;

Market sizing Company Profiling Setting Price Designing Products

Promotion.

Primary data is information collected by the researcher directly through instruments such as surveys, interviews, focus groups or observation. Tailored to his specific needs, primary research provides the researcher with the most accurate and up-to-date data.
The sources of Primary Data are
Questionnaire

Focus Group Discussions

 Questionnaire and Focus Group Discussions A focus group is a form of qualitative research in

which a group of people are asked about their attitude towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging (What are Focus Groups?, 2003). Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members.

 There are four focus groups with five members in each

one. Each member is a user of any four wheel drive, especially who are familiar with the use of lubricants in their vehicles. The focus groups are;
Consumers using Havoline Deposit Shield currently Consumers who are aware of Havoline Deposit Shield, but

not using it currently Consumers who are not aware of the new product Havoline Deposit Shield Retailers of Chevron Products (e.g.: petrol sheds, service stations, etc.)

 In order to accomplish this task we are planning to

distribute questionnaires among the existing consumers as well as the potential consumers and also to the retailers of Chevron. These questionnaires are structured as well as undisguised The questionnaire to the public is planned to be distributed to around 200 people and at least get the response of 50% of it, which will account to 100 questionnaires filled. The questionnaires consist of 11 questions. On the other hand the questionnaires which we are planning to distribute among the retailers would be around 50 expecting at least 20 to return with proper and accurate information. These also consist of 10 questions

We have decided to use the non probability sample method for Havoline Deposit Shield of Chevron plc where samples are selected on the basis on snow balling non probability sampling technique. Snow ball sampling in market research is a sample technique in which the selection of the additional respondents is based on the referrals from the initials. (High beam research)

Our initial sample will be selected at random in Colombo and Kandy. This will be people with a monthly earning of Rs.150, 000 - 200,000 and whether they are aware of Havoline Deposit Shield. We will then filter our sample based on their recommendations or referrals to those who have actually used it.

The sample size selected should assure research objectives and consequently the size of the sample can be determined by the specifications of the researcher and the nature of the population (Luck.D & Rubin.R, 1999)

We intend to have 200 questionnaires for the public and approximately 50 questionnaires to the retailers and service stations when conducting our quantitative research.

The focus groups will consist of 5 in a group where well have three similar sizes of groups

A questionnaire is a research tool involving of a sequence of questions and other heads-up for the tenacity of collecting information from the participants. the advantages of using a questionnaire,

they allow respondents time to think through their answers prudently without interfering, it is conceivable to deliver questionnaires to huge amounts of people instantaneously all respondents will obtain the indistinguishable established questions. With closed-form questions, answers are uniform, which can support in construing from huge amounts of participants and can discourse a huge amount of subjects and queries of disquiet in a comparatively well-organized method, with the likelihood of a great reaction proportion.

The limitations are

it might be problematic to find a decent reaction rate. Frequently there is no tough enthusiasm for respondents to answer. Excellence of statistics is perhaps not as great as with other approaches of data gathering and there is a possibility of response bias since the respondent might give the answers that the researcher wants without giving the real information.

Questionnaire for Public

How did u get to know about Havoline Deposit Shield What type of vehicle do you have Have you used it at least once If yes, how many times If no, then whats the reason for not trying the product If youve used it, do you feel the difference in this oil than the previous oil you were using If better, then in what aspects it is better than previously used oil If worse, then which brand was better? and why What are the performance features you expect in the oil you use for your vehicle Overall.. What is your opinion about the new product

Questionnaire for Retailers

What are the highly demanded brands of Chevron Are the customers aware of the new product Havoline Deposit

Shield Are the customers willing to use the new product (change to the new product) What are types of vehicle that uses this product What do you think about the performance of the product Has the introduction of Havoline Deposit Shield affected any other brands of Chevron How many competitor brands are there for Havoline Deposit Shield What are the benefits you get from Chevron for marketing this brand What are the discounts and sales promotions you offer for the customers in purchasing this product What kind of feedback you get from your consumers