Identifying the Marketing Platform for a New Sustainability-Based Product - Research Paper Example

Running Head: SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH BRIEF Identifying the Marketing Platform for a New Sustainability-Based Product: A Brief for the Research Project Introduction and background of the research This is a research brief on how a small company can successfully identify the marketing platform that is appropriate for use in marketing its sustainable products. The brief contains detailed information on how the proposed research project can be successfully undertaken to help the small company in successfully launching its new environmentally-friendly product. This way, the company will be able to adopt the most appropriate marketing strategies that can be used as a way of leveraging on its sustainability footprint to gain a competitive advantage in the market. There are several reasons that make it necessary for this research to be carried out. These include the growing demand for sustainable products by consumers and the growing need for corporate sustainability (Iannuzzi, 2012, p. 8). Based on this, companies are better placed when they understand the best marketing strategies that can be used for their products. In addition to this, knowledge about the role and perception of different stakeholders of the company will be useful not only in helping the company successfully brand, market and position the current product but also act as a blueprint when developing marketing strategies for future products. This knowledge will enable the company achieve its marketing objectives as well as long-term profitability which is necessary for growth. Lastly, the significance of doing this research will be seen in terms of the benefits of value and better products that consumers in the market will enjoy. By adopting the right marketing platform, the company will help satisfy specific needs of different market segments, thus benefiting the consumers in the long run. Research questions The subject of sustainable marketing strategies has received considerable academic attention. Theoretically, business organisations seek to achieve competitiveness in the market using different strategies which include reducing operational costs, differentiating their products and focusing on particular strategic objectives (Porter, 2008, n.pag). Although these approaches have remained of essence to business organisations for a long time, in the recent past, the need to incorporate sustainability as an important competitive strategy for businesses has emerged. This has arisen from the growing knowledge about the relationship between corporate social responsibility and overall market performance of products and services (Ren, Xie & Kabbendam, 2010, p. 82). Further, Jones, Clark-Hill and Comfort (2008, p. 128) identified the possibility of using marketing to change the behaviour and attitudes of consumers towards products and services as one of the key uses of marketing in sustainability. The following are the research questions for the proposed research. 1. In what ways will the life cycle of the product of the company be affected by sustainability? 2. In what ways will the product of the company be successfully differentiated by using sound social and environmental concerns as a basis? Aims and objectives In general, the need to address issues of corporate social responsibility within the marketing activities of a company may arise either from pressure from different stakeholders in the industry, including consumers, investors and regulatory bodies, or from the internal need to take advantage of existing demand for such products for increased profitability and growth (Urip, 2010, p. 4). For the case of the company, it can be seen that the need to incorporate sustainability within the marketing strategies and activities of the company arises from the existing demand for such products. Since this is the case, the main aim of the research will be as follows: to help the company successfully pursue sustainability through conventional product marketing and the marketing of the company itself. For this aim to be achieved, the research will help the company achieve the following objectives: 1. To ensure that the effects of sustainability on the company are fully analysed in the marketing platforms chosen. 2. To accurately communicate strategies that emphasise the environmental and social concerns of the company. Proposed research methods The proposed research will be carried out using a mixed-methodology framework. According to Weathington, Cunningham and Pittenger (2012, p. 409), a mixed-methodology framework in business research is necessary as a means of helping the researcher answer the research questions as clearly as possible. As such, both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected, analysed and interpreted to provide answers for the research questions. For qualitative data, interviews will be conducted with industry insiders on the subject of the best strategies to adopt when marketing a product that is considered sustainable. The persons to be interviewed will be selected by means of judgment sampling. This will be done as a way of saving on time and costs. The results of the interviews will be analysed using qualitative methods, most notably content analysis to provide expert opinion on how the life cycle of the product of the company will be affected by sustainability. Quantitative data in the research will be collected in the form a survey study using questionnaires. A random sample of consumers will be collected from the general population of consumers in the market for the product. The sample will be drawn using the stratified random sampling method so as to ensure that the population is stratified according to specific characteristics (Pellissier, 2008, p. 32). The data will then be analysed using quantitative techniques to provide insights into different ways in which the company can differentiate its product based on its sustainability history. Project plan, budget and timeline The research project will be carried out in a series of different but interrelated activities that will be distributed over a specific period of time. The following is a breakdown of key activities of the project and the tentative time frames allocated for each one of them. Diagram indicating the plan and timeline for the proposed research project Preliminaries and secondary data review will entail getting the necessary approvals and carrying out desk research to collect information about the subject of sustainability and marketing in general. Information will be accessed from relevant reports. Analysis and interpretation will entail coding, preparing and analysing the data collected from the field. Finally, the final report will be prepared and presented to the relevant offices. The following is a proposed budget for carrying out the research. The budget is based on general estimates of the costs of carrying out specific activities that make up the entire research process. Activity Explanation Costs (£) Secondary research Carrying out desk research 500 Data collection Quantitative data from a survey of general consumers 2,000 Qualitative data from interviews with industry insiders 1,500 Total 4,000 Issues to be considered To begin with, there will be need to adhere to different ethical issues that are associated with business research. According to Coldwell and Herbst (2004, p. 18), ethical issues in business research can be categorised into two groups: those that arise from the rights and responsibilities of the researcher and those that arise from the rights and obligations of the participants in the research. Care will be taken to ensure that issues such as gaining the consent of respondents as well as confidentiality and fairness of the information are taken care of in the course of carrying out the research. Secondly, it will be necessary to address the issue of validity and veracity of the data collected during the research. This is because both qualitative and quantitative methods of research have different forms of validity of the data (Weathington, Cunningham & Pittenger, 2012, p. 411). As such, care will be taken to ensure that there is a balance between the constraints of resources like time and the need for validity in the data collected and the interpretations made from it. Potential use of the research findings The outcomes of the research will generally be in two forms. In the first form, different ways in which the life cycle of the product of the company will be affected by sustainability will be identified. In the second form, several ways in which the company can use its social and environmental concerns to differentiate the product in the market will be identified. These results will be useful to different stakeholders in different ways. First of all, the results will be useful to the marketing department of the company as a way of guiding it in designing the right marketing mix for the product. Secondly, information from the findings of the research will be important to the management of the company in that it can be useful in designing the overall activities of the product which include manufacturing, marketing and distribution. Lastly, the results of the research will be important to the management of the company in that they will be used to develop a competitive strategy that is most appropriate for the competitive environment of the industry. The last issue that will be considered during the course of carrying out the research will be the economic importance of the information that will be obtained from the results. In carrying out the research, care will be taken to ensure that the benefits arising from the results exceed the costs of resources used in carrying out the research. Conclusion and recommendations In conclusion, the proposed research will be carried out to collect information that will be used to identify different ways in which the life cycle of the product of the company will be affected by sustainability as well as ways in which the company can successfully differentiate the product using sustainability. It has also been seen that the research, which will be carried out using a mixed-methodology framework, will provide information that will be useful to different stakeholders and for different purposes. Apart from the marketing department of the company which will use the information to develop an appropriate marketing mix for the product, the management of the company will use it to develop the most appropriate marketing strategies for the company. It is because of this potential usefulness that is recommended that the research project be carried out. References Coldwell, D. & Herbst, F. (2004). Business research. Cape Town: Juta Publishing. Iannuzzi, A. (2012). Greener products: The making and marketing of sustainable brands. Boca Raton: CRC Press. Jones, P., Clark-Hill, C. & Comfort, D. (2008). Marketing and sustainability. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 26(2), 123-130. Pellissier, R. (2008). Business research made easy. Cape Town: Juta & Company. Porter. M. E. (2008). Competitive strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. New York: The Free Press. Ren, L., Xie, G. & Kabbendam, K. (2010). Sustainable competitive advantage marketing innovation within firms: A pragmatic approach for Chinese firms. Management Research Review, 33(1): 79-89. Urip, S. (2010). CSR strategies: Corporate social responsibility for a competitive edge in emerging markets. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Weathington, B. L., Cunningham, C. J. L. & Pittenger, D. J. (2012). Understanding business research. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Read More