Marketing Research For Opinion Poll And Electoral: Sampling Frame And Sampling Approach

Alternative ways of defining Sampling Frame

Discuss about the Marketing Research for Opinion Poll and Electoral.

The topic discusses the launching of new Zest Sedan by Tata Motors, based on which the marketing research has been conducted. The research starts with the identification of ways of defining a sampling frame for the research and here the cluster sampling is found to be the most suitable. The various ways of defining the sampling approach are illustrated as well and based on the analysis; the non-probability sampling approach is the most effective. Lastly, the previous research approaches are assessed and reviewed for determining the efficiency of the research through delivery of good research outcomes (Armstrong et al. 2015). 

Based on the report considering the case study of Zest Sedan unveiled by Tata Motors in the recent time period, the marketing research has been done to focus on the various research methods and find out the most effective outcomes. The positive outcomes will mainly show how much the customers have been satisfied with the new care, i.e., Zest Sedan, that has been launched and whether it has managed to capture the various market segments properly or not. The sampling techniques are managed for considering the right samples and ensure that that proper research is done on the Zest Sedan that has been introduced by Tata Motors. There are both probability as well as non-probability sampling methods that can help in conducting the sampling process and maintain the validity and authenticity of the research that will be conducted (Babin and Zikmund 2015). While conducting research, it is important to clarify all the important things and define the population for remaining specific as well as collect data in a much fruitful manner. The sampling techniques help in selecting the right sample size, ensure that all the samples are part of the research conduction process for gathering data, and maintain the efficiency of the research effectively. There are both probability and non-probability sampling techniques that are used for carrying out the sampling process with ease and effectiveness. One of the major issues faced was to understand the feasibility of the study, and to overcome such issue, a sampling frame for the research on Zest Sedan has been defined for conducting the research in a fruitful manner (Burns and Bush 2013). It is often difficult to select a huge amount of information and data from many samples, and it can be time-consuming as well. In such situations, it is important to select a subset of the large population group, and this shall be done in a deliberate manner, though based on the aim and purpose of the research. There are various ways or approaches to defining a sampling frame like an opinion poll, electoral register, etc. The alternative ways of defining sampling frame could include records of customers who had purchased the Zest Sedan introduced by Tata Motors. The door to door survey could be used as well for selecting the responses of customers and check whether their needs and require nets had been fulfilled or not by purchasing the car (Crouch and Housden 2012).

Alternative ways of defining Sampling Approach

The population who have purchased the car is selected at first and then randomly a particular number of individuals have been considered as the samples. Suppose 200 people are proud owners of the Tata Motors Zest Sedan and as it is a huge sample size, so 50 people have been selected as samples randomly. In case such sampling frame is not considered, there can be certain limitations that can prevent random selection of samples because there are many individuals within the population who may not have the same probability of being selected as samples during the research (Dawar and Arora 2016). For that, the non-probability sample is considered. There is also cluster sampling, which is effective when the sample size is huge, and for that, it is quite difficult to undertake the research on such sample. To overcome this kind of issue, certain areas within the country are selected, and then samples are selected randomly from those particular areas. The political and social behaviours and attitudes of people are shaped by the way people live and work, and people within the cluster can be similar and sometimes different as well (Hair Jr and Lukas 2014). It is quite complex because successive random sampling is done starting with large clusters and then the sampling of subunits, furthermore followed by the sampling of smaller subunits. In spite of these issues, cluster sampling is considered as economically feasible and more practical, when compared to the other ways of selecting a sampling frame. Thus, the most effective way of defining a sampling frame could be the cluster sampling (Levy and Lemeshow 2013).

Sampling approaches have been undertaken for conducting the research on Zest Sedan by selecting a particular group or sample and gain their responses. There are both probability and non-probability sampling approaches that have their own benefits and drawbacks. For probability sampling approach, members remain fixed whereas, in case of non-probability sampling approach, there is no such probability that individuals need to be part of the sampling process. The probability sampling approach is followed when every respondent has equal chances of being selected as samples and thus it is known as the random sampling. The opportunity for selection of samples remains fixed and known (Malhotra, Birks and Wills 2013). Based on the research topic, Tata Motors wants to assess the views and opinions of its customers regarding the quality of car that has been purchased by them. The sampling frame is organised at first, and then the company manages computerised records for selecting the customers randomly and gain their feedbacks and responses based on the Zest Sedan cars purchased by them (Singh and Mangat 2013).

Why the approach expressed in the earlier sections will deliver an effective research outcome

The alternative way of sampling approach could be the non-probability sampling approach which consisted of purposive sampling and convenient sampling.  Here all the individuals are not provided with equal opportunities of becoming the part of the sampling process. There is no such probability of getting selected randomly, because the selection is purely based on the subjective judgment of the researcher, i.e., here the company.  Purposive sampling approach is followed to select the samples according to their characteristics (Takeyasu 2013). The main purpose of using the purposive sampling is not to select the samples randomly and rather create samples to create a generalisation of data. It is supported by quantitative data collected from the samples. The convenience sampling allows for conducting interviews with the managers of Tata Motors. Based on the convenient time from their busy schedule they are allowed to take part in the sampling process to provide their useful opinions and ideas regarding the selling of the newly launched Zest Sedan along with how well it has fared in terms customer satisfaction within the business environment. By following this sampling approach, 50 customers and 5 managers could be selected as sample sizes during the research process (Wilson et al. 2012). Thus, the non-probability sampling approach could be recommended for conducting the research and bring out positive outcomes.

By following the previous sections, it could be understood that the post positivism research philosophy and deductive research approaches were followed while conducting the research fruitfully. The deductive research approach is a top-down approach that develops a theory at first, create a hypothesis, manage observations and finally make conformation related to the research topic. As the topic is based on the newly launched Zest Sedan by Tata Motors, so to obtain the opinions and responses of customers, it is important to develop theories or even use the existing theories to develop a hypothesis, observe the various findings and finally make a confirmation. It would be easy to observe the patterns of data and develop new theories that could maintain the effectiveness of the research (Armstrong et al. 2015). From the above sections, it had been seen that among the various research designs including the exploratory, explanatory and descriptive research designs, the descriptive research design was considered as the most suitable. It not only helped in predicting the future and how well the new car could be successful as well as focus on what and how could the customers be more satisfied. The descriptive research design as also useful for establishing a groundwork to explore the new areas for obtaining new data and information and understand the purpose of research in a detailed manner. The collection of data included gathering quantitative data from the respondents who were selected randomly while the qualitative data was gathered from the managers of the organization (Babin and Zikmund 2015). The articles, documents and internet web sites that were found relevant to the research topic provided validated information, which further maintained the reliability and authenticity of the research.

• It is recommended to provide some additional time for conducting the research in much more details because the time allotted was not sufficient for completion of the research.
• The cluster sampling should be done properly so that the large and smaller subunits of the population does not get mixed, that might create complexities while finding positive outcomes for the research.
• For the company, i.e., Tata Motors, it is recommended to make other variants of Zest Sedan available in the Australian market for fulfilling the demands and preferences of different market segments.
• It is also recommended to follow proper digital marketing strategies to make people aware of the newly launched car and create brand awareness as well.
• Segmentation of market is recommended along with continuous interaction with the customers for identifying the areas that need improvements.

References

Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education.

Babin, B.J. and Zikmund, W.G., 2015. Exploring marketing research. Cengage Learning.

Burns, A.C. and Bush, R.F., 2013. Marketing research. Pearson Higher Ed.

Crouch, S. and Housden, M., 2012. Marketing research for managers.

Dawar, D. and Arora, S., 2016. Event Study on Stock Prices of Tata Motors-A Study on Launch of Zest. Wealth: International Journal of Money, Banking & Finance, 5(1).

Gupta, M.I. and Joshi, N.M., CREATING VALUE THROUGH NUDGES IN CARS.

Hair Jr, J.F. and Lukas, B., 2014. Marketing research (Vol. 2). McGraw-Hill Education Australia.

Levy, P.S. and Lemeshow, S., 2013. Sampling of populations: methods and applications. John Wiley & Sons.

Malhotra, N.K., Birks, D.F. and Wills, P., 2013. Essentials of marketing research. Pearson.

Singh, R. and Mangat, N.S., 2013. Elements of survey sampling(Vol. 15). Springer Science & Business Media.

Takeyasu, K., 2013. Consumers’ Activities for Brand Selection?Questionnaire Investigation to Automobile Purchasing Case. Journal of Computations & Modelling, 3(2), pp.151-182.

Wilson, A., Zeithaml, V.A., Bitner, M.J. and Gremler, D.D., 2012. Services marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm. McGraw Hill.