CASE ANALYSIS OF SHODH - MARKET RESEARCH FOR

ECONOMY HOUSING

Q1. Comment on Vaseem's understanding of the client's management decision

problem, market research problems, and information needs.

Ans. Vaseem was the MD of Shodh Marketing Research Agency based in Bengaluru.

Client’s management decision problem:

 The issue concerned the launch of housing projects in Bengaluru.

 In the economic residential area, the client required knowledge about market potential and
customer tendency.

Market Research Problems:

 To conduct a market survey.

 To be aware of the needs and requirements of the consumer.
 Gaining an understanding of client preferences and choices in Bangalore's economy.
 Forecasting demand at the economic level.
 To understand what is lacking from the current offerings.

Information Needs:

 Customers are looking for certain amenities and amenities.

 Customers' willingness to pay certain pricing.
 Target customers profile
 Research by using primary and secondary sources to gather information about our segment
and targeted customers.

Q2. Are the research designs proposed by Shodh appropriate?

Ans. Shodh proposed various research designs:

Secondary Research

 Competitor’s Analysis
 Helps in to gather information about the various players who are offering economy houses
to the middle-class group.
 Trends in this industry

Qualitative Research

 In Focus Group Discussions, play small games with target customers to understand their
psychology.
 To study about customer requirements.

Expert Interviews
  Interviews of experts and foreign players to know their ideology.
 SWOT Analysis
 To study the growth pattern of rivals.

Primary Research

 Projecting demand for listed sampling.

 Detailed information about the target consumers.
 Detailed Questionnaire

Q3. How could Shodh collect information on competitor activity and plans?

Ans. Shodh can collect information based on the following:

 They can seek information from the common suppliers.

 They can gather information from various social networking platforms.
 Information from brokage firm.
 To visit competitor’s site as customers to get an insight of what they are offering to the
customers.
 Interview with the experts and foreign players.

Q4. Develop a moderator/discussion guide for focus group in economy housing?

Ans. It is an outline used by the moderator to focus on a group to develop discussion.

Research Objectives:

 To know the market attractiveness of economy housing.

 Determining price perception.
 Target market for economy housing.

Respondent’s Profile:

 Participants are chosen from SEC C, B1, B2 socioeconomic strata

 Income range of the participants – INR 2-5 Million
 Male focus group in the age group of 30-55 years
 Female focus group in the age group of 25-50 years

Logistics:

Face to face interviews

Place: Bangalore

Date: Feb 5, 2012

Time: 4:00 pm -5:00 pm

Introduction:

We are Shodh research members. Our goal is to gain a better understanding of the market for
affordable housing and the expectations of potential buyers in terms of cost, product attributes, and
location.

Agenda:
We will start by asking simple questions to help the participants feel at ease. Like, who is your
favourite builder?

Do you believe that location is a significant consideration when making an investment?

Participant introduction:

Participants are required to give a brief introduction about their background and their opinions
about economically priced real estate segment.

Questions:

1. Would you like to invest in real estate?

2. If so, would you prefer budget friendly apartments?
3. Does nearness to the city play an important factor?
4. If you choose not to invest on this segment, can you state the reasons for the same?

Q5. What sampling approach should Shodh use?

Ans. Stratified sampling should be considered because we want to ensure representation from all
the elements and expect the interest to vary between the measurement of all elements. We
stratified the population by gender, to ensure equality in the representation from male and female.
Location preference, to ensure the type of residence that an individual is looking after.

Stratified sampling ensures more accuracy and relevance of the results by reducing the sample bias.

Shodh should base their sampling on the basis of the following groups in order to identify the target
segment out of the population.

● Income: Individuals earning 300000-500000 INR per annum.

● Gender: Male, Female or people who don’t want to reveal their identity can also be
considered.
● Location preference: Commercial or non-commercial area.
● Family Life-cycle: People lead a different life and based on that their needs differ and hence
a different style of residence.

Q6. Design a questionnaire for the study.

QUESTIONNAIRE

Name of the respondent:

Occupation:

Annual Income:

Age:

Gender:

Marital status:

1. Are you willing to buy a house in the next one year?

2. Would you like to buy an apartment or a villa?
3. What is the purpose of the purchase? Self-occupation or Investment?
4. How do you plan to finance the purchase?
5. What role would the brand name of the builder play in your selection?
6. What is your location preference while purchasing the apartment/villa in Bengaluru?
7. On what basis would you decide on the preferred location for your property?
8. Would you like to purchase an apartment/villa which is nearby a commercial area?
9. Would you be flexible purchasing an apartment away from the commercial area?
10. What is your affordability or maximum price that you are willing to spend on a 700-900 sq
ft.?
11. What are the basic amenities you’re looking for in any apartment?
12. What impact do infrastructure facilities have on your selection?
13. Any suggestions you would like to give?