Business Research Process

Business Research Process

Sherri Sanchez

RES/351

September 17th, 2012

Burdette Hansen

Business Research Process

Working at Jack in the Box Corporate offices in the marketing department supporting Consumer Insights, Menu Marketing, and Marketing Communications, involves me in the process of business research daily.

The process includes studying all aspects of the company. Identifying competitors is crucial in order for Jack in the Box to ensure we are making sound business decisions based on the market needs. This step in the process is important in helping to identify our strengths and weaknesses and how customers view us in comparison to other fast food companies.

Jack in the Box uses numerous different research sources. Outside agencies, a secondary source, such as NPD Group, are used to determine sales trends and what our target audience is looking for. Another agency used is Stratta Research. Stratta performs food tasting on new products or changing products to obtain the target demographics opinion of the products before launching to the market. Primary research allows Jack in the Box to study the needs and product preferences of its customers to aid the Menu Marketing Team when determining what products to launch and in what market. A customer satisfaction survey is an additional research method Jack in the Box uses to help determine how satisfied a customer is with our food, our prices, our customer service, and our restaurants cleanliness.

After gathering and analyzing data from primary and secondary research, Jack in the Box can then determine specific market trends or consumer preferences to develop or alter business and marketing strategies. If the need for a change has been defined, the company will come up with alternatives and test the changes in a similar manner before launching the change to the system. Statistical models are often part of the analysis stage hoping better to predict the future behavior of the customers...