TEST MARKET MONITOR – DEWDROP SOAP (B)

GULSHAN DHANANI | SECTION D | 18329

Objectives of the test market monitor:

Continuous monitoring of Dewdrops’ soap health after launch by:
a. Measurement of brand health – attitudinal, behavioral
b. Efficacy of marketing mix – product, price, place and promotion

Agency A’s proposal Agency B’s proposal Agency C’s proposal

Process of Behavioral – consumer panel
study (fixed set reporting
continuously) – throughout test
market period - LONGITUDINAL
Attitudinal – separate samples
at regular intervals – once-in-
two months surveys (dip-sticks)
Cost in Rs. 6,50,000
Pros Behavioral measures observed
in a panel which will be remain
constant during the course of
study. Attitudinal data would be
gathered in regular intervals.
Collecting data through diary
recordings will provide more
reliable data.
Considering households as a
sampling unit is more apt
considering than a shop.
Cons Running two parallel studies on
the same panel could lead to
disparity in data.
Buyers might not actually fill
diaries regularly which will defy
the purpose of data collection.
Monthly survey – each report
will contain all the information
specified in the brief – personal
interviews, not anonymous
through a questionnaire -
EXPLORATORY
9,00,000
Single person would be
interviewed for both behavioral
and attitudinal dimensions.
A structured questionnaire
format would lead to
homogeneity of information
collected.
Bigger sample size will provide
more data points.
The sampling plan might suffer
from a self-selection bias where
around 100 shops are being
randomly selected and
customers visiting only those
shops and purchasing premium
soap are being interviewed.
Adding to that, the population
of shops is restrained to the list
the agency has.
Cost quoted by the agency is
very high compared to the
other two proposals.
Behavioral – 8 “fact” finding
studies - DESCRIPTIVE
Attitudinal – 1 “feelings” related
study, 6/8 months after launch –
respondent could be any female
adult in the household, different
user groups
6,20,000
Sampling plan is representative of
different awareness and purchase
attitudes through quotas for
various groups.
Proposal with the lowest cost.
Separate groups for attitudinal and
behavioral measures will reduce
bias.
The “feelings” study is done in one
shot that shows detailed data
about customer perceptions will
not be available for the test
market.
The choice of female respondent
(rather than the decision maker,
choosing any adult female (over
18)) may not provide information
about the actual customers.
Presence of open-ended questions
will make responses less
homogeneous.

On the mentioned evaluation criteria of – appreciation of situation, specific measures to obtain

information, research design and cost of study – proposal by Agency A seems the most favorable, whereas
proposal by Agency B seems the least favorable due to its high cost and low flexibility.