Marketing Research Paper

How do businesses thrive? What makes one company more popular then the next? Well, many different things can come into play such as how well that company's product is or by word of mouth. But the best way for a company to truly get its message across would be through that company's business marketing plan. It is very important that large and small companies alike have their own marketing department specifically aimed to come up with and distributing marketing ideas not only at a local level, but if company has a corporate level as well. But what about those small companies which are trying to grow and branch out into new markets? The need for a well thought-out marketing plan is more important now then ever before. The Kudler Fine Foods gourmet grocery store is a good example of a company that has experienced significant growth and is now focused on expanding its services, improving the efficiency of its operations and increasing the consumer purchase cycle. First I will give a background and history of Kudler Fine foods. Next I will justify the importance of marketing research in the development of Kudler Fine food's marketing strategy and tactics as well as identify the areas where additional market research may be needed. Finally, I will analyze the importance of competitive intelligence as it relates to the development of Kudler Fine food's marketing strategy and tactics.

According to The Kudler Fine Foods website, Kathy Kudler was passionate about gourmet cooking and frustrated at having to travel all over town to gather the ingredients for one simple meal. Kathy Kudler decided to open her own gourmet food shop. Her vision was to create one store that would stock a wide selection of the freshest ingredients as well as all of the tools a gourmet cook could ever want. Kathy was certain that combining the convenience of one-stop shopping with reasonable prices would be a recipe for success. Her vision became a reality in 1998 with the opening of a La Jolla based store named "Kudler Fine Foods Gourmet Grocery Store". Her concept was an immediate success and in two years Kudlers expanded with the opening of a location in the city of Del Mar. The latest store opened in Encinitas in 2003 and they are already looking for just the right spot for another shop (Kudler Fine Foods, 2006). Kudler Fine Foods Gourmet Grocery Store sells anything one could fine in a normal grocery store such as; meat, seafood, produce, wine, cheese and dairy products. But the difference is that the products sold at Kudler Fine Foods are of the highest in gourmet quality.

Marketing research is a form of business research. It is a form of applied sociology which concentrates on understanding the behaviors, whims and preferences, of consumers in a market-based economy (Wikipeda, 2006). It is easy to justify the importance of marketing research in the development of Kudler Fine food's marketing strategy and tactics. The marketing strategy and tactics need to include what demographics would shop at a gourmet grocery store such as this, and what are the best sources to advertise through. For magazine advertisements, Kudler should research what type of magazines people who are into gourmet food read. If sports magazines such as Sports Illustrated or Sports weekly show that their demographic consumes mostly beer and common foods, then these magazines would not be the best outlets to advertise in. If business marketing research shows that cooking and health type of magazines would be more popular for Kudler then they would be the obvious choice.

All of Kudler Fine Foods Gourmet Grocery Store's are currently only based in California, where health and gourmet eating is a very popular way of life. But if the company was to try to branch out of California into other states, the possible locations would be the areas where additional market research may be needed. Behaviors, whims and preference of consumers in each state are not the same as another. They are