Target Corporation

Executive Summary

The Winthrop University Marketing Research class has been given the task of measuring student's knowledge, awareness, and perception of credit. Our team, in particular, is responsible for measuring the undergraduate population's awareness of credit. This objective was met by conducting quantitative research. A survey of 25 questions was administered to 150 students who fit the target profile: undergraduate students not currently enrolled in the marketing research course. The survey data was coded and then analyzed using the SPSS program. The research conclusions were obtained by interpreting the analyzed data.

The research conclusions profile the respondents as sophomore females, between the ages of 18-20 years old. Most were either Caucasian or African American, and the majority of respondents were also employed.

Respondents realize the importance of credit, yet seem to lack interest in it at this time. However, the findings report that they are not entirely opposed to learning more about credit. To appeal to the target, Flex Mortgage should emphasize the importance of establishing good credit at this stage in the students' lives. In addition, Flex Mortgage should also demonstrate the consequences of bad credit, and the amount of time it takes to repair credit once it has been damaged.

We propose that Flex Mortgage offer seminars on campus, free of charge, in order to spread the word about the importance of credit and develop an interest and understanding of the subject among the target, college students. This could, in turn, result in more business for Flex Mortgage as they tap into this market.

Introduction to Client, Research Problem, & Research Objectives

Flex Mortgage is a locally based and operated mortgage firm that has been in the Carolinas for 10 years. It boasts of excellent service and 100% customer satisfaction. Its mission statements and values are:

* We have a "can do" spirit

* We believe that all things are possible

* We are not afraid to change with the times or go outside the box

* We have a sense of urgency and need to excel in our business

* The customer comes first

* Service is our specialty

Tina Perkins is a senior loan officer and she specializes in residential lending. She has been acknowledged for receiving 100% customer satisfaction, which relates to the firm's values. She believes that the reason why her clients become customers for life is due to her philosophy: "Treat others as you would like to be treated."

During her lecture to the class, she raised the issue of credit scores. She asked whether the students knew what their credit scores were. From this experiment, it was observed that the majority of the class did not know what a credit score was, let alone what their scores were.

Some other issues she raised pertained to the qualification of obtaining loans. She stated that firms consider credit scores among other things, but this was the most important aspect when qualifying for a loan. She said that most of the people who she had dealt with had no idea as to why they constantly did not qualify to obtain loans from banks or other institutions. Majority of these candidates lacked a "good score," which currently lies at 660. One of the major reasons that people had bad credit was falling back on their payments or not having credit at all. She said that paying bills with checks was the easiest way to build credit. However, if one did not wish to use this as a payment option, acquiring a credit card was the best option. Nevertheless, one has to maintain a positive balance and make payments on time.

Ms. Perkins also informed the class that the better the credit score, the better discounts people received. A score above 660 meant that one has the credibility to make payments on time. She further explained that scores were not gender or racial biased and anyone who had a good credit could qualify for whatever loans they sought as long as they met the requirements. Another tie to credit, she said, is insurance and car payments, which in today's society are necessities. If for whatever reason someone did not have a credit score it would be very hard to finance a car or get insurance as their credit behavior showed negative patterns. She warned students about damaged credit. The time it takes to repair "damaged credit" varies anywhere between 5-7 yrs.

The main objective of the research was to know the behaviors students elicit towards credit awareness. It did not matter whether the results were positive or negative.

As pertinent to the research objective, credit awareness, the target audience was Winthrop undergraduate students. The only restriction was that surveyed students could not be enrolled in the Marketing Research course (MKTG 482).

Research Questions

The research objective was to determine the level of credit awareness among Winthrop University undergraduate students. Based on this statement, these are the research questions that were important to analyze in order to answer our research objective and identify the level of credit awareness among the target audience:

Research Questions

1. How many Winthrop University undergraduate students know what a credit score is?

2. How much do Winthrop University undergraduate students know about credit?

3. Do Winthrop University undergraduate students think credit is easy or hard to understand?

4. How important is credit to Winthrop University undergraduate students?

5. How interested are Winthrop University undergraduate students in learning about credit?

6. How much do Winthrop University undergraduate students think about credit?

7. What are the usual credit behaviors of Winthrop University undergraduate students?

a. Do they pay their bills on time?

b. How often do they use their checking accounts?

c. Do they like to pay by cash?

d. Do they like to pay by credit card?

e. Do