North South University

MBA/EMBA Program, Summer 2021

BUS-535 (Business Research Methods)
Midterm Examination
Full Marks: 30
_____________________________________________________________________________
Name: Ashikur Rahman ID: 2025219660
1. Briefly describe the major functions/services of any two from the following market research
companies in Bangladesh:
a) Nielsen
https://nielseniq.com/global/en/
b) KANTAR Research (Bangladesh) Pvt Ltd.
https://www.kantar.com/locations/bangladesh/#_=
c) Somra-MBL Limited
https://somra.company/

Answer to the question No-1

a) Nielsen

Nielsen is a globally known data analytics firm. Nielsen helps the organizations by providing
them with a complete and accurate view of the market and the market's targeted consumers.
Nielsen has a presence in more than hundred countries and their services covering whole world
population. Nielsen provides clients with data about what consumers watch and what they buy
on a global and local basis. Most of the Investors and companies use Nielsen's ratings to
predict consumer trends. It enables the firm to understand the external environment carefully and
formulate strategies according to the data collected. From January 2021 as it completes its
split from the Global Media Business then it will be known as NielsenIQ.

Major functions of Neilson:

 Nielsen is best known for these Nielsen ratings, which measure the audiences for television,
radio, and newspapers in media markets.
 Nielsen provides Nielsen's ratings to Investors and companies use to predict consumer trends.
 Nielsen also provides complete and accurate view or report of the market and help them to
target actual customer.

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 Nielsen also provides marketing mix modeling and media analytics for Investors and
companies.
 Nielsen provides the effectiveness of marketing to determine optimal marketing mix
modeling.

b) KANTAR Research (Bangladesh) Pvt Ltd

Kantar is one of the world’s leading data, insights and consulting company. If it comes to
understanding the peoples think, feel and act around the world then Kantar have a complete,
unique and rounded understanding of people. Kantar research operated in globally over 90
markets. Kantar Research is a agency who delivers insights and actionable recommendations for
businesses worldwide.

Major functions of KANTAR Research:

 The Main function of this company is to help clients understand what’s happening and based
on that they help clients to make present & future decision.
 KANTAR Research provides a universal understanding of consumer behavior through its
market research.
 KANTAR Research helps the firms to grow their brand and manage customer experience
management.
 KANTAR Research evaluates and analysis business analytics and provide service on this.

 KANTAR Research provides recommendations and consultations in innovation and

reformation of the industries.
 KANTAR Research invests in Data Management. Data Investment Management is about
investing in data to make it useful rather than sleepy.
 KANTAR Research creates powerful ideas based on deep insights to connect brands’
messaging with audiences in meaningful ways and channels at meaningful moments.

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2. Suppose you are the head of brands in Square Toiletries Bangladesh Ltd. and your
company planning to introduce a new anti-hair fall shampoo in Bangladesh. In this
circumstance, you need to conduct a market potential research. What primary and
secondary data should you collect and how are you going to collect those?

Answer to the question No-2

Square Toiletries Ltd is planning to launch a New Shampoo brand in the anti-Hair fall category.
So as a head of the brand it is very important to know about that categories customer. For that
reason the primary responsibility of a head of brand is to conduct a market potential research in
the target market. Now a day’s research plays a major role in deciding these kinds of brand
launch decisions. And for market potential research we have to work for these things-

Current scenario of hair fall problem in Bangladesh:

Hair loss is always a topic that equally affects both men and women. In our country both men
and women are faces this problem now days after a certain age. It’s true factor that men are more
likely to lose their hair than women, mostly due to male pattern baldness but thinning hair and
hair loss are also common in women and this situation is not less demoralizing. In many cases,
there are different ways to treat both male and female hair loss. But it all depends on the cause.
The main cause of hair fall problem in Bangladesh is extra physical stress, Genetically, Lack of
protein, Male pattern baldness, Female pattern hair loss, Pregnancy, Heredity, Underlying
medical reasons, Dramatic weight loss, Over-styling, Ageing are the common factor for hair fall.
But the main cause of hair fall problem in Bangladesh is that the people of Bangladesh are not so
much aware about their hair care and about their food habit.

Market potential for anti-hair fall shampoo in Bangladesh:

Now days the shampoo market is observing a rapid growth due to changing consumer demand
for organic and natural hair care products. The shampoos used by the people of bangladesh are
based on their hair, namely, oily, and dry. Some factors, such as increasing product innovations,
growing men’s grooming and other purpose shampoos incress the growing demand for organic
and natural shampoos. Now days bangladeshi peoples are more concern about hair and about

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personal attire for this resone the hair sallon or hair cair products demand also rises which helps
to drive the market. Bangladeshi people are more concern to reduce the risk of damages caused
by excessive chemicals. For that reason the demand for natural and organic variants of dry
shampoo is rising rapidly globally. According to bangladesh sampoo market research report
Bangladesh shampoo market is forecasted to reach USD 79.89 million by 2024 growing at a
CAGR of 6.1%during the forecast period (2019 - 2024).

Analyzing Competition:

In our country the global brands are gaining a prominent presence in the local shampoo market,
driven by faster growth in demand because of the low-priced focused population. Reasonable
and available products are popular among low-income groups, students, and travelers. In the hair
care product industry the main players are Marico, Square, Kohinoor, Unilever and P&G. Now
day’s natural shampoos are witnessing increased demand from the customers and for that reason
the leading companies shifting their focus. Most of the Bangladesh is rural, which has been the
target for the companies when they introduced new product and that help to led high sales. So we
have to offer new launched shampoo with best quality and the price should be as much
reasonable to those companies as possible. So we need to have a deep study to analyse our
competitor before introduce a new anti-hair fall shampoo in Bangladesh.

Analyzing Potential Customer Base:

We have to analyze potential customer base for launching new anti-hair fall shampoo in
Bangladesh. We need to understand who is my consumers and who need this. Basically the mid
age people who are 18-45 year, both male and female from middle-upper class, Lifestyle -
Outgoes, Fashionable and from Urban/sub urban area who suffer in hair fall they are the base
consumers.
On the basis of this target market we conducting the process of collecting primary and secondary
research.

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Data collection method
Primary Data Sources-
Primary data souces provides direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person or work
of art. Primary data sources provide the original materials on which other research is based and
enable students and other researchers to get as close as possible to what actually happened during
a particular event or time period. Primary data involves the information directly obtained from
the first hand sources like survey, Face to face conversation with respondents, personal interview,
experimentation, and observation etc. I need to collect the data from Square Toiletries
Bangladesh Ltd target consumers and work with their feedback. By this I can collect my primary
data. Those primary data is not been previously published in the website or anywhere.
Survey: Survey is one of the most popular primary sources of data collection method which is
used to collect quantitative information about the product in a population. For doing market
potential research for introduce a new anti-hair fall shampoo in Bangladesh we need to do
surveys in different areas for collecting the data even in public and private sectors. The research
person contacted respondents by personally, telephonically or through mail. This survey method
takes a lot of time and money but the data collected are of high accuracy.
Observations: Observation as one of the primary sources of data which obtaining information
involves measuring variables or gathering of data necessary for measuring the variable under
investigation. For doing market potential research for introduce a new anti-hair fall shampoo in
Bangladesh we can observe the hair care center and the target market to know more about their
problem and preferences.
Interview: Interviewing is widely used process of primary data collection. In market potential
research interview is primarily used to gain an understanding the underlying reasons for using
anti hair fall shampoo and it help to know the reason which create motivations for people’s
attitudes, preferences or behavior.
Questionnaires: Questionnaire is one of the primary sources of data collection method by whom
the researcher collect data within a short time. For doing market potential research for introduce
a new anti-hair fall shampoo in Bangladesh researcher have to set a questionnaire to bring out the
reason for launching a shampoo. In this method the respondents are ticking or answer some
questions that he considers appropriate

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Secondary data sources-
Secondary data refers to data that is collected by someone other for any purposes which can
relate to answer your research question. Secondary data collection method takes less time to
collect data. Censuses, information collected by government departments, organizational records
and data that was originally collected for other research are the common sources of secondary
data. Here for market potential research for anti-hair fall shampoo in the market we can collect
data from Public records, Government publications, statistical and historical documents,
Technical or trade journals and Business documents.

3. Runner Automobiles Bangladesh Ltd. wants to boost its sales in the local market;
therefore, it needs to know the factors bikers consider before buying a new motorcycle
and it also wants to know its competitive position in comparison with other brands.
Now prepare a complete research proposal as an independent researcher.

Answer to the question No-3

------Research Proposal------

The Motorcycle Industry in Bangladesh:

Unveiling Market Insights

1.0 Introduction

The motorcycle market in Bangladesh is incressing day by day. Nowadays most families earning
more than minimum wage have a motorcycle in their family. the financial condition of rural
areas are improving day by day and the use of motorcycle among the young people across the
country has tremendously increased over the last few year. In recent year the local motorbike
manufacturers have already grabbed around 23 to 25 per cent market share. And they are
boosting their sales because the new budgets have proposed to increase tax on imported
motorbikes. From local motorcycle manufacturer Runner automobiles is in the leading position
and they are now planning to export motorcycles to other countries, including India, Nepal and
some African countries.

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Runner group is one of the largest conglomerates operating in the Bangladesh market with
diversified businesses like motorcycles, Commercial vehicles (trucks and pickup vans),
automatic brick manufacturing, Properties and IT. Runner Group, opening their business
ventures with the flagship company Runner Automobiles Limited (RAL) in the year 2000, has
developed as a prominent business conglomerate in Bangladesh. Runner Motors Limited was
legally commissioned on 12th October 2004 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Eicher Motors Ltd. of India
inked in 2004, RML has been playing the role of Special Distributor of famous Eicher brand
trucks and pickups in Bangladesh.

Over the years, Runner Automobiles limited has been very successful in proving a stage to
assigning solid development in the contemporary promptly altering transportation demand.
Runner Motorcycles received the government's recognition as a bike manufacturing company in
2011. Runner motorcycles now has the capacity to produce 500 bikes every day. In the factory
Around 800 people worked. And their factory is at Bhaluka in Mymensingh. Runner locally
manufactures most of the bike accessories, such as pipes and sheet metals, while plastic, seats,
indicator lights and chains are supplied by vendors.

Runner produces 12 different motorcycles ranging in size from 80 to 150 CC. In Bangladesh
Runner has become the market leader in sub 100 CC motorcycle segment. Runner offering
different motorcycles of various capacities and models. The main product of the Company is 2
Wheeler. The products are sold to Customers and Corporate clients over Dealers, Company
Owned Company Operated stores, over tenders and recently initiated online retail mode. There
are strong local brands like Walton, Jamuna, Singer & then there are international brands with
giants like Honda, Hero, TVS, Bajaj also available in the market. Overall, the growth projection
of the industry for the upcoming years is a a CAGR of above 6% in value terms. Therefore, the
motorcycle industry is getting more competitive with time and international brands started their
manufacturing process in our country.

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2.0 Research Problem

Local motorcycle manufacturers are currently the market leader holding approximately 23-25%
market share. In this research we need to study and identify how we can boost sales of motorbike
in local market and competitive position in comparison with other brands. And for that runner
motorcycle needs to know about the constantly changing customers’ minds, assess customer
perceptions to different attributes on other brands, examine customer experiences with different
brands, identify customer weak-points, and measure the effectiveness of its promotional
programs on targeted customer. Thus, runner automobiles needs to conduct a comprehensive
brand audit to know the brand in terms of its sources and effects of brand equity and recommend
a set of suggestions for improving the brand image and creating a loyal customer base. We need
to know the factors bikers consider before buying a new motorcycle and also need to know the
competitor of the market and the competitive positions in comparison with others brand.

3.0 Scope of the Study

The main objective of this study is to have clear insights into the factors bikers consider before
buying a new motorcycle and identify the competitive position of Runner Motorcycle as a brand.
The study can be performed to undertake a complete brand audit through examining customer
level of brand awareness, perceptions, attitudes and experience with the brand. The study can be
conducted in the following areas:-
 To identify the present state of Runner Motors Ltd and its market share in terms of urban and
rural markets compared to its competitors.
 To identify the brand’s current positioning, brand associations and brand imagery in the
marketplace and examining the gaps between customers’ expectations.

 Profiling Runner Motor cycle customers in terms of geographic, demographic, physiographic,

and behavioral attributes.
 To identify the strengths of Runner Motor cycle together with its weaknesses or
inconsistencies and opportunities for the improvement and new market developments.
 Identify the factors customer keep in mind before they buy a motorbike both in terms of
Runners and for other Brands.

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 Conducting a brand audit that how customer see Runner motorbike comparing to its major
competitor like Yamaha, Hero, Bajaj Etc.
 Identifying the strengths and opportunities Runner motors for improvement and how they can
boost up there sales in local market by looking into their Sales and Marketing Activities

4.0 Research Design

Type of Study:
In this research we try to findout the factors bikers consider before buying a new motorcycle and
competitive position of runner bike. And for that reasone, we propose a mix of Qualitative and
Quantitative approach for the study.

Target Market
In this study our target market is local consumers who usually use bike, young customer mainly
25-35 years aged people both in rural and urban areas, customers of the competitive brands and
channel members.And also with some Industry experts from inside and outside the Runner
Automobiles.
Sample frame, size and Technique
In this study a sample of 300 Runner customers and 200 competitors customers from end-user
groups will be chosen. If the complete list of Runner Motor cycle customers is available with the
company then the simple stratified random sampling method will be applied for selecting sample
respondents. If not a combination of convenience and judgmental sampling techniques will be
used. Based on convenience sampling technique the competitor customers will be taken. The
respondents in all the eight divisions will represent their to complete their duty. A panel of 5
experts from the industry will also be selected for expert opinions from the industry. On the basis
of critical sampling system all the experts will be selected.

Method of Data Collection and Instrument Used

For achieving the specific objective of this study, we have to collect the related data both from
primary & secondary sources. We will collect data from the customer of the Runner, expected
customer and their authorized dealer. We also try to get online survey & face to face interview.
The survey method will be used to collect necessary data from Runner customers, competitor’s
customers, and retailers. In the online survey we will set multiple choice questions and in the
face to face meeting we will use both close-ended and open-ended questions. We will also try to

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arrange focus on the End-users of the bike and Industry experts. Overall 5-point business
research methods 11 Liker Scale will be used to analysis the customer knowledge, preference,
thinking, behavior, preference, and satisfaction.
For the secondary research we will use online journal, newspaper, website etc. Scanning
marketing environment, Marketing aptitude, studying some trade papers, etc. will be used in this
regard. And the survey questionnaire will be developed following the scientifically prescribed
method.

Data Analysis
For the analyzing the qualitative data the descriptive method will be applied. For quantitative
data SPSS, Excel will be the primary tool to analyze the data’s. We will take help of R if
Required.

Flow Chart of Survey Method

For this survey we maintain a sequence of tasks starting from the issuing work order by the final
report submission is shown in the following picture.

Issuing work order by client

Responsibility of firm
Questionnaire development

Questionnaire Finalizing
Responsibility of client

Field recruit, briefing and Qs printing

Fieldwork and monitoring

Scrutiny of questionnaire

Data entry

Data scrutiny

Analysis of Data

Compiling the Final Report

Feedback on the report

Final report submission

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5.0 Budget

Costs of the Project:

The project requires a large amount of data collection and for that we need a large amount of
volunteer from eight district and this project also need expert consultants from university and
industry. Preparing questionnaires for Runner motorcycle customers and competitive customers,
conducting pilot survey for the final questionnaires and interviewers involves a major amount of
costs. Total time duration for this research is 10-11 weeks and the cost for this research will be
180-200k BDT

Mode of Payments:
At the time of work order 30% of the total cost for the project needs to be paid for questionnaire
and volunteer training. The existing amount will be cleared after submitting the final report.

6.0 Timeline

Tasks week week week week week week week week week week
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Planning the Outline
Drafting the
proposal
Questionaire Design
Executing the
Survey
Data Analysis
Compiling the Final
Report
Feedback on report
Final Report
Preparation

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 Appendix

1. https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/bangladesh-two-wheeler-market/3188.html
2. https://web.archive.org/web/20160220221719/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-
2565780511.html
3. https://www.thedailystar.net/business/runner-starts-exporting-motorbikes-nepal-1348882
4. https://www.runnerbd.com/runner-group/about.php
5. https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/bangladesh-shampoo-market

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