Marketing Research Proposal
Blackberry
1. Executive Summary
The research conducted on BlackBerry, UAE tries to find the reasons for rapidly declining market share by analyzing customer preferences and brand awareness. It does so using survey questionnaires and interviews. The data obtained from a sample size of 60 respondents will be analyzed using elementary statistical models such as percentages, mean, median and mode and will be presented via charts and graphs. The final project will be submitted by May 2013.
2. Background
Research In Motion (RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry solution in 1999. The blackberry phone came in market during the 1999, but it nowhere looked like the current models and was a fast-growing trend. In 2003, blackberry released their first smartphone (us.blackberry.com 2012). BlackBerry also expanded from smartphones to the growing field of Tablets, by introducing the BlackBerry PlayBook and also various support business software and accessories (Bbscnw.com 2003) As of 2012, BlackBerry constituted a large chunk of about 10% market share in the mobile industry, with the US (bgr.com 2012). and also stood the 4th in the Best Canadian Brands (Rankingthebrands.com 2012) The reported profit for the current financial year is of 1.2 billion USD (bbcnews.com 2012)
In the past five years Blackberry made a drastic change in the way people communicate, specifically targeting the younger generation. Blackberrys main aim is to develop socializing. In the past 5 years since the blackberry messenger became popular, it changed the scenario. People could easily stay in touch and text unlimited from different parts of the world (us.blackberry.com 2012).
3. Problem Definition and Research Objectives
BlackBerry faces an enormous problem as they are rapidly loosing market share and are dropping sales. The research aims to find: Understand awareness, trial and usage of BlackBerry products.
Understand factors that are the driving purchase decisions Understand the positioning opportunities relative to the competition. Various applications that can satisfy their technological needs.
4. Research Design
The research will consider a sample size of 60 respondents, all aged between 18-25. Restrictions would be the age, location (based within the UAE) and that the respondent has been using a cell phone in the past one year. The data will be collected via surveys and in-depth interviews. Instruments for the same would include close-ended questionnaires and face-to-face interviews.
5. Data analysis and reporting
Once collected, the quantitative data will be categorized and prioritized. For analysis, the frequency of a particular response to a
question will be calculated as a percentage and the data will be illustrated using tables and bar charts. Central tendency of the data will be calculated using the mode (most frequent response) as the data are represented by ordinal numbers. Also, data will be analyzed by calculating the mean response and the normal distribution around the mean.
6. Costs and Timetable
The estimated costs are considered a maximum of AED 100. The time framework for the assignment is as below:
December 2012 - January 2013: Review of literature Draft literature review February 2012: Compile, pilot and review questionnaire Administer questionnaire March 2012: Final collection of questionnaire Data analysis April 2012: Final writing of project report. May 2013 Submission of report
7. Bibliographies
BBC News (2012) Blackberry-maker to shift focus. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17557177 [Accessed: 12 Dec 2012]. Bbscnw.com (2003) A short history of the BlackBerry - BlackBerry Smartphones. [online] Available at: http://www.bbscnw.com/ashort-history-of-the-blackberry.php [Accessed: 12 Dec 2012]. Rankingthebrands.com (2012) BlackBerry Brand Ranking | All Brand Rankings where BlackBerry is listed!. [online] Available at: http://www.rankingthebrands.com/Brand-detail.aspx?brandID=21 [Accessed: 12 Dec 2012]. Reed, B. (2012) iOS, Android once again grow market shares at RIM and Microsofts expense. [online] Available at: http://bgr.com/2012/09/28/ios-android-market-share-grows/ [Accessed: 12 Dec 2012]. Us.blackberry.com (n.d.) BlackBerry - Company - US. [online] Available at: http://us.blackberry.com/company/company.html [Accessed: 12 Dec 2012].
