RESEARCH

METHOD
PROPOSAL
March 16
2012
The impact of marketing strategy on the
market share of the company. Case study
of ASDA


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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 3
1. Background of the study ................................................................................................................ 3
2. Research rational .............................................................................................................................. 4
3. Research aims .................................................................................................................................... 5
a. Research Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 5
b. Research Questions ................................................................................................................. 5
c. Research Hypothesises ............................................................................................................... 5
LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................................. 6
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 6
MARKETING STRATEGIES ..................................................................................................................... 6
Topic 1: Marketing Mix....................................................................................................................... 6
Topic 2: Branding ................................................................................................................................. 7
Topic 3: Consumer Behaviour ......................................................................................................... 7
Topic 4: Customer relationship Management ........................................................................... 8
Topic 5: Marketing Communication .............................................................................................. 8
Marketing strategy and Market Share .......................................................................................... 9
RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES ................................................................................................................ 10
1. Research Paradigm ................................................................................................................ 10
2. Data Collection Method ........................................................................................................ 10
3. Data Analysis Method ........................................................................................................... 11
4. Population and Sampling .................................................................................................... 12
5. Research method limitations ............................................................................................. 13
6. Ethical Consideration ........................................................................................................... 13
7. Research Resources .............................................................................................................. 13
8. Action Plan ................................................................................................................................ 14
Conclusion....................................................................................................................................................... 15
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................. 16



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INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of marketing strategies on the
market share of ASDA. In order to come up with a conclusion, a literature review will be
conducted on the topic, followed by a research design and methodology to adapt to
conduct it and then the timetable to complete the research
1. Background of the study
In order to survive in this very hard competitive era, companies need to apply a good
and strong marketing strategy. No matter the size of the business, today marketing
strategies are one of the tools that enable companies to stay competitive. The
customers, the competition and the corporation are three key essential the company
should deal with. By focusing on the best marketing strategy and to use it in the
corporation, the company can differentiate itself from its competitors and satisfy its
customers by using its distinctive strengths to deliver them the best value. The clear
definition of the market will be crucial to the company in terms of elaborating the
perfect marketing strategy with a good combination of the needs that exist on the
market and the strengths of the corporation. According to some previous research,
elaborating a good marketing plan is recommended to the companies as this contributes
to the growth of the company by increasing its sales and maintaining the customers
data base. Jain (1996) stated that, the company should, in order to achieve these
objectives, be able to match strongly and positively the customers needs and the
objectives of the corporation. In comparison to the marketing strategy applied by the
competitors, the one offered by the company must be much better. The objective of this
research is to study the impact of marketing strategy on the market share of the
company and the role it plays in terms of increasing the share.






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2. Research rational
Marketing strategies are of great value to any organisation and the combination of
different tools from understanding the consumers behaviour, satisfying their needs and
wants, to creating a more satisfactory mix product will enable the corporation to reach
its objectives by increasing its market share. The purpose of this research is to study the
impact of marketing strategy on the market share of the company. A lot of study has
been conducted on the impact of marketing strategy on the market share of the
companies however, due to a continuous changing environment, still exists the need to
develop further researches regarding this area. This study has for objective to find out
and evaluate the impact of marketing strategies on the growth of ASDAs market share
but also to find out how the company can acquire a competitive position. Implementing
an effective marketing strategy has always been an issue for ASDA which struggles to
reach its marketing objectives. Now this has become more serious because customers
are more demanding, the competition become harder and harder and any companies
can survive without setting an effective marketing strategy. In the meantime, ASDA did
not have enough resources to conduct further research in its local customers in order to
draw some conclusions on how to better their marketing strategy. The assessment of
this study will be supported by exploring the literature review, survey and interviews
but also by primary research .also this research is academically important, it is of great
interest to the researcher who would like to build a career in marketing and the findings
of this study will be valuable to her.











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3. Research aims
a. Research Objectives
The objective of this research is to study the impact of marketing strategy on the market
share of ASDA.
The following objectives have been given to the research:

To investigate and examine the marketing strategies followed by ASDA.

To explore the impact of marketing strategies in enhancing the growth share of
the company.

To find out how marketing strategies can reward the company by providing an
edge on its competitors.

b. Research Questions
In order to go further in this study, research questions have to be formulated and this
will enable the researcher to come up with valuable outcomes.
How the company set and follow its marketing strategies?
What role do marketing strategies have in the growth of the companys market
share?
How marketing strategies can reward the company with the best competitive
position?
How marketing strategies can enhance the financial performance of the
company?
c. Research Hypothesises
The following hypotheses have been created to be approved or disapproved

H1: The effectiveness and efficiency of ASDA is not achieved through its marketing
strategies.
H2: There is no link between marketing strategies and the share growth of the
company.
H3: Marketing strategies positively impact the companys market share

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LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
This section has for objective to give the detail literature on the impact of marketing on
the market share of ASDA. Talking about marketing, it can be considered as the process
that enable companies to plan and execute the conception built around the 4Ps (Allen
2011). The basis of this research is to examine the impact of marketing strategies on the
market share of the UK leading retailers in reference to ASDA and this study has for
objective to assess the relationship between marketing strategy and market share but in
the meantime to give an evaluation on the importance of marketing strategies in term of
improving the performance and gaining a competitive position.
MARKETING STRATEGIES
Regarding the development and the success of the company, Kotler and Keller (2006)
stated that marketing strategies are the most important tools that company can use due
to the fact that strategic market plan defines the markets the company will be targeting
in order to offer to this particular segment a value proposition supported by an analysis
based on the market opportunities. According to Chiang and Robinson (2002),
companies which benefit from an efficient marketing strategy can invest easily in new
products research and development which will boost their sales, giving them the
opportunity to acquire more market share. Later on, in 1999, Baker declared that due to
the world population growth, top corporations in the world use very intense marketing
strategies linked to their customers needs, to gain market share.
Topic 1: Marketing Mix
According to Doyle (2006), by managing the marketing mix, the company will be able to
determine the price of its products, its promotion and distribution channel. The
marketing mix has been tailored in order to give value to the consumers, to advertise
the companys offers and then to make it convenient and accessible for the customers.
Wilson and McDonald (2011) stipulated that tools and techniques are important in
terms of managing the mix marketing. But, in order to match them, the company should
seek internal as well as external marketing information. However, all the four elements
of the marketing mix should be properly managed for the company to be successful in
its marketing strategy. He also stated that, not understanding the importance of the

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marketing mix role in the success of the company would just result in a failure in terms
of acquiring market share.
Topic 2: Branding
According to wheeler (2009), due to the fact that customers have a lot of choices, the
companies must find out a better way to connect them emotionally in order to be
irreplaceable in their mind and then create a long term relationship with them. Having a
strong brand will enable the company to stand away from the crowd constituted by the
competitors and people will love, trust and believe in the superiority of the company.
The perception of the customers towards a brand is crucial due to the fact that it affects
the companys success. For Davis (2009), the strength of the companys brand is an
indicator on its market share. For this reason, the company should measure the
performance of their brand in order to be able to evaluate the companys growth.
Practitioners have argued that measuring a brand is related to assessing the market
share of the company as it increases the firms sales within a defined time.

Topic 3: Consumer Behaviour
Schiffman and Kanuk (2008) defined the consumer behaviour as the behaviour they
show in terms of searching for, buying, utilising, assessing and having of products they
think will satisfy them. They argued that the behaviour of the consumers has changed a
lot over the last decade and now customers tend to customise the products they want.
According to this, companies should consider a consumer research in order to know
their need and want for the purpose to give products or service that will satisfy them.
According to Bamossy and Solomon (2010), a satisfaction of the customers leads to an
increase on the market share of the company. However, this is only possible if the
company conducts proper research on the customers needs and want and on their
purchase decision making process. Once this is done, the firm will be able to know what
to offer them and this will obviously increase its market share.




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Topic 4: Customer relationship Management
In this era of tough competition to gain market share, managing the relationship with
the customers is crucial to the survival of the company. Buttle (2009) argued that CRM
is all about managing the interactions the company has with its stakeholders and this
includes the prospection of sales and services. Its purpose is to combine all the view of
the customer interaction to create a picture in order to identify, acquire and retain the
customers. Also according to him, by strategically deciding on the CRM for a particular
market or segment, the company will grow its market share as these customers will be
loyal to them and all will turn their purchase decision into action. From the satisfaction
profit chain, the drivers of business performance are the customers satisfaction and
loyalty. Therefore, it is crucial for the business to manage the relationship for a long
term perspective.
Topic 5: Marketing Communication
Promotion or marketing communication according to Fill (2009) is basically all about
communicating the products or services of an organisations offering to an audience
which has been targeted. However, due to the changing environment where customer
are bombarded by thousands of advertisement message every day, companies, in order
to grab the audience attention have to engage the their audience target, to stimulate
their desire regarding the specificity of the product to convert this to a purchase action.
The usual way of using mass communication media has changed now and the one-to-
one communication model for a more customised one has replaced it. Smith and Zook
(2011) argued that, by reassuring its customers through its advertisement, the company
secure the growth of its market share as there is no need to worry about post purchase
dissonance. For this reason, companies should be creative in terms of engaging the
audience.






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Marketing strategy and Market Share
The profit of the company is according to Doyle (2008) boosted by short term
marketing strategies which in return grasps market share therefore, it is antithetical to
plan a long term marketing strategy and to think about top position. Also he stipulated
that the actual marketing strategies used by companies are more customised than
before compared to the standard strategy used before and this has given to the
companies the opportunity to acquire a high profit margin, to enhance the customers
loyalty and to gain a greater share on the spending of the customers. Even more, he
stipulated that product value, the spending on implementing, the research on
customers, the marketing strategy deployed are determinant on the share of the
organisation. Many practitioners have raised the concern between marketing strategies
and market share with important linkage between the two of them. Sisodia and Sheth
(1995) stipulated that companies have increased their marketing cost and decreased
their expenses in term of manufacturing and general management. Even though
marketing cost are at this present era increasing, their expenditure is used in a very
efficient way as this is the key tools for the company to greater its affect on their
market share.

















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RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES
1. Research Paradigm
Sekaran and Bougie (2009) argued that the descriptive and the explorative are the
types of research broadly used. He stated that the descriptive research is used when the
information on the issue is available and accessible by way of conducting a survey.
Regarding the explorative research, it is used when less information is available
regarding the area of study. Therefore, in this research with ASDA a case study,
descriptive research will be used to determine the attitude of the population towards
certain area also explorative type will be used to for various purposes. These two
methods has been chosen to be combined because ASDA already has a marketing
strategy therefore all the needed information will be available for the purpose of the
research. In order to assess the marketing strategy of ASDA, a survey as well as an
interview will be conducted in order to suggest the improvement and increase the
companys performance.
2. Data Collection Method
Kumar (2003) stipulated that the main types of data collected for business purpose are
the primary and the secondary data
a. Primary Data
He also stated that primary data are the one collected to five the research outcomes and
the different methods to get in hold of the primary data are interview, focus group,
questionnaires and personal observations. For the purpose of this study, a survey will
be conducted on ASDA customers. A distribution of the questionnaires will take place at
the accountants and the self pay checkout machines. The research will ask customers
after having paid to fill the questionnaire form which will normally take them five
minute. These two places have been chosen due to the fact that all customers pass by
therefore, are the best place to collect the maximum information. Regarding the ASDAs
staff member, a face to face interview will be conducted by the researcher who will ask
them to answer different questions related to the companys marketing strategy. The
interview technique has been chosen due to the fact that the researcher will be able to
collect important data without limits. Enough time will be granted to the respondents
and any unclear question will be explained in details. Also due to an availability of time

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from ASDAs staff for a focus group technique, the interview one to one is the only
method that can be used.
b. Secondary Data
Sekaran and Bougie (2009) stated that the secondary data is the data found from
literatures and which has been elaborated from previous research. Data collected from
articles, books, online journals and market report will be used for the purpose of this
study. The secondary data for the purpose of this research will be gathered by
investigating ASDA sales report, customers report, articles, government publications
and statistics and books. Choosing different sources of information is important as this
will enable the researcher to have an overview of the retail industry to support the
primary research.
3. Data Analysis Method
Collis and Hussey (2009) stated that qualitative and quantitative methods are important
regarding the analysis of the primary data. The findings from the quantitative approach
of the research are put in the form of graph, charts, percentage and numbers whereas
primary data will be crucial to the qualitative approach where analysis will be
conducted and findings presented in a form of sentences. For the purpose of this study,
a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods will be used. The interview will
give more information regarding the performance and marketing strategy of the
company from its staff. This information will give the clue on how the company
establishes it marketing strategies, if this is satisfactory and what do they intend to do
in case they would like to improve it. This means that every single conducted interview
will be studied in details, analysed and interpreted to gain insight information on the
topic. For the purpose of the survey which will be conducted on the ASDAs customers,
it will also help to gather information regarding their perception on the marketing
strategy of the company. By distributing the questionnaire to ASDAs customers, the
researcher will obtain quantitative data still on the topic. The questionnaire technique
is important as it enable the researcher to collect enough information on the topic. the
combination of these two techniques have been chosen to give an idea on the
importance of marketing strategies and the findings will allow the researcher to draw
specific and valid conclusions for the generalisation of the research.

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4. Population and Sampling
Hussey (2009) stipulated that sampling is about choosing a small number respondent
among the entire population. For the purpose of sampling in this research, two group of
population are going to be studied. Some of ASDAs consumers will be chosen in order
to question them to know their perception regarding the performance of the company.
As the entire population of ASDA is too big to be studied, a sample among them needs to
be taken. The sample will be constituted by consumers present at ASDA store and who
do not mind giving their opinion regarding the companys performance which is the
purpose of this study. Convenience sampling will be helpful to the researcher as it will
give the opportunity collect an important number of data in a short period of time. It has
been chosen a sample size equalled to 160 customers and this has for objective to give a
wide range of different opinions.
Regarding the interview, the staff member of the marketing department of ASDA has
been taken as population sample. A number of 20 employees will be used from this
specific department to be interviewed and this will give different qualified opinion
regarding the marketing strategy used by ASDA and its impact on the share of the
company. Cronbachs test will be used to validate the sample and to make sure it is
reliable. 0.7 has been considered as the best value of Cronbachs alpha. However, any
value equal to 0.5 or above is also considered as correct.












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5. Research method limitations
In order to conduct study on ASDA, the secondary and primary data are the most widely
used methods to collect information because the easy accessibility of the secondary data
whiles the primary will give an important number of responses. However, these
methods are not the perfect one due to the fact that the quality of the secondary data is
not credible sometimes. ASDA faces incomplete information and this is not helpful for
the research. Most of the time secondary data is not up to date meaning that the
researcher has to compare a lot of sources before choosing the adequate one.
Sometimes it is just unclear, not enabling the researcher to make reasoned conclusion
on the findings.
6. Ethical Consideration
Research has been conducted in a very positive manner according to ethical issues. Any
social or public information that could damage the authenticity of ASDA and could also
cause public unrest will be removed. The information given by the participants will be
used only for the purpose of the research, their name will not be disclosed and the
information will be kept confidential. Employees of ASDA will participate freely and
they will be advised on the confidentiality of the provided information on top of the
questionnaire which they must read before going further. Also, research findings will
not be manipulated against ASDA in favour of its competitors and no misinterpretations
neither personal view will be done. ASDA has its ethical consideration regarding
information on the company itself, meaning that the outcomes of this research should
be in accordance with the companys policies.
7. Research Resources
In order to conduct the research, different resources will be needed. IT technology will
be more than important to search and record information. Human resource will be need
to answer fill the questionnaires and answer the interview questions, money will also
be needed for travel and printing purpose. All these resources are important to the
achievement of this research on the impact of marketing strategy on the market share of
ASDA.


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8. Action Plan
The action plan will enable the researcher to plan her investigation on the impact of
marketing on the market share of the company. This plan will be followed for every
single task in order to finish and submit the research on time. However, due to some
unplanned activities, the researcher has left some gaps in order to catch up if any
surprise or unplanned program preventing her against achieving her tasks.



Gantt Chart

Months

December January February March

Reading and Literature review 05 to 12

Basic information gathering 14 to 27

Proposal Presentation 03 to 12

Draft Submission 21

Information and Data collection 24 to 10

Interview with various stakeholders 15 to 20

Survey questionnaire collection 17 to 21

Data analysis and Interpretation 22 to 05

Final writing 06 to 09

Final draft submission 09

Review 13

Report submission 16


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Conclusion
Focusing on the environment and the price competition, ASDA created a very
impressive image and reputation for the customers. This research will be based on the
marketing strategies fact. As mentioned above, strategies are of high relevance to any
company in any industry. How important it is to set strategies in ASDA and their basic
effects on the consumers and customers will be subject to evaluation in this research.
This paper will be testing the hypothesis on the impact of marketing strategies in
retailing industry with ASDA as a case study. Clearly mentioned before, there are many
factors that would define the marketing strategy of certain companies. A critically
evaluation on the longitude and effectiveness of those strategies will be done in this
research. The research will be conducted through different methods and it will be
through different stages. The timescale shows clearly the stages it will take to do the
research about ASDA.

















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