Statistical and Business Research Method

Question: Discuss about the Statistical and Business Research Method. Answer: Introduction A research topic related to business is chosen here for carrying out a research to achieve the research objectives. Some concepts, assumptions and literature related to the research topic have been critically analysed for having clearer idea on the research topic. Further, some questions are developed those are to be met at the end of the research. Apart from that, suitable research techniques, methods, data collection and analysis methods are selected for carrying out the research efficiently. At the end, expected outcome of the research is also mentioned. Business research topic The topic chosen for conducting a research is The Impact of loyalty program on customer retention- a case study of Coles. Theory, assumptions, background literature Loyalty program Loyalty program is considered as one of the most effective marketing strategies developed for encouraging customers to continue their shopping with the business organisation associated to the loyalty program (Dorotic, Verhoef, Fok and Bijmolt 2014). Garnefeld, Eggert, Helm and Tax (2013) commented that, there are different types of loyalty programs that have various reward schemes and features. In marketing, loyalty card, point card, reward card hold the identity of individuals as members of a loyalty program. Customer retention As stated by Oliver (2014), customer retention include certain activities carried out by business organisations for reducing customer defection. Therefore, companies conduct various customer retention programs for increasing their loyalty toward the organisation. Khan (2012) pointed out that, instead of spending on attracting new customers, it is easier to focus on the existing customers in terms of fulfilling their demands and expectation, which increases the profit margin of the organisation drastically. Impact of loyalty program on customer retention Loyalty programs are apparently instigated by marketers in a stab to attain some types of financial pay-off. Here, Evanschitzky et al. (2012) commented that loyalty programs those are carried out in an effective manner can strengthen the long-term competitive position of an organisation within the marketplace by retaining their loyal customers and preventing them to go to their competitive companies. However, Arbore and Estes (2013) stated that, marketers initiate different types of loyalty programs for raising differentiation loyalty and increasing barriers for the new entrants. Thus, they focus on decreasing market competition and enhancing their competitiveness by increasing customer loyalty and retaining them. 2. Research questions for the identified problems Tarasi, Bolton, Gustafsson and Walker (2013) researched that only 122% to 15% of customers remain loyal to a particular retailer, due to having lots of choices of their desired products and services. However, this small percentage of customers helps to generate 55% to 70% sales of a company. Arbore and Estes (2013) commented that due to the increasing rate of market competition among Australia retailers, it is becoming difficult for marketers to hold their customers for a long time. Therefore, companies are inclined toward devising and implementing effective strategies that can help them to gain customer loyalty in order to retain them, as it costs less than attracting new customers. As, most of the companies try to retain their existing customers through loyalty programs therefore, designing loyalty schemes in an innovative way has become crucial. Failing to do this, decreases the overall market share and profit margin significantly. Therefore, the researches objectives are to be met through the research are as follows: To understand the concept of loyalty program To analyse the concept of customer retention To analyse the impact of loyalty program on customer retention of Coles To identify the issues faced by Coles in retaining customers To provide some recommendations for overcoming the issues faced by the company Hence, the research questions are: What is loyalty program? What is customer retention? What is the impact of loyalty program on customer retention of Coles? What are the issued faced by Coles in retaining their valuable customers? 3. Research methodologies and techniques There are mainly three different types of research designs including explanatory, exploratory and descriptive (Smith, 2015). For this research, descriptive research design would be helpful in collecting accurate data on the concerned research topic. Mackey and Gass (2015) opined that descriptive research design depicts participants of the research in an appropriate manner. Thus, it would be helpful in describing individuals, who would take part in the survey. Two main types of sampling techniques include probability and non-probability (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015). In this research, the research would use the probability sampling technique for selecting a sample size of 50 customers of Coles. Further, using the non-probability sampling technique, 5 managers of Coles would be chosen. Quantitative data would be collected through the survey that would be carried out with the 50 customers of Coles and qualitative data would be collected through the interview that would be carried out with the 5 managers of the same company. 4. Research process Among different types of research processes, survey and interview process would be used in this research. For the survey, a questionnaire with 10 multiple choice type questions would be designed and distributed among 50 customers of Coles through online. Besides, a questionnaire with 4 close ended questions would be developed for interviewing the 5 managers of Coles. 5. Data collection and analysis techniques There are two main types of data include primary and secondary (Smith, 2015). The primary data would be collected through survey and interview and the secondary data would be collected from previously published books, journals, magazines and websites. The collected primary data would be analysed by calculating percentage and presenting them through graphs and tables using MS Excel. For carrying an accurate analysis; mean, median, mode and standard deviation would be calculated and evaluated. The qualitative data would be analysed through focus group. 6. Expected research outcomes After analysing the findings of the previous researches on the impact of loyalty programs on customer retention, it can be expected that using different types of loyalty programs, Coles would be able to retain 65% to 95% customers. Further, the customers would increase their purchasing for the loyalty cards in order to save their money. Reference list Arbore, A. and Estes, Z., 2013. Loyalty program structure and consumers' perceptions of status: Feeling special in a grocery store?.Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services,20(5), pp.439-444. Dorotic, M., Verhoef, P.C., Fok, D. and Bijmolt, T.H., 2014. Reward redemption effects in a loyalty program when customers choose how much and when to redeem.International Journal of Research in Marketing,31(4), pp.339-355. Evanschitzky, H., Ramaseshan, B., Woisetschlger, D.M., Richelsen, V., Blut, M. and Backhaus, C., 2012. Consequences of customer loyalty to the loyalty program and to the company.Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,40(5), pp.625-638. Garnefeld, I., Eggert, A., Helm, S.V. and Tax, S.S., 2013. Growing existing customers' revenue streams through customer referral programs.Journal of Marketing,77(4), pp.17-32. Khan, I., 2012. Impact of customer satisfaction and retention on customer loyalty.International Journal of Technology Enhancements and Emerging Engineering Research,1(2), pp.106-110. Mackey, A. and Gass, S.M., 2015.Second language research: Methodology and design. Routledge. Oliver, R.L., 2014.Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. Routledge. Smith, J.A. ed., 2015.Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage. Tarasi, C.O., Bolton, R.N., Gustafsson, A. and Walker, B.A., 2013. Relationship characteristics and cash flow variability implications for satisfaction, loyalty, and customer portfolio management.Journal of Service Research,16(2), pp.121-137. Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015.Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley Sons.