JNS2 Market Research Group
Axiom Press : In depth look at
the customers
Joseph Pacini
Nancy Canales
Sakura Kato
Stephanie Throssell
Background
• CultureGrams
– Created in 1974
– Over 176 countries
– CD-ROM/Internet as well as print
• Axiom Press
– Kristine Widtfeldt, Executive Vice President
– Educational publisher
– Based in Lindon, Utah
Objectives
• Perceptions held by current customers
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Demographic information of current customers
Purchasing habits of current customers
Obstacles in purchasing products
Critical pricing points
Curriculum in classroom
• New market research
Methodology
• Exploratory Research
• Secondary Research
• Primary Research
Exploratory Research
• Focus Group
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Held March 21st at Axiom Press Headquarters
4 international businesspeople
New market research
Provided munchies, $20 gift certificates
Lasted approximately 1 ½ hours, videotaped
Secondary Research
• Competitive analysis
– Researched five main competitors
– Analyzed the following:
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•
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Company
Product
Product description
Target audience
Price
Primary Research
• Survey
– Sample size
– Survey questions
– Database
Sample Size
• Sample size=
(Z2*Standard deviation2)/acceptable error2
• Z-score of 2, meaning 95% of distribution
will fall within 2 standard deviations above
the mean, and we will have a 95% level of
confidence on the results that we receive
• Client specified sample size of at least 100
• Standard deviation of 10
Survey Questions
• Sent 1022 emails to current customers,
assuming a 10% return rate
• Received 176 complete responses, over 17%
return rate
• These questions were pre-tested by Dr.
Geurts, as well as employees of Axiom Press
• http://www.culturegrams.com/survey.php
Database
• All surveys were placed in an Axiom Press
database
• Cheree Marcov, Axiom Press webmaster
assisted us in database management
• Put into Excel files and SPSS data files
Findings--Exploratory
• All people agreed that international business would
only increase over the next 10 years
• All agreed that cultural understanding is the most
significant aspect of international business
• All felt CultureGrams contained useful information
but would only be a starting point
• Recommended changing the presentation of
CultureGrams to increase perceived value
Findings--Laddering
– Why is international business important to you?
– Because in a world market international business relations are
fundamental and essential.
– Why do you feel business relations are so important?
– Because in spite of all the ramifications of technological advancements
the human component of business is still extremely significant.
– How does the human component relate to international business?
– Well, when it comes down to it people are people. You still want that
comfortability, the assurance of the handshake is not yet completely
outdated.
– Why do you feel that the handshake is still important?
– Even though it doesn’t carry with it as much weight as it once did, it still
an enjoyable social nicety and it does instill a certain degree of
confidence between business professionals.
Findings--Laddering
– Why is confidence so important amongst business professionals?
– Confidence is important because if you’re not confident in your product
and you don’t feel that the person with whom you’re interacting is
confident in their product then it’s impossible to be successful.
– What would you consider a successful business relationship?
– I think a successful business relationship would be one in which both
parties feel that they benefit both economically and morally.
– How are morals reflected in business?
– A businessperson who considers the significance of morality experiences a
more fulfilling professional career.
– How does this fulfillment reflected in international matters?
– There’s a universal language of morality and despite different customs and
social norms morality is the universal common ground.
Findings--Secondary
• Competitors products contained basic
country information yet lacked a strong
cultural understanding
• The average customer was the traveler or the
geography and history teacher
• The price depended but was generally more
expensive, yet less exhaustive than a
CultureGram
Findings--Primary
• 80 percent of respondents have an extremely
positive viewpoint of CultureGrams
• Over 80 percent felt that CultureGrams were
extremely useful in the classroom
• 60 percent felt that CultureGrams World
Edition was inexpensively priced
• Most teachers purchase Axiom Press
products every 3-5 years
• Axiom Press products are used to assist in
teaching a variety of curriculum
Primary Cross Tabulations
• We cross tabulated data and then used Chi-Square
analysis for the following four categories:
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Age
Gender
Years Teaching
Grade Taught
• The following highlights are significant to the point
.005 level
Age
Age Groups
9%
6%
16%
20 to 29
30 to 39
40 to 49
50 to 59
44%
25%
60 plus
• We find that there is a
significant difference
between age group and
frequency of
purchases.
• The Chi-Square test
indicated that
differences in age
account for differences
in valuing the price of
CultureGrams.
Gender
• We conducted a statistical
test and found that gender
and how respondents feel
about the pricing of
CultureGrams was
significant at the .005
levels.
• Females generally found
CultureGrams to be more
useful for their students
then did males.
Gender
Male
24%
Female
76%
Years Teaching
• The longer they had
taught, the more
expensive they felt the
product was.
• The longer they taught,
the more useful they
found CultureGrams.
Years Teaching
40
30
20
10
0
Less 5 to 9 10 to
than 5
14
15 to 20 to 25 or
19
24 more
Grade Taught
Grade Taught or Position in Sc hool
2%
4th Grade
1%
5th Grade
1%
4%
10%
4%
3%
6th Grade
7th Grade
8th Grade
9th Grade
6%
63%
3%
3%
10th Grade
11th Grade
12th Grade
Kindergarten
Librarian
• There was a
relationship between
grade taught and how
they learned about
CultureGrams.
• Also a relationship
between what grade
they taught and how
often they purchased.
Z-test Information
• Null Hypothesis: The proportion of teachers in the 50 to 59
range reporting the price of CultureGrams to be 5 or higher
(ranked from a scale where 1 is very inexpensive and 9 is very
expensive) is the same or less than the proportion of
teachers in the 20 to 29 range reporting 5 or greater.
• In other words, do older (50 to 59) teachers feel
CultureGrams are priced more expensively than do younger
(20 to 29) teachers?
• Alternative Hypothesis: The proportion of teachers in the
50 to 59 range reporting the price of CultureGrams to be 5
or higher is greater than the proportion of teachers in the 20
to 29 range reporting 5 or greater.
Z-test continued
• Once completing the calculations we get a calculated Z-value
of 2.32
• We compare this against the critical Z-value, which is 1.97
with a sampling error of .025, and find that because our
calculated Z-value is higher, we reject the null hypothesis.
This means that we conclude with 97.5% confidence that the
proportion of teachers aged 50 to 59 who rank
CultureGrams pricing to be 5 or higher is greater than the
proportion of teachers 20 to 29 who rank pricing 5 or
higher.
• This means that teachers in the age group 50 to 59 feel that
CultureGrams are priced more expensively than do their
younger (20 to 29 year old teachers) contemporaries do.
Regression
Normal P-P Plot of Regression Standardized R
Dependent Variable: useful
1.00
Coefficientsa
(Cons tant)
price
a. Dependent Variable: us eful
.365
.75
t
14.036
5.163
Expected Cum Prob
Model
1
Uns tandardized
Coefficients
B
Std. Error
5.545
.395
.361
.070
Standardi
zed
Coefficien
ts
Beta
Sig.
.000
.000
.50
.25
0.00
0.00
.25
.50
Observed Cum Prob
.75
1.00
Purchase Decisions
• 50 respondents, or 28.4 percent of all surveys received,
indicated that they would “Definitely Will Purchase” within
the next six months.
• 39 respondents, or 22.2 percent of all surveys received,
indicated that they would “Probably Will Purchase” within
the next six months.
• 27 respondents, or 15.3 percent of all surveys received,
indicated that they would “Probably Will Not Purchase”
within the next six months.
• 60 respondents, or 34.1 percent of all surveys received,
indicated that they would “Definitely Will Not Purchase”
within the next six months
Purchase Decisions
• 70 percent of those that suggest that they will “Definitely Will Purchase”
actually will, while 35 percent of those who state that they will “Probably
Will Purchase” actually will, and 10 percent of those who state they
“Probably Will Not Purchase” actually will, and 0 percent of those who
state that they “Definitely Will Not Purchase” purchase.
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70% * 50 = 35
35% * 39 = 13.65
10% * 27 = 2.7
0% * 60 = 0
35 + 13.65 + 2.7 + 0 = 51.35 or approximately 51 individuals
Limitations
•
Limited Scope
– Surveys
– Focus Group
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Time Constraints
– Only a few months to do research
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Non-Response
– Only 176 solid responses were submitted
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Response Errors
– Surveys—the first type of response error possible is encountered on the surveys that
were emailed to Axiom Press customers. The respondents might not have been very
truthful in their responses—maybe lied about their age.
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User Errors
– Respondents might not have understood some of the survey questions.
– Participants in the focus group were acquaintances of JNS2
– The moderator of the focus group might also have contributed to response bias.
Recommendations
• JNS2 suggest that Axiom Press focus on marketing to younger teachers
and future teachers that are currently in college.
• JNS2 recommends that Axiom Press send discount coupons to older
teachers who may think that CultureGrams are overpriced.
• JNS2 recommends that Axiom Press figure out what purchasing cycle
their customers are on and only market to individuals during their
purchasing year.
• JNS2 recommend increasing the price of your product between 15 to 20
percent.
• JNS2 recommends that Axiom Press focus on building customer
awareness of the variety of uses for Axiom Press products.
• JNS2 feels that Axiom Press should enter the business market, and in
doing so should create a multimedia CD-ROM to add perceived value to
the cultural information that they will present
Questions?