Evaluating Research Results for Effective Utilization

This assignment aims to analyze consumer behavior for advertisement and its impact on their buying behavior. The study will implement both qualitative and quantitative measures of data analysis to gain proper understanding. However, there are limitations such as limited time frame, high cost involved, and human errors that may affect the research. A Gantt chart is presented to illustrate the timeline of all activities related to the research. Additionally, references from various studies are provided to support the research.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL:
EXAMINE THE EFFECT OF ADVERTISING
ON CONSUMER PURCHASE BEHAVIOR:
A CASE STUDY OF THOMAS COOK, UK
(PART-B)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Title.........................................................................................................................................1
Background of the study.........................................................................................................1
Research aim and objectives..................................................................................................2
Research questions.................................................................................................................2
Research rationale..................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................3
Methods of advertisement......................................................................................................3
Purchasing behavior of consumers.........................................................................................4
Link between advertisement and purchasing behavior of consumers....................................6
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................................7
Research design......................................................................................................................7
Data collection........................................................................................................................7
Sampling techniques...............................................................................................................7
Acceptability issues................................................................................................................8
Data analysis...........................................................................................................................8
RESEARCH LIMITATIONS..........................................................................................................8
TIME SCALE..................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

ILLUSTRATION INDEX
Illustration 1: Consumer buying behavior.......................................................................................4
Illustration 2: Buying and selling funnels........................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Title
“To examine the effect of advertising on consumer purchase behavior: a case study of
Thomas Cook, United Kingdom”.
Background of the study
Advertising is a crucial form of communication which is used to persuade a specific
group of people to take some new actions. It helps in developing the product’s popularity by
creating product identification in the market. According to Solomon and et.al., (2014)
advertisement is the most effective measure of promoting products and services as it helps in
changing the perspective of buyers towards the product or service through efficient persuasion.
In the words of Chang (2008), purpose of mass advertisement is to develop positive relations
with prospective consumers of company by associating with them and through developing a
prolonged measure of communication. Advertising is regarded as one of the most crucial sources
that influences the mind of buyers or the users of products and services. In addition to this, with
the help of this measure, managers of firm directs their efforts in terms of attracting many buyers
towards its products and services.
The marketing team of every business unit undertakes effective research to analyze the
buyer behavior and to evaluate the factor which may help in influencing buyers for the products
and services that are offered by company. The decision making process with regard to purchase
of goods and services undertakes number of phases which is popularly called by the name of
consumer buying decision process (Calvert, 2008). This helps the buyers in evaluating the
market and seeks potential products which may help them in attaining their needs and
requirements. Advertisement pays a significant role for the given process because it helps in
imparting the valid and reliable information regarding product’s attributes and qualities which
help in influencing the buyers for making decision in favor of a business unit (Lee, Park and
Han, 2011).
Tourism and holiday planning is a rapidly growing segment of economy. It focuses on
providing effective services of holiday planning and tourism to the prospective consumers.
Companies aim at enhancing market potential by developing high demand and sales within
market. De Mooij (2010) states that current lifestyles and market conditions has developed the
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market for the given segment. Complex work life demands for stress free tours, increasing
disposable income as well as enhances these opportunities for companies by creating services to
meet the needs and demand of the market. Advertisement helps in communicating the service
availability in the market to gain maximum audience for the unit. This factor helps companies in
creating a positive impact on the buying behavior and preferences of consumers (Cheung, Lee
and Rabjohn, 2008). This helps the firms in enhancing the market sales in the market.
For the present study, Thomas Cook is selected which is a famous travel and tourism
organization and it operates its function in United Kingdom. The general problem that is being
faced by service firm is to select the appropriate marketing strategy in order to attract the buyers
towards product. The report will focus on analyzing the impact of advertisement on buying
preferences of company and assessing the issues that companies face for enhancing sales in the
global market for similar issues.
Research aim and objectives
The aim of study is to examine the effect of advertising on consumer purchase behavior.
For conducting this research in an effectual manner, Thomas Cook, United Kingdom will be
considered for analyzing the impact of advertisement on the consumer behavior. To accomplish
the aim of this study, objectives developed are mentioned henceforth:
 To evaluate the effective methods of advertisement used by business units.
 To analyze the buying behavior of individuals.
 To determine the impact of advertisement on buying behavior of consumers.
 To recommend the effective measures for developing buying behavior of consumers.
Research questions
Various research questions are there which help in developing proper structure of study.
The question which will help in attaining the research objectives to attain the aim will be as
follows:
 What are the different methods of advertisement used by Thomas Cook?
 What are the factors which influence the buying behavior of consumers of Thomas
Cook?
 What is the impact of advertisement on buying behavior of consumers at Thomas Cook?
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Research rationale
The main issue of this research is to identify effective advertising tools and techniques
that can be used by Thomas Cook with an aim to influence the purchasing behavior of its
customers. It is an issue because there is significant change that is seen in the attitude of buyers
due to increased number of new entrants who make use of varied promotional techniques. Thus,
for the firm, it is essential that it must gather the full-fledged information about new entrant with
an aim to make the selection of appropriate advertising tactic (Vinayagamoorthy and Kannan,
2015). This is because, it is by complying with the given type of activity only, Thomas Cook can
perform necessary changes in the buying behavior of its buyer.
It is an issue now because of the presence of immense competition in travel and tourism
industry. High amount of competition in the given industry is forcing firm with regard to make
the selection of its marketing tactic with utmost efficiency. However, if it is not done then in this
condition, it will become difficult for the organization with respect to perform necessary changes
in the purchasing behavior of buyers. This research sheds light on an effective promotional tactic
that cited firm can use for the purpose to perform significant improvement in their sales and
profits.
LITERATURE REVIEW
This section of report focuses on developing an in-depth analysis of various concepts and
theories related to the given study. The motive of this section is to conduct the discussion about
various researches that are conducted in past to gain a clear understanding about every aspect of
the research topic. This helps in attaining conceptual information which in turn minimizes the
research gap for the given study. For the current study, effective source of secondary research
analysis has been conducted. In this context, books, journals and online content will be
considered for carrying the research study.
Methods of advertisement
According to Pookulangara and Koesler (2011), advertisement is an effective measure of
communication means which helps companies in delivering information about product’s
availability and features to the prospective consumers of company. It helps in enhancing the
sales of firm by developing a positive impact on the consumer decision making processes. Kim,
Kim and Park (2010) states that the cost of advertisement is considerably high. Business units
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bear this cost in order to enhance the sales and profitability by developing high measures of
promotion within company. Various methods of advertisements have helped in reflecting
positive impact on the overall sales of company. Different method of advertisements is adopted
by the firms in order to enhance the consumer buying behavior within market.
Niazi and et.al., (2012) enumerates various types of advertisement which helps
companies to enhance the market sales and demand within economy. Globalization has increased
the demand for product promotion to attract the consumers for different geographical regions.
Various methods of advertisements used for the same includes print advert, visual advert, audio
advert etc. Online advertisement is the latest technology which focuses on targeting the digital
consumers and creates effective changes within economy. These measures target various
segments of people in different areas of the world.
Purchasing behavior of consumers
Illustration 1: Consumer buying behavior
(Source: Goldfarb and Tucker, 2011)
The buying behavior of a consumer is influenced by a wide number of factors which in
turn helps companies in developing high sales within market. Various researches and analysis
has been conducted on analyzing the factors which motivates the buyers in selecting the products
and services within market. Buying behavior of an individual is highly influenced by the human
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behavior, social and cultural factors. Main factors which influence the purchase decision for
products and services in the market includes both external, that is, cultural and social as well as
internal, that is, personal and psychological factors. These factors help business units in
analyzing the effect of these on decision making process of consumers thus, it helps company in
enhancing the sales.
Aaker and Biel (2013) states that personal factors include the demographic information of
an individual which includes age, gender, occupation lifestyles etc. These factors help the buyers
in analyzing the needs and requirements and thus, the products and services are preferred. The
psychological factors according to Alexander, Khonglah and Subramani (2015) are the ones
which are influenced by the motivational needs, perception, beliefs and attitude of a person.
These factors can be modified by influencing the buyers for a given product and service. The
cultural factor considers a wider range of products which helps in creating a valid impact of
purchase decisions through cultural religious and social influence. Social factors according to
Vinayagamoorthy and Kannan (2015) include the integral part of social groups for a person
which includes family, personality, celebrity etc. Thus, the above discussion clearly reflects that
the purchase decisions of consumers can be efficiently modified and developed by companies in
order to enhance sales of product.
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Link between advertisement and purchasing behavior of consumers
Illustration 2: Buying and selling funnels
(Source: Kim, Kim and Park, 2010)
The buying decisions of individuals are influenced by varied factors. According to
Calvert (2008), consumers prefer the product which is accessible, visible and popular within
market. The flooded market often makes the product visibility difficult. Moreover, the close
substitutes create a fierce market competition for companies. In such situations, organizations
promote the products and services in order to spread awareness in the consumers in order to
generate effective interest about the products and services.
The service industry faces the challenge of finding large number of audience to deliver
the services and to attract the prospective buyers. Thus, advertisement is used as an effective
medium for need analysis and for enhancing the product awareness within market. This has a
direct impact on the sales and profitability of companies. The buyers are effectively attracted
through advertisement by developing various schemes and discounts to develop high value and
benefits within mass. Pookulangara and Koesler (2011) clearly states in various researches and
analysis that advertisement in one of the leasing factors which helps in influencing the buyers for
the given product and services.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
Research design deals with the overall structure of research which helps the researcher in
creating an effective impact on the search study and analysis for attaining the set results. It
focuses on investigating various research components is a logical way to attain the aim of study.
Descriptive, exploration and case-study research are the major research types that are considered
for carrying out the study in a well-structured way.
The present study focuses on analyzing the impact of advertisement on the buying
behavior of consumers in Thomas Cook Company. This will demand in-depth analysis of various
factors which will diagnose the research issues and acquire the set result. Thus, exploratory
research study will be carried out to evaluate and diagnose the research objective and to get the
results of study.
Data collection
This is one of the most effective and crucial measures for collecting the required data and
for analyzing the impact of same on the research objectives. The validity and reliability of data is
crucial to acquire true information from the study. The two major means of data collection
measures are used for the given process that are are primary and secondary data collection
method.
The present study will use both the mentioned measures to attain valid and reliable
results. Primary data collection will be the fresh and new which will be collected from the
consumers of Thomas Cook. Consumer survey and interview will be the effective measures
which will help in attaining the set results. The secondary source of data will be collected
through past data research, newspaper article and annual reports of company.
Sampling techniques
The population for conducting the research is vast and unlimited. To conduct the research
efficiently, sample of population is taken from the vast population size which represents the
whole population. The sampling technique is critically examined and implemented in order to
ensure the reliability of sample. For the current study, researcher will use the probabilistic
sampling measure which will be implemented and help in attaining the set results. Under this,
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systematic sampling will be done in order to choose random set of sample. Sample size of 50
consumers has been considered to attain the handful information regarding the topic.
Acceptability issues
Researches are prone to accessibility issues which demands assurance of safety and
authoritative utilization of data. To collect the information from consumers of company, the
questionnaire will be well structured and formatted for their easy understanding. The set
questionnaire will then be mailed to various consumers in order to attain the responses for the
given questions. The emails will be sent form an authoritative and valid address with the access
to ID card to clearly represent the details of sender and purpose of survey as well.
Data analysis
Data analysis is a significant part of a research study. This helps the researcher in
developing an effective utilization of research results and data in order to gain proper
understanding. Qualitative and quantitative techniques of data analysis are implemented for the
study to gain proper analysis. Present study will implement both qualitative and quantitative
measure of data analysis. It helps in analyzing the consumer behavior for advertisement and its
impact on their buying behavior.
RESEARCH LIMITATIONS
The current report has been developed in order to attain the set objectives in an effective
manner. However, there are various limitations which restrict the efficiency of same. The
research limitation for the given study is as follows:
 Limited time factor: The research time frame was limited due to academic schedule
which resulted in limiting the research area to the convenient geographical region which
helps in speeding up the research and in developing convenient data.
 High cost involved: The cost involved for the research process was considerably high as it
involved the individual survey of consumers. This factor resulted in limiting the sample
to a smaller number in order to manage the cost and to attain the set results.
 Human errors: The respondents of research are consumers of Thomas Cook. The data
analysis is based on the response of selected sample. Response of consumers is biased
and is difficult to predict thus, the research may incur minor human errors.
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TIME SCALE
The duration of all activities related with the research is presented with the help of
following Gantt chart:
Sr.
No.
Activities List of activities Weeks Preceding activities
1 A Meeting with supervisor 1
2 B Completion of proposal 1 A
3 C Submission of proposal 2 B
4 D Approval of supervisor 1 C
5 E Review of previous literature 5 D
6 F Collection of data 4 D
7 G Analysis of data 4 E,F
8 H Interpretation of data 3 G
9 I Drafting the complete project 4 E,G
10 J Reviewing the complete project 2 I
11 K Finalizing the project 1 J
12 L Submission of the project 1 K
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Figure 1: Gantt chart
Figure 2: Network Diagram
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REFERENCES
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strong brands. Psychology Press.
Alexander, R., Khonglah, O. and Subramani, A. K., 2015. Customer buying behaviour towards
branded casual shoes, Ayanavaram, Chennai. ZENITH International Journal of Business
Economics & Management Research. 5(6). pp. 48-54.
Calvert, S. L., 2008. Children as consumers: Advertising and marketing. The future of children.
18(1). pp. 205-234.
Chang, C. T., 2008. To donate or not to donate? Product characteristics and framing effects of
cause‐related marketing on consumer purchase behavior.Psychology & Marketing.
25(12). pp. 1089-1110.
Cheung, C. M., Lee, M. K . and Rabjohn, N., 2008. The impact of electronic word-of-mouth:
The adoption of online opinions in online customer communities. Internet Research.
18(3). pp. 229-247.
De Mooij, M., 2010. Consumer behavior and culture: Consequences for global marketing and
advertising. Sage.
Goldfarb, A . and Tucker, C., 2011. Online display advertising: Targeting and obtrusiveness.
Marketing Science. 30(3). pp. 389-404.
Kim, J. U., Kim, W. J . and Park, S. C., 2010. Consumer perceptions on web advertisements and
motivation factors to purchase in the online shopping.Computers in human behavior.
26(5). pp. 1208-1222.
Lee, J., Park, D. H . and Han, I., 2011. The different effects of online consumer reviews on
consumers' purchase intentions depending on trust in online shopping malls: An
advertising perspective. Internet research. 21(2). pp. 187-206.
Niazi, G. S. K., Siddiqui, J., Alishah, B . and Hunjra, A. I., 2012. Effective advertising and its
influence on consumer buying behavior. Information management and business review.
4(3). pp. 114-119.
Pookulangara, S . and Koesler, K., 2011. Cultural influence on consumers' usage of social
networks and its' impact on online purchase intentions. Journal of Retailing and
Consumer Services. 18(4). pp. 348-354.
Solomon, M. R. and et.al., 2014. Consumer behavior: buying, having, and being. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Vinayagamoorthy, A. and Kannan, P., 2015. The Impulse Buying Behaviour of Consumes for
the FMCG Products in Salem. Impulse. 2(2).
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