Applied Market Research: Literature Review and Action Plan

This report sheds light on the progress made in the research work on marketing strategies for Nelson Stoke's Yoga Studios. It includes a literature review, reflection on the work of the last 3 weeks, an action plan, and future work. Relevant articles and lecture notes are discussed.

Running head: APPLIED MARKET RESEARCH
Applied Market Research
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................2
Reflection of the work of the last 3 weeks.................................................................................4
Action Plan.................................................................................................................................5
Future work................................................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
This report intends to shed light on the progress which I have made regarding the
research work that I am supposed to do for the coursework. The topic which I have selected
for the research work and on which I gave the proposal draft was for the approval of the
coursework supervisor is “The marketing strategies which the Nelson Stoke, New Zealand
can use for the promotion of the Yoga Studios which it has recently opened”. Furthermore,
the primary aim with which I undertook the research topic on which I would be completing
my research work was to develop an effective marketing plan for the Yoga Studios of the
Nelson Stoke, New Zealand which would enable them to not only capture the business
market of the nation but at the same time would help to enhance the amount of profit earned
by them in a significant manner. The formulation of the research proposal was the first stage
and after I got the approval from the unit supervisor I began to undertake an analysis of the
literature which were available on the concerned topic that are likely to help me in a
significant during the course of the completion of the entire research work. This report
intends to share the progress that I have made since getting the approval from the unit
supervisor regarding the research work and also the detailed plan which I have made for the
completion of the research work.
Literature Review
I am personally of the viewpoint that the Literature Review section of a particular
research work and the effectiveness of the entire research work depends to a large extent on
the manner in which the Literature Review have been performed. At the same time it is also
important for the concerned researcher to align the Literature Review which he or she is
conducting so that the outcomes as well as the results of the entire research work are in
synchronicity with the objectives and the aims of the concerned research works. Moreover,

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the authenticity of the sources or the past literature which has been used for the composition
of the Literature review is of paramount importance. Thus, it is with this particular objective
that after I got the approval from the unit supervisor regarding the research proposal that I
have submitted I began to search for peer reviewed articles over Google Scholar, ProQuest
and other databases.
For the purpose of the composition the first thing that I did was to have a clear idea
about the different concepts as well as frameworks of mechanism of marketing and also the
manner or the style in which it is being used in the business world. It is with this particular
intention that I started to browse through Google Scholar about the different peer reviewed
articles related to the theme of marketing. The first relevant article that I came across of
Google Scholar was “Navigating the institutional logics of markets: Implications for strategic
brand management” (2015) by the authors Ertimur and Coskuner-Balli. This particular article
provided me with a detailed information about the various processes of marketing that are
being used by the contemporary organization and also the manner in which it is related to the
concept of brand management and also strategic management. At the same time I would like
to say that this particular article provided me an idea of the manner in which the process of
marketing can be used to enhance the effectiveness of the concerned organization.
The next useful article that I found and which is likely to help me in a significant
manner during the course of the entire research work is “Lululemon Athletica and a Series of
Bad Marketing Decisions” (2015) by the authors Thomas and Peters. This article is useful for
the process of the development of the marketing plan for the intended yoga studio because of
the fact that the article provides an overview of the kind of marketing decisions that the
business enterprises should refrain from making for the process of the policy of marketing
followed. Another important article that I found which will be useful for the research work is
“What Drive the Consumers to Buy Yoga Studio Services” (2015) by Law. This particular

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article highlights the gratification factors which encourage the individuals to take the help of
the diverse services offered by the yoga studios. In addition to this, the article also provides
an overview of the manner in which the concept of marketing is being used by the various
American Yoga Studios. It is significant to note that although the strategies as well as the
models that the author has mentioned are in the particular context of the American nation yet
at the same time they can be used in a modified form in the nation of New Zealand as well.
In addition to the above mentioned ones there are articles as well like “The Benefits of
Yoga to Enhance Your Law Practice” (2017) by Jones, “Salute to the sun: an exploration of
UK Yoga tourist profiles” (2017) by Ali-Knight and Ensor, “Legitimation of hybrid cultural
products: The case of American Yoga” (2017) by Coskuner-Balli and Ertimur and others. I
would like to add here all these articles contain relevant as well as important information
which would be very helpful for the completion of the research work which I am going to do.
In addition to this, at the same I found that the lecture notes provided by our professors are
also very helpful and they could be used in an effective manner for the effective conduct of
the research work under discussion here.
Reflection of the work of the last 3 weeks
In the past three weeks I took the time to not only plan a rough sketch of the manner
in which I will proceed with the research work under discussion here but at the same time I
made several modifications as well as adjustments in the research objectives, aims, questions,
methodology and the other important entities that I outlined in the proposal and at the same
time I tried to synchronize it with the literature and the articles that I found which would help
me in the composition of the research work. Furthermore, the last three weeks also provided
me with the opportunity to work on the feedback which the unit supervisor provided me on
the basis of the proposal which I submitted.

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Action Plan
Time Line Tasks Completed
August 15- August 20 In this time period I worked on the feedback
which was provided to me by my unit
supervisor on the basis of the research
proposal which I have submitted. I also
modified the research objectives, aims,
research questions and other aspects of the
research work to make them much more
effective.
August 21- August 26 In this time period I began to browse through
the various databases like Google Scholar,
ProQuest and others and tried to find relevant
as well as important regarding the topic on
which I have decided to do my research
work. Initially I began with searching for
important peer reviewed articles regarding
the various concepts of marketing and
business which would provide me with an
overview of the things which I need to focus
on during the analysis of the business of the
yoga studio. After this I narrowed down my
search for relevant literature on the even
further and tried to find literature which dealt
with the concept of marketing and other

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relevant ones especially in the context of the
yoga studios.
August 27- September 02 This is the stage when a rough draft is being
prepared by me on the basis of the literature
regarding the topic that I found on the
various databases. Furthermore, at this
particular stage I will at the same time have
to club the different ideas that I found in the
various articles and write a draft which would
express the idea or the concepts articulated
by these articles in a coherent manner.
Future work
I would like to say at this particular juncture that although the preliminary research
work has been done by me and I have even found some relevant literature on the topic on
which I want to do my research work and have even got the approval from unit supervisor the
real work begins now. For example, as I mentioned earlier I have composed a rough draft
which more or less represents the things which I am going to do in the research work yet I
would like to add that the draft needs various kinds of modifications. Furthermore, to render
credibility to the research work that I want to do and at the same time to get much more
effective results I have like to take the help of the different peer reviewed journal articles
from other databases as well and at the same time into effective consideration other kind of
research works completed on similar topics. I am of the viewpoint that these are likely to
provide me with valuable information which is likely to help me in a significant manner to

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answer the research questions, aims, objectives and others in a much more better manner.
This is important since the effectiveness of a particular research work depends on the extent
to which a particular research work is being able to answer the research questions, objectives,
aims and other entities outlined by the researcher at the very beginning of the research work.
Therefore, it can be said that the above mentioned steps or actions are likely to help me in a
significant manner.
Conclusion
To conclude, for the effective conduct of any research work there are various steps or
procedures that a particular researcher needs to follow and the overall effectiveness of a
particular research work depends on the efficiency with which a particular researcher is being
able to follow the various stages of the research work. For example, after getting an approval
for a particular research work the researcher needs to search for various kinds of relevant
literature works which are likely to help him or her to conduct the research work in a much
more effective manner and at the same time to answer the research questions, aims,
objectives and others. In addition to these, there are other important steps as well like the
collection of secondary data, the analysis of them and others which the researchers needs to
follow for the effective conduct of the research work.

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Bibliography
Ali-Knight, J., & Ensor, J. (2017). Salute to the sun: an exploration of UK Yoga tourist
profiles. Tourism Recreation Research, 42(4), 484-497. Retrieved from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02508281.2017.1327186
Coskuner-Balli, G. and Ertimur, B., 2017. Legitimation of hybrid cultural products: The case
of American Yoga. Marketing Theory, 17(2), pp.127-147. Retrieved from
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1470593116659786
Ertimur, B., & Coskuner-Balli, G. (2015). Navigating the institutional logics of markets:
Implications for strategic brand management. Journal of Marketing, 79(2), 40-61.
Retrieved from http://journals.ama.org/doi/abs/10.1509/jm.13.0218?code=amma-site
Jones, K. (2017). The Benefits of Yoga to Enhance Your Law Practice. Okla. BJ, 88, 445.
Retrieved from
https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.barjournals/oklbajo2017&div=
43&id=&page=
Law, K. M. Y. (2015). What Drive the Consumers to Buy Yoga Studio Services. Evidence
from Hong Kong. J Yoga Phys Ther, 5(199), 2. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kris_Law/publication/289442440_What_Drive_
the_Consumers_to_Buy_Yoga_Studio_Services_Evidence_from_Hong_Kong/links/
568cc9b208ae71d5cd051cce.pdf
Mohan, H. (2015). Innovation is the key order in Start Ups–Recent Paradigms in Marketing
Vertical. Innovation, 2(2). Retrieved from
http://ijcem.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Innovation_the_key_order_in_startups_re
cent_paradigms_in_marketing_vertical.pdf

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Thomas, J. B., & Peters, C. (2015). Lululemon Athletica and a Series of Bad Marketing
Decisions. Journal of Critical Incidents, 8, 102. Retrieved from
https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-439272345/lululemon-athletica-and-a-
series-of-bad-marketing
Wang, Y., Kung, L., & Byrd, T. A. (2018). Big data analytics: Understanding its capabilities
and potential benefits for healthcare organizations. Technological Forecasting and
Social Change, 126, 3-13. Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162516000500