Market Research Report: Analysis of Restaurant Industry for Darden

This report analyzes the application of qualitative research methods to understand consumer behavior within the restaurant industry, specifically focusing on Darden Restaurants. It explores the use of various research techniques, including interviews and social media analysis, to gather data on consumer preferences and eating habits. The report outlines the design of focus groups, comparing and contrasting approaches for the US and European markets, and discusses the validity and reliability of the findings. The author emphasizes the importance of the research in informing strategic decisions related to Darden's business operations, highlighting the utility of the data in understanding customer propensities and the factors that influence their dining choices.

Running head: ESSENTIALS OF MARKET RESEARCH
ESSENTIALS OF MARKET RESEARCH
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1ESSENTIALS OF MARKET RESEARCH
Answer 1
Each orientation for qualitative research can be used to understand the behavior of the consumers
related to the restaurant industry of USA for dining-in and dining-out which in turn can be used
for conducting the required exploratory research.
Answer 2
The qualitative tool of interviews can be used for defining what “eating out” constitutes in the
US and in the continental Europe.
Answer 3
Yes, I think that the Tweets or posts related to Darden’s top brands over the social media might
constitute qualitative data relevant to the decision issue. For instance, the posts or the tweets
related to eating out can be collected and analyzed so as to understand the eating out tendency of
the customers. This then can be used for the purpose of making the required decision related to
the issue under discussion here.
Answer 4
a) For the US focus group, the questions would be open-ended and the number of questions
would not be more than 10. Furthermore, the wording of the questions would be simple and also
the questions would be short so that the interviewees would be able to understand them and
answer adequately. More importantly, no sensitive or private questions would be asked and the
interview questions would be followed by an exit question.

2ESSENTIALS OF MARKET RESEARCH
For the European group also the questions would be open-ended, the questionnaire would consist
of around 10 questions and the words or the phrases of the questions would be very simple. The
main questionnaire would be followed by an exit question.
b) No, the results of the two would not be of equal validity since the European group comprises
of English speaking individuals which actually is a very narrow segment of the entire European
population and the answers given by them cannot be generalized to the entire population of
Europe which can be done in the case of the US group.
Answer 5
Yes, the results are meaningful since the themes or the codes obtained from them can be used for
understanding the propensity of the customers to eating out, the factors which propel them to do
so and other important details which can be used by Darden for making the decision related to
the two strategic issues that it is facing presently.