About Chris Hawkes Expertise I can help people to understand whether or not market research might help them address the
business decisions that they are facing. I can also help them consider the different types of
research that might be appropriate in their situation, and can help them estimate the costs of
the different methdologies, and the pros and cons of each approach.
Experience I've worked in a Fortune 500 company, as a market researcher for the last 8 years. I've managed dozens of qualitative and quantitative market research. I've conducted extensive market research in the US, and in over 20 other countries around the world as well.
Organizations American Marketing Association
Publications MarketResearch101.com and EzineArticles.
Education/Credentials I have a degree in Finance, which I realy haven't ever used, except to try to understand how my mortgage payments were calculated.
Question Hi Chris,
My background is in Visual Communication and I am working as a Visual Art Coordinator in a Fine Art and Design College in the Emirates (Dubai). For the past two years I was creating catalogs and posters for the college but now the dean wants me to be in charge of studying our target audience (potential students and their parents) to develop a whole strategic plan to know how to market the College ..
I have no idea what to do and how to start! he mentioned surveys and finding the right venues to hit .. He wants a developed proposal on what are the best ways and means to market this place and why? and when should we start..
I have never done this before.. but I do want to learn and read about it.. to be able to meet his expectation.
can you help me please?
Answer Hello Sarah,
Sorry that I couldn't get back to you earlier - my e-mail has been bombarded by junk e-mail and I'm having a hard time sorting through things without deleting the wrong stuff.
This is a pretty broad question so it may take a few e-mails to get you what you need. What your dean wants may very well be a research project. I'm not sure what specific methodology might make the most sense, but I'm going to guess that quantitative research may be the first step (maybe telephone, web or e-mail is my first guess). Here are a few questions to get you started:
1. How do you think that you might be able to get in touch with potential customers? Do you have a list of potential students from local schools?
2. How much do you know already about potential students? Have most of them graduated recently from high school (or whatever it's called in the UAE.
3. How many of your students are non-traditional students (students that have been out of the school for more than a year or two)?
4. What does your Dean want to do with a profile of potential customers? (maybe increase the efficiency of your ad spending?)
5. What is the cost of attending your college? (simple round numbers will be fine).
6. What brought about the decision to put someone in charge of studying your potential students?
I think that you may want to conduct a 'profiling study' to increase your understanding of current or potential customers. This is often an web or phone study, although it can be done in person in certain circumstances. The best way to proceed may be to send out a "Request for Proposal" to a number of local research houses in order to get a number of competitive bids back. If you would like I can help you with this.
