Research Methods

In analyzing assessment and targeting of the marketplace for the Ford Mustang, I have conducted bot secondary research, using the research of others, and original research, collecting original data to verify an idea. While I have found successes in both methods, I lean towards a preference for secondary research. Using secondary research, I was able to take a variety of information and glean from it my own analysis of the concept as a whole. This allowed me more of a global view of the research I was gathering, allowing me to best shape my own objective opinion.

When conducting original research, it was done on a very small scale compared to the information available as secondary research.  Challenges with this included a true assessment of demographic and preference. On a larger scale, I can see definite value in original research.

Interestingly though, I did find consistencies between the published information and my research. Just as I found negative comments regarding the Mustang on many blogs, there were some people surveyed the were very negative in every dimension of the brand personality scale. And just as there were rave reviews for the Mustang, there were those that clearly favored the Mustang in the survey results. I did observe an inconsistency though in that not all surveyed consumers supported or were bought into the marketing message delivered by Ford.

Generally speaking though, I find the most success in the combination of the two types of research, drawing my own correlations between the larger and smaller scale information collected both by myself and by others.