| Course | D374 Market Research |
|---|---|
| Task | Task 1 |
| Paper type | Market research plan |
| Length | About 1,000 words, 3 pages |
| Format | APA 7 |
| School | Western Governors University (WGU) |
| Program | MS Marketing |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for D374 Task 1
Why the Regulars Stopped Coming: A Market Research Plan for a Composite Neighborhood Bakery Cafe After Three Quarters of Falling Sales
Student Name
School of Business, Western Governors University
D374: Market Research, Task 1
Course Instructor
Month Day, Year
Why the Regulars Stopped Coming: A Market Research Plan for a Composite Neighborhood Bakery Cafe After Three Quarters of Falling Sales
Background
Crumb & Kettle, a composite bakery cafe in a residential neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky, opened nine years ago and built a loyal base of morning regulars who bought coffee and pastries on the way to work. Over the past three quarters, sales have fallen 14% compared with the same period a year earlier, and the average number of daily transactions has dropped from about 310 to 260. The owner has noticed fewer familiar faces but does not know why. Several changes happened in the past year: a national coffee chain opened a drive-through location half a mile away, the cafe raised prices by about 10% to cover ingredient costs, a large employer nearby moved many of its staff to remote work, and the cafe shortened its weekend hours because of staffing problems. Each could explain the decline, and each would call for a different response.
Business Problem and Research Problem
Marketing research distinguishes the management decision problem, what the decision maker must decide, from the marketing research problem, what information is needed to make that decision well (Malhotra, 2019). The management decision problem for Crumb & Kettle is how to restore sales, whether by changing prices, products, hours, promotion or all of these. The research problem is to determine why transactions from regular customers have declined, how widespread each reason is, and what changes would bring lapsed customers back and keep current ones. Keeping these separate prevents the research from jumping to a solution, such as a discount, before the cause is known.
Research Objectives
Objective 1: Identify the main reasons regular customers visit less often or have stopped visiting.
Objective 2: Estimate how many former and current customers are affected by each reason, such as price, the new competitor, changes in their work routines or reduced hours.
Objective 3: Understand what current customers value most about the cafe and what would lead them to visit more often.
Objective 4: Assess awareness of and interest in possible changes, such as a loyalty program, mobile ordering or expanded weekend hours.
Secondary Data
Before collecting new data, the research will review information already available, which is faster and cheaper. Internal data include point-of-sale records by hour and day, the average ticket, product sales before and after the price increase, and email addresses from past catering orders. External data include local business news about the employer's remote work policy, the competitor's opening date and hours, neighborhood demographic data from the Census Bureau and online reviews of the cafe and competitors. The sales data alone may show whether the decline is concentrated in weekday mornings, which would point toward commuting changes and the drive-through competitor, or spread across all times, which would suggest price.
Primary Research Methods
Exploratory qualitative research: two focus groups of six to eight participants each, one with current regulars and one with lapsed regulars who used to visit at least weekly. Focus groups are well suited to exploring why people behave as they do and to surfacing reasons the researcher has not anticipated (Krueger & Casey, 2015). They will address Objectives 1 and 3.
Descriptive quantitative research: a short survey of current and former customers, distributed by email to the catering list, by a QR code on receipts and table cards, and by postcards to nearby households. The survey will measure how common each reason identified in the focus groups is and gauge interest in possible changes, addressing Objectives 2 and 4.
The qualitative research comes first so that the survey can ask about the reasons customers actually give, in their own words, rather than only the reasons the owner suspects.
Sampling
The focus groups will be recruited from people who respond to an invitation in the cafe and by email, screened to ensure one group includes only people who previously visited weekly but now visit monthly or less. Lapsed customers are the hardest to reach but most important, so recruitment will include postcards to nearby households and a modest incentive of a $25 gift card. The survey aims for at least 300 responses, with quotas to ensure that at least a third come from lapsed customers; responses from current customers alone would miss the people whose behavior changed. Survey design will follow established principles, such as keeping it short, testing questions with a few customers first and sending reminders, which improve response rates and data quality (Dillman et al., 2014).
Limitations and Ethics
The plan has limits the owner should understand. People who choose to answer a survey are not a random slice of all customers, and lapsed customers who feel strongly may be overrepresented among respondents, so results will be read as indicators rather than exact measures. Focus groups reveal reasons but cannot show how common they are, which is why the survey follows. Participation will be voluntary, responses will be anonymous in reporting, and contact information will be used only for the research and any follow-up offers participants agree to receive.
Timeline and Budget
Weeks one and two: analyze secondary data and recruit focus group participants. Weeks three and four: conduct and analyze focus groups. Weeks five through seven: draft, test and field the survey. Week eight: analyze results and present recommendations. The budget is about $3,200, covering incentives, postcards and printing, a room rental and survey software.
How Findings Will Guide Decisions
Each likely finding points to a different action. If the main cause is the drive-through competitor, the cafe might add mobile ordering and curbside pickup. If price is the main reason, it might introduce a loyalty program or a lower-priced morning combo rather than cut prices across the board. If remote work changed routines, it might shift promotion toward midday and weekends, when remote workers take breaks, and restore weekend hours. The research is designed so the owner can choose among these with evidence rather than guesswork.
Conclusion
Crumb & Kettle's falling sales could have several causes, each requiring a different response. A research plan that separates the business and research problems, reviews existing data first, explores reasons through focus groups and measures them through a survey that deliberately includes lapsed customers will give the owner the evidence needed to act.
References
Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D., & Christian, L. M. (2014). Internet, phone, mail, and mixed-mode surveys: The tailored design method (4th ed.). Wiley.
Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. A. (2015). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research (5th ed.). Sage.
Malhotra, N. K. (2019). Marketing research: An applied orientation (7th ed.). Pearson.
What the D374 Task 1 instructions ask
D374 begins with a research plan. Most versions have you describe the background, define the business and research problems, set objectives, identify secondary data, choose primary methods, describe sampling and note limitations and ethics. Evaluators look for a research problem that follows from the decision the organization faces, objectives that are specific enough to answer, secondary data reviewed before primary research, methods matched to objectives and sampling that reaches the right people. A plan that jumps to a survey without defining what it must learn will not meet the planning aspects. Including people who have stopped buying, as the sample does, is often where the most useful answers lie.
How this D374 Task 1 example is built
The plan opens with the cafe's history, customers and the sales decline. A section explains the difference between the decision problem and the research problem and states each. Four objectives follow, each a question the research must answer. The secondary data section lists internal point-of-sale records and outside sources such as neighborhood data and competitor openings. The primary research section explains why qualitative focus groups come first and a survey follows, and what each will contribute. Sampling describes how participants will be recruited and screened. Limits and ethics close the plan, covering bias, consent and privacy. Every objective is carried into a small table that pairs it with the method expected to answer it.
Where the D374 Task 1 rubric puts the marks
D374 Task 1 aspects are rated competent, approaching competence or not evident. A background aspect asks for the situation described. A problem aspect rewards the decision and research problems defined. An objectives aspect looks for specific, answerable objectives. A secondary data aspect wants existing sources reviewed. A primary methods aspect asks for methods matched to objectives. A sampling aspect looks for how participants will be chosen. A limitations aspect wants bias and ethics addressed. Evaluators notice when methods are sequenced with purpose, exploratory first and then descriptive, and they expect marketing research texts to be cited. An objectives aspect marked competent usually has three to five questions, each narrow enough that the data could settle it. Plans that list a dozen objectives tend to lose focus in the methods section.
D374 Task 1 help: what sends it back
D374 plans lose marks when objectives are vague, such as learn about customers. Write each as a question the research can answer. Secondary data are often skipped, when they are faster and cheaper. Methods may be chosen without reasons, so explain what each adds. Sampling can miss key groups, such as customers who stopped coming. Limitations may be generic; name the specific biases your methods introduce. Last, address ethics, including consent and data privacy, since evaluators expect it even for a small business study. A related slip is treating the owner's decision as the research problem, as in should we cut prices. The research problem asks what the owner needs to know first, such as which reasons explain fewer visits. Keep the two statements apart and show how the answer will feed the decision.
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D374 Task 1 questions, answered
What is secondary data in D374?
Information already collected for another purpose, such as sales records, census data or industry reports. The sample reviews it before designing focus groups and a survey. It is usually faster and cheaper than new data.
Is the D374 cafe real?
No. Crumb & Kettle is invented for this sample. The research methods and planning steps described are standard in marketing research and cited. Your plan should address your own organization's problem.
Why mix methods in D374?
Focus groups explore reasons in customers' own words; a survey measures how common those reasons are. Using both answers different objectives. The sample runs the focus groups first so the survey can test what they reveal.
Why include lapsed customers in D374 research?
Because they can explain why sales fell. The sample recruits a focus group of former regulars as well as current ones. Current customers alone can only say why they still come, which misses the reasons behind the drop.
Where can I find a free D374 Task 1 sample paper?
The bakery cafe research plan sits above with a note beside each step. Describe the business problem you are researching, and your first custom D374 plan is free.