You work for a beverage distribution company and have been asked to support the marketing research team in the preliminary phases of their process. You have been tasked with finding out which beverages are most popular at sporting events, so you visit local stadiums, talking with fans about their preferences and to concession owners about their beverage sales. You also gather samples of sports-oriented ads being run by your competitors.
Your teammates ask you why you chose to employ this strategy. Which of the following themes explain your choice?
a. Conducting exploratory research may include talking to customers and retailers, and/or evaluation of available competitive data.
b. Defining a problem may include clarification of what researchers need to test.
c. Formulating a hypothesis requires clarification of what researchers need to test.
d. Creating a research design may include talking to customers and retailers, and/or evaluation of available competitive data.