Market Research

G2 Assignment

Gault Toyota Research Proposal

We are conducting a market research for Gault Toyota located in Endicott, New York. After meeting with Connie Gault, the general manager, we have obtained a general knowledge and brief insight of their current marketing strategy and how it influences their current business.

Management Problem

Since the establishment of Gault Toyota, it has been tracked and proved that their main consumer base lives within a 10-mile radius. However, with such a high consumer population in Binghamton, the dealership is missing out on potential consumers outside the Endicott area. In turn, Gault Toyota must adapt their current marketing strategy to attract consumers located in the Binghamton area that might not necessarily be aware of the dealership. This is essentially important for the growth of the dealership as it expands their consumer market.

Decision Problem

How can Gault Toyota adapt and/or change their current marketing strategies in order to attract people in the Binghamton, Johnson City, and Vestal areas to purchase automobiles from Gault Toyota?

Background

Gault Auto is a family run auto business that has been in the automotive industry since 1934. Starting out with only a Chevrolet dealership, it now has developed into five separate dealerships including Audi, BMW, Scion, Volkswagen, and Toyota. What differentiates Gault Toyota from their competitors is the fact that a woman, Connie Gault, is the face of the franchise. She also controls many of the business & marketing decisions being made along with her husband.

The main objective of Gault Toyota dealership is to sell new and used Toyotas that fits the consumers' budgets while adding great customer service in a friendly atmosphere. Their Internet Value Pricing plan is to present value pricing to all our customers by polling over 20,000 websites hourly. This ensures that every one of our customers receives real time Value Pricing on every new and pre-owned vehicle they sell. In order to provide a better shopping experience for the consumer, Gault Toyota is updating their building by enlarging their car showroom in addition to building a waiting room as well as a café.

Gault Toyota was also recognized by Toyota Motor Sales for being one of their most stellar dealerships and was awarded the prestigious President's Award. A very high honor a dealership can receive from Toyota, as it's only awarded to those dealerships that have demonstrated a commitment to maintaining Toyota's high standards for customer satisfaction. Gault Toyota looks to increase this customer satisfaction by introducing a new marketing plan that will change the dealerships perceptions towards consumers who live outside the Endicott area.

Secondary Research

We obtained a copy of Gault Toyota's market research data that features registration, sales performance, demographic, and sales opportunity.

MarketMaster - Sales Analysis: for focused marketing

One of the attractive features about this booklet is the market area data that depicts the dealerships area of responsibility defined by census tracts. This information provides a good indication of where potential consumers are located and who we should focus are marketing efforts towards. The booklet also focuses on demographic data that analyzes what consumers within the area that are more inclined to purchase a Toyota for the Gault dealership based on their income levels.

We have also done some research on Gault Toyota's current social media marketing. Compared to their top competitor Jack Sherman Toyota in Binghamton, Jack Sherman Toyota has more "likes" and is more frequently updated compared to Gault. Gualt Toyota's Twitter and Facebook page are not as well informed and have repetitive updates on buying cars through eBay. Through this secondary research, we can conclude that people are not fully aware of Gault Toyota's social media marketing, therefore more effort is needed to raise consumer awareness .

Research Questions

1. Are the people in the Binghamton, Johnson City, and Vestal area aware of Gault Toyota Dealership in Endicott?

2. What do consumers look for when they purchase a car?

3. Why do consumers who prefer Toyota cars, tend to purchase