As part of the requirements for completing the Marketing Research course offered by the Department of Management and Marketing at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), students are often required to conduct research on a marketing-related topic of interest. Upon recommendation from the Business Development Center of the College of Industrial Management at KFUPM, during the Spring semester 2003 the Marketing Research class has decided to use an investigation of consumer perceptions of the Jaguar brand of automobile as a class research topic.

The study will examine how these brands are currently perceived in the Saudi market, and will provide information that will be useful to Al Saif Motors in their efforts to better penetrate the market.

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2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The research will be designed to achieve the following objectives.

1. To examine the competitive standing of the Jaguar brand in Saudi Arabia verses other brands of luxury cars.

2. To identify the factors that influence consumers’ preferences for different brands and models of luxury cars. For example, price, performance, after sales service including parts availability, resale value, and frequency of model redesign.

3. To examine consumers' quality and image perceptions of the Jaguar brand name.

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3. RESEARCH DESIGN:

To achieve the above objectives, a survey will be conducted among owners and potential buyers of luxury cars in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia using a structured self-administered questionnaire.

Prior to the main survey, exploratory research will be conducted to identify the factors that influence customers’ preferences for different brands and models of luxury cars in the Kingdom. This will be achieved through focus group interviews and depth interviews with selected customers as well as with resource personnel (e.g. salespeople) in car dealerships that offer luxury models. Results of these investigations will be used to design the questionnaire, which will then be tested in a small-scale pilot study before final implementation in the main survey.

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4. DATA COLLECTION

Students of the Marketing Research course at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals will distribute the questionnaires. Each student will be responsible for collecting information from a sample of respondents.

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5. DATA ANALYSIS

The students will code and enter their data into a computer for electronic processing using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software. Specific analysis techniques to be employed will be dictated by requirements of the research objectives formulated for the study.

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6. PRESENTATION OF RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Findings from the study, conclusions drawn, and related recommendations will be communicated to Al Saif Motors in a written report prepared by the Marketing students. An oral presentation could also be arranged if this would be of interest to Al Saif Motors. This will provide the opportunity for management of Al Saif Motors to seek clarification of issues contained in the written report.

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7. EXECUTION TIME SCHEDULE

The study would be completed by the end of the Spring semester – June 2003. Dr Calcich will be available for further consultation July 2003.

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8. BENEFITS OF THE PROJECT

We envisage that Al Saif Motors will derive significant benefits from this project. First, the research objectives have been formulated taking into account the practical marketing issues involved with an existing brand represented by Jaguar- issues related to customer awareness, market segments to target, product perceptions compared to competitors, and factors important to customers when they choose among alternative brands. We believe that information collected from the project will be valuable to Al Saif Motors in helping the company to better define its direct competitors and its target market, and also to identify aspects of its marketing strategy that need to be improved to make the product a success in the market. Second, implementation of the project itself will contribute to improving the image of the brand and the Jaguar product line among Saudi consumers. Furthermore, each student ( approximately 90 students enrolled in the course) will be distributing questionnaires to approximately 10 people resulting in more than one thousand people becoming more knowledgeable regarding the Jaguar brand and product line just by virtue of completing the questionnaires.

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9. COST

We hope that Al Saif Motors will contribute to the research effort by meeting expenses involved in the data collection, providing a prize for the students producing the report and an honorarium for the instructor for supervising and directing student efforts to ensure that quality research is conducted.

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