Research proposal: Format and marking schedule

The research proposal is created to evaluate the impact of branding on the buying behaviors of customers of Foodstuffs within the New Zealand retail sector. The research will focus on the various aspects of branding and its impact on the consumer buying behaviors within the retail industry in New Zealand. Considering the fact that brand knowledge is essential for making people gain interest on the brand products and services, it is important for Foodstuffs, New Zealand to maintain a positive brand image and name, which will be further demonstrated in details, based on which the research will be conducted (foodstuffs.co.nz, 2018).

It is an important fact that the brand knowledge is an important factor for influencing the buying behaviors of the consumers. Being a major retail chain in New Zealand, it is important for the company to enable proper branding techniques and improve the level of exposure of the brand to its clients. It can not only create positive brand perceptions among the individuals, but will also influence the buying decisions and behaviors of the consumers, thereby create a sense of trust and loyalty among the customers about the brand (Leekha Chhabra & Sharma, 2014). This is essential for improving the sales and generates enough revenue to sustain in the competitive business marketplace. The background of research will illustrate how the lack of branding strategies can reduce the brand exposure and thus lesser customers will be able to know about the brand and its products and services delivered (Strebinger, 2014).

Foodstuffs Ltd. is a grocery and liquor retailer in New Zealand, which has followed the right branding strategies to ensure that the brand image and identity are enhanced and more customers are attracted. The research background highlights the branding strategies and how the clients will perceive the brand, thus result in brand awareness, brand equity and positive brand perceptions for increasing their level of willingness to pay for the specific products and services delivered by Foodstuffs, New Zealand (Kotabe & Helsen, 2014).

The aim of the research is to determine the impact that has been created on the buying behaviors of the consumers due to various branding strategies adopted and implemented by Foodstuffs in New Zealand.

• To identify the various approaches and strategies associated with the branding aspects of Foodstuffs, New Zealand
• To evaluate the impact of branding on the influencing of purchasing behaviors of the consumers
• To assess the probable impacts that can be created on the clients due to which their behaviors regarding purchase will tend to form
• To recommend necessary measures and other techniques of enhancing the brand image and name for creating awareness among customers at Foodstuffs in New Zealand

What are the various approaches undertaken for ensuring successful branding of the organization named Foodstuffs, New Zealand?

How can the branding strategies create an impact on the positive mindsets and behaviors of clients regarding the purchase of products and services?

Research background

What measures are recommended for improving the brand image and identity along with creating awareness among the customers to influence their buying behaviors?

Branding aspect in business

There are various ways of ensuring a proper brand name and image and it is essential for recognizing the needs of people, evaluate alternatives and manage the behaviors post purchases made. From the report, it has been found that the branding creates an important impact on the buying behaviors of consumers, which contributed to the selection of a specific brand by the clients based on their needs and preferences. Due to globalization, the entire world has become one market and it has created huge level of competition, which needs to be dealt with by maintaining a proper brand image and identity (Seo & Jang, 2013). The consumers appraised the brands as their status symbol and at the same time managed to fulfill their demands and expectations considering the fact they get value for money products from the specific brand. The individuals perceive the brands as their recognition, achievement and status symbol and become emotionally attached to that brand of their choice and once they get the things that they desire for, their buying behaviors get automatically influenced.

When the customers are loyal to a specific brand, they are more likely to get attached to the brand products and consume those on a consistent manner. The loyal and trustworthy customers have helped in gaining a higher market share, which has been influenced furthermore by making them loyal through investments made by the shareholders in order to attract and retain the new and existing customers respectively (Robertson & Khatibi, 2013). This has helped in gaining a competitive edge against the competitors, which is considered as a major factor to achieve success and business growth. Branding is important, because once the customers become loyal to the specific brand, they will prefer the brand products upon others and at the same time, make frequent purchases because of their attachment with the brand and the level of satisfaction obtained by gaining what they expected from the brand (Rehan, 2014). Other than the branding concepts, there are few other factors too such as the status and conspicuous factors that has contributed to the purchasing behaviors and decisions made by the consumers.

The clients need to have the brand awareness and necessary things that shall be needed by them regarding the brand for ensuring that the right messages and information are delivered to them and their behaviors are influenced. The brand awareness assists the clients in recalling the brand, which further has lead to the development of a positive mindset and brand image needed to form an effective association of the consumers with the brand (Lindstedt, 2015). Thus, the creation of an effective brand relationship has helped in building the level of trust and loyalty needed to remain satisfied with the kinds of brand products and services delivered. On the other hand, it is often seen that once the clients get attached to the brand, the brand variables influence the present as well as future prices of the customers, The brand has enabled the customers in saving a lot of costs associated with the switching of products, which can enhance the brand knowledge and create a sense of trust among their minds which positively contributes to their buying decisions (Solomon et al., 2014). The buying behaviors of consumers is the actual study of actions undertaken for planning towards influencing consumer buying behavior and planning for managing the purchases effectively.

Research aim

The management of brand is one of the most important aspects of branding that helps in fulfilling the needs and preferences of clients as well as allows the company to survive in the competitive business marketplace. The major factor influencing the brand equity is the positive brand image and identity to ensure that the quality production increases with the increase in sales revenue and profit level too (Goh et al., 2013). This helps in managing goodwill and higher market share that allows for maximizing the market potential and allowed the company to achieve competitive advantage in business along with a great brand position in the market too for influencing the buying behaviors of consumers. The most effective branding strategies and approaches are brand positioning, brand differentiation, celebrity endorsements and managing brand exposure to draw in more clients and ensure that more purchases are made by customers within the retail sector. Brand building is an integral concept in marketing considering the fact that it goes well when the brands products and services are positioned properly for easily accessible by the customers (Albert & Merunka, 2013). The positioning has helped in placing the brand to occupy the minds of customers and differentiate the brand products from other company products and services. The companies have focused on the distinguishable features of the brand products, which has helped in creating a positive brand image and made them easily differentiate the products from other brands.

Celebrity endorsements or celebrity branding, is an effective marketing strategy that has engaged the celebrities to endorse the brand products and allowed them to create a sense of belonging and association with brand. Due to the involvement of celebrities, the popular individuals who used their social status and fame to promote the brand created positive mindsets among the individuals. Due to thus, their behaviors are influenced and this has raised the level of awareness, furthermore ensured influencing the buying behaviors and decisions of the customers. The use of internet to promote e-business and involving the social media platforms have also helped in exposing the brand more and gained the attention of customers, which made them inclined towards their preferred brands with much ease and effectiveness (Buil, Martínez & De Chernatony, 2013). Therefore, these are the most effective branding strategies and approaches undertaken for influencing the consumer buying behaviors. 

The research topic focuses on the various branding aspects considering the fact that it can create a positive impact on the consuming buying behaviors within the retail food sector in New Zealand. Thus branding is considered as a very important aspect in business that influences business growth, profitability and gaining competitive advantage through better brand exposure and maintaining a positive image to steer the clients towards that particular brand (Tuškej, Golob & Podnar, 2013). The research will highlight the importance of branding and draw in various kinds of data and information that will be needed to conduct the research and ultimately come to a point where the objectives will be met and positive outcomes can be obtained from the research.

Research objectives

The most important factor that drives the behaviors of consumers based on the type of brand is the brand loyalty and even maintaining positive brand image and identity. Thus, for gaining in-depth knowledge, new ideas, theories and concepts will be generated and it can be possible by using either positivism or post positivism research philosophy. The information are generally obtained based on the sensory experiences, which will be later implemented based on logical reasoning. The research, being a primary research considers collecting both qualitative and quantitative data (Malik et al., 2013). Thus, interpretivism may not be suitable because of its consideration of scientific approaches where assumptions will be made subjective rather than objective. Because of the collection of quantitative data to be followed in the later stages of the research conduction, the positivism research philosophy will be much more suitable among the other two while conducting the research effectively (Pappas, 2016).

The different types of research designs include exploratory, explanatory and descriptive research designs. The exploratory research design presents theoretical data for defining the initial research and make observations to ensure that the research can be conducted in the future as well. There are existing theories, ideas and concepts that are required for the development of framework required to match the dependent and independent variables and ensure that the research brings fruitful results. The explanatory research design assists in finding out the cause and effects of research, which will facilitate the generation of ideas and make sure that the important research aspects are linked with each other (Neuman, 2013). Unless a proper in-depth collection and analysis of data and information is done, the research will not be able to conduct and identify what may come in next for maintaining the validity and reliability. Often there are gaps found in the research, which affects the research outcomes and thus it will be important to fill those gaps for expanding the research. The collected data and information will further assist in making prior assumptions and predict the outcomes that may be experienced in the future. The descriptive research design prioritizes more on the ‘what’ and ‘how’ aspects of research rather than the ‘why’. It is not much unpredictable and thus the research aspects will be understood in details (Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2015). The dependent variable in this research is the buying behaviors of consumers and it is dependent upon the branding aspects, which is the independent variable. Thus, the descriptive research design has created a link between the dependent and independent variables, which finalizes that the branding strategies and approaches will be responsible for enhancing the level of influence regarding purchase made by the customers within the New Zealand retail sector.

Literature review

By enabling the various branding approaches and strategies, it has become easy for the retail industry in New Zealand to expose the brand products to the customers, furthermore ensured that they can make purchases after understanding whether their needs and preferences can be met or not. The companies found themselves in bad positions with the immense competitive environment, which not only contributed to the lack of business management, but also their reactions seemed to be something different for the different global brands (Bryman, 2016). Considering the fact, it is always important to derive both qualitative and quantitative data for ensuring that the research conduction will be successful. The Mixed method of the research involves collection, analysis and integration of both qualitative and quantitative data. The quantitative data is collected through experimental observations, survey processes while the qualitative data is obtained from the sources like focus group discussions and interviews with the higher authorities and managers of the organization (Fowler Jr, 2013). The mixed methods will be suitable for conducting the research because collection of both qualitative and quantitative data will assist in better understanding and in-depth observations, which can reduce the chances of errors and increase the probability of obtaining positive outcomes largely.

The sampling techniques will allow us to select the right sample size and ensure that proper amount of data and information are collected for conducting the research appropriately. The non-probability sampling technique includes both purposive and convenient sampling methods. The non-probability sampling technique helps in obtaining qualitative data where the managers of the organizations will be provided with a suitable time based on their convenience so that they can provide their useful opinions and ideas regarding their approach towards successful brand management. The random sampling technique, on the other hand, helps in selecting a particular sample size randomly, i.e., a homogenous group of people will be selected from a heterogeneous group of people (Mertens¸2014). Thus, the non-probability sampling technique will be the most suitable sampling procedure while conducting the research.

The data collection method is used to obtain both primary and secondary data, where the primary data is categorized into qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative data includes the responses of managers and higher authorities of the organization, whereas the quantitative data will be collected by selecting the respondents as samples at first, and then distributing survey questionnaires to them where they can provide their useful views and opinions without any bias (foodstuffs.co.nz, 2018). The secondary data, on the other hand will be collected by analyzing the secondary data sources including the journals, articles, newspapers and authenticated websites that contain information related to the various aspects of branding and its effect on the purchasing decision and behaviors of the consumers.

The sample size is chosen as 50 customers and 5 managers of the organizations from the retail food industry in New Zealand.

The analysis of data will be done with the use of SPSS tool and the collected information will be represented in graphs and tables on the Excel sheet so that researcher will be able to understand it easily.

The validity and reliability of the research are maintained by making sure that the information and data obtained from the various sources are genuine, authenticated and validated. Often the validity of information I questioned due to the lack of accurate information found on the secondary sources and thus it is important to search for authenticated information (Solomon et al., 2014). This will not only maintain the reliability of research, but will facilitate the accomplishment of research objectives considering the fact that branding creates a positive impact on the consumer buying behaviors.

There may certain limitations like the cost and time constraints along with lack of accurate information obtained from the sources. While presenting the research proposal, it has been found that to conduct further researches and for ensuring successful research conduction, it is necessary to provide ample time and financial resources for assisting the research to accomplish the research perfectly.

The values and ethics management is an important aspect of the research conduction. The research will be conducted keeping in mind the confidentiality of data and keeping the data and information of respondents secure and private, so that any sort of unauthorized access is prevented. Just after the completion of the research, the research materials will be destroyed so that it does not fall in wrong hands (Malik et al., 2013). None of the respondents are forced to take part in the research survey, which has also maintained proper values and ethics while conducting the research effectively.

Main activities/ stages	Month July	Month August	Month Sep	Month Oct	Month Nov	Month December
Selection of topic	Y
Collecting data from secondary sources	Y	Y
Constructing the research layout		Y
Literature review		Y	Y	Y
Development of research Plan			Y	Y
Selection of Appropriate Research Techniques				Y	Y
Primary data collection					Y	Y
Analysis & Interpretation of Data which are collected					Y	Y
Conclusion						Y
Development of Draft						Y
Final Work submission						Y

References

Albert, N., & Merunka, D. (2013). The role of brand love in consumer-brand relationships. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 30(3), 258-266.

Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods. Oxford university press.

Buil, I., Martínez, E., & De Chernatony, L. (2013). The influence of brand equity on consumer responses. Journal of consumer marketing, 30(1), 62-74.

foodstuffs.co.nz. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.foodstuffs.co.nz/

Fowler Jr, F. J. (2013). Survey research methods. Sage publications.

Goh, K. Y., Heng, C. S., & Lin, Z. (2013). Social media brand community and consumer behavior: Quantifying the relative impact of user-and marketer-generated content. Information Systems Research, 24(1), 88-107.

Kotabe, M., & Helsen, K. (2014). Global marketing management.

Leekha Chhabra, N., & Sharma, S. (2014). Employer branding: strategy for improving employer attractiveness. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 22(1), 48-60.

Lindstedt, J. (2015). A deliberately emergent strategy–a key to successful city branding. Journal of Place Management and Development, 8(2), 90-102.

Malik, M. E., Ghafoor, M. M., Iqbal, H. K., Ali, Q., Hunbal, H., Noman, M., & Ahmad, B. (2013). Impact of brand image and advertisement on consumer buying behavior. World Applied Sciences Journal, 23(1), 117-122.

Mertens, D. M. (2014). Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Sage publications.

Neuman, W. L. (2013). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Pearson education.

Pappas, N. (2016). Marketing strategies, perceived risks, and consumer trust in online buying behaviour. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 29, 92-103.

Rehan, R. M. (2014). Urban branding as an effective sustainability tool in urban development. HBRC Journal, 10(2), 222-230.

Robertson, A., & Khatibi, A. (2013). The influence of employer branding on productivity-related outcomes of an organization. IUP Journal of Brand Management, 10(3), 17.

Seo, S., & Jang, S. S. (2013). The roles of brand equity and branding strategy: a study of restaurant food crises. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 34, 192-201.

Solomon, M. R., Dahl, D. W., White, K., Zaichkowsky, J. L., & Polegato, R. (2014). Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10). London: Pearson.

Strebinger, A. (2014). Rethinking brand architecture: a study on industry, company-and product-level drivers of branding strategy. European Journal of Marketing, 48(9/10), 1782-1804.

Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., & DeVault, M. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.

Tuškej, U., Golob, U., & Podnar, K. (2013). The role of consumer–brand identification in building brand relationships. Journal of business research, 66(1), 53-59.