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Marketing Research

Instructions:

Read the problem below and refer to the spreadsheet provided. The spreadsheet values highlighted in yellow can be manipulated in order to determine possible outcomes and answer the questions. You must answer the follow-up questions (ae) correctly to receive full credit.

Problem:

Texmac, Inc., has an idea for a new type of weaving machine that could replace the machines now used by many textile manufacturers. Texmac has done a telephone survey to estimate how many of the old-style machines are now in use. Respondents using the present machines were also asked if they would buy the improved machine at a price of $10,000.

Texmac researchers identified a population of about 5,000 textile factories as potential customers. A sample of these were surveyed, and Texmac received 500 responses. Researchers think the total potential market is about 10 times larger than the sample of respondents. Two hundred twenty of the respondents indicated that their firms used old machines like the one the new machine was intended to replace. Forty percent of those firms said that they would be interested in buying the new Texmac machine.

Texmac thinks the sample respondents are representative of the total population, but the marketing manager realizes that estimates based on a sample may not be exact when applied to the whole population. He wants to see how sampling error would affect profit estimates. Data for this problem appear in the spreadsheet. Quantity estimates for the whole market are computed from the sample estimates. These quantity estimates are used in computing likely sales, costs, and profit contribution.

Spreadsheet

The spreadsheet values outlined in yellow can be changed in order to determine possible outcomes. You can find the initial values in the corresponding blue cells in columns E and F. Start by entering the initial values into columns B and C. Then review the questions below and adjust the values in columns B and C to determine the correct answers.

Questions:

a. An article in a trade magazine reports that there are about 5,200 textile factories that use the old-style machine. If the total market is really 5,200 customersnot 5,000 as Texmac originally thoughthow does that affect the replacement quantity estimate? Quantity would change to:

multiple choice 1

• 880 units

• 915 units

• 1024 units

• 2200 units

• 2288 units

b. How would a market size of 5,200 factories affect profit contribution?

multiple choice 2

• Profit would decrease to $3,380,000.00

• Profit would stay the same

• Profit would increase to $3,660,000.00

• Profit would increase to $5,490,000.00

• Profit would increase to $9,150,000.00

c. Some of the people who responded to the survey didnt know much about different types of machines. If the actual number of old machines in the market is really 200 per 500 firmsnot 220 as estimated from survey responseshow much would this affect the expected profit contribution (for 5,200 factories)?

multiple choice 3

• Profit would decrease by $332,000.00

• Profit would decrease by $3,200,000.00

• Profit would stay the same

• Profit would increase by $328,000.00

• Profit would increase by $8,320,000.00

d. The marketing manager knows that the percentage of textile factories that would actually buy the new machine might be different from the 40 percent who said they would in the survey. He estimates that the proportion that will replace the old machine might be as low as 36 and as high as 44 percentdepending on business conditions. Using a notebook or a spreadsheet application, prepare a table that shows how expected quantity and profit contribution change when the sample percent varies between a minimum of 36 and a maximum of 44 percent (using intervals of 1%). (Note: Use 5,200 for the number of potential customers and use 220 as the estimate of the number of old machines in the sample.) At what percent does the estimate for total market replacements equal 1007?

multiple choice 4

• 36%

• 38%

• 40%

• 42%

• 44%

e. Using the same scenario as above, at what percent does the estimate for total market contribution equal $3,476,000.00?

multiple choice 5

• 36%

• 38%

• 40%

• 42%

• 44%

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