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Shodh Housing Market Research - Case Solution

Avinash G Mulky | Harvard Business Review ( IMB455-PDF-ENG ) | May 05, 2014 (Revision: 2023-09-23)
Abstract:

S. Vaseem is the CEO of Shodh Housing Market Research, a Bengaluru-based market research agency. One of his proposals for a client has gained approval. This client plans on delving into the economic housing segment along with other projects in other cities in South India. He wanted to gain knowledge of the opportunity at hand and what it takes in terms of consumers' needs and wants. Thus, Vaseem had to come up with the right tools to develop reliable qualitative and quantitative research appropriate for the commencement and success of the project.

Case Questions Answered

  • Comment on Vaseem's understanding of the client's management decision problem, market research problems, and information needs.
  • Are the research designs proposed by Shodh appropriate for this type of project?
  • What is the utility of a focus group in this study? Design a moderator's guide for a focus group on economic housing.
  • What is the utility of survey research in this project? Design a questionnaire for the listing/profiling survey.

Introduction – Shodh Housing Market Research

S. Vaseem, CEO of Shodh Housing Market Research, a Bengaluru-based market research agency, has learned that his proposal for carrying out a market research study for a new client has just been approved.

The proposal described a study to assess the opportunities in the economic housing segment comprising apartments priced below INR 2.5 million.

As the segment potential was as yet unknown, the client wanted to conduct a formal market research exercise on a pilot basis in Bengaluru to confirm the size of the opportunity and to understand consumer requirements and preferences.

Shodh’s proposal included secondary research, expert interviews, focus group discussions, surveys, and conjoint analysis methodologies.

Objective

  • To analyze the proposal and determine how well the management decision problems, market research problems, and information needs are specified.
  • To give a detailed analysis of the research design proposed by Shodh.
  • To create a moderator’s guide to conducting a focus group on economic housing.
  • To create a questionnaire for a research survey on economic housing.

Shodh’s Proposal

Summary

Oriental Builders Limited wants to venture into the affordable housing segment, particularly in South India. They would like to build houses with areas ranging from 700-900 square feet targeted at middle-income households from socio-economic categories B1, B2, and C.

Their goal is to enter into economic housing in 10 different cities in South India. For that, they want Shodh to conduct a pilot housing research project in Bengaluru. OBL wants to estimate the demand potential and the attractiveness of the economy housing in selected areas of Bengaluru.

Research Objectives

The housing research objectives that Shodh proposed are:

  1. Assess the potential market attractiveness of economy housing projects in Bengaluru.
  2. Profiling of consumers based on geographic, demographic, and psychographic segments.
  3. Identification of the motivations, deterrents, and inhibitors in choosing an economy house for a consumer.
  4. Profiling projects based on market research.

Management Decision Problem

Economy housing units are the ones that are priced below INR 25 lakhs. Due to the international economic downturn in 2009, the growth in the housing market has…

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