Elements and Performance Criteria

RANGE STATEMENT
The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.
Relevant personnel may include:
clients
customers
enterprise owners
managers
supervisors
suppliers
Contribution of market research may include:
best practice
information about competitors, clients, stakeholders
information to enable predictions for:
marketing
policy making
service development and delivery
strategic planning
Enterprise planning and performance documentation may include:
correspondence
financial reports
information about sales and sales force performance
internal reports
Research needs may include:
research on competition:
comparing consumer attitudes to an organisation's services and those of competitors
identifying frequency of use of competitors' products and services
identifying key competitors and their strengths
measuring awareness
research on consumers:
developing detailed consumer profiles
identifying changes in attitudes and behaviour patterns
identifying existing, potential or lapsed consumers
research on place:
identifying attitudes towards location
identifying cooperative opportunities for distribution of information or services
identifying demand for products or services at other locations
research on pricing:
identifying attitudes towards prices
identifying costs
testing alternative pricing strategies
research on products and services:
evaluating competitors' products
evaluating consumer attitudes towards presentation and packaging
identifying potential new products or services or ones which may be at the end of their life cycle
measuring attitudes towards existing products or services
research on promotion:
measuring advertising and promotion effectiveness
testing alternative messages
testing and comparing different media options
Project scoping may include:
human, financial and physical resources required and available
need for external market research assistance
possible research locations
possible research methodologies
possible sample size and nature of sample
time required and available to conduct research
Types of data may include:
formal or informal comments and other feedback from client, customers, staff and others
government statistics
industry planning information
qualitative data
quantitative data
sales figures
Data gathering methods may include:
case study investigation
focus groups
literature searches
mail surveys
one-on-one interviews in person or by telephone
personal observation of performance
structured or informal small group discussions
supervised or unsupervised completion of questionnaires or other survey tools by respondents
use of questionnaires and other tools by staff to record data about enterprise activities
Data processing methods may include:
data processing service experts
manual or personal methods
packaged analysis routines or programs
specialist software packages
Decisions may include:
choices achievable with available resources, and costs and benefits of choices
choices consistent with organisational policies and procedures
choices that will best satisfy the research objectives
Feasibility of market research projects may include:
likely ease of implementing the recommendations
quality and credibility of the methodology
ultimate usefulness of the research
whether similarly valid results can be obtained by other means

EVIDENCE GUIDE
The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
Evidence of the following is essential:
identifying and defining market research requirements in an organisation
developing a documented market research plan describing the scope, objectives, time and budget for market research to be undertaken by an organisation.
Context of and specific resources for assessment
Assessment must ensure:
access to data and information records from previous marketing research activities
access to office equipment and resources.
Method of assessment
A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit:
assessment of documented market research planning activity reports and plans
direct questioning combined with review of portfolios of evidence and third party workplace reports of on-the-job performance by the candidate
observation of communication with team members and senior management to refine market research planning activities
observation of presentations on market research plan
oral or written questioning
review of authenticated documents from the workplace or training environment
review of testimony from team members, colleagues, supervisors or managers.
Guidance information for assessment
Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, for example:
other marketing units.