Franone Should Consider - Beliefs Play a Major Role in the Consumptio Research Paper

Essays on Franone Should Consider - Beliefs Play a Major Role in the Consumption of Water Research Paper The paper â€Å"Franone   Should Consider - Beliefs Play a Major Role in the Consumption of Water† is a  delightful example of a research paper on marketing. The population around the world is increasingly increasing their awareness of the importance of taking water as a dietary measure. With the knowledge that water is essential and the zeal of keeping fit, water has become quite an important commodity. On the other hand, the population has hit many water sources including rivers, seas, oceans and wells with cases of oil spills, industrial waste among many other pollutants drawing people away from consuming the water. This is, therefore, leaving no doubt that what remains is bottled water as the option for the major population. However, in recent times, there has been a hitch in the bottled water industry; there has been a growing backlash against bottled water. This is due in part to the growing environmental awareness of the impact of bottling and transporting water whe n many homes in Europe already have drinkable tap water. The value of this sector has been declining currently. Leading brands of bottled water include Volvic, Evian and Highland Spring. About 30% of bottled water is drunk once a day or more, with a further 30% of consumers drinking bottled water 1-3 times a week. An area of concern for companies that promote bottled water is the perception of poor value for money. A third of people believe that bottled water does not seem to be much different from tap water and so is not worth buying whilst another third of people see it as a healthier alternative to sugary drinks (Toluna, 2009).Task 1:Franone, a water-distributing company, has several leading brands of bottled water around the world and specifically in its UK portfolio. It has, however, experienced a fall in sales of almost  £30m or 23% between 2007 and 2009. This, therefore, warrants thorough conduct of an in-depth programme of marketing research to find out what may be needed to prevent further decline of bottled water sales. More specifically, the research is to help understand how to maintain the company leading position in the market and want to identify the attitudes, preferences and needs of adults who currently consume branded bottled water.Owing to this fall of sales, Franone hired a consultant to conduct research on what would have been the problem and why the sales went down. The research was to be among people above the age of 16 who could purchase and afford water for themselves and who are featured as water consumers. The research was to undertake a research project for Franone, a water-distributing company on attitudes towards the bottled water market. The project entails both qualitative and quantitative research, in the form of depth interviews and a survey questionnaire. The research objectives of this study mainly relate to the bottled water market. It looks into detail trying to find out what may be needed to prevent further decline of bottled water sales (IBIS World 2008). More specifically, they are keen to understand how water-bottling companies can maintain their leadership position in the market and want to identify the attitudes, preferences, and needs of adults who currently consume branded bottled water. The objectives include: