Jeep
Primary Research Report
Matthew King
May 5, 2008
Introduction
After heavily conducting secondary research for the Jeep brand I became familiar
with the automobile market and Jeep’s position in it. Jeep is one of the oldest SUVs
available and over the past several years has been working on expanding their product
and reaching a wider target market. I conducted both qualitative and quantitative research
to see how the brands recent changes have affected society. I held a focus group and
distributed surveys to find out if the changes are having positive results on the public or if
there is a better a way the brand can go about increasing sales and reaching more people.
After evaluating the data that I gathered throughout my research, I will be able to propose
possible revisions to my client in their marketing plan and base my suggestions off of
hearing the participants concerns and opinions.
Background
Jeep is a very popular SUV in the United States. The brands popularity
exponentially grew in the 1990s when the company focused on primarily on their 3
models. Today the company has more than double that number with promises of more on
the way. This may not necessarily be the change that Jeep needed though. The new
models are not intriguing to consumers and there has been no real reaction from
consumers over any of the new models. Jeep used to advertise the brand as rugged and
extreme appealing to younger men 18-40 years of age. This is the target market that has
had the most reaction with the brand. Jeeps recent attempts to attract females and older
more sophisticated men have failed thus far.
Today there is a lot of commotion occurring relating to “going green”. After years
of being oblivious to using our natural resources the public is finally responding. There
are pleas to recycle and conserve on the television, the radio, on outdoor advertisements
and in newspapers and magazines. Every year more and more companies are joining in
and becoming more conservative with things like energy, paper and gasoline, to name a
few. In the past few years there are also a lot of automobiles that have been doing the
same. There is now a hybrid engine available for a select few car models that’s main
appeal is that it uses less gasoline. Also, every month gas prices seem to get higher and
higher which is causing people to want to drive less, especially drive SUVs. Any car that
advertises high miles to the gallon or being exceptionally fuel efficient is going to catch
the public’s attention.
After reviewing the automobile industry and how Jeep fits into the market, the
next step was hearing what the average consumer has to say. The secondary research
helped me, the researcher, find problems and flaws in Jeeps current marketing plan and
possible corrections that could be made. Also, I used that research to help build an
accurate target market that will provide the most positive reactions out of consumers.
Now, I am going to research this revised target market and learn how they feel and what
they think of the Jeep brand. Through qualitative and quantitative research I will gather
general data from a wide audience that will allow me to look at the market as a whole and
make general predictions about it. And also, I will be able to focus in on a few members
of the target market and hear their concerns and suggestions regarding Jeeps.
Primary Research Overview
The purpose of primary research is to really hear what a consumer has to say.
Secondary research only consists of what other people have already gathered and
interpreted. If you want to know how the consumer really feels about a topic or in this
case a brand, than you have to ask them yourself. Primary research allows researchers to
cover specific topics and directly ask the target audience questions that will be beneficial
to conducting the research they intend on. In this case, I am trying to see how the
consumer compares SUVs to cars and in turn how Jeeps compare to other SUVs. Also,
right now Jeep does not seem to target a specific age or sex, so I want to narrow the target
market and see if the consumers then seem to be more responsive. And finally, I want to
hear the target market’s opinions on “going green” and how they feel about Jeep models
embracing this idea. Through primary research I am able to get straight to the point and
use real members of the target audience to gather data and build statistics that support my
claims.
I conducted two different types of primary research, one qualitative and the other
quantitative. For my quantitative method I chose to hold a focus group. There were 7
licensed drivers who participated, 3 females and 4 males. The youngest participant was
20 years old and the oldest was 32. I would have liked to have gotten a wider age range to
cover the whole target market, but I held the focus group in a breakout room at the tech
center so all of the participants were students at Temple. Everyone that participated was
familiar with the Jeep brand and its advertisements and purchased a car within the past 5
years. I chose a focus group because I thought that listening to average people in Jeeps
target audience will really help me make informed decisions about the brands marketing
plan. When the participants casually converse in a comfortable environment, they reveal
truths that may not get exposed in quantitative research.
For my quantitative research, I developed a survey. I distributed the survey to 25
members of Jeeps target market. Every participant was required to go through a screening
process prior to taking the survey so that I did know that every survey was filled out by a
member of the target audience. I work in a restaurant in Center City, Philadelphia,
serving tables so I asked customers at the restaurant to participate in the survey. I chose
people who looked like they would fit into the target market and I explained to them what
it was and why I was doing it so that they were completely aware of what was going on. I
thought this would be the best place to distribute the surveys because the restaurant sees a
wide variety of customers everyday and I would have the opportunity to talk to each
participant individually and make sure that they not only fit into the target market, but
also that they were completely comfortable. Each participant thoroughly filled out the
survey consisting of question relating to Jeeps, the overall automobile industry,
purchasing a car or SUV and also conserving our resources, subtly. This type of research
is beneficial because the data that I gather will allow me to calculate statistics and make
general assumptions about how the target audience feels about the brand.
Research Findings
The first finding I would like to report from the primary research that I conducted is
that more males prefer Jeeps than females. The 3 females in the focus group, all
different ages, never really had anything to say. They seemed uninterested in the
conversation most of the time and if they said anything it was usually negative. For
instance, one female participant was quoted saying, “Trucks are just toys for dumb
boys”. She seemed to have a lot of hostility about the topic. Even in the surveys, 16
males participated and 9 females. Out of the 9 female participants, 7 seemed
disinterested in not only Jeeps, but cars in general. Therefore rather than Jeeps
continuing to try and reach both males and females, they should primarily focus on
males.
In both the surveys and the focus group, I spent a lot of time focusing on gasoline and
the correlation between consumers purchasing habits and the price of gas. I found that
this factor has a huge impact on consumers. In the surveys, 72% of participants
reported that the least appealing characteristic of Jeeps is that they guzzle gas. In the
focus group, all of the participants agreed that the price of gas affects not only how
frequently they drive, but also what they drive. The participants in the focus group
revealed that they are more hesitant to purchase any SUV today because of the high
cost of gas prices.
After discussing the price of gas in the focus group we shifted the conversation to
focus on conserving gasoline. Two of the male participants did not seem too
enthusiastic about “going green” and one even said, “This is just a method the
government uses to scare the public into doing what they want them to do”. Everyone
else in the focus group supported “going green” and believed that everyone should
waste less and conserve more. The surveys revealed that 88% of the participants
believe that society should be more concerned with conserving our natural resources.
Another large part of the primary research is seeing how consumers are responding to
the brands current marketing methods. I found that only 12% of the participants in the
survey chose one of Jeeps newer models over the Grand Cherokee or the Wrangler.
Also, in the focus group only 3 participants were familiar with Jeeps recent
advertisements, the other participants agreed that every car commercial is the same.
Based on the survey results and hearing what the participants thought that were
involved in the focus group, I was able to come to the conclusion that Jeeps new
marketing plan was not having any significant results.
Recommendations
Jeep does not need to release any more new models; they need to focus more on
the ones that already exist. There was more positive feedback coming from consumers
when the brand only had a limited number of models available and they targeted the
adventurous male with their extreme SUV. Jeep should stick to those marketing
techniques and stop trying to expand. If they want to change their name at all and grab
consumers attention in a different way, than Jeep should look into possible environment
friendly revisions. For instance, hybrid engines are rapidly gaining popularity and
anything that conserves gas and or gets high miles to the gallon is extremely appealing to
consumers today. If Jeep had advertisements for a brand promotes environmentalism,
than consumers would react in a positive manner.
Conclusion
Over the past few years Jeep has made significant changes to their marketing
plans. They have released new models and attempted to create a new image for the brand
that steers away from the rugged off roading SUV that helped the brand become so
popular. Now, with the overall market for automobiles decreasing, especially the market
for SUVs, Jeep is desperately trying to increase business. The only problem is that they
may have started going about this the wrong way. Instead of expanding their target
market to females and more sophisticated individuals the brand should stick with its
original image. If Jeeps market to males between 18 and 40 years of age and advertise a
product that is not only safe but also capable of things that most other cars and SUVs can
not even consider. If the brand comes to the conclusion that change in necessary in order
to make improvements in sales and production, than the best change to make would be
related to environmentalism. Becoming environmentally friendly is becoming more and
more popular as time goes on. Consumers seem to be very fond of the concept and jump
at anything that promotes it. So, if Jeep developed a car that reduced pollution, conserved
fossil fuels or even possibly was made from recycled materials than consumers would
most likely pay more attention to the brand based on the data that I gathered in my
primary research.
Quantitative Questionnaire
Hello! My name is Matthew King and I am a student at Temple University. I am
conducting this survey for my Advertising Research course there to research Jeep’s
marketing plans and their target market. First of all, I would like to thank you for taking
the time to participate. I am conducting this survey to see how the established target
market thinks of the Jeep brand and how they would feel about a few changes in the
brand. In order to participate in the survey there are a few requirements the participants
must meet before continuing. Before beginning the survey go through the following
questions to see if you are eligible.
1. Are you a licensed driver?
Yes
No
2. Do you own a car?
Yes
No
3. Have you purchased an automobile within the past ten years?
Yes
No
4. Have you ever owned or been a passenger in a Jeep?
Yes
No
If you answered yes to all of these questions, please continue to fill out the survey.
1. Are you
Male
Female
2. How old are you
18-24
25-31
32-38
39-45
46-52
53+
3. Is your household annual income
Less than $30,000
$30,000-$45,000
$45,000-$60,000
$60,000-$75,000
Over $75,000
4. When purchasing a new car what do you look at?
Price
Vehicle capabilities
Consumer reviews
Size
Power
Other___________
5. Do you or anyone you know own a Jeep?
Yes
No
6. If you were going to purchase a Jeep which model would you choose?
Grand Cherokee
Wrangler
Patriot
Compass
Commander
Liberty
No preference
7. What is most appealing about the Jeep brand? (check as many as necessary )
Spacious SUV, with lots of cargo room
Family oriented SUVs
High safety ratings
Off-road capabilities
Physical appearance
Other _______________
None of the above
8. What is the least appealing thing about Jeeps?
Gas Guzzler
Do not last very long
High center of gravity
Other _________________________
None of the above
9. Do you feel that the general public should be more environmentally conscious?
Yes
No
10. How do you rank Jeeps compared to other SUVs based on overall performance?
Better
Average
Worse
No preference
11. What would you rather purchase?
Sedan
Minivan
SUV
Sports car
Other____________
12. Which of the following revisions in the Jeep brand is most intriguing?
Hybrid Jeeps
More power
Higher miles to the gallon
Sleeker and smaller
Other_________________
13. Which do you prefer?
Newly released Jeep models
The original Jeep models
No preference
Qualitative Questionnaire
All participants in the focus group must be licensed drivers and apart of the target market
for Jeeps that I established in my secondary research. Participants will go through the
same screening process that was required for the survey participants. The point of this
focus group is to hear members of the target markets voice. Through casual discussion I
will be able to hear how people view Jeeps and any concerns they have with the brand. A
major part of the discussion will also include evaluation the automobile market to see
what people are looking for when purchasing a car and what factors go into their decision
making, in order to see what Jeeps need to do to get more attention and overall increase
sales.
Discussion Questions
1. What type of vehicle do you find most appealing?
a. Cars vs. SUV
b. The style of the vehicle
c. Extra features
d. How the vehicle looks
2. Do any car commercials stand out in your memory?
a. Jeep commercials
3. When you go to purchase a new car or SUV, what factors do you take into
consideration in order to make an informed decision?
a. Price
b. Size
c. Capabilities
d. Maintenance
4. What are some benefits of owning a car rather than an SUV?
a. Benefits of an SUV over a car
5. What is more appealing, a SUV with off-road capabilities or a luxury SUV?
6. Do you feel that the rise in the price of gasoline has a huge impact on SUV sales?
a. If SUVs and cars used the same amount of gasoline would your decision
change at all?
7. Recently, America has been making an effort to “go green” by conserving more
and wasting less. How do you feel about cars and SUVs doing the same?
a. Would a car or SUV that did the same stand out more?
8. What are some things SUVs could do to improve their sales? What are some of
the things you like about them and what do you dislike about them?
9. What is the first thing that comes to mind after hearing the word Jeep?
10. If you could have any SUV that you wanted, for no cost, what SUV would you
choose? Why?
11. How do Jeeps compare to other SUVs?
a. Cost
b. Size
c. Appearance
d. Power/Capabilities