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| Whilst we are capable of undertaking research in any sector, we have extensive experience and contacts in the following: |
| Agriculture/Horticulture: |
| Examples of some of the studies we have undertaken in this sector: |
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Logistics Study of Costs and Issues Affecting Transportation of Selected Agricultural and Food Products |
| This research involved a combination of telephone and face-to-face interviews with transport / logistics personnel and desk research to investigate the feasibility of transporting energy crops from the point of production to end-user sites. The objective was to glean lessons from milk, grain and woodchips by gathering information on aspects such as channels of distribution, transportation methods, storage, size, nature of suppliers and users, distances travelled and haulage costs. |
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The UK Agricultural Lubricants Market |
| This project quantified lubricants usage amongst farmers. Approximately 1,000 farmers (cross section of the 100,000 UK farm universe – with a representative sample by farm size and type – e.g. arable, dairy etc.) were interviewed about their lubricants usage. Information was also gathered on tractor usage, regarding size and model type. The research was conducted using a structured telephone questionnaire. |
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Cut Flowers and Houseplants in the UK |
| The study examined issues and market trends relating to the UK cut flowers and houseplants market. The research was based on interviews with trade associations such as the Flowers and Plants Association and the Flower Council of Holland, retailer buyers and relay organisations such as Interflora and Flowergram. This was supplemented by interviews with 1,000 adults asking them to comment on a series of statements relating to their purchasing patterns and motivations regarding cut flowers and houseplants. |
| Automotive after care: |
| Examples of some of the studies we have undertaken in this sector: |
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The UK Car Workshop Lubricants Market |
| This study focussed
on the lubricants market in car workshops – i.e. facilities for
repairing and servicing cars. The sector represents a significant
proportion of total lubricants demand and is the focus of much attention
by lubricant companies keen to offer value-added services. This was a
ground-breaking study, providing detailed quantification by lubricants
type in different segments of the car workshop sector. Extensive
discussion was also provided on automotive after-care and servicing issues
as well as extensive information on the structure of the car workshops
sector in the UK.
Amongst the issues discussed and information provided in this 200 page report were: |
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Trends and issues affecting the workshops lubricants market | |
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Overview of the workshop lubricants market | |
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Lubricants demand by type, packaging type and size and market sector | |
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Servicing throughput, capacity and lubricants consumption | |
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Brand usage and shares, brand profiles by user, lubricants type and incidence of brand purchase | |
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Sources of lubricants purchase | |
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The above information was also provided in separate sections on franchised dealer groups, owner-driver franchised dealer groups, non-franchised fast fit outlets, non-franchised owner-driver independent garages and garage chains | |
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The supplier customer relationship | |
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Factors determining choice of lubricants brand | |
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Types of contracts with lubricants suppliers | |
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Elements of customer support – areas of current lubricant manufacturer involvement and extent to which they may be falling short of expectations | |
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Marketing support offers, different ways of segmenting customers and equipment deals | |
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The research comprised of a number of stages: |
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Comprehensive programme of exploratory research and discussions with trade bodies and experts to compile information on the structure and dynamics of the car workshops market. |
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Construction of the total numbers of outlets in each sector as an information objective in itself and as a means of quantifying lubricants usage |
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Main interview programme – included face-to-face interviews (often lasting two hours) at the head offices of 32 of the franchised dealer groups in the UK (40% of the total), fast fit groups and major garage chains, 693 telephone interviews with individual dealers and 340 telephone interviews with owner-driver independent garages. |
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Responses from each sector and size sub-segment were multiplied up to give a picture of the actual total lubricants usage. |
| Catering: |
| Examples of some of the studies we have undertaken in this sector: |
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Research Investigating Commitment To A Company’s Catering Equipment Brands |
| A major supplier of
white goods was considering rationalising the number of brands it was
supplying the UK catering / foodservice sector. Research was therefore
required amongst existing and potential foodservice customers to
investigate allegiance and linkages to each existing brand to decide how
quickly / if at all to move over to brand consolidation.
Telephone interviews were undertaken with individuals whose responsibilities included deciding which brands of catering equipment to purchase. A cross section of organisations was interviewed to reflect the structure of the catering trade as well as the customer base of each of the client company’s food service brands. A total of 356 interviews were conducted – segmented into contract caterers, NHS trusts, private hospital operators, education authorities, prisons, on-site canteens, hotels, restaurants, takeaways, pubs and leisure groups and divided between existing and non-clients. Some of these interviews were conducted with head offices and others at outlet level. |
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Catering Specifiers in the UK Heath Sector |
| A comprehensive database of contacts throughout the UK health sector – both public and private was compiled. The research identified buyers and decision-makers as well as quantities and spend by authority. Discussion of trends in health sector purchasing with particular reference to catering was also provided. Telephone interviews were conducted with all health authorities and most of the private health organisations to obtain contact details and statistics. Face-to-face interviews were undertaken with key contacts, such as NHS supplies. | |
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Energy Requirements of the Catering Industry In Yorkshire |
| This research was
undertaken for an electricity distributor keen to increase their knowledge
about energy usage by the catering industry to be able to
target their marketing and promotional activities more accurately. The
focus of the research was on energy usage by energy type for primary
cooking equipment.
Over 400 telephone interviews were undertaken with a representative mix of catering establishments in the Yorkshire region asking a range of questions such as: |
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Length of time each of their primary cooking equipment items were switched on |
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Type of energy used, numbers of each type of item used |
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Numbers of meals served |
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Questions relating to specifying and selection of equipment and energy type |
| This information was then grossed up and a specially devised formula built in to calculate overall energy usage by each sector (e.g. hotels, restaurants etc.) for individual equipment types in Yorkshire. Data was also segmented for individual areas within the Yorkshire region. | |
| Charities: |
| Examples of some of the studies we have undertaken in this sector: |
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Awareness and Image Research of a UK-Based Charity |
| The objectives of the research were to provide information on people’s behaviour and attitudes regarding charities in this sector and the client charity specifically. Amongst specific aspects covered were: | |
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Motivations for giving |
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Charity giving habits to charities in this sector |
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Recall of specific appeals and advertising campaigns |
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Appeal of different causes within the particular charity sector |
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Attitudes towards the client charity and comparisons with competitor charities |
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Changes likely to increase donations to the client charity. |
| The timing of the
research was intended to coincide with an appeal being run by the charity,
in order to gage people’s response to particular aspects of the
campaign.
Interviews were undertaken with a cross section of 160 respondents – falling into different donor categories regarding the client charity. Interviews were by telephone using a structured questionnaire taking around twenty minutes to complete |
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Affinity Marketing Opportunities For A Major Energy Utility |
| With the opening up
of each UK region to free competition for electricity providers, a UK
distributor wanted to explore the potential for increasing their customer
base through affinity marketing initiatives. This could be through
offering to give money to the favourite charity of each new account
holder, donating to other types of cause such as books and computers in
schools or being able to purchase a product or service from the private
sector on favourable terms as a result of being a customer of the
electricity distributor.
The project involved interviews with different types of potential affinity marketing partners. Interviews were therefore undertaken with personnel responsible for corporate fundraising at ten of the country’s leading charities, and organisations such as Business In The Community. Other bodies such as the Schools Consortium and individual high school head teachers who had been particularly innovative in raising funds through affinity marketing schemes with industry were also interviewed. Financial service companies who had been involved in developing affinity marketing initiatives and who might be interested in co-operating with the electricity distributor were also interviewed. The interviews gathered information on past and present affinity marketing schemes with which these charities may have co-operated in the past. Information was also gathered on the mechanics of these schemes, lessons to be learned, likely take up amongst the charities, school bodies, private enterprise as well as the consumers themselves, cost and extent of bill reduction required to attract new users to the electricity distributor were amongst aspects discussed. This enabled models regarding costs and take-up to be presented to the client as the first stage in a research programme. |
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Charities and Charity Giving In The UK |
| This research provided an overview of dynamics and trends in the UK charity sector. This was based on interviews with a number of organisations representing the charities sector such as the Charities Aid Foundation, Charity Commission, Institute of Charity Fundraising Managers, NCVO and others as well as some of the leading national UK charities. This was further supplemented by information from specialist directories and charity sector journals. | |
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The impact of the national lottery on charity giving |
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The incidence of charity giving |
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Links between personal disposable income, demographic factors and charity giving |
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Community care legislation resulting in a shift away from donations to charities to selling assets to pay for care later in life |
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Compassion fatigue |
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Changing attitudes towards charity giving |
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Complimentary state provision of welfare and legislation affecting charities |
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Information was provided on the size of total UK charity voluntary income as well as household donations (excluding legacies), legacies, government grants, corporate contributions, proceeds to charities from the national lottery |
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Statistics relating to charity shops, affinity cards as well as share of total voluntary income by charity type (e.g. medicine and health, animal protection etc.) |
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Profiles of the UK’s leading charities as well as discussion of advertising and promotion |
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Exclusive consumer research conducted for the report amongst 1,500 adults yielded data on incidence of giving to different types of charity as well as information motivations for charity giving |
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Future prospects |
| Construction / Building Projects: |
| Examples of some of the studies we have undertaken in this sector: |
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Market Opportunities For E-Commerce Supplier In Commercial Building Sector |
| A company looking at the possibilities of setting up a portal service over the Internet for selling interior building products as well as office furniture, lighting etc, commissioned Lozowick Market Research to investigate the following: | |
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The state of commercial construction in the UK – current and forecasted trends, particularly in office interiors. This was subsequently extended to Europe, the Middle East and Far East |
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Non housing construction and new orders received in commercial construction by end-user sector |
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Office furniture market – market overview, product sales by segment, industry structure, distribution channels |
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Furniture manufacturers – basic information as well as descriptions of their existing web sites and extent to which they engage in E (electronic) commerce over the Internet. The same information was provided for carpets and lighting |
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Potential customer segment information – UK design consultancies and architects |
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Trends in architects workload |
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Appraisal of a Local Area For a Building Site |
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The client required an appraisal of a building site in Berkshire. Research therefore focussed on providing a profile of the local area covering aspects such as local demographics, economic activities, workforce, infrastructure, planning permissions. The research involved consulting local council records as well as other sources such as geo-demographic databases. |
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Opportunities for Project Management Services (in buildings) in the UK |
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A company required market investigation of trends and opportunities for project management services – covering all aspects of construction projects from inception, through to organisation of contracts and project completion in various industry and public service sectors. Trade associations and bodies representing construction companies were consulted, as were end-user companies to help provide an overview of project management services in each end-user sector under review. Market quantification as well as key providers of project management services, their services, trends in new projects as well as end-user requirements from project managers in each end-user sector were amongst aspects dealt with by the report. A combination of face-face and telephone interviews was undertaken with over 40 organisations |
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Image and Reputation of Building Contractor Identified as an Acquisition Target |
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A programme of fifty telephone interviews was conducted amongst a cross-section of past customers of the company about to be acquired. Amongst the issues covered were comparisons of the company’s perceived image and service levels compared with specific other local contractors. |
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| Other Projects: | |
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Trends and Prospects for Liquid Roofing in the UK |
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The UK Hygiene Coatings Market |