A small manufacturing firm has just experienced a rapid drop in sales. The marketing manager thinks that he knows what the problem is and has been carefully analyzing secondary data to check his thinking. His next step should be to:
A) conduct an experiment.
B) develop a formal research project to gather primary data.
C) conduct informal discussion with outsiders, including intermediaries, to see if he has correctly defined the problem.
D) develop a hypothesis and predict the future behavior of sales.
E) initiate corrective action before sales drop any further.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The marketing manager should conduct informal discussions with outsiders to validate his understanding of the problem before proceeding with more formal research or taking corrective actions.

A Small Manufacturing Firm Has Just Experienced a Rapid Drop