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The people involved are the ones in charge of  creating, communicating and implementing the organization's vision, mission and overall direction. They are specifically the ones who own the company. The people involved are also the marketing and sales manager. The marketing manager is the one responsible for managing the promotion and positioning of a brand or the products and services that that company sells. The sales manager is the one in charge of the sales plan which constantly communicates with the marketing team. They would be crucial in this research problem due to the need of determining whether the applied solution is effective or ineffective. In addition, the consumers and/or buyers would guide us on what products or service is most appropriate for their community.

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The people affected by this situation are the ones who are part of the company. Specifically, the employees under the marketing, sales, production, research and development, and packaging department. They are the ones that contribute in developing and improving their company’s product/service. The target audience will also be affected since rebranding would also help the company attract a new set of consumers.

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Who is the decision maker/main mover in the situation?

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Who is the decision maker/main mover in the situation?

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The sales and marketing manager. They are the ones constantly called upon to create a solution when the company’s sales is decreasing. The process of decision making undergoes the process of  evaluating situations or problems, considering alternatives, making choices, and following them up with the necessary actions. As for the overall head of the company, she is the one who will survey the solution of the problem. Furthermore, she gives the final approval of the proposed projects since she is the one in charge of making major corporate decisions.

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- Shani &  Chalasani (1992) defined niche marketing, as the process of carving out a small part of the market whose needs are not fulfilled. We would like to further investigate on types of niche markets that could give us ideas when we identify the niche for the given business. Examples of the types of niche market could be travelers, LGBTQ+ community, pet owners, senior citizens, and more.

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What are the assumptions about this problem/phenomenon that should be considered or scrutinized?

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What are the assumptions about this problem/phenomenon that should be considered or scrutinized?

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- Identifying the niche market could presumably be difficult because it takes time to research and study the characteristics of both the market we want to focus on and the brand of the business. The niche market and brand of the business should be aligned and equation since the marketing strategies will be based on the interests of the niche.

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When did the problem occur? Or when does the phenomenon occur?

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When did the problem occur? Or when does the phenomenon occur?

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When organisations have failed to establish a brand or have a bad reputation that led to struggles in accumulating customers. Most businesses such as Xfinity and Nokia, have firmly established a brand yet it is simply outdated or needs to be refreshed due to the addition of new products or services. Goi (2011) stated that a business would be required to merely make subtle changes to update it or make it representative of an expanded offering (p. 3).

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Once the business has newly rebranded itself. Consumers and/or buyers will be able to notice and derive their attention to the newly improved company. However, we must examine the market to see whether they would be interested in the new brand. The process of this examination would undergo surveys, interviews, and focus group discussion in order to obtain sufficient data. After analyzing its effectiveness , they would be able to successfully market the new brand of the corporation.

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This research problem occurs within the company. Niche marketing aims to change the target market which will be identified by the research and development part of the company. By changing/narrowing down the target market, it will be easier to cater to the needs and wants of their consumers/buyers.The business will now have a fresh new look at their goals and their product/services. This will then give the business an opportunity to effectively rebrand itself. Furthermore, the marketing and sales department will then become involved. This is where we are able to determine whether niche marketing has effectively rebranded the business and be able to utilize niche marketing strategies that would benefit the effectiveness of pre-selling.

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Where was it solved or addressed before? (referring to countries or situations where phenomenon was investigated or described)

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Where was it solved or addressed before? (referring to countries or situations where phenomenon was investigated or described)

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An example of a business that solved their target market problem is BTIC. BTIC started serving regular ice cream the first time they started. However, they created a “sugar-free” ice cream line that is best catered to diabetic or health conscious people. This line made them focus their target market on people with health concerns. This was also an advantageous move since they were able to introduce their products to numerous places such as school canteens that have an existing health policy that bans unhealthy food. Another well liked business that used niche marketing in order to boost its sales is Whole Foods. Previously, they were known as the “hippie natural foods store”. Now that it is owned by a new company called Amazon, Whole Foods became a well known local business that targets individuals that live a healthy lifestyle and utilizes products that are eco-friendly. Amazon effectively changed Whole Foods’ brand by changing its market and continuously updating its brand to attract new customers. In addition, Lush is also a popular company that has a brand  known for its specific niche by producing handmade cosmetic products. This company differentiates itself from its competitors by utilizing unique marketing strategies. Compared to other brands, they use eco-friendly packaging, organic ingredients, and refusal of animal testing.

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Similar situations exist in companies that have narrowed down their niche market to be able to create a product/service that will highly be suitable for their chosen market. A specific company that used niche marketing in order to effectively brand their business and be able to create a beneficial advocacy is Whole Foods. This brand previously had a different image compared to now. As stated in the previous question, it was formerly known as the “hippie natural foods store” which led to a downfall in sales. Nevertheless, Amazon cleared its name and changed their advocacy to the luxurious healthy lifestyle. This strategy derived more attention from the market which led to its ongoing success.  However, there are a variety of business owners that aim to accumulate large sales and they believe that having a large variety of target markets would help them achieve their goals efficiently. Toften and Hammervoll (2013) concluded that niche marketing can be beneficial for some firms in terms of increased profits, higher prices, higher growth, increased market shares, and increased competitiveness. Even if there are a few businesses that have succeeded with a large target market, narrowing down the market would help the company focus on improving their brand and products/services. It would be easier for them to identify the interests of their target market furthermore developing their products and services to satisfy their consumers.

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In our problem, we want to identify the niche market first of the business before we apply rebranding. The niche market strategies will be aligned when we start rebranding the business. For example, BTIC was first known as a regular ice cream shop just like the others. However, when they wanted to focus on a specific group of consumers, particularly diabetics, they changed the brand of the company from a regular ice cream shop to a “healthy” ice cream shop. Niche marketing will give a brand new set of target audience which will affect our rebranding since we will have to adjust to their likes and interest, in terms of logo design and packaging. We also want to apply rebranding in the given business to give its new “unique” branding that will separate them from the rest.

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This problem should be investigated because not only can niche marketing and rebranding be applied in our given business, but this research can possibly help other start-up businesses with their marketing strategies. Stated by Lynn (2011),  The firm cannot survive and succeed in competitive markets. The following idea of marketing is a dissimilar group of activities centered on market segmentation and positioning decision

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Why does it occur? (ask this question at least 5 times to try to get to the bottom of the phenomenon)

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Why does it occur? (ask this question at least 5 times to try to get to the bottom of the phenomenon)

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For some start-up businesses, they tend to rush in broadening their target market. However, this strategy is rather difficult because there are already a lot of bigger businesses that have captured the trust of the big market. Stated by Hezar et al., niche marketing requires thinking and acting small by offering small production volumes, focusing on a few customers and avoiding markets with a dominant competitor.

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How can investigation into this be an opportunity?

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How can investigation into this be an opportunity?

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This investigation would benefit the business in several aspects. Starting with the company’s number of consumers. This study aims to enhance the business by increasing and specifying its potential customers since it would be able to attract a new target market. The target niche market will be identified through researching the set of buyers that have the proper set of interests and demographics that will appropriately align to the brand of the business. Demographics will include age, gender, income, and location. This would also create a better opportunity for customer engagement that will lead to increased sales in the business.

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This can be solved through identifying the demographics of the business alongside the data gathered from the target market. This will guide the researchers in determining the appropriate niche market and will be able to align the marketing strategies based on the demographics of the market. Demographics are crucial to regulate the broad characteristics about the certain community. Demographic data will be convenient for a business who is trying to understand how to market to consumers and plan strategically for future trends in consumer demand.

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What has already been done to solve the problem? Or what has already been done to address the phenomenon?

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What has already been done to solve the problem? Or what has already been done to address the phenomenon?

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- There are several companies that have effectively applied niche marketing. This has led their business to prosper.

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What do we know about the problem or phenomenon?

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What do we know about the problem or phenomenon?

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- Niche marketing requires identifying the most appropriate target market coming from a broader market. To be able to identify the niche market of the given business, we need to research the interests, demographics, and financial capabilities of the market that will best align the brand of the business. For example, the niche market of ice cream business, BTIC, are the health conscious/diabetic people since BTIC is known for producing sugar-free ice cream.

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Akbar, F., Omar, A., Wadood, F., & Tasmin, R. (2017). The Niche
Marketing Strategy Constructs (Elements) and its Characteristics - A Review of the
Relevant Literature. Retrieved September 8, 2020, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317032344_The_Niche_Mar
keting_Strategy_Constructs_Elements_and_Its_Characteristics_-_A_
Review_of_the_Relevant_Literature/link/5a41d647458515f6b04cf9a8/
download

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Goi, C., & Goi, M. (2011). Review on Models and Reasons of Rebranding. Retrieved
September 15, 2020, from
https://www.academia.edu/31509944/Review_on_Models_and_Reasons_of_Rebran
ding

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Toften, K., & Hammervoll, T. (2013). Niche marketing research: Status and challenges.
Retrieved September 15, 2020, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263719760_Niche_marketing_research_St
atus_and_challenges

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Title:
Niche Marketing Research: Status and challenges.

APA Citation:
Toften, K., & Hammervoll, T. (2013). Niche Marketing Research: Status and challenges.
Retrieved September 15, 2020, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263719760_Niche_marketing_research_Status_and_challenges

Currency:
The research article was published in May 2013. This is considered to be current due to its publication date which is within the last 10 years.

Relevance:
The research article would help solve our research problem. It discusses the different key success factors for implementing niche marketing. It would also add knowledge to what we currently know about niche marketing.

Authority:
Both Kjell Toften and Trond Hammervoll are from Norway. Toften graduated from The Arctic University of Norway and has a PhD. He has over 22 publications of research articles and a total of 8,583 readers. As for Hammervoll, he graduated from Harstad University College and is now the head of faculty in Østfold University College. He has over 37 research article publications and a total of 15,776 readers.

Accuracy:
The research article takes the form of a literature review. Which indicates that the research article utilizes surveys, scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant to a particular area of research. It enumerates, describes, summarizes, objectively evaluates and clarifies the research from previous research articles.

Purpose:
The purpose of this research article is to present a concise status of niche marketing research and thereby provide a basis for further scholarly enhancement and insights for practitioners.

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Currency: The article was published in 2017. This makes it pass the currency test since the article was published within 10 years from the present year.

Relevance: The thesis discusses niche marketing strategies and characteristics. This relates to the problem we are trying to investigate since we are trying to determine the appropriate niche marketing strategy to use for a certain business. It provides relevant information from different researchers and marketers such as the definition of niche marketing and the effects of applying it in a business.

Authority: The authors of this article are Fazal Khan, Fazli Wadood, Bin Omar, and Rosmaini Tasmin. They all possess skills and expertise in innovation, management, and marketing. Khan currently works as a researcher in the Department of Technology Management at Universiti Tun Hussein Malaysia, Wadood works as an assistant professor in management at Preston University, Tasmin works as an associate professor in knowledge management Universiti Tun Hussein Malaysia, and Omar works in the Institute of Mathematical Sciences at University of Malaya.

Accuracy: The paper shows its credibility by citing sources from different marketing researchers who have experience in their field of study. They also have a reference page for all the information they gathered from the credible researchers.

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to understand what niche marketing is; what its elements are, and also to know about the characteristics of the niche marketing strategy. The authors conducted this research to overcome problems in a business and potentially make effective use of niche marketing as a marketing strategy.

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Currency: The article was published 9 years ago in 2011. The information in this article passes the currency segment of the crap test since it is within 10 years. There were no further revisions or updates made in the stated article. However, the content is current and not out of date.

Relevance: The information presented in the article furthermore explained several information in regards to rebranding. The article’s content also contained accurate and specified information about our chosen topic

Authority: The article was written by two authors and they are Dr. Chai Lee Goi and Mei-Teh Goi. Dr. Chai Lee Goi is a researcher (academic) in Curtin University Malaysia. He published several articles such as International Journal of Social Science and Humanity 5 (2015)  Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce 21 (2016) Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 55 (2020) and several more. As for Dr. Goi Mei Teh, She is the Senior Lecturer at the Cluster of Business and Management, Open University Malaysia. She joined OUM in 2019. She has been in the education industry since 2001.

Accuracy: The information came from several sources that have proven their credibility through their past research articles. It also provided sufficient evidence to back up its claims such as exhibiting datas related to the field of study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to discuss the concepts related to rebranding and furthermore explain rebranding models.