1. Jonathan Mullins, Shaquita Searcy,
Reina Williams, and Jason Moon,
Research Proposal Group Project
MKTG 4360
Dr. Periatt
December 2, 2015
Research Proposal for Diversified Computer Solutions
Origin
Diversified Computer Services (DCS) are trying to discover more ways to promote the use of
cost effective technology and information analysis to maximize available resources for the
benefit of society. In order to do this, they must know how knowledgeable their constituents (i.e.,
current customers, general public, businesses, police and fire departments, schools, and judicial
systems) are about them. They want to gather data from their current (being older), new, and
potential customers to help solve product quality issues. This is an exploratory research study
aimed to identify current awareness levels and marketing strategies they may use to increase
their communication effectiveness and drive the growth of the business.
Decision Problem
Diversified Computer Services are struggling with ways to better communicate with the general
public. For them, this is a decision problem that needs to be addressed through research
orientation. They are interested in gathering information about how to enhance awareness about
their databases to their current, new, and potential customers. Information gathered from this
study will narrow down the major problems and highlight areas that need improvement.
Knowing this will help cultivate and innovate a unique selling proposition that customers can
easily identify.

2. ResearchProblem
This study will address several research problems, in hopes of finding a solution. One, awareness
will be measured from different groups; customers, the general public. (I.e. businesses, judicial
systems, waste and recycling services, police, sheriff, and fire departments), and schools. Data
will be collected from current customers and the public to test how effective their
communication efforts have been. Their ability to recognize certain elements of the software will
identify how well their message has been conveyed. Two, open-ended questions will be used to
identify what software is the most useful, what aspects of the product are most favorable, and is
it time saving. Knowing these answers will help guide the direction of the product—what
adjustments should be made? Three, using secondary sources gathered from the general public to
determine price tiers and media vehicles.
Information Collected
Using a combination of instruments will help measure the different dimensions of awareness. A
sequence a questions will be asked from current customers and the public to see what and how
much they know about Diversified Computer Services and their software. These open-ended
questions are used to test their knowledge and familiarity of the software. Respondents will be
shown a screen of an element from the software, and then asked to describe what they see on the
screen. They will be asked are they aware of software, and if so, explain. Questions of this
nature, will show the level of understanding the public actual has about the software. Similarity
is also a dimension that will be measured to see if the public can identify the software and
distinguish it from similar software. This will help DCS see if their message is getting through to
the audience, and if not, assist them in the development of a unique selling proposition that will
set them apart from their competition. Different resources will also be used to determine what

3. media streams should be used to better communicate with customers and the public. Lastly,
demographics are vital statistics that will be collected to identify and compare the respondents’
differences and similarities in personal attributes to see if it fits within the geographical area.
Targets
A census sample will be used, as primary data, to collect information from the current 30
customers who are already using Diversified Computer Services. This will measure awareness of
the current product and the use of its functionalities. The information gathered will bring arise to
product errors and provide a better understanding of what the customers think of the system and
its overall importance. A series of questions, similar to open-ended, will be asked by general
public to cause the respondent to think and reflect. This will help to better understand the
public’s views and opinions.
Question Analysis and Development
The questions in our questionnaire have a strong relationship to what is stated in our research
design. Our research design outlined three major principles Awareness, Similarity, and
Information Source Identification. In order to fulfill the information needed, we based our
questionnaire around these three principles. With Awareness, we wanted to measure the fluency
and understanding that current customers have of DCS’ product. To do so, we asked questions
regarding the frequency of use and if the current customer participated in the DCS lead training
services. The principle of similarity was aimed at gathering information to examine how certain
aspects of the software are performing and if the current customers would like to see any
functionality or formatting changes. The majority of the queries within our questionnaire fall into
this category. We asked questions pertaining to tasks software is used for and modules of
software used the most. Our questionnaire has little relationship to the category of Information

4. Source Identification. The Research Design stated we were collecting data to analyze the proper
channel to disseminate information to current and future customer. Our survey asked one
question in this field, “How were you introduced to CIMS?” With this question we gave three
answer choices with one being “Other” with a text box to give your answer. This simple question
will tell you the way they heard about CIMs but will not provide any information on preferred
media or preferred method of contact.
After going through the entire process, we noticed there were some important aspects we simply
overlooked such as making sure all of the questions were organized and formulated to ensure we
would get accurate and thorough information from our target audience. There were some
questions that could have been eliminated because the focus was more on the individual than the
actual organization. There were also questions that required explanation and most people do not
like to explain in details, especially since our surveys were supposed to be quick. Going through,
we saw the areas that needed more focus and the areas that seemed to be the most helpful. This
has enlightened us to see the high points and low points of the study.