Trendspotting to find growth opportunities. During the pandemic, many companies in the hospitality sector were forced to close their doors. It was a case of fight or flight, and there were clear winners and losers. Having the ability to spot industry trends and adapt fast was key to the survival of many firms. In this market research example, we explore how one consulting firm was able to help its customers pivot and thrive during turbulent times. Wiideman Consulting Group provides multi-location brands with SEO research, audits, and strategy services. Below is an example of the reports they develop: Challenge: During the pandemic, food chains had to pivot from offering dining-in services to takeout and delivery services. With IHOP and Applebees as key clients of its firm, it needed to develop robust strategies quickly to help its clients survive. With consumers performing non-banded searches to find food delivery and take-out services, these traditional dine-in venues have no visibility online and were at risk of not being found by people looking to order alternative dining solutions while dine-in restaurants were closed. Action: Using Similar web, it identified the right keyword opportunities, industry trends, and delivery service provider insights. This enabled it to develop a strategy that focused on increasing visibility in the locations where the business could provide takeaway and delivery services. With this data, it was able to help reposition brands within the search engine results pages and optimize content to generate leads and sales. Doing this market research enabled it to make three key changes. Optimize the Google My business profile to emphasize new service options for lunch, evening, and family meals. Design and deploy optimized content with new delivery and takeout subpages for each location. Addition of the start order button as a floating call-to-action across all localized pages. Impact: Driven by Similar-web insights, these tactics delivered favourable results for both of its clients in the hospitality sector. Organic traffic for both brands improved by 63% & 37% Revenues increased by 167% & 70% yoy. Market research example Wiideman consulting Ultimately, this market research enabled its clients to adapt to a changing market and thrive when many others were forced to cease trading. In summary, market research isnt a one-and-done activity rather, its a highly-habitual process and a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. Due to fast-changing market dynamics, business leaders and strategists need market insights on the fly to respond and react to shifts in consumer behaviour while staying focused on growth.

Question 2 (10 Marks)

You have been selected by Wiideman Consulting Group to provide literature to try to come up with some research ideas in the area of Operations Management. How will you go about this as a researcher?