Students Help Organizations with Marketing and Market ResearchTo help businesses gain a better understanding of markets and customers, marketing faculty in the COB launched the Close to the Customer Project (C2C Project) in summer 2005. The C2C Project, housed in Weatherford Hall, provides students with opportunities to conduct market research for entrepreneurs, businesses, government and non-profit organizations. The C2C Project has already completed one customer project and is under contract for five more.
"Our research projects are custom designed for each partner," said Nikki Brown, C2C project manager, who has a master's degree in applied anthropology. "We've helped various organizations identify and assess business opportunities, determine product feature sets and better understand customer attitudes and beliefs."
The C2C Project is currently working with Hewlett-Packard on a research project to capture the experiences of users of HP digital projectors. The C2C Project also received a $26,000 grant from the Kauffman Foundation to study the living/learning model at Weatherford Hall. Although the program hopes to be self-supporting within a year, during the startup phase, a grant from Target Stores is paying for a student intern for the year and the College of Business Marketing Program is providing leadership and supporting funds.
"The C2C Project helps business partners ask the right questions," said Hal Koenig, associate professor of marketing and C2C Project assistant director. "Through market research, we help improve company decision making and reduce business risk."
C2C Project services include research design consultation and implementation, survey research, quantitative/statistical research, qualitative/ethnographic research and secondary data research. Faculty members, all of whom are experts in different forms of research and consulting, work with clients and oversee the work of students. Businesses are charged up front on a project basis for professional quality research. C2C Project partners interact and mentor students throughout the research process.
"This is very personal," said Robert Hrdinsky, this year's Target student intern for the C2C Project and a senior in marketing and international business. "It is not just a textbook problem or a paper. I'm working for someone and have someone depending on me. There is a lot more responsibility on the line. It is not just for me."
In all, the C2C Project is currently working with six business students, three anthropology students and one ag science student to drive existing C2C research projects. Students learn how to approach client relations. They write research proposals and top-line reports. They are exposed to various research methods, such as how to facilitate a focus group, and they develop their presentation skills. Students participating in the C2C Project can also count their experiences toward their AEP-TICK competencies, an online entrepreneurship portfolio tracking tool of the Austin Entrepreneurship Program.
"Students learn from the questions brought by our customers and get valuable exposure to current business issues," said Brown. "Students start to realize how valuable market research really is and the difference it can make to a business."
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