MARKETING RESEARCH CASE EXERCISE
JOHN McCAIN COMPANY

The John McCain Company is a regional printer, distributor, and warehouser of office supply products. The company has been in business for only two years, yet during that time the company has grown to accumulate almost $2 million in sales. John McCain, founder and president of the company, is concerned, however, about increased competition and more sophisticated buyers of office supply products. McCain believes that the secret of the company's success lies in its ability to serve small to medium retail businesses-businesses that larger office suppliers don't cater to because of the small volume of orders these businesses request. McCain wants to maintain his company's firm hold in this market segment, and has requested a marketing research study to profile the various small to medium retail businesses. Currently, McCain feels that three types of retail customers exist. One is the traditional retailer that sells both hard and soft goods; such customers seek office suppliers for invoice forms, sales forms, and general office products. Second is the service retailer such as dry cleaners, law firms, and accountants; these customers use letterhead, special business forms, and customized office supplies. Third are the entertainment retailers, radio stations, and TV stations; these customers use office suppliers for script and programming documents.

McCain believes that by understanding the motivations and decisions behind the purchases of office supplies, he can determine the ability of his company to successfully compete for each segment's business.

1. From the standpoint of a market researcher, how would you go about developing items and proper measurements to address the motivations and purchase behavior for each of the three segments?

2. What would be the implications if the researcher used Likert scales as opposed to semantic differential scales?

3. Should each segment receive the same type of scales or different scale measures? Explain your response.