The impact of impact of product returns on the direct marketing practices at BT Group PLC

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background1

Aim1

Objectives1

Research Questions2

Hypothesis2

Scope of the Study3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVEW4

Product Returns and Customer Behaviour5

Describing and Assessing Direct Marketing Sales Effectiveness6

A Different Approach6

Reason for Adopting Different Approach6

Direct Marketing7

Methods of direct marketing8

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY11

Research flow Chart & Steps (Saunders, 2009, 138)11

Research Method11

Research Design11

Sampling12

Instrument13

Reliability13

Validity14

Ethical Concerns15

Conclusion16

Timeline for Research16

REFERENCES17

APPENDIX A20

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background

With the development in direct marketing comes not only the potential for an overall increase in the number of product returns, but also the likelihood of increasingly complicated product returns (Dyson, 2007, 75). While traditional marketers are familiar to product returns and have long had the procedures in place to handle them, many ecommerce retailers are unprepared to deal with product returns because they are unfamiliar with the total buying experience. In addition to this, a number of e-commerce merchants have primarily invested in front-end operations in their rush to establish an Internet presence and gain sales, while paying comparatively little attention to service and back-end operations (Davis, 2007, 18). As a result, it is not surprising that analysts say that direct marketing mechanisms have not done enough to give customers the same confidence in their return policies as traditional marketers do and have been slow to put in place effective systems for refunds and exchanges.

Aim

The primary aim of this research will be to highlight the impact of product returns on the direct marketing practices employed by the BT Group PLC, a leading British firm, engaged in the telecommunication sector.

Objectives

The objectives of this study will be to:

To conduct a thorough literature review on the impact of impact of product returns on direct marketing.

Highlight the importance of direct marketing for BT Group, UK

Elaborate on the effect of product returns on behaviour of the valued customers of BT Group

To discuss the key success factors involved in direct marketing for BT Group.

Research Questions

This research study will be based on following research questions:

RQ1: What is the relationship between the direct marketing strategy of BT Group PLC, and the ability to handle product returns data?

RQ2: What is the relationship between the belief that direct marketing gives BT Group the ability to forecast future values of end-user customers and the belief that direct marketing can be used to increase customer loyalty and profitability?

Hypothesis

Following hypotheses will be included in this particular study:

HI (a): The more products a customer purchases as a gift, the fewer products that will be returned.

HI (b): A product purchased during the holiday season (i.e. November and December) is more likely to be returned than a product purchased during the rest of the year.

HI (c): A product purchased in a new category within the same distribution channel is more likely to be returned than a product purchased in a familiar category in the same channel.

HI (d): A product purchased in a new distribution channel within the same product category is less likely to be returned than a product purchased in a familiar channel within the same product ...