Clover Valley Dairy Case study - Letter to Charles Krieger

Dear Charles Krieger,

A big thanks for your letter in regards to market testing of the new cups and carriers! Your suggestions are much appreciated and are really very helpful in what we are trying to do. I want to share my thoughts about the market testing we want to conduct and also discuss with you the ideas you have proposed, with the final goal of finalizing them and ensuring that we indeed have the right approach for this initiative. I have outlined below my thinking on key points for your consideration.
Before getting into the actual market test, I wanted to discuss and clarify on what is the actual purpose of this research. We have spent significant time and effort
Now coming to the plan you have outlined. I am in agreement and feel that it is a very good way we can approach this test. The test would help us to get into our suppliers with the new packaging, and test consumer reactions about the new packaging and get real time feedback that would be very useful in making the final decision on the packing. I would like to suggest two things to add on to your idea. I would suggest that we carry out the testing in about three or four outlets, as this would give us better coverage on customer types and also eliminate exceptions that could be typical of one type of customer in an area. I would also try and keep marketing research assistants right from week two, or even possibly week one so that we can have feedback early and throughout the process that would help us get a much better idea on aspects that are being tested.
From a financial standpoint, it is always important that a cost benefit analysis is done to ensure that it makes business sense. This market testing may cost us about forty to fifty thousand dollars, but in my opinion I feel this is money well spent as this is about getting our best product right and ensuring a successful future for the company. The value of the research far exceeds the costs and hence we should go ahead with the market testing.
I have outlined my thoughts above for your consideration. Look forward to discussing with you more on this