Boston Beer
Part1 The main decision problem for Boston Beer Company is whether or not it should remain in the light beer market. This is followed by four subsidiary decision problems if the answer to main problem is yes: should BBC create a new light beer brand, and if so what positioning should it take, should they keep Lightship, and if yes, should BBC maintain or change Lightship’s positioning. The research problems are as follows: it is profitable for BBC to remain in the light beer market, what are the growth trends, what role does light beer play in the retail scene, what types of people drink light beers, what are their values, is the positioning of Lightship in line with what light beer drinkers seek, and if not it is feasible to change its positioning? The research design is three parts. The first consists of one-on-one qualitative research interviews with retailers to find out more about the retail scene. The interviews are loosely structured with no set questioning frame. The second part is a quantitative blind taste test survey with questions about their brand choices. The third part is a qualitative individual research using ZMET. The HBS team use a survey to pick people whom then use selected images to create a light beer experience collage. Data collection starts off with obtaining information on the light beer market. Using secondary resources the HBS students summarised data on historic growth percentages, future growth prospects with respect to other beers and future consumer trends. Data collection for retailer interviews is simple and loosely structured with the HBO student taking note of typical answers and scenarios. For the taste testing, data is organized in charts by gender and drinking habits with the taste rankings listed behind. The ZMET method collects data by looking for key themes within the pictures and narration. The sampling plan for the retail interviews are based on national and large regional customers. The exact