Research Proposal
Introduction
The proposal is about the use of electronic textbooks in colleges. Electronic textbooks are a new development that are yet to realize their major contribution and great potential to change the way university students read. There are several advantages of using electronic textbooks for instance they save paper and many other benefits that will continue emerging with the gradual technological advancement. It is worth noting that publishers should not overcharge students if at all they need to attract more customers and encourage the use of electronic textbooks.
Target Market
Consultants of the electronic textbook publishing firm have to identify the target market. The target market in this case includes the University Students.
Pricing
It is evident that getting rid of hardcopy textbooks in favor of electronic textbooks for college and university students will improve education and also cut costs. Universities spend at least $ 200 for a single textbook in college and university bookstores. The other fact that makes hard copy textbooks costly is the fact that universities need the most recent versions of textbooks updated with a few minor changes. This means that they are forced to buy new books rather than using the old books and this becomes costly. Updating of electronic textbooks on the other hand may be done free of charge (Clarke and Flaherty, 2005).
Evaluation of products relative to the market
The target market may have a doubtful response to our solution. Many university students may think that electronic textbooks are just mere images of hardcopy textbooks. They may view electronic textbooks as unreliable sources of obtaining information.Marketing of electronic textbooks will be done through direct marketing which will involve direct communication with the target consumers, university students, in order to obtain an immediate response from them. The other form that will be used is mass marketing which will target a broad market and include distribution of marketing offers and standardized messages through intermediaries such as the mass media and other electronic channels (Clarke, 2005).
Consumer Opinion and Feedback
First of all, the target market should be informed of the benefits and demerits of electronic textbooks and then a survey on their response will be done. The data collected will then be interpreted. The survey results showed that most students were unaware of the benefits associated with the use of electronic textbooks. One of the benefits that wooed many is that fact that electronic textbooks were digital and mobile. This means that electronic textbooks can be read in more that one places at any given time. Moreover, the text size could be increased to help the visually impaired students.After informing them and educating them on electronic textbooks, there was a high percentage of students who responded positively and were ready to adapt to the use of electronic textbooks in learning (Clarke, 2005).
Position of the Product Value to the Consumer
The use of electronic textbooks is a sustainable solution since it has a diverse number of benefits to the consumer. First of all, it will reduce the costs spent on textbooks. It is evident that hardcopy textbooks are far more expensive compared to electronic textbooks. The other benefit is that consumers will have the chance to choose reading materials or textbooks from millions of options available online. The other benefit is that of mobility whereby consumers can use the products anywhere at any given time (Clarke, 2005).
Reference
Clarke, I., & Flaherty, T. (2005) Advances in electronic marketing. Idea Group Inc (IGI).
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