Abstract:

This paper describes a comprehensive, Europe-wide program of marketing research carried out over a period of four years to assist development of an entirely new Ford small car: Fiesta. The research program, which was an integral part of the car's overall product development program, comprised three main phases. The first of these was essentially strategy research, providing guidance on the optimum small-car concept and contributing materially to basic decisions about the optimum size, shape, interior space and mechanical configuration of the vehicle, and also to judgements on the overall viability of the program. The second phase of research was concerned with refining the chosen strategy car into a firm product proposal, notably in terms of exterior styling, interior passenger space and major elements of interior design. The third and final phase dealt with shorter lead-time issues essentially concerned with the final "detailing" of the car in terms of, for example, instrumentation, interior trim, and exterior ornamentation. The paper describes the types of research carried out at each phase, including product clinics, studies on owners of specific small cars, and studies of particular small-car market segments. It also provides an account of some probably unique international research in which Lausanne acted as the venue for a major product study attended by samples of car buyers brought in from five other European markets