In a short essay, list and discuss at least five situations in which exploratory research can be applied

What will be an ideal response?

a. To formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely - exploratory research may reveal that a brand has a lower market share because its brand image is not as strong as a competitor's image.
b. To identify alternative courses of action - alternative courses of action to boost the image of a brand might include improving product quality, increasing the advertising budget, and distributing the product through upscale company-owned stores.
c. To develop hypotheses - an interesting hypothesis may be that heavy users may be more brand conscious than light users.
d. To isolate key variables and relationships for further examination - celebrity endorsements can have a positive influence on the image of certain products.
e. To gain insights for developing an approach to the problem - brand image is a composite variable that is influenced by the quality of the product, pricing strategy, image of the outlets through which the product is distributed, and the quality and intensity of advertising and promotion.
f. To establish priorities for further research - a company may want to examine the purchase and consumption behavior of heavy users of its product category.