Good day, dear reader! This article is a clear example of conducting marketing research, which we talked about in our previous article. After all, it is always easier for a student to show by example than to tell a dry theory. We decided that this material would be very useful for you.

Marketing research on the topic: “The feasibility of opening a bookstore on the territory of the city N"

1. Objectives of the study:

1.1 Determine the preferences of potential buyers.

1.2 Create an information and analytical base for making marketing decisions and thereby reduce the level of uncertainty associated with them.

2. Research objectives:

2.1 Selection of methods for conducting research.

2.2 Data collection for analysis.

2.3 Conducting an analysis of consumer typologies and motivations.

2.4. Synthesis of the received information and its subsequent presentation in graphic and text form.

3. Hypothesis:

Due to the development of modern information technologies, at the moment, most people who read various literature depend less and less on books on paper. Accordingly, assuming that this trend will increase even more in the near future, we put forward the hypothesis that opening a new bookstore in the city of N is a very risky business, which most likely will not bring the expected income.

In addition, due to the increased pace of modern life, people have less and less time to read books. In connection with these premises, we assume that after conducting marketing research, this hypothesis will be confirmed by scientific data.

4. Nature of the study:

This marketing research will be descriptive in nature. It will consist of a simple description of certain aspects of the real marketing situation associated with the book market in the territory of the city N.

5. Research plan:

5.1 Problem:

The problem is that at the moment the management of the hypothetical company does not have reliable data. In this regard, management cannot make the right management decision: to open or not to open a new bookstore in the city N.

5.1 Target group:

A survey of the target group will help solve the above problem. The target group of this marketing research will be selected taking into account the geographical segmentation of the market, i.e. The target group will include residents of the city N from 12 years old. This choice is due to the fact that choosing a narrower segment is impractical due to the small number of potential buyers.

In turn, do b O a larger target group also looks very irrational, because It is unlikely that a person under 12 years of age will buy books in a bookstore.

5.2 Number of respondents:

A sample of 35 people will be drawn from all city residents. This number of people surveyed is sufficient to assess the feasibility of opening a new bookstore in the city of N.

5.3 Research method:

To conduct the study, one of the field research methods was chosen, in particular, research using questionnaires. Sample participants will be given questionnaires containing a list of 12 multiple-choice control questions. For each question, you can choose only one answer option (the most suitable for the respondent).

5.4.1 Cash costs:

Grand total: 205 rubles

5.4.2 Time costs:

Grand total: 10 hours

Graphic representation of information obtained after conducting marketing research

Comments: The Gender and Age charts themselves convey little information. However, their presence is due to the need to further provide information - charts with two criteria at once (for example, the number of people aged 18-30 who read e-books, etc.).

Comments: A large percentage of the married category suggests that this is most likely a young married couple who does not yet have children. These people have recently completed their studies and are just beginning to live independent adult lives. As you know, a young family always has a lot of problems, so these people are unlikely to buy books in a new store (while they are not yet interested in them).

However, there are also two-parent families with children who are real potential buyers of educational literature. It is also clear that a large percentage of respondents are single/unmarried people. These are teenagers and adults.

Accordingly, this is a group of people that has a wide variety of needs: from educational literature (teenagers) to romance novels (women aged 45-60 years).

Conclusion: This diagram does not give a clear picture of the demand for a new bookstore among residents of N.

Comments: This diagram gives a lot of food for thought. A particularly striking indicator is that 69% of people have only about 2 hours of free time. We believe that this is due to the ever-accelerating lifestyle of modern people. Therefore, we can assume that this group of people is unlikely to spend their free time reading books, because... they probably have more important things to do.

However, another part of the respondents (29%) have a fairly large amount of free time per day. So among these people there are definitely those who like to read books in their spare time. Accordingly, this group of city residents can be considered as potential buyers.

The last part of respondents (5%) who have more than 6 hours of free time are also potential buyers of books in the new store. They have a lot of free time to read books. However, this percentage is too small to be taken seriously.

Conclusion: Lack of free time is a typical problem for modern people. This is one of the limiting factors that prevents people from reading books daily. This information must be taken very seriously when making a final decision regarding the opening of a new bookstore.

Comments: As can be seen from this chart, the majority of people (59%) prefer to spend their free time sitting at the computer or watching various TV shows. The influence of modern technology on the human way of life is clearly visible here. Reading books is the second most prioritized activity (18%). However, this is too small a proportion of respondents (less than one fifth of respondents).

Conclusion: In this regard, it can be assumed that only a small proportion of people who prefer “traditional” ways of spending their free time will buy books.

Comments: From this diagram it is clear that most people manage to read, at best, only one book per month. This once again confirms the assumption that the modern rhythm of life does not provide many opportunities to read this or that literary work in a calm atmosphere. Among the above respondents there were also those who said that they only manage to read books on the way to work or school. In this situation, books on paper “lose” in convenience to their electronic counterparts.

Conclusion: People today don't read very much, which is not a good thing, especially for a company that intends to open a new bookstore.

Comments: The diagram shows that on average a respondent in city N buys no more than 1 book per month. This is also partly due to a simple lack of time. However, in our opinion, the main reason for the inactivity in the book market is the opportunity to read e-books for free. This trend can be seen especially clearly among young people, as evidenced by the summary diagram 13.

Conclusion: Due to the fact that people read little, the layout presented on diagram 7, we fully expect it. In addition, paper books are losing their leading role to their electronic counterparts. Plus, most e-books can be found in the public domain, i.e. they are free (even though this is illegal in most cases).

Comments: The trend is obvious. A very small percentage of people prefer paper books only. Now most people have either completely switched to digital or are in a transition stage. And this is not surprising, because... More and more information today is stored electronically. The remaining percentage of conservatives (17%) are mostly older people who are not used to working with electronic devices.

Conclusion: Quite a lot of people today read books in electronic form. This fact, confirmed by statistical calculations, allows us to conclude that opening a new bookstore is a very risky idea. Only a small percentage of middle-aged and elderly people should be considered as potential buyers. And in the long term, the calculation of this category of people is also in question.

Comments: Almost all respondents have a library at home. This suggests that, at least in the past, people were actively buying books. However, as the realities of life show, the home library is, by and large, a “rudiment” of the Soviet past. Previously, people read more, and due to the fact that books were only on paper, each home over time accumulated a rather impressive collection of different books.

But due to recent technical advances, books on paper are now being bought either for the sake of collecting (which will be discussed below) or for specific purposes (for example, high-end business literature is difficult to find in free access, because it does not attract large masses of people).

Conclusion: Although almost every family has books in their home library, this home library is rarely replenished with new publications (including due to the high cost).

Diagram 10. Purpose of purchasing paper books

The market economy has a direct impact not only on the development of business, but also on the lives of ordinary people. Every entrepreneur needs to take into account all the rules and laws of the modern market. One of the main components of entrepreneurial activity is systematic market research. This rule applies to both beginners in this field and experienced businessmen who have been working for many years. In this article, we propose to consider an example of marketing market research and discuss the procedure for conducting such events.

Marketing market research is the process of assessing, identifying, modeling and forecasting changes in the market environment and in the field of activity of the analyzed company

Why is marketing research necessary?

The procedure for conducting marketing research depends on the specific task pursued by the businessman. As a rule, such events are held with the aim of identifying new products that will be in demand among buyers. Studying market changes allows you to learn what strategies competitors are using and respond in a timely manner to changes in consumer tastes. The main goal of such analysis is to increase the company's income by developing new markets.

Conducting marketing research allows you to identify pitfalls inherent in the selected market segment. Market development forecasts are based on a thorough analysis of the current state of the economy. Such events allow you to test the chosen niche in order to determine the final strategy that will be used to develop the business.

One of the important areas of marketing research is the analysis of the scientific and technical sphere. Timely investment in this direction allows you to receive large sums of money. In order to better understand the above, we will give an interesting practical example. Forty years ago, people did not think that just a few decades later, conventional photographic film would be replaced by digital technology. The rapid development of digital has become a real shock for many entrepreneurs. Failure to conduct marketing analysis or errors in forecasts caused many companies operating in this area to close. Instead, new “giants” emerged that relied on the development of digital technologies.

What exactly do marketers study?

Each person has a number of specific requirements for each product. Most of these requirements are expressed in terms of economic and technical indicators. However, the requirements for taste cannot be expressed in specific numbers. People's tastes depend on age, religious beliefs, cultural traditions and other important factors. The main task of marketers is to identify the principles that consumers use when choosing specific products.

A competent approach to this process can significantly increase business profitability. As an example, we can cite one of the well-known European manufacturers of building materials. Starting to enter the Asian market, this company completely changed the color scheme of its products. Marketing research has shown that residents of Asian countries prefer green. This approach allowed this company to significantly increase the number of its clients through successful entry into a new market.

It is important to note that manufacturing companies have a direct influence on the tastes and needs of potential customers. A well-constructed advertising campaign allows you to develop new tastes among the target audience. Sales promotion is one of the main processes of commercial activity. For this purpose, many different techniques are used, which make it possible to influence the consciousness of consumers. Below we propose to consider the main tasks of marketing using specific examples.

Developments and market situations

As a rule, most manufacturing companies are interested in the structural component of the selected segment and development trends. There are specialized consulting agencies engaged in such research. It is important to note that the cost of services from such companies may seem quite high for a new entrepreneur. The market analysis program should include the following information:

1. The size of the segment chosen by the entrepreneur.
2. Information about the regional distribution of clients.
3. Information about key competitors and their development plans.
4. Data on the most popular products and their prices.
5. Information about the impact of various advertising tools.

It should be noted here that in each case an individual analysis is carried out, based on taking into account various factors. In this area, there are no universal solutions that could be used in various cases. Experts note a strong relationship between product characteristics and business direction. The results of such studies are presented in reports of several hundred pages.

Such reports include information about the main object of research (service or product), as well as the structure of the market segment in a particular region. In addition, the reports provide information about the overall market status and future development trends. A separate section of the reports is devoted to similar enterprises. Marketing reports should provide information about the technologies that competitors use and their production capacities.

Studying demand for a product

This type of analysis is one of the components of market research. As a rule, such a goal is set during an internal study of market changes. For example, consider the activities of a company engaged in the production of household chemicals. Such products are purchased by both ordinary citizens and various organizations. Conducting a comparative analysis of the manufactured product and the products of competitors allows you to determine the advantages and disadvantages of your own business. Using this information, you can determine the further development paths of the enterprise.

Many novice marketers make a very serious mistake by paying increased attention to the dynamics of changes in sales volumes within one company. This approach may result in irrelevant data. When conducting a comparative analysis, it is necessary to take into account general market trends. If the sales dynamics of a particular company differ from the general market dynamics, the entrepreneur needs to carefully analyze his business. In some cases, such analysis allows one to open new horizons that are unavailable to competitors.

Studying consumer demand for household chemicals allows us to assess the prospects of this area. If the chosen area has high prospects for further development, then the entrepreneur can increase the amount of investment in expanding his business. These actions allow you to repeatedly increase the profitability of the company and its financial position.

Efficiency of advertising policy

Every businessman understands that advertising is one of the main tools for business development. Large foreign companies spend tens of millions of dollars to promote their products. As a rule, such methods are used when promoting mass-market products. It should be noted that these methods do not always achieve the desired result. Marketing analysis aimed at studying the effectiveness of various advertising tools allows not only to increase sales volumes, but also to significantly reduce associated costs.

Such an analysis involves the creation of a focus group that will take part in the research. A special questionnaire is created for each focus group participant, where the results are recorded. The main task of researchers is to test the effectiveness of audio recordings, videos, Internet advertising and classic booklets. When choosing a specific advertising tool, the characteristics of the product or service are taken into account.

Foreign trade research

It should be noted here that foreign trade marketing analysis is the most expensive type of research. This is explained by the fact that such events involve experienced analysts who study global market trends. Many entrepreneurs think that such services are provided only by foreign specialists. However, many domestic experts in the field of analysis can provide a high-quality report containing the necessary information.

When studying a foreign market, it is very important to pay sufficient attention to the traditions and preferences of foreign consumers. It is important to note that most foreign consumers view Russia solely as a supplier of raw materials. Such prejudices and stereotypes significantly complicate the process of development of foreign markets by domestic production companies. In order to simplify this process, the assistance of foreign counterparties is needed.

What is more effective: independent marketing research or working with professionals?

Practice shows that even large organizations with their own marketing department often turn to third-party consulting agencies. As a rule, this approach is used when preparing for the implementation of a large investment project. Contacting several agencies allows you to obtain a large amount of analytical data. In addition, there are agencies specializing in narrow areas. The cost of services of such agencies is significantly lower in comparison with large consulting firms.

It is important to understand that hiring specialists to comprehensively study market trends is quite expensive. Small companies can rarely afford such services. In this situation, it makes more sense to create your own marketing department. This recommendation applies only in situations where the company needs to regularly monitor market changes. If such an analysis is carried out only a few times over five years, then creating a new division does not make sense.

Getting an example of marketing research is extremely important for beginners who are taking their first steps in this field. At the same time, it is worth understanding that marketing today is necessary in all areas of business; without conducting in-depth research, not a single self-respecting entrepreneur will open a new retail outlet or begin to engage in a new direction of entrepreneurial activity. Therefore, a marketer is one of the most in-demand professions today.

Why is marketing research carried out?

An example of marketing research will help you clearly understand how to successfully implement such projects. By and large, this is a special business research that helps to determine the current desires and preferences of consumers and predict their behavior in relation to a particular product. Marketing itself is one of the areas of applied sociology. This is a young branch of science that appeared only at the beginning of the 20th century.

First of all, such research is necessary for companies that want to enter the market with their product or service. Some leaders today neglect it. Because for all its effectiveness, this is a rather expensive method. But it’s better to pay in the beginning than to incur much greater losses over time due to the fact that the strategy you have defined for promoting your product turns out to be a losing one.

An example of marketing research allows you to get a complete and, most importantly, real situation on the market. This information is especially important for companies that are trying to start selling a new product or offering a service that no one else had before. This research will help you determine whether your business plan will be successful.

Marketing research using the example of an enterprise allows owners to clearly define the goals and objectives that need to be implemented. The study will answer the question of how effective the promotion of a product or service is; otherwise, you can always make adjustments and correct the situation if it develops in an undesirable direction.

If, for unknown reasons, your sales volume drops sharply, then it is necessary to conduct market research. You will get an example of how to get out of this situation when you read the results. You also cannot do without this method if you are new to the market. And also if you are going to offer the consumer a new, unique product.

Problem Definition

Marketing research consists of six main stages. All sociological companies and services that engage in similar activities have ready-made examples.

The first stage is defining the problem to be solved. After all, the correct answer you receive in the end largely depends on the correct question.

So, to accurately define the problem, you need to pay attention to the purpose of your research, the background information available, and how you will apply it.

Next, to define the problem and the assigned tasks, it is necessary to discuss it with specific managers, on whom the decision-making based on the results of the study will depend. Discuss this issue with experts in this field, conduct a secondary analysis of the data they provide. Qualitative research from focus groups familiar with the topic would also help.

Only after the final formulation of the problem can we begin to develop a detailed work plan.

Developing a plan

An example of marketing research involves a detailed and step-by-step plan of your actions throughout the work. First, you need to formulate the theoretical framework of the study; each participant must clearly understand his role, and what result they want to get from him specifically.

You cannot do without detailed analytical models, precise search questions and hypotheses, as well as factors that can have a significant impact on the final results.

An example of product marketing research at this stage involves discussing further actions with the management of the company that ordered the work from you, as well as with experts in this field. You should study the situation in detail, analyze secondary data, and prepare for qualitative research.

Let's start work

To begin productive work, you need to create a plan according to which your marketing research will be conducted. Ready-made examples will help guide novice marketers and will also be useful for experienced employees, as they will help save time. With their help, you will describe in detail the entire course of work that will be necessary to obtain information on the issue under study.

This plan will allow you to develop a step-by-step test of all emerging hypotheses, select optimal answers to control questions that will need to be asked during the survey process, and also decide what data will be needed to find the right solutions to the questions posed.

Also, the plan according to which marketing market research will be conducted (there is an example in this article) should include exploratory research, the definition of variables and the corresponding scales on which measurements will be carried out.

The plan should also indicate the ways in which you will collect information from respondents. This could be a survey or an experiment. Already at this stage it is necessary to start drawing up questions that will be included in the questionnaire, or details of the upcoming experiment.

To summarize all of the above, then marketing research using an enterprise as an example consists of the following phases - analysis of secondary information, then the research itself, collection of quantitative data (this includes surveys, experiments and third-party observations). This is followed by their careful processing, determination of scaling methods, and preparation of a question-by-question questionnaire. It is important to establish what the representative sample will be. Ultimately, data analysis needs to be done.

Working in the field

Data collection is one of the most important components for successful marketing research. Using the example given in this article, you can see that there is nothing overly complicated about this.

Work in the field is carried out by specially trained people. Their tasks include a personal interview with the interviewee. To do this, sociologists go door to door, call potential respondents by phone, and look for them in specialized places (for example, if this is a study of the book market, then in bookstores and used bookstores). A variant of computer-assisted interviewing is also common, when survey participants are asked to take a test on a website that interests them. Such tests are also sent by email.

In order to avoid errors and inaccuracies in the final results, it is important to conduct thorough training and preparation of employees who will be involved in the most important part - collecting information. Their main tool is a marketing research questionnaire. Every employee should have an example of a questionnaire.

Analysis of the received information

All successful businessmen use marketing research. There are countless examples of companies that pay great attention to sociology in entrepreneurship. If you see a successful player on the market, you can be sure that he orders more than one study per year. Especially if he wants to develop.

So, after all the information has been collected from questionnaires or observations, you need to move on to editing them. And also encoding, decoding and, of course, checking field workers. To do this, a telephone survey is most often carried out with 5-10% of respondents who took part in a survey or experiment. Each questionnaire is checked, edited and corrected, if necessary. With no exceptions.

The test results are summarized and entered into the computer. In order to conduct an effective analysis and obtain accurate data, the method of statistical analysis is used. It is especially effective if there is only one indicator for measurement, or there are several of them, but in this case each of the variables is analyzed separately.

Otherwise, multivariate data analysis techniques are required.

Report and final presentation

In order to gather all the information together, you need a market research program. An example of such a product will help you get the job done quickly and efficiently.

Ultimately, a report is prepared for the customer. Typically in written and electronic form. The final report identifies answers to the questions posed at the beginning of the study, describes the work plan and the methods by which data were collected. The results are summed up and valuable conclusions are formed that should help businessmen in implementing their projects.

The conclusions you draw should be presented in a form that is easy to understand; it is recommended to use tables and graphs. All this contributes to the assimilation of the material.

Marketing Research Example

For clarity, let’s look at specific marketing research. Course work on the example of the feasibility of opening a store of original gifts in the city. First, let's formulate goals and objectives.

Based on the results of the study, we must inform the customer about the preferences of his potential buyers, as well as create a base on the basis of which it will be possible to make specific management decisions, thereby minimizing the level of uncertainty and errors at the project implementation stage.

In this case, it is necessary to include the following tasks in the marketing research plan. Example: determining methods for carrying out your research, collecting data in the field in all possible ways (personal interviewing, telephone survey, Internet survey), analyzing consumer motivations according to typologies, summarizing the information received, its presentation in the form of text, tables and graphs.

Now we determine the hypothesis of our research. In the modern world there are a large number of different holidays. It is customary to come to each of them with a gift. Often, guests simply give money instead, but increasingly this is considered a sign of vulgarity and bad taste. Encouraged only at weddings. If you are going to a birthday, New Year, name day, baptism, Valentine's Day, International Women's Day or one of several dozen professional holidays, then you need an original gift. Therefore, we can assume that the trend towards finding useful and original things for family and friends will only continue.

However, in order for goods to sell out quickly and efficiently, it is necessary to understand which categories of people most often have difficulty choosing gifts for the holidays. And what holidays do people most often attend with original surprises? This will require market research. Services, an example of which potential buyers would like to see in such a store (after all, you can sell not only specific things, but also surfing, visiting a sauna, etc.).

As a result of the research, we will have specific scientific data that will help us draw up a correct and effective business plan.

Work plan

The main problem of our research is that the customer who wants to open an original gift shop in the city does not know which social groups, and, accordingly, categories of goods to target.

Now you need to decide on the target audience who will participate in surveys and come to focus groups. We will include the widest possible group of respondents in our work, limiting ourselves only to the lower age limit (16 years), because at this age, as a rule, free pocket money already appears that can be spent on gifts. After all, the store plans to specialize in surprises.

The number of respondents will be around 100 people. Moreover, half of them should be men, the second - women.

We will conduct a survey using the field research method. This is the most effective and easy-to-use way to get what you want in a strictly limited time frame and with the least financial losses. During the survey, all participants will receive a questionnaire consisting of 15 questions. You will only be able to select one answer option. This will allow you to obtain the most accurate and specific information about the problem being studied.

Now we need to decide on the financial and time costs that it will take us to implement this plan. This is necessary to orient the customer on the time of completion of the study and to plan their own work and the dates on which the next projects can be taken on.

So, the supplies you will need are sheets of paper, pens and printer ink. Naturally, it is assumed that you already have all the necessary office equipment (computer, printer, etc. and are using it in the long term).

Now let's decide on the time. It will take about 3 hours to develop basic documentation, and at least 20 hours to conduct field research. Data analysis will require 2 hours. The final presentation of the received information in the form of graphs, tables and texts will take 4 hours. Thus, you will need 29 hours of working time or 4 working days to complete this project.

Main parameters of the study

In higher education, marketing research is one of the most in-demand jobs. A coursework, an example of which can be compiled based on the research described above, will help any student or marketer figure out how to conduct the first sociological survey in their life.

So, what parameters do we set in the questionnaire? First, we find out the gender and age of the interviewees. Among our respondents, 55% were women and 45% were men. By age, the most popular category is from 18 to 30 years. This means that we can expect that the overwhelming number of visitors will be young and sociable people who are actively making new acquaintances, if only due to insurmountable circumstances - entering a university, getting a new job, changing their place of residence. Therefore, they should be interested in original gifts - they need to express themselves, make friends and acquaintances, perhaps a romantic relationship. The assortment of this store should help in solving precisely these issues.

Now we find out about the marital status of the respondents. By and large, this data will not greatly affect the final results, because potential buyers for our store can be found in any of these categories.

Single men and women are looking for new relationships and a non-standard gift is one of the best ways to surprise and amaze a partner in order to leave the most positive impression of yourself.

Married couples have additional reasons to give gifts. This is the date of wedding, acquaintance, first kiss, declaration of love. All these small but important events do not imply any global gifts, but small pleasant and unexpected surprises, which the owners of this business should bet on.

And finally, married couples with children also come to our attention. After all, you want to please a child with a gift, sometimes without any reason. Again, this will not be some thing that a son or daughter dreams of all year (for this there will be a birthday or New Year), but a small but pleasant and unexpected present.

It is also important in our study to find out the occupation of the respondents, their average monthly earnings, and the amount they are willing to regularly spend on gifts. And also what holidays are customary to celebrate among them, to which ones they usually come with gifts.

All this will help to get a complete picture, which will allow you to choose the right store development strategy.

“Tools” in this case can be both people who are involved in conducting the research, and real tools - questionnaires, CCTV cameras, special programs, etc.

Sample

She, in turn, must answer three main questions: who (or what?) how? and why? For example, if we are talking about conducting a survey, then we need, based on a scientific approach, to determine who needs to be interviewed, what kind of respondents should be (there must be a clear set of characteristics) and, finally, why we use them at all. If an intelligible and reasoned answer is given to all these questions, then, in general, the sample will be correct. Of course, in addition to this, you need to decide how many people will participate in the survey, why this particular number and, finally, decide on a clear set of criteria by which respondents will be selected in general. And finally, you need to understand how to work with people - through personal communication, questionnaires, telephone surveys or other methods.

Event budget and timing

Strictly speaking, it is this stage that will determine the right to life of all previous

Some researchers divide this stage into several subsections:

• Data analysis
• Preparation of report and conclusions
• Making decisions

However, by and large, they are all the implementation of the plan. But let’s look at each of them in more detail:

• To the information collection stage are suitable even when all the previous points are clearly defined, and it is known for certain what type of information is generally needed. This point is extremely important, because the information must be as complete as possible, collected on the basis of all scientific requirements and algorithms, and, of course, be reliable.
• Data Analysis Stage in general, it also cannot be called secondary, because how competently specialists approach the systematization of information, how they work with it, what methods they use, depends on the result of the study. Even the best information can be analyzed incorrectly. There must be a systematic, scientifically based approach.
• Preparation of report and conclusions. Needless to say, a full account of how the research took place should be provided here. Mainly, this stage should answer all the questions that were asked at the very beginning of the study, and in addition, each stage of the study and the conclusions that can be drawn from it should be described in detail.
• Decision stage- this is, as a rule, a set of recommendations, conclusions and proposals, a guide to action, these are the conclusions that follow from the study, the key to the problem that was posed at the beginning.