Marketing Research course project. Consulted with small business and presented recommendations based on our analysis.

1. BLACKSBURG BAGELS
Team Leader – Quinn Conover
MKTG 4154
Summer Session #1
Dr. Jiang
Team members- Emily Alvarez, Mark E, Tyler Calihan, James Frankly

2. 2
Executive Summary –
For our project, our group conducted marketing research for Blacksburg
Bagels. It is co-owned by Jessica Macedo and Pete Schultz.
All of Blacksburg Bagel's bagels are hand made using traditional methods- the
bagels are hand made. And you can find everything they bake at the Blacksburg Farmers
Market year round. As of May 2015 they are also at the Christiansburg Farmers Market
too. They also bring select items to shops and restaurants that you go to every
day. Blacksburg Bagels has provided baked goods for these local businesses:
• Annie Kay’s Main St. Market
• Eats Natural Food
• Gaucho Brazilian Grill
• Hoof Hearted Farm
• Idego Coffee
• The London Underground
• Mountain Lake Lounge
• Piet
In addition, they offer special wholesale orders of various baked goods (pies,
pretzels, etc.) and bagels.
The goal of our research was to understand how locals perceived their
business. Furthermore, we wanted to help their business address some of their
marketing-related problems. We created a survey using the Qualtrics and provided
statistical analysis based on our findings. Our surveys design yielded results from local
Blacksburg area residents. The results were reliable, which enabled us to provide
adequate analysis, which was useful to the owners.
The survey showed that (1) breakfast is important. The most popular breakfast
items included bagels, eggs, and cereal. Also, (2) quality of ingredients and freshness are
two highly valued factors in determining where to buy bagels. Furthermore, (3) college

3. 3
students are very price sensitive- most would not buy half a dozen for $8, but most would
pay $6 for a half dozen bagels.
While Farmer’s markets are known for being fresh, (4) locals perceive the market
to be pricey. It is important to brand the business as affordable / good-value. Most
people skip breakfast because they are in a rush/ have no time. This portrays that (5)
convenience is also an important factor. In addition, (6) positioning the bagels to be
sold in convenient places is a good idea. Participants also suggested that (7) the business
lacks promotion, as respondents noted they were unsure of what is offered. Relevant
promotions and marketing of their products and services will help to keep people
informed of what their business offers.

4. 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
● Introduction.....................................................................................................................5
○ Environmental Context/ Background of the problem……………………….…5
○ Objective of research...........................................................................................5
● Problem/ Opportunity Identification and Formulation…………………………...…….7
● Methodology of research.................................................................................................8
○ Choice of research approach……………………………………………...……8
● Findings.........................................................................................................................10
○ Demographic analysis.......................................................................................10
○ Descriptive / Statistical Analysis of Findings...................................................10
● Implications and Recommendations for Management..................................................13
● Conclusions...................................................................................................................15
● Appendices....................................................................................................................16

5. 5
INTRODUCTION
Environmental Context/ Background of the problem
Our marketing research group chose to work with a local business - Blacksburg
Bagels. After contacting multiple businesses, we chose Blacksburg Bagels. We were
excited to work with this business because they were a smaller sized business and willing
to let us help address some of their marketing problems. The business is fairly new, as it
opened in 2013. It is co-owned and operated by Jessica Macedo and Pete
Schultz. Jessica sold bagels out of her home kitchen in 2010 but November 2013 was
when she started selling at the Blacksburg Farmers Market under the name Blacksburg
Bagels.
They operate their business twice a week at the Blacksburg Farmer’s Market (Sat.
8am - 2pm; Wed. 2pm - 7pm) and now the Christiansburg Farmer’s Market- as of May
2015. In addition, they also provide baked goods to local businesses.
We explained the goal of the project is to address real life marketing issues and
how our goal was to provide statistical analysis of managerial importance based on our
findings from the Qualtrics survey.
Objective of research –
After meeting with Jessica and Pete a few times, we had formulated a list of some
marketing related problems that their business faces.
Here are the marketing related objectives and proposed solutions:
1. Marketing Related Objective #1 – Formulate marketing efforts to increase
wholesale business to local restaurants and shops.

6. 6
a. Promote their range of products to local businesses – more than just bagels
b. Sales calls to local businesses
c. Visit to businesses with samples; discounts
d. Reminders to local businesses – email and calls
e. Brochures/ Photo portfolio of products and services and other info.
2. Marketing Related Objective #2 – Gain more draw from students; increase
brand awareness amongst students
a. More Facebook promotion
b. Offer coupons for college students in the Collegiate Times
c. On campus handouts (with coupons/ promotions)
d. Order “Blacksburg Bagels” stickers shaped in a bagel shape – hand out on
campus / in Blacksburg
e. Target marketing to student organizations
3. Marketing Related Objective #3 – Increase number of attendees to Farmer’s
Market on Virginia Tech football game days.
a. Increase awareness of products and services provided – market to alumni
groups (look into sponsorship opportunities with alumni groups) and other
tailgating groups (email and social media)
b. Promote game day pre-ordering/ pickup
c. Potentially market some type of game day delivery service

7. 7
4. Marketing Related Objective #4 – Gain more insight to customer’s perspective/
preference
a. Will distribute Qualtrics survey (online) to a diverse mix of people – will
gain insight to business and provide statistical analysis
PROBLEM/ OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION AND FORMULATION
Blacksburg Bagels was and is a small, up-and-coming business. We know that a
better understanding of the market could help give them some insight to consumer
preferences and opinions. We were excited to work with their business and eager to
provide data analysis which could be used to improve their business.
Myself and the other group members, created a survey. The survey included
questions which would allow us to understand consumer’s tastes. We made sure to
utilize skip logic in order to only include residents from the “Blacksburg area.”
We then distributed the survey via Facebook groups and direct emails to others -
including past professors, other students, and other individuals. The final survey was
posted for about 8-10 days before we closed the survey.
Blacksburg Bagels became a part of the Blacksburg Baking Collective LLC in
May 2014. Jess is known as the “Bagel lady.” She is a 2012 Virginia Tech graduate –
studied Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise. She discovered her interest in baking
while learning from her grandmother as a child. There is also another co-owner / baker,
Pete, who is known as the “Pie Guy.”
The Bagel Lady began her journey in 2009 as student at Virginia Tech in Dr.
Conforti’s Food Selection and Preparation class, a mandatory class for Human Nutrition,

8. 8
Foods and Exercise students. All her life, she’d be learning from her grandmother,
Madeline, how to craft yummy baked goods, but in her college course she finally learned
the science of starches, the glories behind gliadin and glutenin. It was here that she first
came across the beginnings of The Recipe. She filed it away with her school notebooks
and carried it with her until its usefulness would be made known.
In 2011, a good friend asked if she’d be willing to bake bread for her each week.
She forwarded the opportunity to several friends and acquaintances and soon had a
veritable list of bread CSA customers.
Pete, the Pie Guy was born in New England, Connecticut and grew up in
Baltimore. When he arrived in Blacksburg for college, he found some great food, but so
often the restaurants skip on that last bit on the menu. So many places were just serving
frozen cheesecake. So after several years of being frustrated with the options of good
local desserts, he bought a cookbook, took a pie baking class, and never looked back.
After a year of playing around in his own kitchen, he learned about the Bagel
Lady and her transition from home cooking to becoming a vendor at the Blacksburg
Farmers Market. After a few meetings and exchanges of baked goods, he offered to help
bake for the market one weekend and they have been co-owners since.
METHODOLOGY
Choice of research approach –
Our primary data collection was by means of a Qualtrics survey. Our preliminary
research was gathered from the business’s website – www.BlacksburgBagels.com. We

9. 9
also met with the owners twice before finalizing our commitment with them. The
primary data was based on the local Blacksburg community.
In summary, the three research objectives included: (1) Understanding reasons
why someone is/ isn’t attending Farmer’s Market (2) gauge consumer’s awareness of
brand, (3) understand consumer preferences, and (4) promote products and services to
students and locals.
The survey’s objective was to provide insight into these issues using a set of 16
questions. We utilized skip logic to ensure we would only have Blacksburg area
respondents. The survey provided data on how many people eat breakfast / how many
days a week. Also, the survey results included how many times people ate breakfast per
week, as well as people’s preferred breakfast items. We wanted to understand why
people would skip breakfast, so we asked for reasons for skipping breakfast. In addition,
we asked if they were aware of the Blacksburg Farmer’s Market and, if so, how many
times they have attended. We were interested in gaining perspective into why some
people do not attend the farmers market. We asked the respondents to mark all reasons
which apply. And as a follow-up question, we asked of their perception of the
Blacksburg Farmer’s Market- whether they believed the products were cheaper / more
expensive or about the same.
We wanted to understand consumer preferences, so we asked the respondents to
choose their favorite bagel flavor. And to understand competition, we asked where they
buy bagels. We also wanted to gauge price sensitivity so we asked if they would buy a
half dozen of bagels for $8 and followed up asking if they would buy for $6.

10. 10
In regards to consumer preferences, we asked what are important factors they
consider when buying bagels. This was important in order to understand what is
important to the consumer.
We concluded the survey with demographic questions - including asking if they
are a college student, and if so what college; and, lastly, their age.
The distribution of the survey entailed email distribution as well as
Facebook. We posted our survey to the Facebook Class of 2015 and 2016. We did our
best to attain a diverse group of respondents, however, our primary data is coming from
VT students.
The survey utilized a convenience sample, as opposed to a random one.
Nevertheless, since the objective was gain insight from the individuals, the lack of
random sample did not have a significant impact on our findings.
FINDINGS
Demographics Analysis –
At the conclusion of our survey, we received 91 responses. Of our responses only 51
were salvageable due to inconsistencies and missing values. There were 56 Blacksburg-
area respondents were eligible for the survey data, and the 35 others were not (see
Appendix 1-1).
The survey included people who live in the “Blacksburg area.” We made sure to
utilize skip logic in order to only include local residents. Most of the respondents were
between 19 and 25 years old. 50 out of 51 respondents go to Virginia Tech.
Descriptive / Statistical Analysis of Findings –

11. 11
In total there were 41 college student respondents and 12 non-college respondents
(appendix 1-2). This demonstrates only a small portion of the Blacksburg area
population. However, we are content with our results because we believe our sample is
representative of the population.
We lacked an age dispersion of respondents. Most respondents (49/53) were
between the age of 19 and 25 (appendix 1-3). While a lot of consumers are students, we
understand other ages also are important target demographic.
We were interested in understanding how many people ate breakfast on a daily
basis. The results showed that roughly 7/10 people eat breakfast regularly (appendix 1-
4). This is important because it demonstrates that there is a demand for bagels and other
breakfast foods.
The most preferred foods for breakfast included bagels, cereal, and eggs. 28 votes
for bagels, 36 votes for cereal, and 38 votes for eggs (appendix 1-5). It is good that
many students enjoy bagels for breakfast.
Our survey results showed that the main reasons for skipping breakfast include (1)
not having enough time/ being in a rush (appendix 1-6). In a rush/ no time received
45/51 responses.
48/54 peoples knew of the Blacksburg Farmer’s market (appendix 1-7).
Furthermore, 21 people have never been and 26 people have attended between one and
five times (appendix 1-8). Hence, most of the respondents have either never been or less
than 5 times.

12. 12
The following 3 reasons represents the main reasons for not attending the
Blacksburg Farmer’s Market: (1) unsure of what is offered, (2) think it will be expensive,
and (3) would take long time parking/ getting there (appendix 1-9).
We wanted to understand the local’s perception of the Blacksburg Farmers
market. 19 respondents said they (1) believe the products are more expensive than
grocery stores, (2) 18 said they were unsure, and (3) 14 said they believe them to be
about the same (appendix 1-10).
After surveying our respondents, it was evident that the most popular bagel
flavors were (1) everything, (2) plain, (3) sesame, and (4) cinnamon raison (appendix 1-
11).
31 students prefer to buy bagels on campus; 22 prefer to buy at grocery store; 14
answered other. The most popular response for other included Hello Bagel with 6 votes
and Panera with 4 votes (appendix 1-12).
We were curious in gauging consumer’s price sensitivity. In regards to paying $8
for a half dozen bagels, 11/53 respondents said yes; 24/53 respondents said no; and 18
said maybe (appendix 1-13).
We followed up this question with asking if they would pay $6 for a half dozen
bagels. The results demonstrated that students prefer to pay $6 for a half dozen, which is
plausible. Of the 53 respondents: 30 answered yes; 10 answered no; and 13 answered
maybe (appendix 1-14). There was 11 yes’s for the $8 half-dozen, while there was 30
yes’s for the $6 half-dozens. This is a significant difference (statistical significance).

13. 13
And lastly, we surveyed what were important factors when buying bagels. The
survey showed 42 responses for freshness, 41 for price, 30 for quality of ingredients, 14
for supporting local business, and 4 for other (appendix 1-15).
IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT
Our survey was successful in attaining an adequate amount of respondents. We gained
valuable insight to the consumer’s preferences from the Blacksburg area. The following
summarizes our findings and then followed with our recommendation for the owners.
1. Consumers value freshness and price
 (1) Promote the business’s use of quality ingredients and (2) how they are freshly
baked daily.
 Use newspaper advertisements, stickers, brochures, social media, and the business’s
website to emphasize quality, fresh, and/ or local ingriendents
 Implement $6 for a half-dozen bagels
 Survey results showed that lowering the half-dozen bagel price by $2 significantly
increased the # of people who said ‘yes’
2. The business lacks promotion
 While most students are aware of the Blacksburg Farmer’s market, students remain
unsure of what is offered  continue sticker handouts; newspaper advertisements,
social media presence, promotions, website updating, and on-campus sampling.
 Address consumers who believe it will be expensive  promote affordable products;
continue promotion/ discounts / loyalty rewards

14. 14
 Hand out stickers with purchases / give out on campus - should increase 'word of
mouth'  cheap and effective way of marketing
 Promote your business’s full range of food and services; Have brochures available
3. Needto increase number of new customers
 People will enjoy experience/ food  more likely to return
 Offer promotions which get people down to the market
4. Most people don’t eat breakfast because they are in a rush/ no time
 Availability is very important; campus pickup locations or more promotion of
Natural Eats food store pickup
5. Bagels, eggs, and cereal are the 3 most popular breakfast items of choice
 Bagels are a popular breakfast item  demonstrates demand
6. Social media efforts are lacking in posts
 It is important to keep social media presence - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. I
recommend Hootsuite (https://hootsuite.com/) which is a platform which can control
all of your social media accounts.
 For instance, if you make a post on Instagram, it will also make same post across all
your business’s social media platforms, consequently creating brand uniformity.
7. LinkedIn: create a Blacksburg Bagel's business page
 Ability to communicate with other professionals/ businesses
 Include some testimonials on your website

15. 15
 More pictures on webpage – keeppeople engaged
 Database marketing - stay in contact with those who are subscribed
CONCLUSION
Summary –
Blacksburg Bagels has great potential to be a long-lasting, successful business. It is
important that they utilize our findings and apply our suggestions. The business needs to
continue with promotion of their services and products. For instance, they will cook just
about anything upon request. This is a great service, but many people don’t know this a
service offered. It is important for the business to utilize our stickers and brochures as a
means of marketing. In addition, our group purchased an eighth page advertisement in
the Welcome Back edition of the Collegiate Times newspaper. This will increase brand
awareness and hopefully attract some new customers. Another service lacking promotion
is their pre-order option, as well as their delivery service. This is a very convenient
service, however, too many consumer lack awareness of what is offered because of lack
of promotion. In addition, the Eats Natural Food store in Blacksburg sells the business’s
bagels, but many people are probably unaware of this. It is important for the business to
keep consumers up to date and stay in the consumer's evoked set.
ResearchLimitations –
Limitations included not being able to get responses from diverse group of people – in
regards to age and occupation. Most were between 19 and 25 and were Virginia Tech
students.
Future extensions and possibilities –

16. 16
We will trade over our information to accounts for stickers and brochure creation. They
can continue to use our marketing tools in the future. Also, we could try to include a
wider dispersion of survey respondents.
Appendices
References:
Blacksburg Bagels, background information, retrieved from:
http://www.blacksburgbagels.com/
Appendix 1-1 – Blacksburg area residents (blue) vs. others (red)
Appendix 1-2 –
College students (blue) vs. others (red)

17. 17
Appendix 1-3 – Age dispersion
Appendix 1-4 – Percent breakdown of people who breakfast regularly

18. 18
Appendix 1-5 – Preferred breakfast foods
Appendix 1-6 – Reasons for skipping breakfast

19. 19
Appendix 1-7 – % of people who know of the Blacksburg Farmer’s market
Appendix 1-8 – # of visits to the Blacksburg Farmer’s market

20. 20
Appendix 1-9 – Reasons for not attending Blacksburg Farmer’s market
Appendix 1-10 – Reasons for not attending Blacksburg Farmer’s market

21. 21
Appendix 1-11 – Favorite bagel flavors
Appendix 1-12 – Breakdown of where people buy bagels

22. 22
Appendix 1-13 – People who will pay $8 for half-dozen bagels
Appendix 1-14 – People who will pay $6 for half-dozen bagels
Appendix 1-15 – People who will pay $6 for half-dozen bagels

23. 23
*Brochure

24. 24
*Stickers