Professor Lenard Huff’s Winter Semester Market Research (2012) class conducted research on the visitors of the North Shore of Oahu. The results of their research were then presented at the North Shore Chamber of Commerce Business Expo at the Turtle Bay Resort on Thursday, May 17, 2012.
“The North Shore Chamber of Commerce was one of the businesses who contacted me,” explains Huff, who assigned one of his market research classes to conduct research that would produce valuable information for a given business market. Another group conducted research for BYU-Hawaii’s Game Center. Both groups provided valuable information for their clients. “Representatives from the North Shore Chamber of Commerce were impressed enough that they asked students to present their research at the Business Expo in May."
Nguyen Pham Seymour, a senior from Vietnam was the student lead of the project. As a group they examined the market demographics and expenditures of visitors through observational study and conducting surveys. “It was hard to organize at first, but it got smoother and I’m really happy with the way it turned out,” says Seymour. “The businesses can use the research that we found for them to bring in more revenue for all of the North Shore businesses.”
Seymour, along with Brendan Aoki, a senior from Oahu, and Alex Martinez, a senior from California, represented their research group and BYU–Hawaii when presenting at the North Shore Chamber of Commerce Business Expo. Each took a few minutes to discuss the different stages of their analysis and how their found information would benefit the business representatives present. “The information the students gathered will be very effective to the North Shore businesses,” says Antya Miller, Executive Director of North Shore Chamber of Commerce. “The students did a great job; Nguyen was an excellent team leader.”
“I was impressed with the confidence of the presenting students, they were very professional and knowledgeable of their data; it was great,” says Matt Eagle, the marketing chair of the North Shore Chamber of Commerce and publisher of Aloha Surf Guide. Eagle and Huff have been in contact regarding market research on the North Shore for over a year.
“For students to learn marketing research, they need to do marketing research,” says Huff. “Both from a learning perspective, as well as the opportunity to work with a real client who has real concerns, projects such as this are very valuable for students. It is also important for us to reach out and develop relationships with the North Shore business community.”