Research Query

Youlou Kabasella and his wife opened Kinshasa Abroad, a restaurant in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Because of the diversity of the city and the restaurant’s proximity to Ohio State University, Mr. Kabasella had expected immediate success. However, turnout and revenue have fallen well short of his projections. To help him understand why performance has been below expectations and identify some possible ways to turn performance around, he has hired a marketing research consultant, Bill Christianson.

Immediately after his initial meeting with the Kabasellas, Mr. Christianson reflects on what yet must be learned in order to properly define the marketing problem and then later address it with appropriate descriptive or causal research. The key general questions that still need to be answered are listed below:

1. What market segment(s) should this unique restaurant target?

a. What segments would be most inclined to frequent Kinshasa Abroad?

b. What groups would be most interested in African food and beverages?

c. Would these same groups be the ones most interested in African music?

d. Are there groups interested in dancing in a restaurant environment?