The LYIT marketing students with Letterkenny Chamber CEO Toni Forrestor.
Fourth year students from the Department of Business Studies at Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT), supported by Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce, have provided Letterkenny town, business owners and the community with valuable insights into the profile of the Letterkenny visitor.
The fourth year marketing students, at LYIT, undertook their marketing research project, and carried out some primary research with an aim of profiling the Letterkenny town visitor.
The research was carried out between February and April of this year and it was hoped that the research would unearth retailer and customer attitudes towards Letterkenny Town Centre and the Retail Parks, in terms of their retail mix and infrastructure.
Toni Forrester, CEO Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the initiative and said understanding the Letterkenny town visitor, who they are, and their needs, enables the Chamber to support our clients and ultimately, the visitor to this area.
“The students have highlighted significant information in relation to the demographics of the visitors, in addition to the main reasons and purpose of their visits. Collaborations with the institute, from a research perspective, supports local business and we are delighted to have quantitative results that will support local business. We hope that this venture is the start of many future collaborations with the institute.”
Some of the key findings from this research project included learning that the age profile of Letterkenny Town Centre visitors is younger, aged between 18-35 and 35-54 years of age.
Additionally, the top 3 reasons for visiting the Town Centre were, at the top of the list, for social reasons, followed by for professional services, and thirdly for shopping reasons. Visitors to the area recommended that signage is improved and that more innovative methods of paying for parking could be used in Letterkenny Town Centre.
The findings also highlighted that the town centre is used as a base for tourists, with the respondents highlighting that there is a distinct lack of public transport. Additionally retailers commented on importance of managing the retail mix, particularly in the Town Centre.
Their marketing research lecturer, Vicky O’Rourke, welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with local industry when designing marketing research projects, “the benefits of this research project are two-fold, after spending time studying marketing research concepts and techniques, students gain invaluable experience in managing and executing a live project, alongside this the findings provide useful insight into key issues for Letterkenny Chamber and local retailers”.
Patricia Doherty, Head of Department of business said the collaboration provided their fourth year marketing students with an opportunity to ‘add value’ to the local business community.
“Students undertook a research project that provided real purpose and insights into the visitor profile to the area. The information gained from this research project allows retailers to strategically plan and organise their activities to match any issues that may have been highlighted from the study. We plan to build and strengthen this connection in the future.”
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