Please see the attached file.

The qualitative sales forecasting methods include educated guess, executive committee consensus, Delphi method, survey of sales forces, survey of customers, historical analogy, and market research. Clearly, different sales forecasting methods are better suited for some businesses than others.

What sorts of businesses would each of these qualitative sales forecasting methods be used in and WHY?
Method Business Reason
educated guess Small convenience store to forecast for no of cases of a particular drink for next week. Cost of forecast inaccuracy is low in such cases
executive committee consensus Any strategic planning in a company planning to launch a new product in market There is not much historic data available for the product so it is required to take decisions based on a compromise forecast
Delphi method Generally used by businesses to predict future technological advancements In this type of forecasts, informed opinions, judgments and expertise of knowledgeable individuals are needed to predict future advancements
survey of sales forces Businesses that have sales force who sell directly to the customers. This can be an effective method to give a realistic sales forecast.
survey of customers Companies that have relatively small customer base such as automobile industry suppliers This can be an effective method to give a realistic sales forecast.
historical analogy A company planning to launch entirely new product in market This method is useful as there is no actual data available for the product to be launched. Thus, using data of similar type of product would be helpful in forecasting demand for this new product up to some extent
market research A company planning to launch entirely new product in market or a company planning to launch its product into new market segments To understand the response of customers for their product.