Doing Marketing Research
ARE WE RESEARCHING?
DO WE DOT IT?
ARE WE DONE?
What are they looking for?
 What are the problem?
How
big is it?
How BIG is our market?
 Good to show our entire market
Target a subset
 $ for units
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 Desirable (Necessary?) to show some verifiable data
 Competition (is the Market now)
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Market share data
Strategies
Strengths & weaknesses
 Do not forget the “Effective reach”!)
Identifying your Market
 Define the industry
 Identify the segments
 Target the segments
 Qualify the customers
 Estimate the demand
 Name the competitors
 Develop position
Market Segmentation
 It is relevant?
 Does it impact desirability of our product?
 Does it impact our strategy?
 In the market big enough to matter?
 What segmentation variables might we use?
Criteria for Segmentation
 Product/service features
 Buying habits
 Ability/method/timing to reach
 Pricing/ability to pay
 Careful about “Crossover effects”
 Size of market
Choosing target segment
 Competition
 Homogeneity
 Growth
 Capacity to serve
 Fit between our capabilities and
customers needs
Market research process
 Given our product and target market
 Develop a set of questions that we
must answer
 Collect data
 Analyze data
 Draw conclusions and develop
strategies
Types of questions
 Size of market
 Relevant segments
 Major customers
 Their needs (potential value proposition)
 Their decision making process
 Appropriate channels of distribution
 Existing and potential competition
 Strengths and weaknesses
Market Research
Nothing beats primary data!
 1-on-1, face-to-face customer meetings
 1-on-1 customer telephone interviews
 Beta test experiences
 Customer focus groups
 Customers survey
 Trade shows and conferences
 Competitors
 Distributors
 Trade publication journalists
Market Research
Secondary data
 Trade and general press
 Competitors’ Annual reports or IPO filings
 Industry research reports
 Stock analyst research reports
 Company/competitors specific
 General industry reports
 Federal and state complied statistics
How much research is enough?
 Depends on many factors
 Timing
 Resource commitment required
 How many other people need to be convinced?
 May do enough to get started, the develop
 Ask yourself:
 What might I do differently if I knew?
Credibility
 Need some verifiable facts
 Good to show some primary data
 Hard to beat testimonials!
 Need consistency
Typical elements of a Marketing Plan
 Market opportunity
 User benefit (value proportion)
 Size of market (Evidence of need)
 Target customer segments
 Competition
 Product definition/description
 Market Analysis and strategy
 Marketing Mix
 4P’s