GROWTH STRATEGIES AND MARKET RESEARCH Lars Perner, Ph.D. AIM--February 10, 2016.
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Transcript of GROWTH STRATEGIES AND MARKET RESEARCH Lars Perner, Ph.D. AIM--February 10, 2016.
GROWTH STRATEGIES AND MARKET RESEARCH
Lars Perner, Ph.D.AIM--February 10, 2016
Overview
• Organizational mission and its implications• Customer value provided• Relevant competitors• Customer perceptions• Identifying Growth Opportunities
– Targets– Methods/objectives
• Some research methods: Primary and secondary
Organizational Mission
• Why does the organization exist?• What are the organization’s strengths and special competencies?• What are the customer value and benefits currently offered? E.g.,
– Convenience– Health– Performance– Reliability– Affordability
• Who are the current and potential customers?• How well is the organization/brand known by current and potential
customers?• How is the organization/brand perceived by current and potential
customers?
Who Are the Relevant Competitors?
• Some possible bases for competition– Geography– Type of product/service offered– Type of customer need addressed– Differentiation within product/service category– Other means of appeal (e.g., style, social responsibility)
Some Ways to Identify Potential Competitors
• Analyzing retail offerings– In which section is the product offered? Are there potential
competitors in other sections?– What are the other brands carried among different types of retailers?
Note that available competitor options may vary greatly between• Supermarkets• Convenience stores• Vending machines• Discount stores
– How visible are the brand and competitors within different settings? • Shelf space• Online prominence
• Online presence
Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
TARGETINGSELECTING WHICH
SEGMENT(S) TOSERVE
POSITIONINGIMPLEMENTING
CHOSEN IMAGE ANDAPPEAL TO CHOSEN
SEGMENT
SEGMENTATIONIDENTIFYING
MEANINGFULLYDIFFERENT GROUPS
OF CUSTOMERS PROUDCT
DISTRIBUTION
PRICE
PROMOTION
POSITIONINGIMPLEMENTING
CHOSEN IMAGE ANDAPPEAL TO CHOSEN
SEGMENT
PROUDCT
PROMOTION
PRICE
DISTRIBUTION
PREMIUM
BASIC
DURABLE
PRESTIGE
FUN
POWERFUL
PREMIUM
LOW PRICE
VALUE
INTENSIVE
SELECTIVE
EXCLUSIVE
Perception of the Organization/Brand and Competitors
• How do different organizations/brands seem to differ?– Perception is not necessarily reality– Reality is not necessarily what is perceived
• Identifying customer perception– Perceptual mapping
• Identifying the dimensions of interest
Perceptual Mapping
Similarity Ratings
Snickers M&M Almond Joy Mr. Goodbar
Snickers 7M&M 5 7Almond Joy 6 6 7Mr. Goodbar 3 2 3 7
1=“Not at all similar” 7=“Extremely Similar”
Logically, all candy bars are “extremely similar” to themselves. The shaded regions are redundant—only the order is varied.
Identifying Growth Opportunities: Targets
• Increasing penetration of current target market• Increasing product consumption rates/frequency within
current target– Usage occasion and product form
• Identifying additional potential target markets• Identifying new offerings for
– Current target market– New target markets
• Taking advantage of economies of scale
Identifying Growth Opportunities: Methods
• Awareness• Trial• Preference• Distribution intensity/convenience
Some Research Methods
• Social media search• Associative Network of Knowledge• Observation and participant observation• Personal interviews• Asking participants to “think out loud” while doing search
and making decisions• Surveys• Secondary market research
Social Media Search
• Some individuals make their social media content available for anyone to see; others share only with established “friends”
• Searching within social media sites and search engines using both general words and hashtags
• Identifying what is posted• Identifying the extent of commentary, facial expressions, and
staging• Identifying frequently used
– Hashtags– Pseudo-hashtags (special, comical hashtags made to express and
emotion or idea for a specific occasion): #lovemysonsomuch #needcoffeetostayawake #eatingpizzawithmybestfriends
The Associative Network of Knowledge
Observation and Participant Observation
• Observing the customer in the store– How much, if any, comparison and search is done?– Is the purchase planned or does it appear to be the result of
browsing?– How much time is spent?– Is the customer alone? If now, how much interaction is there with
others?• Participant observation: Observing while being part of a
group
Personal Interviews
• Usually preferable to focus groups since the participant is not influenced by others in a group
• Probing for the interviewee to elaborate• Bringing out the context and possible affect• Probing for specifics—e.g., search engine words used
Thinking Out Loud
• Asking a participant to “think out loud” while searching or making a decision—e.g., while doing an online search– Why are these keywords selected?– What information is sought out?– What, if any, additional search does this info prompt?– How believable is information received?– What conclusions are made from information provided? – What is some information of interest that is not presented? How
important is this?
Surveys
• Require a large sample size (150-1,000+) for any precise conclusions to be made
• Focusing of questions whose answers can be used for decisions
• Pretesting of questions (thinking out loud)• Use of continuum scales (e.g., scale of 1-7 rather than
merely “yes” or “no”)
Secondary Market Research
• Using databases to identify research that has already been done
• Some databases and sources available (available through USC Libraries)– U.S. Government (population statistics)– WARC database: Demographics and consumer behavior– e-Marketer: Online industry, consumer online behavior,
technological trends– MarketResearch.com: Very specific market research studies by
area of interest– Business Insights: Essentials: Information on competitor firms– ABI/Inform: Trade journal and general press articles