Market Research

International Trade Center

NCA&TSUDr. William AmponsahInterim DirectorMr. Amr M. Ahmed, M.SC.Business Counselor/ Loan Officer

Market Research• How to collect certain information about

your customers, market and competitors. This information tells you about your potential market, prices, trends, competition, target customer, its preferences, income, habits, accessibility, convenient time and plans. This information should be accurate, and reliable to help you make the right business decision.

Important questions• What kind of business

should I do?• What is the demand for my

business?• Who are my customers?• What are the market forces

that will affect my business?

• Where should I locate my business?

• How much profit can I get at different locations and times?

• Who are my competitors and what kind of product, price and service they offer?

• How I differentiate my business from my competitors?

• What types of service do my customer prefer?

• What types of advertising attract my customers?

• What is the market price and how I can change my price accordingly?

An Existing business• What are the new trends, product, time, location and

service in the market? And how I adapt them? • What are my weaknesses and strengths in my business

compare to my competitors?• How I can differentiate my business and make it unique? • Should I change and redirect my advertising campaign

according to the recent situations?• How can I change my customers’ spending habits?• How can I expand my business with minimum cost?

Marketing techniques• Unique product and

distinguished service.• Customer recognition

& referral reward policy.

• Reactivation policy.• Track advertising

effectiveness.• community service

and charities.• Letter of news.

• Public image & identity.• Join business groups.• Be visible in your

community. • Sales, sampling &

coupons.• Service guarantees and

full money back policy.• Survey your customer’

opinions and satisfy them.

Tips to conduct market research?

• The public & college library.

• Vocational schools.• Observation

/questions.• Chamber of

commerce.• Potential consumers/

survey.• Business competitors.

• Wholesalers and manufacturers.

• Federal & state government agencies.

• Trade associations.• Business publications

& magazines.• Media

representatives.

Surveys

• Survey is the first step of market research. A survey collects information from a specific group of people or data on a specific subject: Forms of survey interviews:

• Personal interview• Telephone interview• Mail interview• Focus group and group interview

How to design a questionnaire• Keep your questions very

short, understandable, and clear.

• Ask direct questions.• Ask questions that can be

answered easily, open/close-ended .

• Ask questions that do not have more than one meaning.

• Make sure your questions do not offend anyone.

• Make your questions only in your subject matter.

• Customize your questions to encompass more than one group of people, male/female.

• Be honest with the intent of the questionnaire.

• Give enough time answer.• Be courteous and friendly when

asking people to participate in your survey.

• Ask questions in different repeated ways, so you minimize missing data.

Marketing plan summary• Goals & objectives: short

& long.• Potential customers

characteristics: race, age, location, gender, income, etc.

• Target market characteristics, free market, monopoly, etc.

• Competitors’ strengths, weaknesses.

• Your company analysis; strengths, and weaknesses, and opportunities and threats .

• How you will differentiate Your competitive position and how you will be unique.

• Marketing strategies and tactics.

• Marketing personnel, job description and duties.

• Timetable for start-up, retention and expansion.

• Marketing, promotion and advertising budget.

Improve your business image• Build public relations.• Become certified.• Send personal letters to

public figures.• Join non-profit societies

and give out charities .• Design a logo and

letterhead on all your stationery.

• Provide a press release for the media.

• Publish newsletters, fliers and brochures.

• Contact all the civic and professional organizations.

• Always give careful and professional advice.

• Distribute business cards.

• Always be in good professional appearance.

Publicity kit

• Company description.• Product and services

description.• Personal biography.• Customer

identification.• What makes you

unique.• Include previous

experience.

• Letters of support from community leaders and customers, these will enhance your image & reputation.

• Publications, brochures, fliers, pamphlets, articles.

I. Executive Summary

• Brief description of the project/company.• Introduction to Product or service.• Objectives of the project and Potential

customers.• Competitive position/market niche/market share.• Market problems and marketing plan/strategies.• Projected sales & profits.

II. Marketing Analysis

• Market survey for data collection.• Market research; market forces and forms.• Market demand and customers’ characteristics.• Product-services’ characteristics and analysis.• Feasibility study, needs assessment, personnel and

financial resources.• Company weaknesses and strengths. • Competitors’ weaknesses and strengths and their

market share.• Interpretation, evaluation, decision making, and

future plan.

The process of collecting, organizing, analyzing, interpreting and utilizing specific information for

the purpose of making future marketing

decisions. • Identify your problem and objectives.• Design a research methodology. • Conduct survey and collect data.• Organize, analyze and interpret the

data.• Make the right business decision.• Solve your problems and plan for

future.

• Location: countryside, town, county, state, national & regional market.

• Size: based on volume of dollar sales/votes, area/shopping center & number of customers.

• Product and Seasons: market can be identified by different product, winter, summer, and etc.

• Demand factors: price, people, places, income & things that influence demand must be identified and satisfied.

• Consumer satisfaction: demand, needs, wants, & preferences

• Convenient service: alter or extend your hours to accommodate customer needs.

• Demographics: age , race, religion, nationality gender, marital status, occupation, education, job title & etc.

• Competition:market can segmented according to free, perfect, monopoly market.

• Potential growth: quality and price are different according to the degree of growth.

V.Marketing Mix( 4 -Ps)

• Price: How much your customers will pay for your product & services.

• Product : What kind, and quality of product & services you offer to customers that satisfy their needs.

• Promotion: The communications and advertising devices you use to inform customers & referral sources of your products & services and price.

• Place: Where you will locate your business also what is the best way to display your products and services to be appealing to your customers.

• There are other important factors: Positioning, People, Politics, & Profit, and Service.

VI. Marketing strategies & tactics

• Business problems, goals & objectives.• Marketing advantages and

disadvantages.• Marketing strategies: how to measure

your business and what conceptual procedures you use to solve your business problems.

• Marketing tactics: action plans and implementation.

VI. PromotionCommunicationCommunication

to activate strategies & tacticsto activate strategies & tactics• Advertising program: to give information about

your business, through newspaper, radio, T.V., magazines, brochures, fliers, forms, displays, personal referrals and word of mouth

• Publicity: how to change purchasing behavior to increase your reputation and creditability.

• Public relations: to foster your image.• Direct mail, telemarketing, speeches, personal

selling, samples, sales, networking, charity and community service.

VII. Evaluation and follow-up

• Evaluation of action plan and strategy.• Checking your sales, cash flow and

income statement and balance sheet.• Achievement of projected goals, market

share & unique competitive advantage.• Recommendations for future

opportunities, and change of market plan accordingly .

VIII. Appendices: Budget, forecasting, charts and graphics

• Projected budgets including variable/fixed cost, salaries/wages, equipment/tools, inflation/depreciation, miscellaneous expenses and etc.

• Projected cash flow month-to-month.• projected income statement.• Pro-forma balance sheet.• Advertising copy, layout and forms.• Tables, charts & graphics.• Legal documents & required licenses, approvals.

• Goals & Objectives: Goal is long term aim & objective is short term aim to achieve the goal.

• Strategies & Tactics: Strategies are the decision making about what should be done & how should be done to enable your business to achieve its goals & objectives. Tactics are the methods by which strategies are implemented.

• Strategic influences: expected market forces/conditions which influence the operation of small business.

• Strategic comparative advantages( strengths):these will improve your marketing position.

• Strategic Barriers and disadvantages (weaknesses): you must overcome to start, retain and expand your business.

• Advantages/strength:such as Unique product and services, large customer volume, location, management, financial support or personnel.

• Disadvantages/weak-nesses, such as lack of capital and management, strong competitor and lack of customer services.

• Market opportunities: more training for better customer services, more demand, price drop, more money available, easy access to recent technology,

• possibilities of partnerships, bankruptcy of competitor and etc.

• Market threats: new strong competitors having lower price and better services, financial crisis, labor strike, changes in taste & preferences, some political threats, new monopoly, and etc.