Understanding Market Research: Key Insights and Methods for Business Success

2. ENPI MODULE 2 Research Your Idea

3. WHAT IS MARKET RESEARCH? • Market research: an organized way to gather and analyze information needed to make business decision

4. UNDERSTANDING YOUR MARKET • 3 Main Areas of Market Research Focus • Business Environment: social, economic, or political factors that could impact your business; tends to be industry specific • Customers: individual consumers or businesses; successful businesses will satisfy customer wants and needs while making a profit • Competition: identify who your competitors are and how they operate

5. MARKET RESEARCH METHODS • Primary Research – new information that is collected for a particular purpose (obtained directly from potential customers) • Pros: up to date and focused • Cons: expensive and time intense • Sources: interviews/surveys, focus groups, observations

6. MARKET RESEARCH METHODS • Secondary Research – existing information that was previously gathered for a purpose other than the study at hand • Pros: cheap and easy to obtain • Cons: too general • Sources: Government, trade groups and journals, business magazines and reports, local community resources

7. SECONDARY MARKET RESEARCH data that has been collected; available for you to use

8. Resource: Government • Bureau of Economic Analysis • Bureau of Labor Statistics • Census Bureau • FedStats • State Government • Local Government • Demographic, Geographic data • Example: Fairfax County Demographic Information

9. Resource: Trade Groups/Journals • Association related to particular industry • American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) • How do I find a trade association for my industry? • Google your industry + trade association • Example: If I want to find an association that relates to my cake business, I can search baking + trade association and I find http://www.americanbakers.org/

10. Resource: Business Magazines • Forbes • American City Business Journals • Entrepreneur Magazine • Fast Company • Dun and Bradstreet • BizStats • Businessweek • Inc

11. Resources: Local Community • Chamber of Commerce • Fairfax County • Vienna-Tysons Regional (Marshall) • Dulles Regional (Chantilly) • Business Development Authority • Community Colleges • Example:Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce

12. Locating your TARGET MARKET –Who are your customers? • Target Market- a limited number of customers who are most likely to buy your product or service • Market Segmentation- grouping of consumers or businesses within a particular market that has one or more things in common

13. SEGMENTING YOUR MARKET • Demographics – age, gender, marital status, family size, ethnicity, occupation, income • Geographics- basing market segments on where consumers live or where businesses are located • Psychographics- attitudes, opinions, beliefs, interests, personality, lifestyle, political affiliation and personal preference • Buying patterns (consumer behavior)- what, how much and how often do people buy

14. CREATING CUSTOMER PROFILES • Customer Profile- organized snapshot of who your customer/target market is • Demographics • Geographics • Psychographics • Buying Patterns

15. CUSTOMER PROFILE ASSIGNMENT100 points • Copy (paste into a blank presentation) and use information you’ve researched about your target market to complete the chart on the next slide • Create a photo collage that visually depicts your Customer Profile. You should include pictures from the 4 ways to segment your market. Your slide should be filled from corner to corner. • Submit both your chart and picture collage (in one file) to Blackboard and save as lastname________customerprofile.

16. Company Name: ________________