research

market
competitive
intelligence

Know !
Market Research
business
general

and Analysis—
The Fundamentals

Knowledge inForm
research
market
competitive
intelligence

Know !
Market Research
business
general

and Analysis—
The Fundamentals

Knowledge inForm
Know ! Books Press
A division of Knowledge inForm, Inc.

Market Research and Analysis—The Fundamentals

MR-130, v.1
©2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

In the Know !
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 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 3

Knowledge Kick ! Start

Market research is a deceptively simple concept, usually defined as research conducted
to understand the needs of the market—specifically the needs of the customer. Now
market research must incorporate information about new technologies, competitive pres-
sures, industry changes, and globalization to truly understand what is driving a mar-
ket. Unless you understand how & why your customers purchase products/services AND
how & why your competitors make their products/services, your own strategic plans
may not be able to effectively guide your company to success.

Know! Market Research & Analysis—The Fundamentals describes the elemental

market research topics and techniques needed by any business in any industry to be-
gin their exploration of their market. These initial areas of research are:

● Customers
● Competitors
● Industry/Market
● Vendors/Suppliers

After reading this Know!Book, you will be able to conduct research to gain an un-
derstanding of the fundamental dynamics and drivers of your market. Other titles in
our market research series present methods for conducting research projects, systems
for choosing research topics, and specific techniques to use when conducting research
projects. These include:

Know! Market Research—for Small Business & Start-Ups

Know! Market Research—Intermediate
Know! Market Research—Advanced

You can find more Know!Books on specific market research or competitive intelli-
gence research techniques at our website: www.knowledgeinform.com

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 4

Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Competitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Market Norms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Competitive Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Six Steps to Segmentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Segments & Their Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Customergraphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Demographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Psychographics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Geographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Productgraphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Segment Choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Six Steps to Segmentation Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Industry/Market. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Industry Report Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Industry Research Resource Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Vendors/Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Reference Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Dun & Bradstreet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Knowledge Wrap-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 5

Introduction
Choosing a starting point for market research can be a challenge. Your market research
projects should be conducted to inform your strategic decision-making process. If you
have an immediate need or decision, then you may already have a research starting
point. If not, then you should identify the areas where you lack knowledge about your
market and develop projects in those areas.
To understand how all these forces interact, Knowledge inForm has developed the
Market Intelligence Circle. As seen below, the Market Intelligence Circle combines 4
of Michael Porter’s 5 Forces and Marketing’s Traditional 4 P’s to show the inter-rela-
tionships between those concepts and to suggest starting points for research projects.

Market
Intelligence
Circle Customers

Price Promotion

Industry
Competitors YOU or
Market

Place/
Position Product

Vendors

Think of this circle as two roulette wheels, one sitting on top of the other. You can
spin both to combine different concepts and then formulate research questions around
those concepts.

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 6

You can spin the wheels to form any number of combinations. If you can
objectively answer the questions generated by specific combinations, then you prob-
ably don’t need to conduct a research project in that area (you should continue to
monitor those areas in case business circumstances change). If you cannot answer the
questions generated by any set of combinations, then you should conduct research in
those areas before developing your corporate strategy.
In this Know!Book, we will focus on the 4 Forces: Competitors, Customers,
Vendors/Suppliers, and Industry/Market, and the research strategies & techniques
used to gather and analyze information about those topics. Conducting research proj-
ects in these four areas will paint a general picture of the market in which you are
competing.
In Know! Market Research & Analysis—Intermediate, we will explore the sec-
ond circle: the 4 Ps of Marketing: Promotion, Product, Price, and Position. Researching
those four areas will build the bridge between the market, which you have researched
using this Know!Book, and your company’s products/services.
Using the knowledge gained from researching the 4 Forces and the 4 Ps, you will
be able to create a product/service for your target market. The next step is to research
the customer’s reaction to that product/service. The final Know!Book in the Market
Research & Analysis series, Know! Market Research & Analysis—Advanced, concen-
trates on researching the interaction between the product/service and the customer.

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 7

Competitors
In market research examining your competitors serves two purposes:

1. Discern the strategic direction of your competitors

2. Establish the market as seen by your customers

The first purpose is intuitively obvious and is the basis for the formal discipline known
as Competitive Intelligence. The second purpose of creating a picture of the market as
seen by your customers is more subtle. You are basically determining the market norms
and the competitive hierarchy.

Market Norms
The competitors in a market establish the norms or the “ways of doing business.” For
example, if your competitors all offer 3 year warranties for their products, customers
will expect that all companies in this market will offer 3 year warranties. Before you
launch a new product/service, you should investigate those common features that cus-
tomers expect.
Examples of market norm research projects include:

● Obtaining competitors’ brochures & advertisements

● Purchasing competitor’s products
● Visiting a store to see how and which products are shelved

All of these projects provide you with a wealth of information about your competitors’
marketing strategies, packaging techniques, and product positioning.

Competitive Hierarchy
The competitive hierarchy is a type of ranking of the players in a market. On a funda-
mental level, market share ranks companies by revenues or number of goods sold—
showing you the major players in a market. You should also look for specialists or niche
competitors. Innovation usually comes from smaller companies who are nimbler and
looking to differentiate themselves from the large companies. Apple popularized the
Graphical User Interface for a computer operating system, forcing Microsoft to create
its Windows operating system.
Market share information and competitor profiles are typically available in indus-
try journals and company database products. Attending conferences sponsored by your
trade association will keep you informed about your competitors’ activities.
For further information about conducting research and analysis about your com-
petitors, please consult our Competitive Intelligence Know!Book series.

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 8

Customers
Customer research is the traditional focus of market research. “What does the customer
want?” is the fundamental question for market researchers. Customer research typi-
cally begins with the segmentation of your existing customer base or projected cus-
tomer base. Segmentation helps you to: 1) identify future customers and 2) develop
advertising & marketing strategies to attract customers.

Six Steps to Segmentation

Segmentation is the grouping of customers by specific characteristics. It is used to
discover the traits of customers and then to create products and advertising & mar-
keting campaigns to appeal to customers with those specific characteristics. Alexander
Hiam and Charles Schewe created the Six Steps to Segmentation to explain how to
use segmentation:

1. Determine market boundaries in accord with business strategy. What is our busi-
ness focus? Who are our generic competitors? What are the fundamental needs of
this market?
2. Determine which segment variables will be most useful. Who is our typical cus-
tomer? Which of their segment characteristics are related to our product?
3. Collect & analyze segment data, identifying specific customers with the same wants
and needs.
4. Draw a profile of each segment with variable information to form a picture of buy-
ing behavior.
5. Target the segments by looking for the best opportunities that come from match-
ing the company’s resources with those opportunities.
6. Design a marketing plan that best highlights the product features and creates the
image that will appeal to the targeted segment. Determine the best method for
reaching that group.

First, we will review the types of segments and their variables. After this review,
we will apply the Six Steps to Segmentation to a business scenario to illustrate the process.

Segments and Their Variables

To begin, we must identify the basic segments, choose the most applicable segments,
and then see which sub-segments will help us form a more complete picture of our
customers. The basic segment categories are: Customergraphics, Demographics,
Psychographics, Geographics, and Productgraphics.

Customergraphics
Customergraphics is Knowledge inForm‘s term for the initial division of customers into
consumer customers or business customers. Selling to each of these markets is quite

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 9

different, so before you divide your customers into other segments, you first must know
which “general” type of customer they are.
Within the business and consumer segments, you can use the other segmentation
categories to further subdivide those main customer segments.

Demographics
Demographic segmentation is what people usually think of when they are asked to
define market segmentation. Easy to measure and use, demographics categorizes
people according to population or occupation characteristics. Common demographic
sub-segments are:

● Age
● Education
● Gender
● Income
● Nationality/Ethnicity
● Occupation

While demographic data is relatively easy to obtain and use, it is also easy to mis-
understand. The categories of demographic data are susceptible to stereotyping.
Researchers should be cautious when using these segments. The actual purchasing habits
of the segment should inform your predictions about the future buying habits of the
segment. For example, automobile advertising campaigns used to be targeted towards
men, using the logic that men were more interested in autos than women and were
therefore the purchase decision maker. Further research uncovered that women were
integrally involved in the purchase decision process for the family automobile, so au-
tomobile advertising campaigns began to target women, too.

Psychographics
Psychographic segmentation separates customers according to:

● Class, e.g. lower, middle, upper

● Hobbies
● Lifestyle
● Opinions
● Personality
● Values & Beliefs

Psychographic data is harder to obtain. Like demographic data, it is suscepti-

ble to stereotyping or quick assumptions: rich people don’t shop at Wal-Mart, or
artists lack business skills. Class segmentation has proven to be an accurate pur-
chase predictor because it is based on income—a key component to determining
buyer behavior.

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 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 10

Geographics
Geographic data divides customers by location. Segments can be defined by zip code,
city, state, region, or country. Geographic segmentation is especially useful for prod-
ucts and services that have a regional or weather-based component, e.g. snow shovels.

Productgraphics
Productgraphics is based on consumer behavior towards products and services. Sub-
segments include:

● Brand Loyalty
● Product/Service Benefits
● Product/Service Usage

Brand loyalty assesses a customer’s devotion to a product or service. It is meas-

ured by the number of repeat purchases a customer makes. Loyalty can range from non-
existent to low to moderate to high.
Product/Service benefits are the expectations that customers have about the prod-
uct/service purchased. For example, some customers may prefer soaps with antimicro-
bial features, while others prefer soaps with scents.
Product/Service usage categorizes customers by how often they use the product/serv-
ice. Usage is typically described as light, moderate, or heavy.

Segment Choice
Given the number of segments and sub-segments, dividing customers into segments
can be complicated. Picking the segments & sub-segments that are most applicable
to a product or service is an art rather than a science. Your industry association or
industry journals may have information on the typical segments used for your
product/service. Competitors’ marketing materials may show how they segment their
customer base, too.
Another source of relevant segments may be third party vendors, e.g. A.C. Nielsen,
Gallup, or Yankelovich, who study consumers and do general segmentation analyses.
These are the people who develop the concepts of Baby Boomers, Generation X,
Generation C, etc. The following table illustrates where you can obtain data for the
basic segmentation categories.

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 11

Segmentation Data Resources

Market Consumer
Government Research Industry Industry Consumer Purchase Mailing List
Statistics Reports Journals Associations Surveys Data Information Experts

Customergraphics ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Demographics ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Geographics ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Productgraphics ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Psychographics ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Segmentation is the first step in targeting and understanding your customer base. Without proper segmentation,
your other market research projects will be irrelevant. Whenever you conduct customer research, you should in-
clude segmentation questions 1) to ensure that you have located your customer base and 2) to uncover other
segmentation data about your customers for use in future research and marketing efforts.

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 12

Six Steps to Segmentation: Example

B.J. Ean, Inc., is a blue jeans manufacturer. It owns five factories in the United States
and has chosen to keep those factories rather than outsource the manufacturing
process to a cheaper overseas manufacturer. To afford those higher production costs,
B.J. Ean decided to manufacture unique, limited edition blue jean designs, which can
then be sold at a higher price. The company believes that young people will be more
inclined to purchase these customized, funky blue jeans and chose Generation Y
(young adults, born after 1980) as its target market.
Given the age of this market, B.J. Ean thinks that psychographic and productgraphic
segment data will be most useful in creating advertising and marketing strategies. To
confirm that hypothesis, B.J. Ean conducts published source research to locate arti-
cles about Generation Y. That research identifies:

● Characteristics of Generation Y: brand conscious, individualistic, optimistic, finan-

cially independent, free spenders, communicate via technology
● Research firms specializing in Generation Y, who could help us with other further
research

Based on this information, B.J. Ean hires a research firm to conduct focus groups of
Generation Y consumers to answer the following questions:

1. Which technologies does Generation Y prefer to use to communicate?

2. Where does Generation Y prefer to purchase its clothing?
3. Is Generation Y interested in designing its own blue jeans?
4. Which general types of designs interest Generation Y?

With the information uncovered during the focus groups, B.J. Ean creates a web-
site where customers can create customized blue jean designs from pre-determined
design templates. The orders are then sent to the factory closest to the customer for
manufacturing and shipment.
While B.J. Ean is creating the website, it is also 1) crafting a brand image,
2) designing Internet ads, and 3) partnering with other Generation Y websites to
obtain e-mail lists and place advertisements. In sum, B.J. Ean is following the Six Steps
to Segmentation:

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 13

B.J. Ean’s
Six Steps to Segmentation

Segmentation Step B.J. Ean Action

1. Determine market boundaries Manufacture limited edition blue jeans

2. Determine useful segment variables Use Generation Y psychographic &

productgraphic segments

3. Collect & analyze segment data Conduct published source research & focus
groups

4. Draw a segment profile Generation Y likes to spend money, especially

on customized products with a strong brand.
Generation Y communicates via computer
technology, rather than traditional media
methods, e.g. television.

5. Choose the best opportunities B.J. Ean’s limited production facilities are
best used to create customized products that
Generation Y customers order via a website.

6. Design a marketing plan Partner with other websites with

Generation Y customers.

Performing a segmentation analysis provides you with a wealth of information that

can be used to guide your other strategic decisions. The core of market research is un-
derstanding the needs of the customer. Segmentation analysis helps you locate and
communicate with the customer to show how your product/service meets their needs.

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 14

Industry/Market
Researching your industry/market provides the context for your products and services.
You and your competitors will be subject to some of the same pressures and trends.
Knowing what those pressures are and keeping an eye out for new trends will enable
you to gain a deeper understanding of your market—leading to the creation of new
products and services that more accurately meet the needs of the market.
Researching an industry can be a daunting task. Where do you begin? How do you
organize the information for usability? The Industry Report Template will help you
coordinate and present the necessary data. This template is a general guide that can
be used by any industry. You may need to add or tweak data categories to better fit
your industry.
To complete the template, consult the Industry Research Resource Table which
follows the template. This table will point you towards sources of information for your
research project. Research resources can be broken into two categories: human sources
and published sources. Human source
collection is information collected di-
Research Tips
rectly from people; it is also known as
Human Source Research primary research. Published source col-
1. Have a list of questions ready before calling. You don’t want lection (also called literature research
to waste time during the call trying to find your questions. or secondary research) relies on infor-
2. Share information. People are more receptive to talking if mation collected from published or
they think they will get some benefit from the conversation. printed sources. Both types of research
3. Converse, don’t question. While you should have your list of can be used in combination or sepa-
questions at the ready, don’t simply read the list. Try to have rately depending on the needs of the
a conversation with the person, rather than a Q&A session. project.

Published Source Research

1. Begin with a simple search string. Creating the search terms
for database or Internet searching can be complicated. Start
by combining the concept and the industry/product/serv-
ice name, e.g. “market size” “potato chips”.
2. Limit by year. Adding the year to a search string can reduce
the number of results in your search, e.g. “market size” “po-
tato chips” 2003. Be careful when limiting by year. Most data
is compiled for the previous, not the current, year. So search
using both the current and previous year.

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 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 15

Industry Report Template

Overview
Market Size
What is the current size?

Market Scope
Is the industry shrinking, mature/stable, or growing?

Market Share
What is my market share?
What are my competitors’ shares?
How many competitors exist in this market?

Market Geography
Are these products/services primarily sold in specific regions?

Market Trends
What macro changes (e.g. foreign imports, the rise/fall of the dollar, the aging
population) are affecting the market?

Market Substitutes or Compliments

What are the substitutes for the product/service?
What are the compliments for the product/service?
How do substitutes/compliments affect the sales of the product/service?

Laws and Regulations

Which government agencies affect the industry (on a local, state, federal, and
international level)?
Is there any pending legislation that could impact the industry?

Technologies
Technologies Currently in Use
What are the machines/tools/software/business services that a typical company
uses?

Technology Trends
Are there any innovations projected?
Who are the innovators?
What technologies are emerging?

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 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 16

Manufacturing Products/Creating Services

Outsourcing
Do my competitors outsource any or all of their manufacturing or service processes?

Distribution Network
How are products/services distributed to customers in this market?

Productivity Levels
What are typical efficiency or productivity levels?

Manufacturing
Which machines are used?
How often are machines purchased?
Which manufacturing processes are used?

Industry Research Resource Table

Human Source Collection Published Source Collection
Resources Resources

● Industry Experts ● Industry Journals

● Purchase Data
● Patent Fillings
● Consumer Reviews & Forums
● Trade Shows & Conferences
● Industry Associations
● Market Research Reports
● Equity Analyst Reports
● Company/Industry Database Products
● Company Websites (Competitors, Suppliers, Partners)

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 17

Vendors/Suppliers
The vendors/suppliers for markets are key players who must be understood in order for
you to compete effectively. Your vendors/suppliers are like you: competing in their
own markets, subject to pressures and trends, and developing new products/services.
Building a relationship with your vendors/suppliers based on mutual understanding of
one another’s businesses enables you to maintain a more stable supply chain and thus
a more efficient product/service manufacturing process.
Establishing a rapport with your vendors is even more critical if you compete in
an industry that relies on scarce resources to manufacture products. For example, in
the semiconductor industry, there are a finite number of chip manufacturing facilities.
Companies with long term contracts with suppliers can ensure that they have first ac-
cess to components during shortages, because they have that solid relationship with
the supplier.
If you do have a vendor who is a critical supplier, you may consider conducting a
more extensive research project on that vendor, similar to the level of detail involved
in a competitive intelligence report on a company.
Researching your current and potential vendors/suppliers to determine their reli-
ability, solvency, and rapport skills will help you negotiate effective contracts, allow-
ing you to accurately estimate and control product development & future manufacturing
costs. Then as you conduct your market research projects, you can 1) compare your
costs to those of your competitors’ for benchmarking purposes and 2) create a range
of price points to research for your products/services based on actual production
costs.

Reference Checks
Checking a vendor’s reference is a fundamental step that is sometimes skipped. The
vendor is going to give you names of satisfied customers, so why bother calling those
folks? No one is 100% satisfied with a vendor; a problem or issue always exists. Even
a satisfied customer will have experienced some type of difficulty. The reason a cus-
tomer is satisfied may be because the vendor handled the situation well. You need to
know that information.
You don’t have to rely on a list of customers from the vendor. Third parties may
rate the vendors for a particular product or service, a la Consumer Reports. Websites
or message boards could exist where customers discuss/rate a particular vendor or a
group of vendors. Searching the vendor name and “ratings”/”complaints”/”evaluations”
may connect you with these user communities. Remember to read these postings with
the proverbial grain of salt, especially if the postings are anonymous. If the poster
seems objective and rational, then the posting itself is probably accurate.

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 18

Dun & Bradstreet

Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) is the main source of evaluative financial data about compa-
nies. D&B publishes three types of reports about companies: Credit eValuator, Business
Information Report, Comprehensive Insight Plus Report. The information available in
each report is listed below:

Credit eValuator
● Financial Strength Indicators
● Late Payment Risk Gauge
● Recent Payment Performance Indicators
● Summary Information about any outstanding suits, liens, or judgments.

Business Information Report

● Company Profile with financial condition and payment history
● D&B Credit Limit Recommendation
● D&B Paydex Score - an overview score based a company’s payment performance
● D&B Rating - a composite score of a firm’s financial strength and creditworthiness
● Payment Trends Profile - a company’s historical payment patterns compared to in-
dustry norms

Comprehensive Insight Plus Report

● Company Profile with asset, debt, operational history, and profitability data
● Credit & Payment History Information D&B Credit Limit Recommendation
● D&B Paydex Score - an overview score based a company’s payment performance
● D&B Rating - a composite score of a firm’s financial strength and creditworthiness
● High Risk Graphs & Indicators
● Key Financial Strength Ratios
● Payment Trends Profile - a company’s historical payment trends compared to in-
dustry norms

Each of these reports can be ordered directly from Dun & Bradstreet (www.dnb.com)
or through selected third party distributors, i.e. Dialog, Hoover’s.
Be aware: D&B relies on the companies themselves to supply some of the data. So
companies may choose not to participate or may supply old data to prevent competi-
tors from having an up-to-date picture of their finances. D&B also does not update
profiles on a regular basis. If you purchase a profile with old data, you can ask D&B
to update the profile. However, as just mentioned, if the company doesn’t want to sup-
ply the data, then the profile will remain incomplete.

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 19

Knowledge Wrap-Up
Market research is the crucial link between the customer and you. The information un-
covered during market research will help you:

● Understand the needs of the customer

● Develop products/services to meet those needs
● Deliver those products/services to the customers
● Establish awareness of those products/services in the market

Obtaining specific and accurate information about your customers, market, and com-
petitors is essential to create your business strategies.
In this Know!Book, we covered the Four Forces: Competitors, Customers,
Industry/Market, & Vendors/Suppliers, and the research strategies & techniques used
to obtain and analyze data. Each concept has a series of related research questions:

Competitor
● Who are your major competitors? Niche competitors?
● What market share does each competitor have?
● What are the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors?
● What technological innovations or other factors impact the number or dominance
of your competitors?

Customer
● Who is your target market? Which segment characteristics do they have?
● Who is involved in the purchase decision?
● How often do the customers buy this product/service?
● Are the customers in this market loyal?

Industry/Market
● What is the overall market size?
● What distribution methods are used?
● Which segments of the market are poised for growth or are underserved?
● Which economic, technological, or social factors shape the market?

Vendor/Supplier
● How many competing vendors exist?
● How scarce are the resources needed to manufacture products/services?
● Which other markets/industries does the vendor serve?
● What are the major pressures or trends affecting the vendor’s industry?

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.

 KNOW! MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS—THE FUNDAMENTALS 20

Answering these questions will help you craft your own product, price, promotion, and
place/position strategies for your product/service. These strategies also have to be placed
in the context of the 4 Ps of Marketing that create the product/service that you pro-
vide: Product, Price, Promotion, and Place/Position. By organizing your research and
your strategies around the 4 Forces and the 4 Ps of Marketing, you should be able to
paint a complete picture of your market and thus have a better opportunity to create
successful products/services.

© 2005 Knowledge inForm, Inc.