Tweet

Getting Smart A Buyers Guide to Market Research

Written by: BJ Dooley

Article Overview: Research extends the information available to you, and provides an important weapon in the battle to survive and prosper. Market research is available from a wide variety of sources, including market research firms, information services, advertising agencies, information brokers and information consultants. Some targeted research can be done in-house, but, in many areas, this is more expensive and less effective than outsourcing to an information services company.

Getting Smart A Buyers Guide to Market Research

How will you know when you get there, if you don't know where you are or where you have been? Certainly, planning is important to business success. But knowledge of your market, of your competition and of your position is essential. This is the domain of market research, which is available from a wide variety of sources, including market research firms, information services, advertising agencies, information brokers and information consultants.

Research extends the information available to you, and provides an important weapon in the battle to survive and prosper. There are a variety of situations in which it is particularly important:

* Product launches, where you need to determine current suppliers of similar products, their distribution channels, relevant patents, average pricing, market share, and feature by feature comparison of the new product with its competition.
* Export feasibility evaluation, where you need to know the competitive environment and special conditions of one or several countries, the current market for your product, and details of any local competitors.
* Market expansion, where you need to locate new markets for an existing product whose current market has become saturated.
* Seeking new business areas, where you need to know details such as trends, products currently available, level of competition.
* Acquiring or implementing a new technology, where you need to know details of the technology, costs, suppliers, and feasibility.

Many of your research needs can be satisfied in-house by using public sources, such as magazine features, books and generalised reports. These provide crucial day to day information and news on your industry that you must have, but which is available to all.

You also need private information that provides competitive advantage. This includes data gleaned from customer input, such as response cards, buying patterns, advertising response, and the like. It also includes targeted research undertaken to give you an edge.

Some targeted research can be done in-house, but, in many areas, this is more expensive and less effective than outsourcing to an information services company. Companies that undertake market research have skills in areas such as:

* Interviewing
* Developing and undertaking polls
* Statistical analysis
* Competitive analysis
* Product feature analysis and comparison
* Financial analysis
* Technology analysis and scoping of the effects of new developments

Research companies also have available a wide range of investigative techniques, including phone interviews, site visits, Web and database (secondary) research, and coordination of research projects. They can provide an outside perspective on your business, which is invaluable for gaining an unbiased view of your position. They might also have special skills in writing, analysis and presentation, or have special strengths in fields such as telecommunications and IT. Different research firms have different specialties in both topic area and technique, so you should review the offerings of several before deciding upon a supplier.

To commission a research report, you first need to determine the specific information that you are seeking. Research should always be tied to a specific goal, so that you can evaluate its effectiveness. After determining need, you need to place appropriate limitations on the project—how much time is available; how much are you willing to spend; and what are the boundaries in terms of geography, technology or product type?

Next, you need to determine what kind of studies are to be conducted. Do you need all primary research—interviews of industry participants, for example—or will secondary research, such as annual reports, brochures and feature lists suffice? Do you need a focus group to gauge opinion? Do you need research from specialised databases, libraries or internal sources? Do you need raw data, or do you need it digested and analysed? Do you need a statistical analysis? These questions need to be discussed with your information services professional.

Finally, you need to determine an appropriate delivery method. Do you need a report for simple in-house use? Do you need a published or publishable report for distribution? Do you need data entered into spreadsheets or an internal database system? Do you need an online version for an intranet or extranet?

In the Information Age, there is one great certainty—you need access to reliable and accurate information. An information services company can be an important strategic ally.

You can gain the necessary expertise from companies such as BJ Dooley Technical Information Services—located here in Canterbury, and providing years of experience in all forms of technical writing and documentation. We can assemble project teams of any size to meet your documentation requirements and deadlines. You can reach us at info@bjdooley.com or call 03 314-9920. We're just down the road from Christchurch, in Leithfield Beach. We can provide training, contractors, consultation or complete outsourcing. Visit our Web site at www.bjdooley.com for complete information on our services.

Copyright © 2002, Brian J. Dooley

Related Articles
  Business Brokers - How to Deal With Them As a Buyer?
  Increase Sales by Giving Them What They Want
  Your Buyer is Smarter than You
  Will You Choose Sales Success or Sales Distress?
  How the Law of Supply and Demand Affects Home Stagers – Part 2

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Are You a Businessgirl or a Businesswoman? - One thing that has irked me off and on for 30 years is the tendency of people - both men [i:2wryyhvf]and [/i:2wryyhvf]women, to refer to women, whatever their age, as 'girls' rather than women. College basketball announcers, coachers and players do it, as do the fans. These are 'girls' who are between the ages of 18 - 21, that's women in my book. Tennis players and announcers do it. John McEnroe called 'em girls and just when I was getting annoyed at him for being a bit of a male chauvanist, they interviewed player Lindsay Davenport - 30 years old, and she referred to 'em as girls as well. The Bond "girls" were girls up until the 90s, I admit, doing nothing more than providing someone for Bond to bed and rescue, but in the last few installments the "girl" has been more of a power player...nevertheless she's still a 'girl'. And of course there was the TV series The Golden Girls - which I liked by the way, but which featured mature women calling themselves girls And now here it is in the 2000s, and we get this: The Girl's Guide To Starting Your Own Business, by Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio. Their photos are on the cover - presumably the photo is of them and not models - and they are definitely women, not girls. And what "girly" chapter titles do they give us? "The Scary Stuff" (financial matters) and a chapter on ACTING Like an Adult. (Caps mine). So popular was this book, apparently, that they've now come out with a sequel: The Girl's Guide to Being a Boss (Without Being A Bitch): Valuable Lessons, Smart Suggestions, and true stories for succeeding as the CHICK-IN-CHARGE. (My caps) and once again I was tempted to take the book and throw it across the room. Let's indulge in [i:2wryyhvf]all [/i:2wryyhvf]the cliches, shall we? So I'd like to hear from other businesswomen out there. Do you find yourself referred to as a girl? Do you mind it? Do you like the culture that still propagates that mindset?
LEADERS - L- Loyal E- Eager to learn and serve A- Active D- Delegate E- Efficient R- Reliable S- Smart
Re: How should i promote a new website? - ignore this message IF it's already been stated. I haven't had a chance to read all the replies and i have to jet from the office... I suggest marketing where ever your Target Market congregates. If it's a forum of concerned parents - go there. Strike up a deal with the forum owner (JV) and have him promote it to the list of members (Integration Marketing). If you want to go with Forums then i would partner with a parent who is a frequent poster/moderator on a particular Target Market Forum and have him/her add your link to their signature. That was just a thought but it's not as intense once you get buy in from the Forum owner or high ranked poster/moderator. Hope that sparks some new ideas.
Re: Ideas For Business - Hello Lucy, you may consider this list for Ideas for Business: (Top 23 list) Rank Company 1 Google 2 Genentech 3 Wegmans Food Markets 4 Container Store 5 Whole Foods Market 6 Network Appliance 7 S.C. Johnson & Son 8 Boston Consulting Grp. 9 Methodist Hospital Sys. 10 W.L. Gore & Associates 11 Cisco Systems 12 David Weekley Homes 13 Nugget Market 14 Qualcomm 15 American Century Invest. 16 Starbucks Coffee 17 Quicken Loans 18 Station Casinos 19 Alston & Bird 20 QuikTrip 21 Griffin Hospital 22 Valero Energy 23 Vision Service Plan
Re: Are You Complying with the FTC? - A lot online marketers will run to Cyprus and other Islands to do their businesses. FTC rule or no rule the Internet is a global thing and still a wild wild west. Buyers should be careful and do due diligent before buying anything online


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Why We MUST Reinvent The Wheel

Google Panda and Your Search Engine Rankings

Getting The Media Attention You Deserve

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.