How is marketing analysis done? Market analysis in marketing. Why does an enterprise need a marketing analysis of the market

Hello! In this article we will talk about such an important component of the marketing activities of an enterprise as marketing analysis.

Today you will learn:

• What is the marketing analysis of the enterprise;
• What are the stages of the organization's marketing analysis;
• What are the methods and types of marketing analysis of the company;
• How to apply marketing analysis by example.

What is marketing analysis

Any activity starts with planning. Planning, in turn, starts with analysis. The marketing activities of the company are fully subject to these rules. Marketing analysis allows you to identify problems and find ways to solve them, provides basic information for making decisions regarding the marketing mix.

Without a well-conducted marketing analysis, you run the risk of facing the following problems:

• Get a product that will not be in demand;
• To meet insurmountable "barriers" when entering the market and when selling products;
• To face overwhelming for you;
• Choose the wrong market segment and product positioning;
• Make the wrong decisions for each element.

This is only a small part of the problems that await you in case of neglect of the marketing analysis of the enterprise.

Marketing analysis of the company - analysis of information obtained as a result of various marketing research for making decisions regarding the marketing mix and the company's behavior in a competitive market.

Marketing research - activities for the systematic collection of information necessary for making marketing decisions.

Marketing research is divided into "field" and "desk".

Field marketing research involves the collection of primary information using one of the following methods:

• Observation of the research object... You can observe consumers in retail outlets, you can evaluate the display of goods and much more;
• Experiment... For example, a change in the price of a product in only one outlet in order to analyze the elasticity of demand. It is used to determine the influence of a factor on a purchase.
• Interviewing... This includes various polls (telephone, Internet, postal).

Desk research involves examining pre-existing data. Sources can be both internal information (accounting data, databases, reports, plans) and external (data from statistics bodies, data from marketing, industrial and trade associations, databases of independent organizations).

The main stages of the marketing analysis of the company

Marketing research and marketing analysis are inextricably linked.

Any analytical marketing activity of an enterprise can be represented in the form of four stages of marketing analysis:

1. Marketing research planning... This stage includes setting the objectives of marketing research, determining the type of research, identifying the audience or sources of information, determining the location of the research, preparing the tools for conducting the research, setting the timing and budgeting;
2. Collection of information... At this stage, there is a direct collection of information;
3. Analysis of the collected information;
4. Interpreting the received data into the report.

When conducting a complete marketing analysis of a company, it is necessary to obtain and process information about the internal environment of the organization, the external environment of the organization and the meso-environment of the organization. When analyzing each of the environments, the specialist must go through the stages of marketing analysis described above.

Let's look at what methods and tools of marketing analysis are used in the marketing analysis of each environment.

Types and methods of marketing analysis

There are four types of marketing analysis in total:

• Marketing Analysis external environment organizations;
• Marketing analysis of the company's meso-environment;
• Analysis of the internal marketing environment of the enterprise;
• Portfolio analysis.

We will consider the methods of marketing analysis in the context of the type of marketing analysis in which they are applied. We will start by analyzing the external environment of the organization.

Methods for analyzing the external environment of the organization

External environment of the organization - those realities in which the organization operates.

An organization cannot change the external environment (but there are exceptions, for example, oil companies).

When analyzing the external environment of the organization, it is necessary to assess the attractiveness of the market. To assess the attractiveness of the market, it is effective to use such a marketing analysis method as PESTEL-analysis.

Each letter of the name of the PESTEL analysis denotes an environmental factor that can have a strong impact on the organization, or not at all. Let's take a look at each factor.

P - Political factor... The influence of the political factor is assessed by answering the following questions:

• Is the political situation in the country stable? How does the political situation affect?
• What impact does tax legislation have on your business?
• How does it affect social politics state for your business?
• How does government regulation affect your business?

E - Economic factorexternal environment. His assessment involves answering the following questions:

• How does the level of development of the country's GDP affect your business?
• How does the general economic situation affect your business? (economic growth, stagnation, recession or economic crisis)
• How does the inflation rate affect your business?
• How do currency rates affect your business?
• How does per capita income affect your business?

S - Sociocultural factor, requires answers to the following questions:

• How does demographics affect your business?
• How does the lifestyle of citizens affect your business?
• How does the attitude of citizens towards rest and work affect your business?
• How does the socially accepted distribution of income among family members affect your business?

T - Technological factor and questions for its analysis:

• What is the impact of public spending on research in your area?
• How does the technological development of the industry affect your business?

E – Environmental factor requires answers to the following questions:

• How does environmental legislation affect your business?
• How does the volume of extracted natural resources affect your business? (consider those natural resources that are used in your business)
• How does the quality of extracted natural resources affect your business? (consider those natural resources that are used in your business)

L - Legal factor and questions to analyze its impact on your business:

• How does this or that law affect your business? (it is advisable to identify those laws that regulate activities in your market).

We recommend that you answer these questions using a -3 to 3 scale, where -3 has a strong negative impact on the organization, -2 has a moderate negative impact on the organization, and -1 has a weak negative impact on the organization. the organization, "0" - no impact, "1" - has a weak positive impact on the organization, "2" - has an average positive impact on the organization, "3" - has a strong positive impact on the organization.

As a result, you will get the total impact for each factor. Factors with positive result have a beneficial effect, with a negative – negative. If any factor has a very strong negative impact, you need to think about the feasibility of doing business in this area.

Methods for analyzing the meso-environment of an organization

The organization's meso-environment is represented by external factors that have a direct impact on the organization's activities. The analysis of the meso-environment is aimed at assessing the attractiveness of the market and the level of competition in the market, determining the general consumer demand.

The tool that most fully reflects the factors influencing the meso-environment was invented by Mike Porter and is called "Model 5 Forces of Competition."

Porter's Model 5 Competition Forces consists of five blocks. Each block is a separate factor of influence competitive market to your organization.

The central block is “Competitive Environment”. This block contains all the current market players - you and your direct competitors.

You need to define the following parameters of the competitive environment:

• Major players and their market shares;
• Number of players;
• Market development level;
• Strengths and weaknesses of your closest competitors;
• Information about the costs of your competitors for various items of expenditure (production, marketing, and so on).

Second block - "The threat of new players appearing."

It is represented by the following parameters:

• Existing barriers to market entry (patents, licenses, government regulation, and so on);
• Required initial capital;
• Necessary costs for product differentiation;
• Access to distribution channels;
• Experience of existing companies on the market (the more experience, the less the threat of the emergence of new players);
• Existing barriers to exit from the market (forfeit, liability to suppliers and consumers).

The third block - "Substitute products". These companies are not your direct competitors, however, with high elasticity of demand, they can pose a great threat.

The parameters for assessing this factor are as follows:

• The degree of customer loyalty to your product;
• The difference in price between your product and replacement products;
• The level of professionalism of consumers (the more professional the consumer, the weaker the influence of the parameter);
• The cost of switching to a replacement item.

Fourth block - "The power of buyers in the market", which lies in the ability of buyers to dictate their terms of cooperation.

This factor is represented by the following parameters:

• The number of buyers in the market (the fewer buyers, the greater their strength);
• Product purchase volume by one consumer (the larger the purchase volume, the higher the impact);
• The presence of unions of buyers;
• The breadth of product selection (the larger the selection, the higher the power of influence).

The fifth block is presented the power of suppliers in the market.

The parameters for assessing this factor will be as follows:

• Difficulty moving from one supplier to another;
• Purchase volume from one supplier;
• Availability of companies to replace existing suppliers;
• The degree to which the quality of raw materials affects your business.

Describe the data you have for each parameter, analyze the information and put down points from "-3" to "3", depending on the degree of influence of each parameter. Extreme values \u200b\u200b"-3" and "3" indicate a strong threat and a positive impact of the parameter, respectively, "0" - that the parameter has no effect on your business. The total value for the factor will allow you to see the most "dangerous" factors, the influence of which must be neutralized in the near future.

Analysis of the microenvironment of the organization

An analysis of the microenvironment of an organization is carried out to identify the strongest and weakest points of your business. For these purposes, an analysis tool such as "Value chain".

The value chain reflects all the business processes that are implemented in the organization. Business processes are divided into main (during which the production and distribution of products takes place) and auxiliary (which provide the main activity with everything necessary).

We will not dwell on this model in detail, since it is quite simple. Let's represent it in the form of a table, where we designate all the business processes that need to be assessed. The rows indicate auxiliary business processes, in the columns - the main ones.

Supplies of ancillary products and resources that do not belong to the main production (for example, soap in the office)
Research and development (R&D)
Organizational structure management
Human Resource Management
Inbound logistics (raw materials, materials, equipment)	Primary production	Outbound logistics - product distribution system	Marketing & Sales	After-sales service and maintenance

Evaluate each business process in your organization and see where the key value of your product is produced and what makes your product special. Those business processes that give your product more value are the most developed and have a positive effect on competitiveness - the strengths of your organization, the rest are weaknesses.

Interim analysis

SWOT -analysis represented by a combination of factors of the external environment of the organization (direct and indirect impact). SWOT analysis is a matrix, vertically, the opportunities and threats of the external environment are displayed, and horizontally, the strengths and weaknesses of the organization itself. Let's draw it for more comfort.

		Strengths			Weaknesses
		1	2	3	1	2
Opportunities	1
	2
	3
Threats	1
	2
	3
	4

Opportunities and threats were obtained as a result of PESTEL analysis, and weaknesses and strengths - as a result of using the models "5 forces of competition of Porter" and "Value chain", we write them down in columns and rows.

As a result, at the intersection of external and internal factors, we must write the following solutions:

• The intersection of strengths with opportunities: how you can use strengths to achieve opportunities;
• Crossing strengths with threats: how we can use strengths to neutralize threats;
• The intersection of weaknesses and opportunities: how to overcome weaknesses using opportunities;
• The intersection of weaknesses and threats: how to minimize the impact of threats.

Business portfolio analysis

After we have researched the market and the company, we can assess the various areas of the organization's business, or, more simply, the products it produces.

At the moment there is a fairly large number of various methods of portfolio analysis analysis, but the simplest and most popular of them - the matrix BCG . Let's visualize this tool right away.

		Relative market share
		High	Low
Market growth rate	High	"Star" - products with high sales growth rates and a large market share. At the same time, it requires large investments, which makes the profit from the product insignificant.	"A dark horse" - products with a small market share but high sales growth rates. Strategy - investment or disposal
	Low	"Milch cow"... These products have a large market share and high profit margins, but have low sales growth rates. Strategy - redirecting funds received from "cows" to other business units	"Dog" - products with low sales growth rates, small market share, low profit. Strategy is deliverance

Thus, we have identified the most promising products in the range and have chosen a strategy for each of them.

The second component of portfolio analysis is stage determination life cycle each product range . This analysis allows you to choose a product marketing strategy and exclude unprofitable products.

Four stages are most often distinguished:

• Product birth or market entry. These products are very recent on the market, they have consistently positive sales growth rates, but at the same time they either have no profit or have a negative profit. As a rule, there are few competitors for such a product;
• Growth. Products at this stage of the life cycle have the highest sales growth rates, but at the same time have practically no profit. Competition at this stage is quite high;
• Maturity. The phase of the life cycle, when the growth rate of sales falls, and the profit and the level of competition in the market reach their maximum values;
• Recession. Sales growth rates are approaching zero, profits are declining, there are practically no competitors.

Marketing analysis of an enterprise on the example of the company "Gruzovichkof"

Let's analyze the activities of one of the really existing Russian companies. On the example of the cargo transportation company "Gruzovichkoff". At the same time, we will be able to see how to correctly understand and read the marketing analysis of the enterprise.

Stage 1. We start with a PESTEL analysis, that is, we describe only the influencing factors (by questions) and give points. At the same time, we have reduced the number of influencing factors, excluding the economic one, since it does not exert any influence at all and combining the political and legal ones, since in this industry they are closely related.

Political and legal: -1 Restriction of entry to Moscow for vehicles with a carrying capacity of more than 1 ton (a special pass is required); +2 The need to confirm a license to carry out cargo transportation; +1 The need for regular technical inspection of the car; -one Difficulty buying technical support in connection with sanctions; -2 The ban on the use of low-emission motor fuel in Russia. -one

Economic: -4 The economic crisis in the country; -one Change in oil prices; -2 The volume of industrial production, wholesale and retail (when providing cargo transportation services for legal entities). -1

Sociocultural: 0 A decrease in per capita income has a negative impact on demand; -2 The growth in the movement of the population within the country will cause an increase in demand for freight services. +2

Technological: +4 The advent of equipment that plots the route and calculates the cost of the trip; +2 Possibility of cashless payment and ordering services via the Internet. +2

As we can see, the technological factor has the greatest positive impact, and the economic factor has a negative impact.

Stage 2. Analyze using the Porter's 5 Forces of Competition model.

We describe the parameters for each factor and put down points. As part of a report, it is best to do this in a table.

2. Entry and exit barriers "+9" Initial capital for the purchase of a fleet of vehicles and auxiliary equipment; +2 Obtaining a permit to enter the city; +3 Obtaining a license for cargo transportation; +2 Monetary losses. +2	3. Substitute products "0" Railway transportation of goods. 0
1. The level of competition "0" Highly competitive market, the most dangerous competitor - Gazelkin (38%); -2 A large number of companies with a small market share; 0 The market has not reached full saturation. +2
4. Consumer strength "-4" The consumer has a fairly wide choice (high competition); -3 Consumers have their own cars, which increases the requirements for the company, since in many cases it is easier for them to refuse services in favor of moving on their own. -one	5. Strength of suppliers "-5" Cooperation with the only automobile plant “GAZ” may cause difficulties during the transition; -3 Contracts with filling stations hinder the transition to the use of another fuel. -2

Thus, the power of suppliers and the power of consumers have the greatest negative impact.

Stage 3. Conducting analysis through the application of the "Value Chain" model.

For Gruzovichkoff, it will look like this:

The company's infrastructure includes a finance department, a planning department, an accounting department, a purchasing department, a logistics department (for purchases), a repair bureau
Personnel management includes the process of attracting, hiring, monitoring and motivating personnel
Technological development: using the latest navigation systems in the work, passing the daily technical inspection of cars
Material and technical support of the main production: supply of cardboard packaging from the supplier, contracts with gas stations, purchase of additional equipment from the supplier (navigation systems)
Purchase of cars from a dealer. Car parking in the company's vehicle fleet, storage of cardboard packaging in the warehouse	The main product is a freight service. The main elements of the product are: technical component (vehicle and complementary equipment) and contact personnel (driver, loaders)	Distribution of products takes place via telephone and Internet orders. The service is provided at the time and place specified by the customer	Promotion: paper advertising media (posters, flyers), billboards, TV advertising, radio advertising, Internet advertising	Service: additional service - movers; choosing a car of the desired format

Stage 4. Conducting a SWOT analysis as a result of which we will receive general results and conclusions for all three analyzes carried out.

We write out the strongest threats and opportunities from the PEST analysis and highlight strengths and weaknesses based on the analysis using the Porter's 5 Forces of Competition and Value Chain models. We get a small plate.

Strengths: 1. High speed feeding machine 2. Large (varied) vehicle fleet 3. Low prices (compared to competitors) 4. Availability of additional services (loading, packaging) 5. Availability of permission to enter the city

Weak sides: 1. Old cars 2. Long waiting for the dispatcher's response 3. Complicated online ordering process

Threats: 1. Difficulties in connection with the Federal Law "On transport and forwarding activities" 2. Economic crisis 3. Rising fuel prices 4. No need for a service due to the presence of a car in almost every family

Opportunities: 1. Decrease in the level of competition in connection with the release of the law "On the restriction and control of the import of goods into the city" 2. Increased demand due to rising real estate prices, growing mobility of the population, fashion for recreation in the country 3. The emergence of new technologies We build a matrix and write solutions at each intersection. In the future, from these solutions you will form a strategy for the development of the enterprise.

This completes the general marketing analysis of the enterprise and we can summarize.

As a result of marketing analysis, we got:

• A full assessment of the attractiveness of the industry (market);
• Assessment of the position of our company in this market;
• Revealed the competitive advantages of our product (company);
• Determine how to use our competitive parties against competitors;
• Identified the main competitors, their strengths and weaknesses;
• Assessed the level of competition in the market;
• Received an information base to determine the future strategy of the organization (marketing strategy).

We have one service that I really enjoy doing. I feel like I'm in a spy movie starring where I gather classified information to complete a top-secret mission.

Since we always work in a team, my colleagues help me. I represent them as assistants who get me valuable information? thanks to which I will collect information bit by bit, generalize it and save ... not the world, but our client (or customer, if we speak the language of films).

What kind of service is this, where fantasy plays like that? Meet. This is marketing analysis.

what is marketing analysis

But this is an analysis of data based on information that was collected as a result of various marketing research to carry out tasks (the same 4P) in order to generalize, systematize and change them.

How difficult ... I will go

What oooo? Really! Let's just. You can read incomprehensible smart pages from Wikipedia and abstracts on other sites. And here, let's express ourselves in simple language and clear sentences. Better yet, support this with specific examples.

What is marketing analysis in our understanding, or what do we do? Here are a couple of examples of our work:

Example 1. The client has a little land (7 hectares is not a lot :)), and he wants to build a camp site on it. He addresses us with the following requests:

1. What kind of camp site to build (concept needed)?
2. What kind of marketing should you use to promote it?
3. What investments are required?
4. How and in general will this whole venture pay off?

Example 2. The client has a company that sells woodworking equipment in one region and has a great desire to go not even outside the region, but to the whole of Russia.

You just need to understand which product to go out with in the first place (a fairly wide range), what actions to take and what budget is needed for this.

Example 3. The client has his own rather successful business, but he wants to open a second, radically different direction.

There are certain plans to open a small factory (I will not reveal the niche). Of course, it's a little more complicated here and the queries are as follows:

1. Development and;
2. Development of an advertising concept with detailed elaboration;
3. Detailed study of business and financial plans (of course we do not specialize in this, but we have partners);
4. Well, to prepare by itself all the documents to the bank (very few people now have available from 100 million rubles).

Such examples are far from the only ones, there is experience in the development of hostels, niches in, launching a new product on the market, franchises, and so on.

I think now my analogy with movie spies is clear. Business plans with numbers are one thing, but researching a client's competitors, and even across an entire region or country, is a completely different calico.

But this is in our understanding. And if we return to the classic concept, then marketing analysis is necessary when:

• Market research;
• Market trends;
• Study of demand and the factors that affect it;
• Studying prices and pricing;
• Study of competitors (especially strong or fast growing ones) and competitiveness;
• Studying your company (its strengths and weaknesses);
• And a dozen more subtasks.

what to do for analysis

"How many scary words." It is this phrase that pops into my head when I start reading the description of what needs to be done to conduct a marketing analysis:

1. Marketing research;
2. Collection, processing and generalization of data obtained as a result of research;
3. Selection of key points from processed data;
4. Conceptualization (God, what a terrible word!) - processing of key points and consideration in the right way;
5. Extrapolation (who comes up with them!) - determining how this data will be played in the long term;
6. Creation of conclusions.

I translate into human Russian, plus I immediately explain what needs to be done step by step in order to conduct a more or less human marketing analysis. Yes, generalized, but understandable.

1. Marketing analysis of the market. Gather all the information about the market that you can find and which you can reach. Thanks to the Internet, you have almost all the information that exists in the world. So keep looking, it's not difficult. For example, I found all the up-to-date statistics I needed on accommodation in hotels / hostels / hotels in the city I needed.

   By the way, there was a rather interesting scandal recently. It was decided to nominate a European student for Nobel Prize, thanks to the results of the research he did. The scandal is that it is based on medical reports, rather closed, but leaked to the Internet;

2. Marketing analysis of a firm / organization / company. Explore the entire organization from the inside. Everything means everything! Marketing, sales, sales, production. Everything that happens inside the company, all business processes. And then suddenly it will happen that you set up marketing in a production company, but forget about production, and orders, instead of the prescribed 3 days, will be carried out for 10-14 days.
3. Competitor marketing analysis.Here! This is the most important thing for any manager and owner. Rather, the most pleasant thing. Conduct an analysis of competitors and find out that they are better at something. Guys, let's do this, if we are better than competitors, then in everything. This is why you study your competitors;
4. Product marketing analysis. It is necessary to determine to what extent your product (in this case, this word includes goods and services) will be competitive and viable when entering the market.

   If the analysis of the organization is necessary, the analysis of competitors is interesting, then the analysis of the product is what the whole analysis is for, so study it in detail and consider all possible options;

5. Marketing analysis of the project. Here everything is already simple and clear. It is necessary to estimate and calculate how viable the entire project is in the long term (1-3-5-10 years), and whether it is worth starting it.

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let's move on to practice

In general, theory, theory and nothing else. But, we need practice. Let's imagine that you have decided to do a marketing audit yourself.

Market analysis

In short, find all the information you can about the market (supply and demand). If you want to consider what exactly, then here is an article to help you, which we already wrote earlier -. In addition, these services will help you:

• Federal State Statistics Service - thanks to this service, you can find extremely interesting and, surprisingly, relevant information;
• Market volume assessment is generally a service for checking a counterparty, but when correct setting and, as they say, “if you dig deeper,” you can pull out interesting data.

  For example, approximate sales in a certain niche (data is taken from the financial statements of companies). I highly recommend it.

Company analysis

1. First impression of the company;
2. First contact;
3. Sales algorithm;
4. Marketing;
5. Competence of employees and owner.

Now attention!

The first 2 points should be checked and performed not by the business owner or manager. This is prohibited. This should be a completely independent person who will then tell you the whole truth.

It doesn't sound very nice, but if you start a professional in your company, he will tell you a lot of new and interesting things about the company itself and about your employees.

Competitor analysis

As I already wrote, this is the favorite pastime of most entrepreneurs, who are playing spies in this block.

I follow ...

1. You need to identify your main competitors. At least 3-5, and not one or two, as is commonly believed;
2. Find all the information about them on the Internet. In particular, take a look and conduct a detailed, social networks, current location;
3. Launch a mystery shopper to them. If you cannot go, then send a friend. But it is better to hire a professional company with audio recording and reports (of course you need to prepare them in advance and yourself);
4. Collect all advertising information and analyze it. Online, offline (billboards, newspapers, magazines);
5. Based on this information, make a list of the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.

We consider the permeability

Come in the morning and make an inexpensive purchase from him. In the evening, make a second purchase from him. The trick is that if you have a cash register, you will receive a check with a number.

By calculating the difference between receipts (\u003d number of customers per day) and multiplying it by the average receipt and the number of days in a month, you can calculate the approximate turnover of a competitor.

Relevant for catering and retail stores (especially with inexpensive products).

Product analysis

Here you will have to work hard. To do this, first of all, you must know the answers to the following questions:

1. Who is yours?
2. Is there a detailed one?
3. And carried out?
4. Then what are their weaknesses that we can take away for ourselves, strengthen them and thereby rise?
5. What kind of positioning will we have? And the USP?
6. Is marketing well thought out and worked out?
7. Are the distribution channels thought out?

And dozens of similar questions that you need to answer. Do you think it doesn't matter? Well, then I congratulate you!

You plan to do “marketing from the market, not from the product”. This is the trap that many entrepreneurs fall into. I wrote in detail about this and what it threatens in the article.

Every resident of Russia can be called a consumer. And the one who does not speak Russian is also a consumer, only then he is called spozivach (Ukrainian), consumer ("consumer", English), or verbraucher (Austr. German), or konsument (German), or something else. Every time we consume something, we make an imperceptible impact on the socio-economic environment around us.

By consuming, we influence sellers. The sellers, having made the act of sale, thereby influence the distributors, who in turn influence the producers, and those influence the suppliers of raw materials. Each time such an imperceptible act of consumption leads to growing waves of influence, which involve an increasing number of economic entities in a continuous process ...

In the conditions of totalitarian socialism or monarchy, this process is strictly regulated from above. In a liberal (or, in our case, rather a "slightly more liberal") economy, this process is "market-driven."

Each participant in the process has an alternative - what to consume. Choosing from at least two proposals, we must be guided by some criteria. Often these are very specific criteria, for example, price. Sometimes they are more difficult to catch (for example, preference trade marks), in other cases it may be the need to satisfy some deep-seated needs (for example, an unmet need to feel power over other people may result in the purchase of a sports car).

Just in order to feel good in the market, rules of conduct were invented, which were named in the American manner marketing (marketing)... Such rules (which, upon closer examination, turn out to be not so simple) allow any Russian company to compete with global giants such as Procter & Gamble. Yes, they brought together leading experts in the marketing department. Yes, they pay good wages. But not everything is so sad, because there is such a word as "marketing".

Marketing - your guide to the market game. Anyone who has mastered marketing can, if not defeat the international monsters, then at least grab a piece of his pie.

Nevertheless, our goal is not to teach you marketing techniques, but to help you in such an important matter as market research, the results of which are the information base for marketing activities. You can find out more about this service by going now to the services section of our call center -.

Market research

For any company striving for success, marketing research is the beginning and the logical end of any cycle of its marketing activities. Market research significantly reduces the uncertainty in making important marketing decisions, which allows you to effectively allocate economic potential to achieve new heights in business!

Marketing research, study of the external and internal environment and its regular monitoring for any enterprise is an important element of the strategy for successful development in a market economy. The role of research increases many times over under conditions of unformed market segment or under the uncertainty of a new business.

Whatever decision you make, offer the market a completely new product or come out with an existing one on new market, you will face the problem of lack of information about market conditions and other necessary components for a successful market entry. Does the market need your product and, if so, to what extent?

Most likely, you have a certain vision of the market. But this may not be enough to choose the right strategy. It is in this situation that our specialists will help you to study the market in detail and develop a competitive marketing concept.

As a first step, it is necessary, which will allow you to solve, both in combination and separately, the following tasks:

1. Determine the real and potential market capacity. Market capacity study will help you to correctly assess your chances and prospects in this market and avoid unnecessary risks and losses;
2. Calculate or predict your market share. The share is already specific, and it is quite possible to start from it, forming future plans, and then, to increase it in the future. Market share is an important indicator of your company's success;
3. Analyze the behavior of your consumers (demand analysis)... This analysis will assess the degree of consumer loyalty to the product and the company, and will answer the question: "Who buys and why?" And, therefore, it will help to establish competitive prices for products, make changes to the product itself, optimize promotion channels and advertising strategy, organize effective sales, that is, adjust all components of the marketing mix;
4. Conduct an analysis of the main competitors (proposal analysis). Knowledge of the products and marketing policies of competitors is essential for better market orientation and adjustment of your individual pricing and promotion policies, which will ensure your success in the competition;
5. Analyze distribution channels. That will allow you to determine the most effective of them and form a ready-made chain of optimal product movement to the final consumer.

Marketing research

- is the collection, processing and analysis of data about the market, competitors, consumers, prices, internal potential of the enterprise in order to reduce the uncertainty associated with making marketing decisions. The result of marketing research are specific developments that are used in the selection and implementation of strategies, as well as in the marketing activities of the enterprise.

As practice shows, without market research, it is impossible to systematically collect, analyze, and compare all the information necessary to make important decisions related to market activities, market selection, determining sales volumes, forecasting and planning market activities.

The objects of market research are the trend and process of market development, including analysis of changes in economic, scientific, technical, legislative and other factors, as well as the structure and geography of the market, its capacity, sales dynamics, market barriers, the state of competition, the current market situation, opportunities and risks ...

The main results of the market research are:

• Forecasts of its development, assessment of market trends, identification of key success factors;
• Determining the most effective ways conducting a competition policy in the market and the possibility of entering new markets;
• Segmentation of markets.

Marketing research can be directed to different objects and pursue different goals. Let's take a closer look at this.

Marketing research objectives

Qualitative research is carried out to solve the following problems:

• Market analysis;
• Consumer analysis;
• Analysis of competitors;
• Analysis of progress;
• Testing advertising concepts;
• Testing of advertising materials (layouts);
• Testing the marketing complex of the brand (packaging, name, price, quality).

Consumer marketing research

Consumer research allows you to determine and study the entire range of incentive factors that guide consumers when choosing goods (income, education, social status, etc.) The subject of the study is the motivation of consumer behavior and the factors that determine it, the structure of consumption, the supply of goods, trends in consumer demand are studied.

The purpose of consumer research is consumer segmentation, selection of target segments.

Competitor research

The main task of competitor research is to obtain the necessary data to provide a specific advantage in the market, as well as to find ways of cooperation and cooperation with potential competitors.

For this purpose, the strengths and weaknesses of competitors are analyzed, their market share is studied, the reaction of consumers to the marketing means of competitors, the organization of the management of activities.

Research into potential intermediaries

In order to obtain information about possible intermediaries, with the help of which the company will be able to be present in the selected markets, a study of the corporate structure of the market is carried out.

In addition to intermediaries, the company must have an idea of \u200b\u200bfreight forwarding, advertising, insurance, financial and other organizations, the creation of a set of marketing infrastructure for the market.

Research of the product and its values

The main purpose of product research is to determine the compliance of technical and economic indicators and the quality of products with the demands and requirements of consumers, as well as to analyze their competitiveness.

Product research allows you to get the most complete and valuable information from the point of view of consumers about the consumer parameters of the product, as well as data for the formation of the most successful arguments for an advertising campaign, selection of the most suitable intermediaries.

Objects of product research: properties of analogue products and competitors' products, consumer reaction to new products, product range, service level, prospective consumer requirements

The research results enable the company to develop its own range of products in accordance with the requirements of buyers, increase their competitiveness, develop new products, develop a corporate identity, and determine the ability of patent protection.

Marketing analysis of prices

Price research aims to determine the level and price ratio that allows you to get the most profit at the lowest cost.

The objects of research are the costs of development, production and marketing of goods, the degree of influence of competition, behavior and reaction of consumers to prices. As a result of the research carried out on the product, the most effective cost-price and price-profit ratios are selected.

Research of commodity circulation and sales

The study of product movement and sales aims to determine the most effective ways, methods and means of the fastest delivery of the goods to the consumer and their sale. The objects of study are trade channels, intermediaries, sellers, forms and methods of sale, distribution costs.

It also analyzes the forms and features of the activities of various types of wholesale and retail trade enterprises, identifies strengths and weaknesses. This allows you to determine the possibilities of increasing the turnover of the enterprise, to optimize inventory, to develop criteria for choosing effective channels of commodity circulation.

Research on sales promotion systems

Sales promotion research is one of the important directions marketing research. The objects of research are: the behavior of suppliers, intermediaries, buyers, the effectiveness of advertising, the attitude of the consumer community, contacts with buyers. The results of the research allow to develop a policy of "public relations", to determine the methods of forming the demand of the population, to increase the efficiency of commutative connections, including advertising.

Research of advertising activity

Stimulating the promotion of goods to the market concerns not only advertising, but also other aspects of the company's marketing policy, in particular, research on the effectiveness of competitions, discounts, bonuses and other benefits that can be applied by the enterprise in their interaction with buyers, suppliers, intermediaries.

Research of the internal environment of enterprises

Studies of the internal environment of an enterprise aim to determine the real level of competitiveness of an enterprise as a result of comparing the relevant factors of the external and internal environment.

Marketing research can also be defined as the systematic collection, recording and analysis of data on marketing and marketing problems in order to improve the quality of decision-making and control procedures in the marketing environment.

Marketing Research Objectives

The objectives of marketing research can be distributed as follows

1. Search targets - collection of information for a preliminary assessment of the problem and its structuring;
2. Descriptive goals - a description of the selected phenomena, objects of research and factors affecting their condition;
3. Causal goals - testing the hypothesis about the presence of some causal relationship;
4. Test targets - selection of promising options or assessment of the correctness of the decisions made;
5. Forecast goals - predicting the state of an object in the future.

The principal feature of marketing research, which distinguishes it from the collection and analysis of internal and external current information, is its targeted focus on solving a specific problem or a set of marketing problems.

Each firm independently determines the topic and volume of marketing research based on its capabilities and needs for marketing information, therefore the types of marketing research conducted by different firms may be different.

Basic concepts and directions, experience in marketing research

Earlier it was emphasized that marketing research is a scientific analysis of all factors affecting the marketing of goods and services. It follows that the area of \u200b\u200bapplication of this function is practically unlimited, and therefore we will consider only those types of research that are most often encountered in practice.

Essentially, the purpose of marketing research is to answer five basic questions: Who? what? when? Where? and as? Related question: why? - expands the research to contact with the field of social psychology and sometimes stands out in an independent field, known as motivation research, i.e. the study of the motives of customer behavior.

Marketing Research Organization Methods

Marketing research can be organized and carried out either through a dedicated research agency or through the firm's own research department.

Organization of research with the help of our own research department

Our own research department is engaged in marketing research in accordance with the information needs of the company.

Organization of research with the help of a specialized research agency

Specialized research agencies carry out a variety of studies that can help a firm solve problems.

Benefits

disadvantages

The quality of research is high, since research firms have rich experience, highly qualified specialists in the field of research. The research results are highly objective, since the researchers are independent from the customer. Specialized firms provide great opportunities in choosing research methods due to the availability of special equipment for conducting research and processing their results.

Research costs are quite high and research costs more than those performed by an internal research team. Knowledge of product features is limited to general concepts. There is a higher likelihood of information leakage as there are many people involved in the research.

Marketing Research Department

Judging by how often one hears the claim that business competition is increasing, one would assume that most firms are likely to have marketing research departments. In reality, very few firms have such departments. The most recent data are difficult to name, but it is known that as a result of a survey conducted by the British Institute of Management, only 40% of the responses were received from 265 companies surveyed (in all likelihood, because most firms did not have research departments).

However, it would be a mistake to believe that this fact means the same low level of use of research results, since a significant part of the work on marketing research is carried out by specialized organizations. In addition, in many companies, marketing research departments often have different names, for example, “Economic Information Department,” etc.

The decision to create your own marketing research department depends on the assessment of the role that it can play further in the activities of the firm as a whole. This assessment is mostly qualitative and differs from firm to firm, which makes it difficult to establish precise criteria. For our purposes, it suffices to assume that the decision to create such structural unit accepted and focused on those issues that in this case should be taken into account.

They can be grouped as follows:

• The role and functions of the marketing research department;
• Position in the organizational structure of the company;
• The role and functions of the department manager.

Role and functions of the marketing research department

Considering the above list of marketing-related research types, it is clear that it would take a very large department to cover all of these areas.

If this is the first time a firm is undertaking such work, it is strongly recommended to create a list of tasks, ordering them in order of importance, and limit themselves to trying to get the most important ones solved first. This does not mean that the rest of the research should not be carried out at all, since the establishment of too rigid demarcation lines between the tasks can only lead to an inflexible approach and to the fact that auxiliary research that complements the main ones will be abandoned.

Too often, firms make the mistake of making a newly created marketing research department responsible for maintaining firm records. The transfer of this function to him inevitably generates friction and reduces the efficiency of the company, since, on the one hand, it slows down the work of departments that need reporting data for their current activities, for example, the sales department, and on the other hand, it distracts the marketing research department from its the main function is research.

In cases where the creation of a specialized research department is preceded by a lot of data collection and reporting, it is better if other departments retain this function, providing the information they have as needed. To avoid both duplication and diffusion of effort, the responsibilities of each unit should be clearly articulated and only those reports that are essential to in-house research should be required from the marketing research department.

Place for marketing research in the organizational structure of the company

The location of the marketing research department within a firm depends largely on its organizational structure. As a rule, he should have a direct link with the managing director, since this department performs an advisory function and in many cases provides the chief administrator with the initial data on the basis of which the general policy of the company is based (as opposed to operational decisions).

In large organizations in which executive directors lead functionally-based divisions, the CMO may be responsible for determining the direction of the research department and for deciding what reports should be presented to the head of the firm.

Even so, it is advisable to provide for a direct link between the managing director and the research department, in order, on the one hand, to ensure that reports that criticize one or another aspect of the firm's activities are heard by the head of the firm in order to avoid deteriorating the relationship. between the marketing director and directors responsible for other departments.

In addition, it is the managing director who deals with the efficiency of the firm as a whole and. therefore, can better than other managers assess the value of research results for a particular department.

Some authors argue that the marketing research manager should have the same status as the heads of the main operational units, but this is not true due to the usually existing differences in the size of departments and the level of responsibility. Provided that the manager has access to the board of directors, his status should be directly determined by the importance that the department has within the organization as a whole.

The Role and Functions of the Marketing Research Manager

The nature of a marketing research manager's job depends on the size and function of the department and the degree of oversight and direction from above. At the same time, in any case, the manager must be a person competent in his field and have personal integrity and honesty.

Competence presupposes not only experience and knowledge in the field of marketing and methods of its analysis, but also the ability to turn management problems into real ones. research projectscarried out taking into account time and financial constraints.

The requirement of personal integrity and honesty means that the marketing research manager must interpret the results of the analyzes carried out objectively, in accordance with generally accepted principles of scientific research. "Statistics at the service of lies" - this situation can exist only when unscrupulous people use facts fabricated through subjective selection, manipulation and deliberate presentation to prove baseless conclusions, that is, as researchers say, "look for data." ...

The manager must meet not only the basic requirements mentioned above, but, in addition, possess the qualities that are necessary for everyone. leadership positions, namely: have the ability to administrative work, be able to understand the behavior of people and be able to effectively influence them.

Planning and conducting marketing research

Marketing research process

Marketing research can be divided into two main categories: permanent and episodic... Marketing is an ongoing process taking place in a constantly changing environment. Therefore, systematic research is essential if a firm wants to stay aware of changes in the underlying drivers of demand and be able to modify its policies accordingly. This type of information is collected by specialized organizations and government departments, but this information is often too general in nature and cannot meet the specific requirements of an individual firm. As a result, it has to be supplemented with research conducted by the firm itself.

In addition, many marketing situations are so peculiar (for example, the launch of a new product on the market) that they require special research.

Such studies are performed according to a certain scheme, consisting of the following stages:

1. Justification of the need for research;
2. Analysis of the factors that determine this need, that is, the formulation of the problem;
3. Exact formulation of the research goal;
4. Drawing up an experiment or survey plan based on the analysis provided for in paragraph 2;
5. Data collection;
6. Data systematization and analysis;
7. Interpretation of results, formulation of conclusions, recommendations;
8. Preparation and submission of a report containing the research results;
9. Evaluation of the results of actions taken based on the findings of the researchers, i.e.
10. Establishing feedback.

Obviously, continuous research is built according to the same scheme as at the beginning, but later on the first four stages disappear.

Marketing research methods

The first task of choosing methods for conducting marketing research is to familiarize yourself with individual methods that can be used in the collection and analysis of marketing information.

Then, based on the resource capacity of the organization, the most appropriate set of these methods is selected. The most widely used marketing research methods are document analysis methods, sociological, expert, experimental and economic and mathematical methods.

Marketing research objectives can be exploratory in nature, i.e. be aimed at collecting preliminary information designed to more accurately identify problems and test hypotheses, descriptive, i.e. to consist in a simple description of certain aspects of the real marketing situation and casual, i.e. be aimed at substantiating hypotheses that determine the content of the identified cause-and-effect relationships.

Each such area includes certain methods of collecting and analyzing marketing information.

Exploration research is carried out in order to collect preliminary information necessary to better define the problems and put forward assumptions (hypotheses) within which marketing activities are expected, as well as to clarify the terminology and set priorities among research tasks.

For example, it has been suggested that low sales are due to poor advertising, but exploratory research has shown that the main cause of undersales is poor distribution system performance, which should be explored in more detail later in the marketing research process.

Among the methods of conducting exploratory research, the following can be distinguished: analysis of secondary data, study of previous experience, analysis of specific situations, focus group work, projection method.

Descriptive research aimed at describing marketing problems, situations, markets, for example, the demographic situation, consumer attitudes towards the organization's products.

When conducting this type of research, answers are usually sought to questions starting with the words: who, what, where, when and how. As a rule, such information is contained in secondary data or is collected by conducting observations and interviews, setting up experiments.

For example, it is investigated "who" is the consumer of the organization's products? “What” is viewed as products supplied by the organization to the market? Where is seen as the place where consumers purchase these products? “When” refers to the time when consumers are most active in purchasing these products. “How” describes how the purchased product is used.

Note that these studies do not answer questions starting with the word “why”. "Why" increased sales after advertising company? Answers to such questions are received when conducting casual research.

Casual exploration is carried out to test hypotheses about causation. This research is based on the desire to understand a phenomenon based on the use of logic such as: “If X, then Y”.

For example, a hypothesis is tested: will a 10% decrease in the service fee for a given organization lead to an increase in the number of customers sufficient to compensate for the losses from the decrease in the fee?

If we consider the methods of marketing research from the point of view of the nature of the information received, then they can be divided into two groups: quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative marketing research aimed at studying consumer behavior, purchase motivation, consumer preferences, attractiveness and consumer qualities of a product, price / consumer quality ratio, assessment of the capacity and characteristics of the real and potential markets (various segments) of a product or service.

Quantitative methods make it possible to characterize the socio-demographic, economic, psychological portrait of the target group.

The characteristic features of such studies are: well-defined format of the collected data and the sources of their receipt, the processing of the collected data is carried out using orderly procedures, mainly quantitative in nature.

Data collection for marketing research

Methods for collecting primary data in quantitative research include polls, questioning, personal and telephone interviewbased on the use of structured closed-type questions, which are answered by a large number of respondents.

The survey is conducted at points of sale or according to the address / route sample at the place of residence (place of work) of the respondent. The reliability of the results is ensured by the use of a representative sample of respondents (respondents), the use of qualified interviewers, control at all stages of the study, professionally compiled questionnaires and questionnaires, the use of professional psychologists, sociologists, marketing specialists in the analysis, the use of modern computer tools for statistical analysis of results, constant contact with the customer at all stages of work.

Qualitative research involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data by observing what people do and say. Observations and conclusions are qualitative and carried out in a standardized manner. Qualitative data can be translated into quantitative form, but this is preceded by special procedures.

The basis qualitative research make up methods of observation that involve observation itself rather than communication with respondents. Most of these methods are based on approaches developed by psychologists.

Methods of qualitative analysis allow describing the psychographic characteristics of the target audience, behavior patterns and reasons for preference for certain brands when purchasing, as well as receiving from consumers the most in-depth information that gives an idea of \u200b\u200bthe ulterior motives and basic needs of consumers.

Qualitative methods are irreplaceable at the stages of development and performance evaluation advertising campaignsstudying brand image. Results are not numeric, i.e. presented exclusively in the form of opinions, judgments, assessments, statements.

Types of marketing research

Enterprise in modern world can only succeed if it does not ignore consumer demands. Efficiency requires research and satisfaction maximum number buyer's requirements. Marketing research helps to solve such problems.

Marketing is the study of consumer behavior, which includes his needs and requirements.

The principal feature of marketing research, which distinguishes it from the collection and analysis of internal and external current information, is its targeted focus on solving a specific problem or a set of marketing problems. This focus turns the collection and analysis of information into marketing research. Thus, marketing research should be understood as a purposeful solution to a marketing problem (complex of problems) facing a company, the process of setting goals, obtaining marketing information, planning and organizing its collection, analysis and reporting of results.

The basic principles of marketing research are objectivity, accuracy and thoroughness. The principle of objectivity means the need to take into account all factors and the inadmissibility of accepting a certain point of view until the analysis of all the information collected is completed.

The principle of accuracy means the clarity of the statement of research tasks, the unambiguity of their understanding and interpretation, as well as the choice of research tools that ensure the necessary reliability of the research results.

The principle of thoroughness means detailed planning of each stage of the study, high quality of all research operations, achieved through high level professionalism and responsibility of the research team, as well as the affective control system of its work.

Summary

In a competitive environment and constantly changing market conditions, a lot of attention is paid to marketing research. The results of these studies in the future are the basis for the formation of the estimate of sales, and based on this and the planned levels of revenue and profit from the sale of products.

The most common problems arise in the process of selling goods. Therefore, the main objectives of marketing research are to study:

• market;
• buyers;
• competitors;
• offers;
• goods;
• prices;
• the effectiveness of the product promotion policy, etc.

Marketing research helps an enterprise to solve the following tasks:

• Determine the possibility of mass production of goods or services;
• Establish a hierarchy of characteristics of goods or services that can ensure their success in the market;
• Analyze the typologies and motivations of the existing and potential clientele;
• Determine prices and optimal conditions for the sale of goods and services.

The purpose of marketing research is to resolve the following enterprise problems:

• Studying and establishing the potential of the market or product about the possible volume of its sales, terms of sale, price levels, the ability of potential clientele;
• Research of competitors' behavior, directions of their actions, potential opportunities, pricing strategies;
• Sales research identifying the territory that is the best in terms of sales, the volume of sales in the market that is most effective.

Companies develop a general plan of marketing research, which is drawn up in the context of the marketing of individual goods or services, by type of buyers, by region.

Thus, we can say that marketing research is complex system studying the organization of production and sales of goods and services, which is focused on meeting the needs of specific consumers and making a profit based on the study and forecasting of the market.

The most difficult tasks of marketing research are analysis and decision making on pricing and sales promotion.

The result of marketing research is the development of a marketing strategy for the company, the purpose of which is to select a target market and a marketing complex, the compliance of which will help to ensure the maximum effect of sales of products and services.

When choosing a target market, it is necessary to substantiate the answer to the question: what product does the consumer need? This requires establishing rational segments of a concentrated, differentiated, or undifferentiated market that the organization will serve.

The choice of a marketing complex is associated with the establishment of the optimal combination of its elements: the name of the product, its price, the place of distribution and sales promotion. On the basis of the adopted marketing strategy, the main management decisions, orienting the activities of the company to resolve problems that arise or may arise from a potential consumer of goods, works and services.

This principle can be implemented if the basis for making decisions on organizational, technological, social and production issues is the result of analyzing the needs and requests of potential buyers.

The market economy is based on freedom of supply and demand. But this is theoretical.

In practice, such factors as the constant dynamics of supply and demand, intensifying competition, the rapid development of technologies and technology, unpredictable inflation, the volatility of the legislative framework, and much more come into force.

All these conventions create uncertainty in the economy and the impossibility of obtaining the expected result. But the business needs to grow, and one of the main components of this process is market analysis, as it determines the strategy of the enterprise.

In fact, this is a collection of information about a specific industry market and its consumers, which is further comprehensively researched. Sales market analysis includes several stages. This study:

How to do the research

The analysis of sectoral markets implies as its object a set of enterprises with interests in one sector of the economy. The so-called economic branch. It covers the production, distribution and consumption of specific services or goods.

And the purpose of this study is to identify industry risks. The analysis of the sales market should calculate the possibility and parameters of the deviation of the results of the activity of a certain entity, associated with the unstable situation of a particular industry market.

Main criteria table:

How to make a comprehensive market analysis - this question is necessary for a clear understanding of what will happen with the goods or services of a particular industry entity. The answer will consist of the following positions:

• what is (relationships that are formed in the market in a certain period of time and existing trends);
• forecasting the dynamics of development and growth (for short-term forecasting, inertial processes are important, for long-term forecasting - the probability of changes in market activity);
• what is (since it is impossible to sell more goods than they can buy in a certain territory, as a rule, the period of time is taken equal to one year);
• research of competitors (understanding how much money will be spent to fight them, or to resist their fight);
• what is the volume of the expected sales of goods or services (vital information for planning and organizing the functioning of a particular enterprise).

Methods used

Market analysis methods are systems that allow you to comprehensively research the market in the aggregate of all indicators. There are the following methods for market research:

Which of the methods to prefer in this or that case is determined by the circumstances and. But the most objective indicators will be given by a combination of several methods, since their indicators mutually complement each other.

If the consumer group is the population, then additional research methods are used that will take into account the improvement in serviceability and the ability of buyers to be loyal to a particular product brand.

As a rule, the methods are based on game theory. A superficial analysis may not be carried out by a specialist, but to obtain a serious forecast requires the participation of professionals who are able to use all methods of study.

Research process

Marketing analysis of the market is the assessment, definition, modeling and forecasting of all aspects of the processes occurring in the market and the functioning of a particular industry entity using various research methods. It can only be carried out taking into account a number of factors that are established using a variety of classifications that contribute to a clear structuring and classification of work. The first is the marketing analysis framework. these are analyzes:

• specific industry market;
• enterprises;
• potential and real competitors;
• implementation plan for a single project;
• goods or services, their competitiveness.

The main goal of marketing research is to identify potential opportunities and risks, as well as create forecasts for possible scenarios for the development of situations in the industry. Based on the analysis results, a management resume is created and a marketing strategy is determined.

The tasks of marketing analysis are determined by the following factors: topics of the studied phenomena, urgency and openness of data. The most popular data research programs are:

• PESTLE analysis. This is an advanced version of PEST analysis. It also takes into account natural, geographic and legal factors.
• Porter's Five Forces... The most powerful marketing analysis toolkit. This methodology identifies five main factors that determine competition, and, therefore, determine the tactics and strategy of the enterprise. The most popular technique among professionals. But its disadvantage is that it does not consider all particulars and exceptions. And also, this technique should be developed for each separate line of business.

Estimate the value

It is difficult to overestimate the need for market research for enterprise viability. The analysis provides not only a clear idea of \u200b\u200bthe current situation in the industry and the place of a particular company on it, but also shows the likelihood of developments in the future.

The research results, together with planned and reporting information, allow the company to develop strategic measures in advance (development of beneficial processes, elimination of identified imbalances and tracking possible ones). Market analysis allows you to carry out the most effective measures - organizational and economic.

Marketing research is carried out by both future entrepreneurs and actual businessmen in order to collect and analyze useful information about the market of the type of activity in which they are engaged. Marketing research is used to find effective strategies, weigh the pros and cons of development paths, determine future business moves, and more. You will have a competitive edge if you have good marketing research skills. To get started, start at step number 1.

Steps

Part 1

Plan your marketing research

In your mind, state the purpose of your research. Marketing research is done to help you and your business become more competitive and more profitable. If your marketing research ultimately doesn’t provide any benefit, it’s just wasted time, and you might be better off doing something else. Before you start marketing research, it is important to determine what you want to get from them. Your marketing research can lead you in unexpected directions - and that's okay. However, it is best not to start marketing research without at least one or more goals in mind. Below are some of the questions you can consider when designing your marketing research:

• Is there a market need for my product? Explore customer priorities and spending habits. This will help you assess whether placing your product in a specific market is justified.
• Are my products and services satisfying customer requirements? Researching customer satisfaction with your products can increase your competitiveness.
• Is my pricing for goods and services effective? Researching your competitiveness and market trends will help you determine the maximum profit you can afford without compromising your business.

1. Create a plan for efficient collection of information. Not only is it important what you want to end up with, but it is important to understand how you can gather the information you need. Again, planning will help you succeed in your research. Don't set goals without knowing how to get there. The following are the questions you should consider when planning your marketing research:

   • Do I need to find comprehensive market data? Analyzing existing data can help you make decisions about the future of your business, but finding meaningful and accurate information can be difficult.
   • Do I need independent research? Building your own database through surveys, target audience research, interviews and other methods can provide a lot of information for a company about the market in which you operate. To get them, resources are required, time, which can also be used differently.

2. Be prepared to submit your research and jump to action with reference to it. Marketing research ultimately influences the actual decisions in the company. When you are doing market research, unless you are a sole proprietor, you usually need to share your research with colleagues and have an action plan in mind. If you have a boss, he may or may not agree with the course of action. As long as you do not make mistakes in the way data is collected and processed, you will most likely agree with the market trend that your data is displaying. Ask yourself the following:

   • What is my research predicted to show? Try to formulate a hypothesis before starting your research. It will be easier for you to come to a conclusion if you have already considered a similar outcome and does not come as a complete surprise.
   • What if the assumptions come true? If your market research ultimately confirms your assumptions, what implications will it have for your company?
   • What if the assumptions don't come true? If a research result catches you by surprise, how should the company proceed? Do you have backup paths of development in case of unexpected results?

   Part 2

   Receiving useful information

   1. Use government sources of industry information. With the advent of the information age, it has become much easier for businessmen to access a huge amount of data. Another question is how reliable these data are. To reach a conclusion based on market research, it is very important to start research from reliable sources. One of the main reliable sources is government (sources). Market researchgovernment-led are usually accurate, well-proven, and available freely or at low cost, which is very important for a nascent business.

      Use data from industry publications. Many industries have one or more journals, publications to keep industry members up to date with current news, market trends, government policy goals, and more. Many publications conduct and publish their own research, which benefits industry members. Raw marketing research data can often be made available to members who do not belong to the industry. Nearly all trade publishers have some articles publicly available online to learn about strategy advice and marketing trends. These articles often include the results of market research.

      Use data from educational institutions. Since the market is very important to society, it is often the subject of science and academic research. Many colleges, universities and other educational institutions (in particular, economics schools) often publish research results based on the market as a whole, or on some of its sectors. Research results are available from educational publishers or directly at the institution. It should be noted that this data is often available for a fee. Therefore, in order to access them, a one-time payment or subscription to certain publications is often required.

      Use third party resources. Since a good understanding of the market can lead to starting or closing a business, entrepreneurs and companies often rely on analysts and services from companies that do not directly work in the industry to be researched. This type of company offers its market research services to companies and business people who need an accurate, highly specialized report. However, since these companies are profitable, you need to pay for them.

      Don't fall prey to marketing services. Keep in mind that marketing research can seem complicated and confusing, which is something the companies that provide these services take advantage of, significantly inflating prices for inexperienced entrepreneurs. So, they can significantly inflate the price of information that is in the public domain or costs very little. In general, you shouldn't sacrifice large resources for information that is publicly available or inexpensive.

   Part 3

   Doing your own research

   1. Use available data to assess the supply and demand situation in the market. In general terms, your business has a good chance of being successful if it can meet market needs that are still unmet - so you need to focus on delivering products and services that are in demand. Economic data from governments, educational institutions, and industry publishers (described above) can help you identify whether or not these needs exist. In general, you need to identify the market niche where there is a customer willing to pay for your company's products.

      • For example, we would like to engage in landscaping services. If we investigate market welfare and local government data, then we can find that people in a certain area of \u200b\u200bthe city have a fairly high income. We can dig deeper and find regions with high water consumption, which may indicate a large number of houses with lawns.
      • This information may be the main reason for opening a store in a wealthy, abundant area of \u200b\u200bthe city, where people's homes have large gardens, rather than in an area where the gardens are small and people do not have funds for landscaping. Using market research, we arrive at informed decisions about where (and where not) to start a business.

   2. Conduct a survey. One of the most basic, time-tested ways to find out how customers feel about your business is through a survey! Surveys offer market researchers the chance to reach out to a large sample of people for data that can be used to make a big strategic decision. However, since surveys are impersonal, it is important to make sure that your survey can be easily quantified.

      • For example, if a questionnaire asks about how people feel about your business, it may not be effective because you need to read and analyze each answer individually to get the point. Better to ask customers to rate certain aspects of your business in points: customer service, prices, and so on. This allows you to more quickly and easily identify your strengths and weaknesses, giving you the ability to quantify and graph against the data.
      • In the case of our landscaping company, we could interview our first 20 clients, asking them to fill out a survey card at the time of payment. On this card, you can ask your customers to rate you from 1 to 5 in terms of quality, price, speed of service and quality of the customer service department. If the first two are mostly rated 4 and 5 by customers and the latter 2 and 3, then you should consider how to improve customer needs and provide training for your staff.

   3. Conducting research with focus groups. One way to determine how your customers might be responding to your strategy is by inviting them to participate in a focus group. In focus groups, small groups of customers gather in a neutral place to try a product or service and discuss it with a representative. Often, focus sessions are reviewed, captured, and analyzed later.

      • If a landscaping company decides to consider selling high-priced lawn care products as part of their services, you can invite repeat customers to participate in a focus group. Focus group offers new products for lawn care. They are then asked questions about which product, if any, they are most likely to buy. You can also ask them what has changed from the use of new products - has something changed for the better?

   4. Testing. Companies considering the introduction of new products or services often allow potential customers to try their product or service for free to iron out any problems before launching it on the market. Testing on customer selection can help you determine if further changes are needed.

      • If you take a landscaping company, for example, it decided to offer a new service - planting plants in the client's garden after the landscaping work. We can allow several clients to use this service for free, provided that they then appreciate the work done. If customers like this service but would never pay for it, you should reconsider your program for launching such a service.

   Part 4

   Analysis of results

   1. Answer the main question that faced your research. Before starting your research, you set yourself goals. These are questions about your business strategy that you would like to apply - for example, whether or not to invest additional investments, whether a certain marketing decision is correct. The main goal of your marketing research is to get answers to these questions. As the goals of marketing research differ, the information that needs to be obtained to answer the questions will differ. Usually, you choose the path of development that will be most effective.

      • Let's go back to our landscaping company, in which we tried to find out the opinion regarding new service planting plants. Suppose research on government publications has shown that the population in the region is wealthy enough to pay for additional services on landing, but your survey shows that a very small percentage of the population would pay for this service. In this case, we will most likely decide to postpone the launch of such a service. We may change the idea or discard it entirely.

   2. Conduct a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Marketing research combines the application of this method. If SWOT analysis is used in research, you can assess the economic condition of the company, generally identifying the strengths and weaknesses.

      • Suppose that when we tried to determine if our planting service was a smart idea, we found that a significant number of respondents said they like flowers but lack the resources to take care of them after planting. We could classify this as an opportunity for our business - if we end up selling a flower planting service, then we could start selling gardening tools as a standard or premium service.
      • Is the planting of the flowers itself unattractive to the customers, or is there a problem with the flowers offered for planting? This can be explored by offering customers variations of floral arrangements.
      • Perhaps a certain market sector is more susceptible to flower planting than others? We could investigate this by cross-checking the results of previous studies, breaking down the correspondents' responses by demographic characteristics (age, income, marital status, gender, etc.)
      • Perhaps there were people in the study who were more enthusiastic about a flower planting service that complements basic services with a slight price increase rather than being offered as a separate service? We could investigate this by conducting two separate product studies (one with an add-on service included in the overall package of services, the other as a separate service).

• If making a decision you risk losing a lot of money, use the services of professional marketing companies. Carry out a tender for these works.
• If you are on a tight budget, look first at the reports that are available for free online. Also look for reports that have been published by an association in your market or specialized magazines (magazines for professional hairdressers, plumbers, plastic toy manufacturers, etc.)
• You can ask local university students to participate in your research. Contact a professor who teaches the discipline of marketing research and inquire about the possibility of such a program. You may have to pay a small amount, but it will not be as significant compared to professional marketing research.
• Sometimes there may be multiple target markets. Finding new markets is a great way to expand your business.