Analysis of the market for goods and services. Marketing market research. Methods of promoting products on the market

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

Today you will learn:

What is marketing analysis of an enterprise;
What are the stages of marketing analysis of an organization;
What methods and types of marketing analysis of a company exist;
How to apply marketing analysis with an example.

What is marketing analysis?

Any activity begins with planning. Planning, in turn, begins with analysis. The marketing activities of the enterprise 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 quality marketing analysis, you risk facing the following problems:

Receive a product that will not be in demand;
Meet insurmountable “barriers” when entering the market and selling products;
Face something that is too much for you;
Select the wrong market segment and product positioning;
Make the wrong decisions on each of the elements.

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

Marketing analysis of the company – analysis of information obtained as a result of various marketing studies to make decisions regarding the marketing mix and company 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” research.

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

Observation of the research object. You can observe consumers at retail outlets, you can evaluate the display of goods and much more;
Experiment. For example, changing the price of a product at only one outlet in order to analyze the elasticity of demand. Used to determine the influence of any factor on a purchase.
Interviewing. This includes various surveys (telephone, Internet, mail).

Desk research involves studying existing data. Sources can be both internal information (accounting data, databases, reports, plans) and external (data from statistical bodies, data from marketing, production and trade associations, databases of independent organizations).

The main stages of marketing analysis of a company

Marketing research and marketing analysis are inextricably linked.

You can imagine any analytical marketing activity of an enterprise in the form of four stages of marketing analysis:

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 tools for conducting the research, setting deadlines and drawing up a budget;
Collection of information. At this stage, information is directly collected;
Analysis of collected information;
Interpretation of the received data into a report.

When conducting a full 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 environment, 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:

Marketing analysis of the organization’s external environment;
Marketing analysis of the company's mesoenvironment;
Analysis of the internal marketing environment of the enterprise;
Portfolio analysis.

We will consider methods of marketing analysis in the context of the type of marketing analysis within which they are used. We start with an analysis of the organization's external environment.

Methods for analyzing the external environment of an organization

External environment of the organization – the realities in which the organization operates.

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

When analyzing the external environment of an 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 method of marketing analysis as PESTEL-analysis.

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

P– Political factor. The influence of the political factor is assessed using answers to the following questions:

Is the political situation in the country stable? How does the political situation affect?
How do tax laws impact your business?
How does government social policy affect your business?
How does government regulation affect your business?

E– Economic factor external environment. Its assessment involves answers to the following questions:

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

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

How do demographics affect your business?
How does the lifestyle of citizens influence your business?
How does the attitude of citizens towards leisure 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 impact does the amount of government spending on research in your field have?
How does technological development in 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 natural resources produced affect your business? (consider the natural resources that are used in your business)
How does the quality of extracted natural resources affect your business? (consider the natural resources that are used in your business)

L – Legal factor and questions to analyze its impact on your enterprise:

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

We recommend answering these questions using a scale from -3 to 3, where “-3” – has a strong negative impact on the organization, “-2” – has a moderate negative impact on the organization, “-1” – has a weak negative impact on the organization. organization, “0” – has 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 influence for each factor. Factors with a positive result have a beneficial effect, while those with a negative result – 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 mesoenvironment of an organization

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

The tool that most fully reflects the factors influencing the mesoenvironment was invented by Mike Porter and is called the “5 Forces of Competition Model”.

Porter's 5 forces of competition model consists of five blocks. Each block is a separate factor in the influence of a competitive market on your organization.

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

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

Main players and their market shares;
Number of players;
Level of market development;
Strengths and weaknesses of your closest competitors;
Information about your competitors’ costs for various expense items (production, marketing, etc.).

Second block - “The threat of new players.”

It is represented by the following parameters:

Existing barriers to entry into the market (patents, licenses, government regulation, etc.);
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 new players appearing);
Existing barriers to exiting the market (penalty, liability to suppliers and consumers).

Third block - "Substitute goods." Such companies are not your direct competitors, however, with high elasticity of demand, they can pose a big threat.

The parameters for assessing this factor are as follows:

The degree of consumer loyalty to your product;
The difference in price between your product and substitute products;
Level of professionalism of consumers (the more professional the consumer, the weaker the influence of the parameter);
Cost of switching to a substitute product.

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 power);
The volume of purchase of a product by one consumer (the larger the purchase volume, the greater the influence);
Availability of buyer unions;
Width of product selection (the greater the choice, the greater the power of influence).

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

The parameters for assessing this factor will be as follows:

The degree of difficulty of switching from one supplier to another;
Volume of purchases from one supplier;
Availability of companies to replace existing suppliers;
The degree to which the quality of raw materials influences your business.

Write down the data you have for each parameter, analyze the information and give points from “-3” to “3”, depending on the degree of influence of each parameter. Extreme values “-3” and “3” indicate a strong threat and positive impact of the parameter, respectively, “0” means that the parameter does not have an impact on your business. The total value for a factor will allow you to see the most “dangerous” factors, the influence of which must be neutralized in the near future.

Analysis of the organization's microenvironment

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

The value chain reflects all business processes that are implemented in the organization. Business processes are divided into main (during which the production and distribution of products occurs) 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 depict 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, the columns indicate the main ones.

Supply of auxiliary products and resources that are not related to the main production (for example, soap in the office)
Research and development (R&D)
Organizational structure management
Human Resource Management
Incoming logistics (raw materials, supplies, equipment)	Primary production	Outbound logistics – product distribution system	Marketing and Sales	After sales service and maintenance

Evaluate each business process in your organization and you will see which steps produce the core value of your product and what makes your product special. Those business processes that add great value to your product are the most developed and have a positive impact on competitiveness - the strengths of your organization, the rest are weaknesses.

Interim analysis

SWOT -analysis represented by a combination of environmental factors of the organization (direct and indirect influence). SWOT analysis is a matrix; the vertical axis shows the opportunities and threats of the external environment, and the horizontal axis shows the strengths and weaknesses of the organization itself. Let's depict it for greater comfort.

		Strengths			Weak sides
		1	2	3	1	2
Possibilities	1
	2
	3
Threats	1
	2
	3
	4

We received opportunities and threats as a result of PESTEL analysis, and weaknesses and strengths as a result of using the “Porter’s 5 Forces of Competition” and “Value Chain” models, we write them out in columns and rows.

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

The intersection of strengths and opportunities: how strengths can be used to achieve opportunities;
The intersection of strengths and threats: how we can use strengths to neutralize threats;
The intersection of weaknesses and opportunities: how weaknesses can be overcome by exploiting 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 evaluate the various areas of the organization's business or, more simply, the products it produces.

At the moment, there are quite a large number of different methods of portfolio analysis, but the simplest and most popular of them is - matrix BCG . Let's immediately visualize this tool.

		Relative market share
		High	Low
Market growth rate	High	"Star"– products with high sales growth rates and large market shares. 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
Market growth rate	Low	"Milch cow". Such products have a large market share and high profits, 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 shares, low profits. Strategy – deliverance

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

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

Most often there are four stages:

Birth of a product or entry into the market. These products are new to the market, have consistently positive sales growth rates, but have either no profits or negative profits. As a rule, such a product has few competitors;
Height. Products at this stage of the life cycle have the highest sales growth rates, but practically no profit. Competition at this stage is quite high;
Maturity. The phase of the life cycle when sales growth rates fall, and profits and the level of competition in the market reach maximum values;
Recession. Sales growth rates are approaching zero, profits are declining, and there are practically no competitors.

Marketing analysis of an enterprise using the example of the Gruzovichkof company

Let's analyze the activities of one of the actually existing Russian companies. Using the example of the cargo transportation company Gruzovichkof. At the same time, we will be able to see how to correctly understand and read a marketing analysis of an enterprise.

Stage 1. We start with PESTEL analysis, that is, we describe only the influencing factors (by question) and assign points. At the same time, we have reduced the number of influencing factors, excluding the economic one, since it has no influence at all, and combining the political and legal ones, since in this industry they are closely related to each other.

Political-legal: -1

Restriction on the entry into Moscow of vehicles with a carrying capacity exceeding 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 checks of the car; -1

Difficulty in purchasing technical support due to sanctions; -2

A ban on the use of motor fuel of low environmental classes in Russia. -1

Economic: -4

Economic crisis in the country; -1

Changes in oil prices; -2

Volume of industrial production, wholesale and retail trade (when providing cargo transportation services for legal entities). -1

Sociocultural: 0

Declining per capita income has a negative impact on demand; -2

The increase in population movement within the country will cause an increase in demand for cargo transportation services. +2

Technological: +4

The appearance 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, while the economic factor has a negative impact.

Stage 2. Conducting an analysis using Porter's 5 Forces of Competition model.

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

2. Entry and exit barriers “+9”

Initial capital for the purchase of a vehicle fleet and auxiliary equipment; +2

Obtaining permission 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. Level of competition “0”

Highly competitive market, the most dangerous competitor is Gazelkin (38%); -2

A large number of companies with a small market share; 0

The market has not reached complete saturation. +2

4. User power "-4"

The consumer has a fairly wide choice (high competition); -3

Consumers have their own cars, which increases the demands on the company, since in many cases it is easier for them to refuse services in favor of moving on their own. -1

5.Supplier strength "-5"

Cooperation with the only automobile plant "GAZ" may cause difficulties during the transition; -3

Contracts with gas stations prevent the transition to other fuels. -2

Thus, the greatest negative influence is exerted by the power of suppliers and the power of consumers.

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

For the Gruzovichkof company it will look like this:

The company's infrastructure includes a financial department, planning department, accounting department, purchasing department, logistics department (purchasing), repair bureau
Personnel management includes the process of attracting, hiring, monitoring and motivating personnel
Technological development: use of the latest navigation systems, passing daily technical inspection of vehicles
Logistics support for the main production: supply of cardboard packaging from the supplier, agreement with gas stations, purchase of additional equipment from the supplier (navigation systems)
Purchasing cars from a dealer. Car parking in the company's fleet, storage of cardboard packaging in a warehouse	The main product is a freight transportation service. The main elements of the product are: the technical component (vehicle and additional equipment) and contact personnel (driver, loaders)	Distribution of products occurs through telephone communications and online 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 – loaders; choosing a car of the required format

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

We write out the most powerful threats and opportunities from the PEST analysis and highlight strengths and weaknesses based on analysis using the “Porter’s 5 Forces of Competition” and “Value Chain” models. We get a small sign.

Strengths:

1. High feed speed of the machine

2. Large (diverse) 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 wait for dispatcher response

3. Complicated online ordering process

Threats:

1. Difficulties in connection with the Federal Law “On freight forwarding activities”

2. Economic crisis

3. Rising fuel prices

4. Lack of need for the service due to the presence of a car in almost every family

Possibilities:

1. Decrease in the level of competition due to the adoption of the law “On restriction and control of the import of cargo into the city territory”

2. Increased demand due to rising real estate prices, increased mobility of the population, and fashion for holidays in the countryside

3. Emergence of new technologies

We build a matrix and write solutions at each intersection. In the future, from these decisions you will form an enterprise development strategy

At this point, the general marketing analysis of the enterprise is completed and we can sum it up.

As a result of marketing analysis, we received:

A complete assessment of the attractiveness of the industry (market);
Assessing our company’s position in this market;
We identified the competitive advantages of our product (company);
Determined ways to use our competitive strengths against competitors;
We identified the main competitors, their strengths and weaknesses;
Assessed the level of competition in the market;
We received an information base for determining the future strategy of the organization (marketing strategy).

Readers often ask me the question: how much does it cost to develop a competent business plan? And, often, having learned the size of the amount (about 50-120 thousand rubles), they abandon the idea of ordering the creation of a custom document, preferring either to independently outline for themselves the milestones of their future actions in organizing a business, or to act according to the situation, not only without having a clear idea about what market analysis is, but even what exactly they will do in a week, a month, a year.

The amount for many aspiring entrepreneurs, especially now, when economic forecasts for 2016 are very disappointing, really turns out to be unaffordable. It is for these categories of businessmen that I decided to create a series of articles on how you can write a business plan yourself.

Continuing to expand on the topic of writing a business plan, which was started in these articles: “How to write the title page of a business plan”, “Description of a company in a business plan”, “Description of services and products in a business plan”, I present to the attention of readers the following topic – “Market analysis in a business plan.” You can view the full structure of the document at this link.

What is this section about?

It often happens that, having been inspired by the idea of creating a business, many novice businessmen simply have no idea about the niche of the business world in which they are trying to occupy a place. While the study of the target consumer market, analysis of its directions, conditions for entering this market for a new company, the situation in general, development trends, and many other factors influencing the successful activities of the company require careful study.

Of course, for a professional marketer this part of creating a business plan will not cause any particular difficulties, but what should a person do who has a vague idea about the very specifics of the business? Right! Look for the necessary materials yourself, and try to put together an overall picture from what you find. Therefore, I decided to give in the article as many illustrative examples found in real life as possible for a better understanding of the issue.

Market Description

In this subsection, you need to provide as much current information as possible about the situation in the market in which you are going to work, show what the main trends are present in this industry, what is the picture of its development in the short and long term.

If a business plan is being prepared to receive investment from credit institutions or individuals, then you need to explain to your potential investors your ultimate goals for organizing the company, not only show the scale of the market that you are going to conquer (this could be a separate region, a country as a whole, or interaction with foreign partners), but also in the following sections to justify the reality of your plans. If you are writing a document for personal use, such a sales market analysis will help you see the real picture of the market and assess your strengths and capabilities in implementing your plans.

It is necessary to analyze the state of the market today, show price dynamics over the past few years (usually a 5-year period), and provide the opinion of authoritative, recognized experts on the possibility of development in this area. Describe in detail how your product or service will fit into the overall market, what impact future changes in this market will have on your business, and what measures will be taken in this regard to maintain the stable operation of the company.

Writing example
The ____ market for the production of goods ____ and/or the provision of services ____ is currently one of the most actively developing and most promising industries working in this direction. At the end of ____ year, the market volume amounted to ____ rubles, which is an increase of ____% compared to the previous year. Detailed price dynamics on the market over the past 5 years are presented in Table No._ Appendix No._.
Research and analysis of the sales market conducted by marketing companies, independent analytical centers, reflected in the reports of companies already operating in this area, enterprises conducting similar activities, show that in the next __ years a significant increase in the existing market by __% is predicted. According to moderate estimates of experts, the minimum volume of the industry will be ____ rubles.

How detailed should you write about the state of the market? After all, such a study can take hundreds of typewritten pages! Here you need to take into account that the scope of such analysis directly depends on the level of your future enterprise, its size and expected prospects.

However, even if your business activity covers only one small urban area, such a large-scale assessment of the industry will give significant “weight” to your business plan in the eyes of investors, show them the seriousness of your intentions, and allow them to see the prospects for the development of your company, which can, by the way, have a positive impact on the possibility of increasing investments or further cooperation in this regard.

But there is nothing to worry about if, when planning a business that does not require substantial financial “infusions”, or if it is simply impossible to find accurate and detailed data on the industry in question (this could be know-how, or a highly specialized area), a thorough analysis will not be carried out. Sometimes you can get by with your own “calculations”, personal assessment of the market and forecast for the future. Of course, supported by some kind of logical justification.

Writing example
Based on the fact that the product/service offered by the Company has been offered on the market relatively recently (no more than ___ years), and the sales market is at the stage of formation, it is very difficult to estimate its real growth volumes for the next ___ years. Although, today it can be argued that this industry is expecting a rapid rise.
This fact is confirmed by the annual increase in sales by __%, and the number of goods produced and sold annually by __ units. One can also note the increased attention to this industry by large companies, such as ____, ____, which in turn may indicate that the prospects for market development are very high.

Be sure to consider the specific features of your chosen business sector - what are the conditions for entering this market, is there a seasonality factor, you can give examples of initiatives of other companies in this area. Disclose the specific objectives of your business choice, if any. The most important thing is when determining your “place” in the future market segment, your share in total sales, production, etc. – objectivity. Be realistic, and in your business plan describe real facts, and not your dreams. Provide expert assessments and the results of multilateral research as often as possible.

Research of consumers of the offered products

Researching the target audience for whom your product is intended is one of the most important steps in creating a business plan. First of all, you need to indicate for which market your product is intended - consumer (that is, for final consumption after purchase), or industrial (for further use in production or resale).

Entering the consumer market involves researching the target audience of clients, their social category, gender, age, marital status, level of education, income level, place of residence, nature of work, passion, purchasing behavior, and many other factors.

Writing example
The target audience of consumers of the product produced by the Company is women and men aged from __ to __ years, married/unmarried, with/without children, with secondary/higher education, with an income level of __ to __ rubles per month/year. , full-time/part-time employed, unemployed/retired/students living in cities with a population of ____ people/rural settlements/, who are interested in ____.

Describe the behavior of buyers when purchasing your products, indicate what exactly they are guided by when choosing a product/service, if not specifically your product, then similar in characteristics. If you have information about conducting marketing research in this area, testing on specially selected groups of people, include them in your analysis. Here you can also add customer reviews about the product offered, or similar products/services.

Methods of promoting products on the market

Actually, everything here is clear from the subtitle. In this section, you should show the ways in which you will market your product. One of the points that you should pay close attention to is the company's pricing strategy. First of all, it is the cost of the proposed product that affects the level of its sales, and, accordingly, the amount of profit.

Moreover, the business plan must contain all calculations for setting the price of a product, an analysis of prices for similar products from competitors, the possibility of price fluctuations upward or downward, and the reasons for the occurrence of such situations.

Writing example
When setting prices for products, the following were taken into account: the cost of production of one unit, the costs of moving along the logistics chain, and the cost of similar goods from competitors.
By establishing the average market price for the products sold, the company will reach the planned profit volume in __ days/months/years. But since our product has additional unique parameters (list), it became possible to set a price per unit of product that is __% higher than the average price on the market.
The results of a survey among potential buyers showed that there is a fairly high demand for such a product, and the majority consider the proposed price acceptable and are ready to purchase the product at that price.

If you already have a price list for the products you offer, be sure to attach it to your business plan. Use in the description the most effective existing sales scheme - offering a product or service:

To the right people - your target audience
At the right time - based on the availability of the same target audience
In the right place - based on the location of the target audience
In the required quantity
At a price that is acceptable to you and to them
At the lowest possible cost to you

In addition to the pricing policy, indicate the tools with which you are going to make your product known to consumers, its distribution scheme, methods of stimulating sales, the possibility of service, warranty, and post-warranty service, the possibility of feedback from customers.

In addition to describing these methods, justify their effectiveness in relation to the products offered, why you chose them and not any others, consider the use of “traditional” advertising in the media, the Internet, the possibility of holding various promotions, establishing discounts, taking part in exhibitions, etc. d.

Competitor analysis

Researching the activities of competitors operating in the same industry or related fields is an essential part of any business plan. The business plan should reflect the analysis of competitors in as detailed and clear a manner as possible. Divide your competitors into direct and indirect. Indicate their position in this market segment, their share in the overall sales picture, income level, advertising methods, equipment and technologies used, human resources - in general, everything that can be found out.

Analysis of the sales market and competitors, analysis of the company’s position in the market should reflect all the strengths and weaknesses of competitors in order to determine ways to effectively combat them. In the same section, indicate your advantages in comparison with competitors in the sales market, justify why the consumer will choose your product.

Instructions

Develop a research concept: define goals, set tasks, develop a system of evaluation indicators.

Start by determining your business's current position in the market. Consider the choice of time to market, the location of the enterprise within the given framework, and the specific conditions for purchasing or renting premises. Take into account the size of the room, expected equipment and equipment in the analysis. You may need storage facilities, window displays, etc.

Assess the competitive relationships you need to consider. How strong are the competitors in your chosen field of activity? What is the strategy for promoting them to the market? Is it possible to cooperate with competitors?

Collect information about potential consumers of your products. Methods of obtaining primary information about consumers include observation, experiment, personal communication, interviewing (survey). By collecting primary information, you can identify a specific group of customers for whom your company's products and services are intended. Divide clients into groups, determine the needs of each group and how to satisfy them.

Determine the factors influencing the increase or decrease in the purchasing power of the main customer groups, this will help you describe their behavior and predict product sales.

Consider environmental factors: economic, political, cultural, etc. They can change the current state of the market within the next two to three years, which is very important for starting a business.

Summarize the obtained analysis results in the form of an analytical report. If necessary, include market analysis data in the business plan of the future enterprise - this will allow you to assess the risks when starting a business and outline ways to reduce them.

Sources:

How to Conduct Market Research for a Small Business
how to conduct market analysis

Do you have a developing, promising business and a huge number of ideas for their implementation? Or are you just about to start? In any of these cases, you simply need to conduct high-quality and thorough marketing research.

Instructions

Find those who will be your target audience, or those who are already actively using your product and services. You need to enter into a non-disclosure agreement with these people. They should also be informed about the fairness of the decisions they make.

Present them with your new idea or product. Explain to them the scope of application of this new product. Listen and take into account their suggestions for improvement or use.

Start studying the market if at least one of the people surveyed is interested in your product. The easiest way to do this is currently to collect a summary using the Internet and search engines. This is the best way to find out how many other people and companies offer a product similar to your product.

Record all the data obtained in the form of a table. Indicate in it the addresses of service providers and their consumers. This will help you decide what kind of contingent you will have in the future, and will also identify your potential competitors.

Determine by simple calculation the number of competitors in the market, their total annual and share sales, and whether they are profitable at all, taking into account various costs.

Rate your product. Pay enough attention to this point. During the calculations, all costs for the production of goods or services, payments for, any additional expenses (telephone, gasoline, electricity) and force majeure situations must be taken into account. The resulting amount is divided by the number of expected products.

If you work through a retail network, contact companies that have been working in this type of business for a long time. Many of these giants will be happy to listen to your proposal and, perhaps, share it, which will significantly reduce your costs.

Discuss future sales with store owners if this is your plan to sell the product this way. Let you already have a list of potential clients at this stage.

Review your pricing policy again to make sure that your product will be purchased at the prices you specified. Having minimized all risks and weighed the pros and cons, proceed to implement your idea.

Video on the topic

Market research is the most common type of marketing research. Market research allows you to make effective decisions related to choosing a market segment and developing a marketing strategy. Without this, it is impossible to imagine long-term planning and forecasting of the company's activities. At the same time, you yourself can choose research methods, in accordance with the goals of market research and your capabilities.

Instructions

Select a market research object. These may be developments and market structures, the presence and level of market competition, the current environment, as well as economic, demographic, environmental and others, which to varying degrees can affect the dynamics of processes occurring in the market.

Choose the method you will use for market research. The effectiveness of a particular method primarily depends on the type of study. The collection of necessary data at the initial stage of market research is carried out using such methods as surveys and experiments.

When using the observation method, use real or artificially created conditions (situations). Observation provides valuable information about consumer behavior regardless of the consent of the object of observation. The objectivity of the observation method is high, but such a method, as a rule, requires serious costs.

Having chosen a survey as a market research method, determine what type of survey it will be: oral, telephone (), written (questionnaires, questionnaires). A carefully prepared and competently conducted survey allows you to obtain fairly complete and objective information about consumer opinions.

When conducting an experiment, create pre-planned and controlled conditions in which the factors you select can be varied. An experiment allows you to monitor the influence of factors on their dependent variables. The experiment can be carried out both in field and laboratory conditions.

Move on to the next stage of market research. From open sources, obtain information on such market parameters as its capacity, share, growth parameters, competitor activity, demand for the products offered. It will be important to find out during the research the structure of the industry, sales channels and the possibilities of their expansion.

Based on the results of a comprehensive market research, select target markets and forecast their development taking into account the long-term perspective. Also determine the most effective methods of conducting policy towards competitors and the possibility of changing activities to enter new markets.

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How to Conduct Market Research for Small Businesses in 2019

Often, business owners do not know how to build a marketing policy to promote their goods and services. But potential clients do not appear out of thin air; they need to be attracted and interested. In addition, it is important not just to start building marketing activities, but to properly ensure its further effectiveness. It is also necessary to avoid important mistakes that nullify all efforts and scare away customers.

It is aimed at identifying the characteristics of representatives of the target audience of a commercial offer. This type of research may be similar to or different from marketing analysis. This depends on whether, in the course of market research, it is necessary to address the marketing processes already applied to it or to predict the reaction of market representatives to the possible use of a particular marketing strategy.

Main tasks and methods for solving them

The main objective of the study is to identify the characteristics of consumers. It should answer questions about what they want to buy and what they trust, what is necessary for them, and what they can do without. Nowadays, the most important criterion has also become the solvency of representatives of those groups of the population that can become consumers.

In the course of practical work, first of all, prices for goods that fully or partially correspond to the customer’s product range are examined. Various periods are analyzed and their characteristic features are revealed. For example, the very fact that people bought something at a certain price during the year may not make any sense if a new round of economic crisis led to the bankruptcy of a number of city-forming enterprises.

Market representatives are certainly segmented. Groups are identified that are united by common characteristics - gender, age, expected income, geolocation, or attitude to some risk group.

The most difficult process is identifying market trends. It is for this reason that market analysis can use some marketing tools. They could be test sales or sociological surveys.

Stages of the study

Specific methods of work are directly related to the original goal. When a new business arises for the region, they focus on finding answers to basic questions.

whether the commercial offer will be in steady demand;
what price range is acceptable;
what business development strategy may be the most promising;
what risks should be taken into account.

When looking for answers to these questions, you need to understand that any useful product or service will sooner or later find its consumer. The problem is what kind of profitability will the company offering them to the population have?

If the research is carried out for an existing business

The need for the work of market analysts does not always arise at the time of opening a new enterprise. Sometimes companies that have been operating for several years also face situations related to the need to re-examine the features of their market.

Most often this is caused by the fact that some obvious problems have arisen. They may be:

demand for a product that turned out to be lower than predicted;
lack of certainty in the company's competitive position;
insufficiently clear understanding of the social portrait of its consumers;
searching for a method to reduce costs.

In some cases, market analysis may be part of the structure of anti-crisis measures.

In any case, this is a complex research work that must be completely transparent to customers and end with the preparation of a package of proposals for the formation of the most effective business development strategy.

Market research is one of the key factors in business development. Most enterprises, firms and private companies draw up an action strategy based on the results of the research. Recently, the demand for forecasting current market trends has increased significantly. In this regard, various methods and methods of data analysis began to be developed. One of them is called marketing market research, which is what this article will focus on.

Concept

Marketing market research is a process of constant and continuous collection of information about behavioral factors, demand, motivation of subjects of market relations that operate in a certain segment, as well as its analysis.

Many people often confuse the concepts of “marketing research” and “market research”. In the first case, as a result of the experiments, it is possible to obtain generalized data that relates not only to the market for products and services, but also to other economic segments. In the second case, research pursues more specific goals.

Goals

Market marketing research has an important target orientation. Their main task is to find new opportunities for a particular enterprise, identify a free niche, identify competitors and develop specific recommendations for the effective implementation of a product or service. The purpose of the research is as follows:

Search. It consists of collecting information that will help give a reliable assessment and forecasts.
Descriptive. The factors that will be studied are selected in advance and their impact on the general state of the market is described.
Causal. Checking cause-and-effect relationships.
Test. As a result of the research, the most appropriate decisions are made and tested in real conditions.
Forecast. By summarizing all the results obtained during the study, it is possible to predict the future state of the unit under study.

Tasks

Market research is a long and multi-layered process, the main task of which is to determine the possible volume of sales of goods, services and products, as well as to assess the level of demand for a specific product or service. This information is achieved by determining:

The entire market capacity.
Its part in the common container.
Demand analysis. It is necessary to determine the level of consumer loyalty.
Analysis of the proposal, the main purpose of which is to identify competitors.
Sales opportunities. An important task is to analyze the distribution channels of products or services.

Theory and practice

In general, the tasks of marketing research are divided into two types: methodological support of activities and research of market conditions. Methodological support consists in determining the subject and object of research, as well as collecting data and choosing methods for the research itself. Market conditions are based on determining the dynamics, properties, opportunities, prospects and patterns of development.

Methods

Market research methods mean special techniques, operations or campaigns that are intended for theoretical and practical research into the marketing environment where a particular organization operates. Market research methods can be fundamental or applied. Fundamental methods show the overall picture of the market under study and some individual characteristics. While applied studies examine the position of the enterprise in the selected market segment. Each method differs in the collection and processing of information. In general, methods can work with primary or secondary information. The latter has nothing to do with the research that is being carried out here and now. It was collected and analyzed a long time ago, but is well suited for drawing certain conclusions and predictions.

Primary information is collected during the ongoing research. Depending on the method by which data is collected, it can be divided into three types:

High quality. Consists of collecting practical material. That is, the group conducting the research observes what is happening, interprets and analyzes the data obtained. Qualitative methods include focus groups, in-depth interviews, and transcript analysis.
Quantitative. Typically, quantitative research includes surveys. They mean the use of closed-type questions and their further processing. Surveys can be conducted in various ways. Most often they use telephone surveys, street surveys, apartment surveys, and postal surveys.
Mixed. Mixed studies include a variety of tests and the work of secret shoppers. Recently, if there is a need to introduce a new product to the market, locations are used.

For quality

Market research and analysis are impossible without quantitative and qualitative analyses. Qualitative methods are used to determine consumer preferences and predict behavior patterns when introducing a new product or service to the market. For this use:

Focus group. This is an analytical market research conducted among a small group of potential consumers. The focus group leader draws up a specific scenario according to which the discussion is conducted. The main advantage of this technique is the opportunity to study the personal opinion of each consumer. And an informal atmosphere contributes to obtaining more reliable information.

Protocol analysis is often used for product market research. The essence of this method is that researchers simulate the process of purchasing a product (most often expensive: real estate, a car, household appliances), and the consumer describes his thoughts and actions.
An in-depth interview consists of interviewing one of the consumers. The main difference from a survey is that all questions are open-ended, that is, the person does not choose an answer option, but talks about his attitude towards the product or service. During such an interview, it is easy to study the potential consumer’s train of thought, as well as determine his attitude towards aspects of the material being studied. Often, service market research is carried out using in-depth interviews. The only drawback of this method is the need for a highly qualified specialist who not only understands the topic, but is also a good psychologist.

Per quantity

Market research also occurs using quantitative methods, which express a specific problem in quantitative terms. In this way, the opinions of a huge number of people are studied, which makes it possible to apply a statistical assessment of information. Basically, quantitative methods are used if there is a need to determine market size, brand awareness, consumer attitude, etc.

Quantitative methods are divided into:

Mass surveys. Consists of analyzing respondents’ responses to survey questions. Such surveys differ in location, method of communication (telephone, Internet, mail), subjects (legal entities, individuals or experts), and type of sample.
Personal interviews. Unlike a mass survey, an interview provides more reliable information. The interviewer may ask the same questions as in the questionnaire, but does not offer answer options.

Retail audit

There is another effective market research technique - retail audit. This method is difficult to classify as qualitative, quantitative or mixed, so it is often defined separately. The essence of the technique is to evaluate the market and its products by collecting publicly available information. That is, researchers analyze pricing policies, product units, and advertising campaigns. In short, all aspects that reflect the characteristics of the market or its individual segment can be classified as a retail audit. Conducting market research in this way allows you to quickly identify an unoccupied niche and identify your main competitors.

Mixed methods

Mixed methods are based on the basic aspects of quantitative and qualitative research methods. These include the following methods:

Locations. For the study, a group of consumers who are not experts in the field of study is recruited. They are asked to test a certain product and answer survey questions along the way. This method is very expensive, but it allows you to adequately assess the product, its relevance and quality, which is important when introducing a new product to the market.

Home testing. Consumers are provided with a product that they use in the natural environment for this product, that is, at home, in nature, at sea. When using the product for its intended purpose, consumers must record their answers in special questionnaires.
Mystery shopper. Marketing research of the services market has long mastered this method. It is used to determine the level of service quality. This technique allows you to assess the level of decline in sales due to subjective factors of sellers, which include rudeness and unprofessionalism.

Stages of research

Distortions in the final results directly depend on violations of the stages of the study. This may entail the adoption of the wrong management strategy and development line, so it is worth considering the sequence of research:

Problems and goals. It is necessary to determine the main problems of the study, and on their basis formulate the goals pursued. Objectives can be exploratory, descriptive, or experimental. The former help to find the cause of the decline in sales and bring the company to a new stage of development. The latter provide the main indicators of the market or its segment. Still others show a cause-and-effect relationship between the actions of company management and sales levels.
Information sources. Based on your goals, you need to choose research methods.

Collection of information. According to the chosen research methods, the necessary information is collected.
Analysis. Having received the necessary information, the researcher must analyze it, translate it into numbers and make certain predictions or draw conclusions.
Solution. Based on the data obtained, the company's management makes appropriate management decisions, which will lead to the development and expansion of the company.

Data analysis

All data obtained as a result of market research must be analyzed accordingly. The essence of analysis is to convert the information received into meaningful facts. This procedure consists of two stages:

At the first stage, all received data is entered into a computer, checked for errors, encoded and output in the form of a matrix.
The second stage consists of statistical analysis of the obtained values. After receiving statistical data, researchers give their comments and recommendations. Conclusions and forecasts are made based on all materials

As you can see, market research is a labor-intensive and costly process, but only thanks to it can companies choose the right course of development and delight consumers with the right goods and services.