Intro to Market Research Tim Koba timkoba@fingerlakesathletics.com

What is Market Research? Definition: Small Business Administration “To run a successful business, you need to learn about your customers, your competitors and your industry. Market research is the process of analyzing data to help you understand which products and services are in demand, and how to be competitive.”

Why do I need it? Gain better understanding of the economic and demographic situation for your business Identify your competitors, prices, other specific features that impact your business Identify your target market and their preferences Secure financing Product placement

Great, where do I start? Take a broad view and start to narrow your focus Government data http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/AGE275210/36109 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/3638077 https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml?src=bkmk http://www.census.gov/economic-indicators/ https://www.bls.gov/regions/new-york-new-jersey/summary/blssummary_ithaca.pdf Other data http://www.aba.com/Products/Pages/ABABankingJournal.aspx Trade publications Newspaper articles relevant to your industry, product

Area employment, US BLS Ithaca area employement (in thousands) Dec 2016 Total non farm 73.8 Mining, logging, and construction 1.2 Manufacturing 3.4 Trade, transportation, and utilities 6.2 Information 0.5 Financial activities 1.8 Professional and business services 3.5 Education and health services 42.3 Leisure and hospitality 4.4 Other services Government 8.7

Breakdown of Local Sector Jobs-TCAD

Local Salary Breakdown-TCAD

Now what? After doing the broad view of the area, start to look local Web search for your competition Who is doing something similar to what you do What services do they offer? What do they charge? Simple survey/Q and A with your target audience You do have a target audience, right? What are they looking for? What are they interested in? SWOT analysis

SWOT Analysis Internal strengths and weaknesses What are you good at, not so good at External Opportunities and threats what is the competitive environment and what gaps do you see Strength Weakness Opportunities Threats

Be curious and observe Where does your target audience shop? Where do they live? What products do they buy? If you take some time to just watch people are doing and where they are going you will glean a lot of information

What do you want to know? If you have a specific question you are trying to answer you will know what type of research to do Are you looking for a store location? Are you looking to distribute to stores? Is there a need for your product that is not being met? Is there someone who has a complimentary business?

Conclusion Market research is the process that you do to better understand the demand for your product After doing your research, you should have a better idea of what your target audience is interested in, where they shop, how they consume goods and what their preferences are You should know who your competition is, what products they sell and what their prices are This becomes a part of your business plan that you can use to access financing from a bank or private investors It demonstrates that you have done your homework, understand your market and how your product fits within that market

Resources http://www.marketresearch.com/ https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217388 https://www.sba.gov/starting-business/how-start-business/understand-your-market http://www.wikihow.com/Conduct-Market-Research https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.ny_ithaca_msa.htm http://tcad.org/business-2/economy/tompkins-county-local-sectors/ http://tompkinscountyny.gov/planning?__hstc=9397930.24746cd2c0fb310a1237d3133856826a.1479841577832.1479 841577832.1487174402769.2&__hssc=9397930.11.1487174402769&__hsfp=3632956275 http://tcad.org/content/uploads/2014/07/TCAD_EconSummary_Digital.pdf http://www.cityofithaca.org/290/Ithaca-Urban-Renewal-Agency

Continued For national/international http://www.greenbookblog.org/2015/12/17/six-market-research-trends-for-2016/ https://www.google.com/#q=national+market+research+trends+2015&* Ex of market research http://www.devenir.com/devenirWP/wp-content/uploads/2015-Year-End-Devenir-HSA- Market-Research-Report-Executive-Summary.pdf http://www.snowsports.org/research-surveys/snow-sports-fact-sheet/