Instructor: _______________

Small Businesses CANNOT be all things to all people. Each business MUST reach specific customers and satisfy their particular needs. The process of finding and studying potential customers

Newton Moment…….

Be a valuable tool for small businesses. Allow small businesses to develop products and marketing mix that fit a particular ‘niche’. Allow small businesses to focus their resources on a specific customer base. Maximize profit. Be a primary function of marketing management

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A nationwide manufacturer of fishing equipment is looking to sell its newest, most innovative fly rod. In order to determine which customers might most likely purchase this top of the line rod – the CEO of marketing decides it would be a waste of time and money to randomly market this product to the entire U.S. population – especially because this fly rod is most likely to appeal to die-hard outdoor enthusiasts and fishermen and not your everyday suburbanite.

But where do these outdoor enthusiasts live? Where do they shop? What websites do they visit? Where do they go to fly fish? Rather than waste money shooting in the dark, this savvy CEO decides to conduct market research – and he/she uses tools such as demographic reports, market surveys, and trade shows, to determine which customers would be most likely to purchase the new fly rod and how to market to them and their vulnerabilities. Once he/she has this information in hand, the CEO is able to more efficiently spend their limited resources in an effort to persuade members of the target group(s) to buy the rod.

Advertisements and promotions would then be specifically tailored for each segment of the target market – including s, web banners, flyers, magazine advertisements, television advertisements in specific markets etc.

WHO are your customers? WHO will buy your product? Identify and serve a particular customer group – your target market! DO NOT try to be ‘all things to all people!’ Become a specialist!

To satisfy basic needs. To solve problems. To make themselves feel good.

Define the scope of your product: –Is your product international or national in scope? –Is it likely that you will sell it primarily in your own region or community?

Identify Market Demographics: –WHO are the people in your community? –HOW old are they? –HOW many of them are young, middle aged, elderly? –WHAT is their level of education? –WHAT is their income level?

Identify Market Demographics: –Age: children, teens, young, middle, elderly. –Gender: male, female. –Education: high school, college, university. –Income: low, medium, high. –Marital status: single, married, divorced. –Ethnic and/or religious background –Family life cycle: newly married, married for 10 – 20 years, with or without children.

Segmenting the Market – breaking consumers and their spending habits into categories: –Lifestyle: conservative, exciting, trendy, economical. –Social class: lower, middle, upper. –Opinion: easily led or opinionated. –Activities & interests: sports, fitness, shopping, books. –Attitudes and beliefs: environmentalist, security conscious. –Technologically driven: likely to purchase items online or not?

You KNOW – the types of people in your market You KNOW – who’d you’d like to target NOW.... You NEED to Know What They Want!

6 ways to Identify Consumer Wants/Needs: 1.Study your market and your customers. 2.Study your competitors & their customers. 3.Observe and ask questions – lots of questions. 4.Find out what customers will respond to in your type of product or service. 5.Find out what is most important to them. 6.What motivates them?

Product Identification Questions: 1. Is your product a necessity or luxury? 2. What is the product’s lifecycle? How often will customers need to re-purchase? 3. What is the product’s availability? 4. Are there any foreseeable future changes in this industry? 5. What is the price of an average purchase?

Turning Motivators into Messages From the targets and purchasing motivators you’ve identified: Start with one or two words you want to associate with your business. From these words, develop either a motto or a tag line for your business. "Fly the Friendly Skies," "We Try Harder" and "Do It Your Way" are all well known tag lines.

Interact with/get to know your customers TALK with your customers: Use surveys and analytics: Place surveys at your place of business. Incorporate questions into online checkout. Issue surveys via . Surveys allow you to capture information about your customers. Information is power, and this type of feedback from customers may show you opportunities for improvement.

Keep a pulse on the industry. Refresh your data with new research regularly. Utilize this information heavily whenever you are re-investing in your marketing strategy. Instead of letting your current customer base define you, use target marketing to determine who your next customers or clients should be. Use the information you’ve gathered!