1. Lecture 8 Market Research
Dr. Hatem Elaydi
ECOM 5368 Engineering Management (Entrepreneurship & ework)
Islamic University of Gaza
Sep 26, 2016

2. Market research
The process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about a market, about a product or service to be offered for sale in that market, and about the past, present and potential customers for the product or service; research into the characteristics, spending habits, location and needs of your business's target market, the industry as a whole, and the particular competitors you face .
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

3. Why conduct market research
The goal of doing market research is to equip yourself with the information you need to make informed business decisions, 4 P's:
Product — Improve your product or service based on findings about what your customers really want and need.
Price — Set a price based on popular profit margins, competitors' prices, financing options or the price a customer is willing to pay.
Placement — Decide where to set up and how to distribute a product.
Promotion — Figure out how to best reach particular market segments (teens, families, students, professionals, etc.) in areas of advertising and publicity, social media, and branding.
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

4. Market research can help you
Understand your customers and their preferences (4 P's)
Profile your customers (location, age, gender, income level, etc.)
Create more effective marketing campaigns
Find the best business location
Identify opportunities to grow and increase profits
Recognize changes in demand
Offer new products and services for the new demand
Find new markets within
Recognize and plan for industry and economic shifts
Shift inventory, price and staff levels as needed
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

5. Market research can help you
Monitor the competition in your market
Identify competitors
Get information on how your competitors operate
Learn how customers compare you with your competitors
Mitigate risk in your business decisions
Use information, not just intuition, to drive your business decisions
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

6. When to conduct market research
Market research is widely viewed as a component of the planning stage of a business.
Indeed, market research is critical for new start-ups and should be a key element of any entrepreneur's business plan.
Market research data feeds into a number of areas of the business plan
Examples of situations that might call for market research include:
New advertising campaigns
Opening a new location or changing business locations
Increasing production levels
Introducing new lines of products or services
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

7. How to conduct market research
Primary research
Primary research is original information gathered through your own efforts to respond to a specific question or set of questions.
This information is normally gathered through surveys, observation, or experimentation.
The following are examples of questions that can be addressed through primary research:
Who are my customers and how can I reach them? Customer profiles, Prospective business locations, Marketing strategies
Which products and services do buyers need or want?
What factors influence the buying decisions of my customers? Price, service, convenience, branding, etc.
What prices should I set for my products and services? Customer expectations
Who are my competitors, how do they operate and what are their strengths and weaknesses?
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

8. Primary research: surveys
Surveys are the most common way to gather primary research. Surveys can be conducted:
Through direct mail
Over the telephone
On the web or via
In person
When designing your own research questionnaire, be sure to:
Keep it as short and simple as possible
Make sure it is visually appealing and easy to read
Move from general questions to more specific questions
Make sure questions are brief and easily understood
Avoid leading questions, questions with ambiguous words, questions that are too difficult to answer
Make sure any response scales used are logical with categories that are mutually exclusive
Always pre-test your questionnaire to identify potential problems
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

9. Primary research
 Constant contact with your customers can provide information on:
Customer profiles
Goods and services that customers demand
Satisfaction with price levels and quality of service
Experiences with your competitors
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

10. Secondary research
Secondary research exploits existing resources like company records, surveys, research studies and books and applies the information to answer the question at hand
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

11. Secondary research
Examples of questions that can be addressed through secondary research:
What are the current economic conditions that my business is operating in? Are these conditions changing?
What trends are influencing the industry my business operates in? Consumer preferences, Technological shifts, Prices for goods and services
What are the demographic characteristics of my customers or where do they live? Populations, age groups, income levels, etc.
What is the state of the labor market?
How many people have the skills I require?
How much should I expect to pay my employees?
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

12. Sources of secondary research
a number of quality statistics and analytical resources available :
Demographics Get data that sheds light on population characteristics such as location, age, income, education level, and more.
Labor and employment data Find statistics and analysis related to the labor force, employment and income from official national & international sources.
National economy Get the latest official economic indicators, which shed light on the performance of several segments of the national economy.
Industry sector data Find statistics that can help you better understand your industry, and study the latest trends that could impact your business.
General research and statistics
Other sources: libraries, universities, industry associations and government departments at various levels.
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

13. Analyzing the market
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

14. What is a market Market are groups of people They are willing to buy
They are able to buy
They have authority to buy
They share a common interest, need or problem
They could realize an advantage by buying
They can be reached to communicate information about the product
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

15. Analyzing the target market
Demographic segmentation
Psychographic segmentation
Geographgic segmentation
Benefit segmentation
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

16. Steps to market segmentation
Identify desired customer characteristics
Develop market segment profiles
Forecast market potential
Select specific market segments
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

17. Product life cycle Introduction Growth Maturity Decline
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

18. Consumer buying process
Recognition of wants
Research
Evaluation
Decision making
Post-purchase evaluation
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

19. Analyzing the competition
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

20. How to analyze competition
Who are your competitors
Number of competitors
Are competitors profitable
Prices charged by competitors
Volume of sales in $
Expanding or declining market
Competitors’ products
Is repeat business obtained
How well your business differ from competition
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

21. Make competitors work for you
Be knowledgeable
Identify competitors’ strengths and weaknesses
Anticipate customer objections
Observe competition frequently
Learn from competitors’ mistakes
Improve on competitors’ ideas
Never speak ill of competition
Be consumer-oriented
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

22. About the competition
My competition do more for me than my friends do. My friends are too polite to point out my weaknesses, but my competitors go to great expense to advertise them.
My competitors are efficient, diligent and attentive; they force me to research for ways to improve my products and services.
My competitors would take my business away from me if they could; this keeps me alert to hold what I have.
If I had no competitors, I would be lazy, incompetent, inattentive; I need the discipline they impose upon me.
I salute my competitors; in the final analysis, they have been good to me.
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

23. Analyze the competition
Rank
competitor
Marketing strong points
Marketing week points
Share
Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship

24. Dr. Hatem Elaydi, IUG, Fall 2016, Entrepreneurship