1. School Store Operations Chapter 1
Chapter 1 - Research Your Market
School Store Operations Chapter 1
Research Your Market

2. Winning Strategies Meeting Customer Needs
How can marketing research contribute to the success of the Ultimate Boutique?
Identify other ways that the school store could employ marketing research to decide what to buy.

3. Lesson 1.1 Target Market Describe how to reach your target market
Explain how to analyze your competition

4. Page 4
Create a list of products and services that would be appropriate based on each of the following demographic groups in your school:
Age
Gender
Income Level
Ethnic Background
Education
Occupation

5. PROFILING YOUR CUSTOMERS
Market
A group of people or companies that have a demand for a product or service and are willing and able to buy it
Target Market
The particular group that you are interested interested in reaching

6. Target Market The market segment should be measurable
The segment should be large enough to be profitable
The segment should be reachable

7. Finding Your Customers
Identify why a customer would want to buy your product or service
Segment your overall market
Research your market

8. Market Segmentation
Being able to promote to a specific group of customers
Demographics – Physical characteristics such as age, gender, location, education, occupation, income level, marital status, and household type
Psychographics – Social characteristics such as needs, values, buying styles, culture, and interests
Geographics – Based upon where people live such as local, regional, national, or global markets

9. Why is it important to segment your market before positioning a new product within your current product mix?

10. ANALYZING THE COMPETITION
The obvious competitor isn’t your only competitor

11. Competition Research
Studying the competition can provide you with a wealth of information about your customer, the market, and the profit potential
Visiting and observing
Calling and inquiring
Studying ads in newspapers, magazines, online and broadcasting

12. Why is it important to compare your school store with the competition?

13. Lesson 1.2 Market Research
Describe how to conduct effective market research
Identify the various methods used to collect data
Explain the six steps in the research process

14. Page 10
Describe how you would use market research to prevent financial losses in your store.
Design a questionnaire.

15. MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM
In order to succeed and make a profit, your school store must meet the needs of its customers

16. Market Research Leads to Market Analysis
A process designed to identify solutions to a specific marketing problem by systematically gathering and analyzing data

17. DATA COLLECTION Primary Data Secondary Data
Surveys, observations, and experimental method
Secondary Data
Sales and marketing magazines, the U.S. Department of Commerce, trade associations, business publications, other sources, and internal sources

18. Primary Data
Information collected for the first time to analyze a specific situation
Subjective – useful, but it cannot be statistically analyzed
Measurable Data – More reliable because statistical analysis can be conducted
Keep it simple and easy to read, ask closed-ended questions, get a large sample, give respondents an incentive, and construct the survey for multiple uses

19. Secondary Data
Information that already has been collected for purposes other than your current research project
Available through external sources

20. THE RESEARCH PROCESS Identify a need or define the store’s problem
Obtain primary and secondary data
Organize your data
Analyze your data
Recommend solutions
Implement a plan of action

21. Lesson 1.3 Determine What to Buy
Describe the role of the marketing mix
Identify internal & external sources of information

22. Page 16 Brainstorm ideas for using this data.
Discuss ways this data might affect your store’s buying plan.

23. THE MARKETING MIX Marketing Mix
A blend of features that satisfies your chosen market
Product
Price
Place
Promotion

24. Product Strategy
Product decisions are crucial to the success of your school store
Ask yourself these questions:
What should I buy?
How much should I buy?
How is my product better than the competition?

25. Pricing Strategy Costs and Expenses Economic Conditions
Customer Impressions
Competition

26. Place Strategy How and where products are offered to your customers
Also called distribution

27. Promotion Strategy
Promoting your goods and services through advertising and the use of other promotional tools
Encourages public acceptance of the school store and the product mix

28. What is the purpose of the four elements of the marketing mix?

29. HELP WITH BUYING DECISIONS
You should not make buying decisions alone
Seek out and employ data from as many sources as possible

30. Internal Sources Store Records Management Sales Staff
Want Slip System – A customer form to request items not offered or out of stock
Management
Sales Staff

31. External Sources Customers Magazines, trade journals, and trade shows
Trade Shows – Periodic, temporary exhibits that are scheduled throughout the year in various trade centers
Vendors
Trade associations
Competitors

32. How is operating a want slip system advantageous to the school store?

33. Men’s Clothing Sales Hit the Skids
Page 26 The menswear business offers a good example of how complex the marketing process can be. When retailers are dealing with a declining market, it is more important than ever to conduct market research and define a target market.