1. Gathering Information Enables You To: 1. Reduce risk 2. Determine consumer attitudes 3. Monitor the environment 4. Coordinate strategy 5. Measure performance 6. Improve credibility 7. Support decisions 8. Verify intuition Difficulty lies in weighing cost versus benefit

2. Data Collection Techniques 1. Focus Groups 2. Telephone surveys 3. Mail Surveys 4. Personal (in-depth) interviews 5. Mall intercepts 6. Observation

3. Focus Groups 1. The most common from of exploratory data collection. 2. Usually comprise 8-12 individuals. 3. Led by a moderator. 4. Usually lasts no more than 2 hours. 5. Some diversity is beneficial

4. Focus Group 1. Generating hypotheses that can be further tested quantitatively. 2. Generating information helpful in structuring consumer questionnaires. 3. Providing overall background information on a product category. 4. Securing impressions on new product concepts for which there is little information available. 5. Stimulating new ideas about older products. 6. Stimulating ideas for new creative concepts. 7. Interpreting previously obtained quantitative results.

5. Advantages of Focus Groups 1. Depth of information collected. 2. Relatively low cost. 3. Data collected quickly.

6. Disadvantages of Focus Groups 1. Requires expert moderator. 2. Questions of group size and acquaintanceships of participants. 3. Potential for bias from moderator. 4. Small sample size.

7. Key Qualifications of Focus Group Moderators 1. Kind but firm 2. Involvement 3. Incomplete Understanding 4. Encouragement 5. Flexibility 6. Sensitivity

8. Respondent Interaction Advantages 1. Synergism 2. Snowballing 3. Stimulation 4. Security 5. Spontaneity

9. Sponsor Advantages 1. Serendipity 2. Scientific Scrutiny 3. Structure 4. Speed

10. Why Segment? Efficiency in the use of the firms marketing resources Reap the benefits of specialization - customization

11. Assessing Market Opportunities Segmenting the Market A market segment is a group of existing or potential customers sharing some common characteristics, which are relevant in explaining or predicting their response to a company’s marketing programs. The process the marketer goes through in identifying such groups is Market Segmentation.

12. UndifferentiatedConcentrated Mobility The entire market approached as one segment Multiple segments and strategies Every customer is a segment

13. The Process of Segmentation Total Market - eye toward how do you break it down 1. Company size (under 1000) 2. Location 3. Type of industry 4. Type of technology used 5. Ordering policies 6. Product application - different uses of same product 7. Benefits sought-durability-cost savings 8. Buying center characteristics

14. 1. Determine homogeneous groupings 2. Evaluate the attractiveness of each market segment 3. Select the target segment(s) 4. Align the marketing strategy to market segment(s) 5. Implement and monitor

15. Criteria for the Selection of Target Markets 1. Does the target market fit the company’s image? 2. Will the segment be responsive? Product features, price deal, promotional program 3. Will the segment be substantiated over time? Longevity 4. Can the company be competitive in the target segment? Competitive advantage 5. Is the target market profitable?