Study Set Content:
these are runner-up companies who choose to follow rather than challenge the market leader. These firms seek stable market shares and profits by simply following competitor’s product offers, prices, and marketing programs. They may follow closely or at a distance or they may follow closely in some ways and sometimes go their own ways. The market follower’s goal is to keep current customers and to attract a fair share of new ones without drawing retaliation from the market leader or other companies. Many market followers are more profitable than the leaders in their industries.
Market followers
these are the smaller firms in the market or even larger firms that lack established positions and specializes in serving market niches that major competitors overlook or ignore. Nichers avoid direct confrontation with the majors by specializing along market, customer, product, or marketing mix lines. T
Market incher
Through smart (), low share firms in an industry can be as profitable as their larger competitors. The strategies may vary including niches in the very low-price segment, or in the luxury or upper class segment, or in the high-performance high-price segment.
“niching”
All the aforementioned points out to the fact that the drug company must carefully ()its competitive marketing strategies based on its industry position and its strengths and weaknesses relative to competition and continually change strategy, in order to meet changes in the competitive situation
choose
To run a successful business, it is essential that you know who your customers are, what they need, and how to reach them. ()can help you get accurate and specific information about your customers and competitors, which is a critical part of starting or expanding your business. Consumer demands impact and direct all aspects of your company’s activities and can determine the success or failure of your business.
Market research
The environment that your business operates in can be very dynamic. Shifts in economic conditions, demographic changes, new regulations, and changes in technology can all affect the way you do business. A. Market research can help you: 1. better () the characteristics and preferences of your customers 2. identify() to increase sales and grow your business 3. monitor the level of () in your market 4. reduce the () in your business decisions 5. develop and () your business plan
understand, opportunities, competition, risk, complete
B. Established businesses thinking about making significant changes, like business expansion or relocation, can also use market research to support their decisions. Some other common situations that might call for market research include: 1. launching a () advertising campaign 2. increasing ()or stock levels 3. introducing new () of products or services
new, production , lines
HOW TO CONDUCT MARKET RESEARCH Before you start, establish clear goals for the market research activity you will undertake. You should define what you need to()()
know and why.
Once you have established your goals, develop a strategy and select the techniques you will use to gather data. The two broad types of research you can use are
primary and secondary research:
consists of data collected directly from potential customers through surveys, focus groups, field testing, etc. You can do the research yourself or hire a company to do it for you. If you complete the research yourself, you keep the costs down and have the added benefit of getting to know the market for your business.
Primary research
A drawback of primary research is that it can be () and (), particularly if you are hiring a marketing firm to conduct the research. The benefits are that you can target() groups (such as your customers or the geographic market for your business) and tailor the study to answer specific questions.
time consuming, expensive specific
nvolves searching existing information that has already been collected, such as demographic data and industry statistics, and using it in your own business or marketing plan. () uses existing resources like company records, surveys, research studies and books. It is normally less time consuming than primary research and can be less expensive.
Secondary research
While secondary research is less () than primary research, it can still yield valuable information.
targeted
The following are examples of questions that can be addressed through secondary research: 1. What are the () economic conditions, and are they changing? 2. What are the() trends? 3. Are there () markets for my product or service?
current, industry, international
4. Who are my ()? (Population, age group, income levels, where they live, etc.)
5. What is the state of the() market?
6. Another key secondary resource is () data from official statistics providers, associations and private organizations.
customers, labor, statistical
Knowing who your customer is will help you choose a location, establish pricing, and plan a selling strategy. Ask yourself: Who will buy my product? What are my customer’s habits and preferences?
Who is My Customer?
Make sure that your product or service is meeting the needs of your customers.
Is There a Demand for My Product/Service?
Determine who your major competitors are, try to locate their strengths and weaknesses, and see how your business compares.
Who is My Competition?
Knowing where your potential customers are located will help you choose a location, what kind of promotions to use, and other marketing strategies. It can also help you learn about changes in your industry and how those changes could impact sales.
Where Are My Customers Located?
The goal for your business is to maximize your profits while remaining competitive. Pricing can play a large part in the success of your business, so you will want to consider what your competitors are charging for similar products and services and if you can maintain your prices over time.
What Will I Charge?
