To get started, launch new products, maintain stable demand, increase sales, an enterprise needs information about the business environment, competitors and consumers. The purpose of market research is to obtain the fullest possible information about the subjects and objects of the market, external factors and trends for decision-making in the production and sale of goods and services.
What areas does market analysis include
To make a decision on the possibility of entering the market of goods or services, a detailed market research is necessary:
- Determining its type.
- Studying market structure.
- Conjuncture analysis.
- Identification of target segments.
- Positioning.
- Forecast sales volumes.
If the market entry has already taken place, the company is operating successfully and making a profit, regular market research is still necessary. It may not be complete, but include only the information of interest at the moment, which will allow you to save andstrengthen positions, anticipate possible changes in demand.
Determining the type of market and its structure
At the very beginning of the study of the market for services or goods, it is necessary to determine the type of market:
- local, national or global;
- monopolistic, oligopolistic, free competition;
- market of goods, services, raw materials, labor, capital, innovation, securities;
- wholesale or retail.
- consumer or producer market; in the first case, the position of buyers is stronger than that of sellers, in the second - on the contrary;
- consumer or business market (buyers are firms);
- closed or open.
In addition to defining the type of market, it is also necessary to characterize it. The market can be growing or fading, limited by legal regulations or economic conditions.
The next step is to identify the structure of the market, dividing consumers into segments, studying the needs of individual groups. Market research at this stage aims to prepare information to identify the most attractive segments for a particular product or service.
Market Analysis
Research of the market of goods (services) necessarily includes the study of the conjuncture. This work is to identify and analyze:
- market indicators;
- market shares occupied by different enterprises;
- indicators of demand for a product or service;
- offer indicators,production;
- pricing.
Assessing the market situation is not limited to studying the internal features of the market. It is important for marketing to determine how conditions will change. Therefore, market research includes an analysis of external factors: the political, economic, cultural, social situation in the country, global trends in similar markets, new technologies, the state of the labor market, and the legal framework.
Assessing the influence of external factors and their intensity can be extremely difficult. To do this, it is necessary to determine a set of the most important indicators and consider their impact on the market under study.
Identification of target segments
After conducting market segmentation and studying its conjuncture, the time comes to select target consumer groups. To determine the attractiveness of a particular segment, there are the following criteria:
- intensity of competition;
- ease, availability of attracting customers;
- impact opportunity;
- segment size;
- similarity of consumers from this group;
- growth rate of the number of representatives of the segment.
There can be several target segments. Each company strives to increase sales, but there is a limit to the possibilities. To determine the optimal number of segments that an enterprise can serve, two methods of market development are used:
- The concentrated method involves the gradual development of segments.
- Dispersion method is to try to master the entire marketproduct or service and further rejection of unpromising segments.
Market research involves regular analysis of developed segments, potential customers already interested in the product and untapped "territories".
Positioning
Market research allows you to determine what competitive advantages a given product or service has or may have. Positioning means finding your place in a market that already has similar or similar products.
Research, analysis and the most professional marketing will not help to make the product more attractive in the eyes of the consumer if it does not satisfy their needs. And they grow and change, so it is necessary to respond to these changes in time, to ensure that the competitiveness of the product on the market does not decrease.
Positioning can go in one of two directions:
- filling a market niche whose needs are not met by competitors;
- entering the market with the same or very close to one of the competitors' advantages.
Sales Forecast
Research of commodity markets will be incomplete without determining the predictive indicators of market development and sales volumes of a particular enterprise. It is the forecast that is the guideline for decision making. The needs and desires of consumers, the entry of new products to the market, the actions of competitors, external factors - all this is in constant flux.movement and changes market conditions.
If a forecast is not made in time and appropriate decisions are not made, then market research will become useless. In the long term and in business planning, 3 forecasts are made at once: optimistic, most probable and pessimistic. For a complete picture, you can study the influence of certain factors on forecast indicators. For example, if you strengthen the distribution system, how much money and time will be needed for this and how it will help increase sales and profits.
Sales forecast is the final stage of market research and helps to properly organize financial flows, production process, marketing activities.
