GROWTH STRATEGIES AND MARKET RESEARCH

Lars Perner, Ph.D.AIM--February 10, 2016

Overview

• Organizational mission and its implications• Customer value provided• Relevant competitors• Customer perceptions• Identifying Growth Opportunities

– Targets– Methods/objectives

• Some research methods: Primary and secondary

Organizational Mission

• Why does the organization exist?• What are the organization’s strengths and special competencies?• What are the customer value and benefits currently offered? E.g.,

– Convenience– Health– Performance– Reliability– Affordability

• Who are the current and potential customers?• How well is the organization/brand known by current and potential

customers?• How is the organization/brand perceived by current and potential

customers?

Who Are the Relevant Competitors?

• Some possible bases for competition– Geography– Type of product/service offered– Type of customer need addressed– Differentiation within product/service category– Other means of appeal (e.g., style, social responsibility)

Some Ways to Identify Potential Competitors

• Analyzing retail offerings– In which section is the product offered? Are there potential

competitors in other sections?– What are the other brands carried among different types of retailers?

Note that available competitor options may vary greatly between• Supermarkets• Convenience stores• Vending machines• Discount stores

– How visible are the brand and competitors within different settings? • Shelf space• Online prominence

• Online presence

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning

TARGETINGSELECTING WHICH

SEGMENT(S) TOSERVE

POSITIONINGIMPLEMENTING

CHOSEN IMAGE ANDAPPEAL TO CHOSEN

SEGMENT

SEGMENTATIONIDENTIFYING

MEANINGFULLYDIFFERENT GROUPS

OF CUSTOMERS PROUDCT

DISTRIBUTION

PRICE

PROMOTION

POSITIONINGIMPLEMENTING

CHOSEN IMAGE ANDAPPEAL TO CHOSEN

SEGMENT

PROUDCT

PROMOTION

PRICE

DISTRIBUTION

PREMIUM

BASIC

DURABLE

PRESTIGE

FUN

POWERFUL

PREMIUM

LOW PRICE

VALUE

INTENSIVE

SELECTIVE

EXCLUSIVE

Perception of the Organization/Brand and Competitors

• How do different organizations/brands seem to differ?– Perception is not necessarily reality– Reality is not necessarily what is perceived

• Identifying customer perception– Perceptual mapping

• Identifying the dimensions of interest

Perceptual Mapping

Similarity Ratings

Snickers M&M Almond Joy Mr. Goodbar

Snickers 7M&M 5 7Almond Joy 6 6 7Mr. Goodbar 3 2 3 7

1=“Not at all similar” 7=“Extremely Similar”

Logically, all candy bars are “extremely similar” to themselves. The shaded regions are redundant—only the order is varied.

Identifying Growth Opportunities: Targets

• Increasing penetration of current target market• Increasing product consumption rates/frequency within

current target– Usage occasion and product form

• Identifying additional potential target markets• Identifying new offerings for

– Current target market– New target markets

• Taking advantage of economies of scale

Identifying Growth Opportunities: Methods

• Awareness• Trial• Preference• Distribution intensity/convenience

Some Research Methods

• Social media search• Associative Network of Knowledge• Observation and participant observation• Personal interviews• Asking participants to “think out loud” while doing search

and making decisions• Surveys• Secondary market research

Social Media Search

• Some individuals make their social media content available for anyone to see; others share only with established “friends”

• Searching within social media sites and search engines using both general words and hashtags

• Identifying what is posted• Identifying the extent of commentary, facial expressions, and

staging• Identifying frequently used

– Hashtags– Pseudo-hashtags (special, comical hashtags made to express and

emotion or idea for a specific occasion): #lovemysonsomuch #needcoffeetostayawake #eatingpizzawithmybestfriends

The Associative Network of Knowledge

Observation and Participant Observation

• Observing the customer in the store– How much, if any, comparison and search is done?– Is the purchase planned or does it appear to be the result of

browsing?– How much time is spent?– Is the customer alone? If now, how much interaction is there with

others?• Participant observation: Observing while being part of a

group

Personal Interviews

• Usually preferable to focus groups since the participant is not influenced by others in a group

• Probing for the interviewee to elaborate• Bringing out the context and possible affect• Probing for specifics—e.g., search engine words used

Thinking Out Loud

• Asking a participant to “think out loud” while searching or making a decision—e.g., while doing an online search– Why are these keywords selected?– What information is sought out?– What, if any, additional search does this info prompt?– How believable is information received?– What conclusions are made from information provided? – What is some information of interest that is not presented? How

important is this?

Surveys

• Require a large sample size (150-1,000+) for any precise conclusions to be made

• Focusing of questions whose answers can be used for decisions

• Pretesting of questions (thinking out loud)• Use of continuum scales (e.g., scale of 1-7 rather than

merely “yes” or “no”)

Secondary Market Research

• Using databases to identify research that has already been done

• Some databases and sources available (available through USC Libraries)– U.S. Government (population statistics)– WARC database: Demographics and consumer behavior– e-Marketer: Online industry, consumer online behavior,

technological trends– MarketResearch.com: Very specific market research studies by

area of interest– Business Insights: Essentials: Information on competitor firms– ABI/Inform: Trade journal and general press articles