Market profile

methodology

MP Objectives

• Market profile: the specific purpose of the course is to build the capacity of trainees to prepare:

• Custom-designed short reports, produced in a few days, on target markets to respond to the requests of client companies;

• In-depth market briefs for a larger audience to address general inquiries and provide useful background for interested exporters;

• Participants will be able to draft reports to illustrate the feasibility of penetrating a targeted market and be able to present results of a market profile to a business oriented audience.

What is a Market Profile?

• Product focused: dealing with a single product or a narrowly defined group of

products

• Limited Geographically: dealing with one market or markets that share similar features

• Concise: a description of the main market and marketing characteristics

• Practical: containing information necessary to help exporters with

marketing decisions and actions

Who builds and uses Market Profiles?

• Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs)• Sector trade organisations• Associations of small and medium enterprises(SMEs)• Foreign trade services: forwarding agents, carriers,

insurance agents, bankers, etc;• Enterprises

Identifying (and describing) a product

• A sample of questions:• “What is the main application and function of the product?”

• “What factors (tangible and augmented) constitute the product?”

• “How flexible are these factors? Can they be altered to fit a market?”

• "Can the product fit in a certain lifestyle? Differences by market?”

• “How could the product be adapted/standardised to differentiate it to competition?”

Define your product

Critical to be as specific as possible when defining the product range that will be covered in the profile.

Product description • Level of detail is important.

• The more focused, the more useful it is for your clients, but the less flexible it is for you

• Seafood vs. shrimp vs. frozen shrimp vs. prepared foods containing shrimp

• In the description: what the product is used for?

• it might change the market entirely

• Cashew can be a nut (kernel), a fruit (cashew apple), can produce industrial lubricant

• Industrial vs. Household uses for glass

Features of our product?

AUGMENTEDPRODUCT

Shippingand

Handling

AdditionalServices

Warranty

Post-saleservice

“EthicalConsumption”

BrandName

Quality

Packaging

Style

TANGIBLEPRODUCT

EfficiencyVersatility

BASICPRODUCT

Features of a product• The base product – the core

• most elementary and generic definition of the content and use of the product• a shirt : a piece of clothing to cover the upper-body and protect

against the elements• chocolate: the cocoa butter mixed with a few basic ingredients

• The tangible factors – the physical features• physical attributes that the consumer can see, touch, want

and need: design, form, style, brand name, versatility, efficiency• a shirt: a choice of colours, style, quality of the stitching, brand

descriptors, versatility (easy-ironing, formal/informal), etc.• Chocolate: choice and content of ingredients, shapes and sizes,

wrapping, etc.

Features of a product• The Augmented characteristics – the "ethereal" features

• Certification/quality control (in foreign markets)• a guarantee can help a new company to reassure local consumers

about quality• Characteristic of the production process that carry special value:

• Organic ingredients, environment-friendly, child labour-free, etc.• Transport and insurance

• services such as transport, customs clearance, insurance,... • can be supported by the purchaser, by the exporter or be divided

between these two parties• Packaging• Maintenance/guarantee

An example of product description…

Source: ITC Market Profile on Cashew Nuts

The cashew, Anacardium occidentale L., belongs to Anacardiacea or cashew family. Other important plants of this family are the mango (Mangifera indica) and the pistachio nut (Pistacia vera).

The cashew tree is versatile. The cashew tree produces fruit and a by-product: the nutshell oil. The fruit consists of two parts: a pear-shaped stalk called the cashew “apple” and a greyish brown kidney-shaped nut (HS 08.01.31), which is attached to the lower end of the apple and contains a slightly curved white kernel (HS 08.01.32), wrapped in a thin brown skin or testa. The nutshell, which is smooth and oily, contains a toxic, resinous material from which is obtained the cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL).

The apples go rotten within 24 hours of harvesting unless refrigerated while the nuts may be kept for about a year provided they are properly dried immediately after harvesting (maximum moisture 9%) to prevent mould and properly stored. Usually the nuts are sun dried and constantly turned over for several days until the kernels rattle in the shell……..

The cashew, Anacardium occidentale L., belongs to Anacardiacea or cashew family. Other important plants of this family are the mango (Mangifera indica) and the pistachio nut (Pistacia vera).

The cashew tree is versatile. The cashew tree produces fruit and a by-product: the nutshell oil. The fruit consists of two parts: a pear-shaped stalk called the cashew “apple” and a greyish brown kidney-shaped nut (HS 08.01.31), which is attached to the lower end of the apple and contains a slightly curved white kernel (HS 08.01.32), wrapped in a thin brown skin or testa. The nutshell, which is smooth and oily, contains a toxic, resinous material from which is obtained the cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL).

The apples go rotten within 24 hours of harvesting unless refrigerated while the nuts may be kept for about a year provided they are properly dried immediately after harvesting (maximum moisture 9%) to prevent mould and properly stored. Usually the nuts are sun dried and constantly turned over for several days until the kernels rattle in the shell……..

Identifying a target market

A sample of questions:

• What is the consumption and production of this product around the world?

• What are the fastest growing markets for my product?• Which countries are supplying those markets?• What is the position of our producers in those markets?• What are the access conditions for those markets?

. . . Where should I focus further research?

Identifying routes to a market

• A sample of questions:

• How is this product distributed in the target markets?• What are the options for promoting this product?• What trade fairs should I attend? Who else has been

attending?• What buyers should I focus on?

. . . How can I make a sale?

• Provides exporting enterprises with a concise overview of conditions for market entry and trends in a given import market

• Organizes the information about the product and market in a user-friendly and comprehensive framework

A Market Profile provides an understanding on where the opportunities lie and how to access these opportunities

When in doubt… remember the purpose

Model layout of a MP

Topics Explanation Product description What exactly are we looking at?

Market Overview General Production, Consumption and Trade Data

Market characteristics1. Demand

Features of demand – what is the product used for and what preferences and requirements does the market have

2. Market Access Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers

3. Prices Prices paid and trends

4. Distribution Channels How the product makes its way to the consumer

5. Packaging and labelling How the product should be packaged and labelled

6. Commercial practices Ordering procedures, payment methods, contractual agreements

7. Market prospects Forecasting growth trends, competition, consumption patterns, options to exploit in the future

8. Trade / Sales promotion How the product can be promoted – trade fairs media, etc.

Useful addresses Associations, research bodies, consulting firms, speacialized media etc.