Course: SLF 130 Marketing Practices for the Small Business

Unit 6 Reading

SubTabs

- Unit 6
- Table of Contents (Selected)
- Unit 6 Glossary (Selected)

Market Research Page 2

? It all starts with the bottom-line research questions ?

Why does a customer pick one brand over another brand?

What are the factors that affect the decision making process?

How much will a customer pay for a particular product or service?

Where does the customer want to buy this product?

Will this product satisfy the customer?

These are a few of the tough, bottom-line questions that a small business must answer.

What do you really need to know from the consumer’s viewpoint? Do not assume that simply creating a new or helpful product or service is enough!
A sustainable and profitable target market requires:

- A group of consumers whose needs are met by the product or service
- A group of consumers willing and able to purchase the product or service
What are different types of research?

Both quantitative and qualitative research have as their purpose: the explanation of patterns in behavior. Quantitative provides mathematical (numbers-oriented) results and qualitative provides descriptive (word-oriented) results. Small businesses have the opportunity to gain important knowledge and background using both types of research.

Stop and Review:

There are “two sides” to a target market. First, a target market is a group of consumers whose needs are met by the product or service. Secondly, a target market is a group of consumers willing and able to purchase the product!

Small businesses must analyze their products and services through the eyes of customers. They can do this through quantitative research, which results in mathematical results, AND/OR qualitative research, which yields descriptive results.