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 TARGETING SELECTING WHICH SEGMENT(S) TO SERVE POSITIONING IMPLEMENTING CHOSEN IMAGE AND APPEAL TO CHOSEN SEGMENT SEGMENTATION IDENTIFYING MEANINGFULLY DIFFERENT GROUPS OF CUSTOMERS PROUDCT DISTRIBUTION PRICE PROMOTION

POSITIONING IMPLEMENTING CHOSEN IMAGE AND APPEAL 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 SnickersM&MAlmond JoyMr. Goodbar Snickers 7 M&M 57 Almond Joy 667 Mr. Goodbar =“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