©2001 Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial LeadershipPLANNING AND GROWING A BUSINESS VENTURE™ ™ Art of Market Research 17.1 © 2004 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

©2001 Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial LeadershipPLANNING AND GROWING A BUSINESS VENTURE™ ™ Market Research Sources 17.2 Local sources Trade associations and journals Government reports Demographic information Computer searches Competitive analysis Customer surveys and focus groups Collect market informationDevelop concept Begin market research © 2004 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

©2001 Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial LeadershipPLANNING AND GROWING A BUSINESS VENTURE™ ™ Local Sources Libraries Colleges and universities Chambers of commerce Government agencies Business incubators 17.3 © 2004 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

©2001 Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial LeadershipPLANNING AND GROWING A BUSINESS VENTURE™ ™ Trade Associations and Journals Market statistics and industry trends Customer demographic information Trade magazine editors National conventions Financial information 17.4 © 2004 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

©2001 Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial LeadershipPLANNING AND GROWING A BUSINESS VENTURE™ ™ Governmental Sources U.S. Government Printing Office GPO bookstores Small Business Administration (SBA) Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE) U.S. Department of Commerce 17.5 © 2004 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

©2001 Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial LeadershipPLANNING AND GROWING A BUSINESS VENTURE™ ™ Demographic Information U.S. Census population data State and county business patterns American Demographics magazine “Annual Survey of Buying Power” (Sales and Marketing Management magazine) 17.6 © 2004 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

©2001 Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial LeadershipPLANNING AND GROWING A BUSINESS VENTURE™ ™ Computer Searches Web sites Databases Online searches 17.7 © 2004 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

©2001 Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial LeadershipPLANNING AND GROWING A BUSINESS VENTURE™ ™ Screened content representing best-of-the-web information for entrepreneurs National calendar of events: seminars, conferences, courses, etc. of interest to entrepreneurs Various channels for information on starting and running a business © 2004 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

©2001 Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial LeadershipPLANNING AND GROWING A BUSINESS VENTURE™ ™ Research the Competition Yellow Pages “Competition at a distance” Competitor’s customers Suppliers Infrastructure 17.9 © 2004 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

©2001 Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial LeadershipPLANNING AND GROWING A BUSINESS VENTURE™ ™ Research the Competition Who are they? Direct Indirect Future Learning from competition Customers Target markets Market penetration methods Pricing policies © 2004 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

©2001 Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial LeadershipPLANNING AND GROWING A BUSINESS VENTURE™ ™ Customers and Customer Surveys Short questionnaires Postcards Telephone surveys Mail surveys Customer visits Customer lists © 2004 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

©2001 Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial LeadershipPLANNING AND GROWING A BUSINESS VENTURE™ ™ Focus Groups Use current or potential customers Invite 6 to 10 customers Use outside facilitators Prepare list of questions Record responses Provide gift or money for participation Summarize results Design marketing strategy © 2004 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation