Steps to realize an investigation of markets

27 November 2008 - 20:09

The investigation of markets consists of collecting certain information coming from the market, soon to be analyzed and, on the basis of this analysis, to make decisions or to design strategies.

We can realize an investigation of markets to find a business opportunity, to know the viability a new business or product, to find the reason or solution for a problem, to verify a hypothesis of market, etc.

In order to be able to have clear more in the concept of the investigation of markets, we see next which are the steps necessary to realize one:

1. To determine the needs or objectives of the investigation

In the first place we must determine which is the reason of the investigation, what we want to obtain with her, which is its objective; for example, we can to realize investigation to find opportunity of business, to see if our future business could be profitable, to know how if the launching of a new product could be successful, to find the reason or solution of a problem, to analyze to our competition, to foretell our demand, to confirm a hypothesis, etc.

2.

Basing us on our reconnaissance target, we happened to determine which will be the information that we will need to collect, for example, if our reconnaissance target is to detect an opportunity of businesses, the information that we could need, would be the one that allows us to know the needs the consumers, the new tastes, the new fashions, the tendencies, the not taken care of niches of market, etc. If our reconnaissance target is to know the viability to export our product to a certain country, the information who we could need would be referring to the commercial treaties or agreements, tariffs, economic situation of this country, etc.

3. To determine sources of intelligence

Once we know which will be the information or data that we will need to collect for our investigation, we happened to determine the sources of we will obtain where it, for example, we determined if we are going to obtain the data of our objective public, our clients, investigations done previously, of historical data, statistics, publications, Internet, etc.

4. To define and to develop the harvesting techniques

Once we have determined which will be the information that we will need, and from we are going where it to obtain, we happened to determine we are going how it to obtain, for it we determined the techniques, methods or forms of data collection that we are going to use; we see some of them:

Survey

The survey consists of a verbal interrogation or written, when the survey is verbal becomes use of the method of the interview; and when the survey is written it makes use of the questionnaire. A survey can be structured, when it is composed by formal lists of questions that are formulated to them the same to all; or not structured, when they allow the poll to be modifying the questions on the basis of the answers that are giving the survey one.

For our surveys we must formulate questions that allow to secure the information us that we needed, that simultaneously allows us to reach to achieve our reconnaissance targets, for example, if our reconnaissance target is to find a business opportunity, some the questions that we could formulate in our surveys could be:

• what type of product it would like that it existed in the market?
• what type of business thinks that nowadays it could be profitable?

If our reconnaissance target is to know the viability to send a new product, some of the questions could be:

• it would be arranged to prove this new product?
• what opinion generates products to him similar to this one, and what characteristic it would change to them or add?

If our reconnaissance target is to foretell our demand, some of the questions that we would formulate could be:

• how much it is arranged to pay by this product?
• how much usually it spends in average when visiting businesses similar to this one, and whereupon it visits them to frequency?

Technique of observation

The observation technique consists of observing people, facts, objects, action, situations, etc.; in order to use this technique we can, for example, to visit the sites where they frequent the consumers who conform our objective public and to observe their behaviors, we can visit the commercial zones and observe products of the competition, can visit the premises of the competition and observe its processes, etc.

Experimentation

The experimentation technique consists of trying to directly know the answer the consumers before a certain product, service, idea, publicity, etc.; for example, when creating a small position of sale, or small stand of tasting.

Focus group

Focus group or focal group consists of reuniting to a small group of people with the purpose of to interview them and to generate a debate or discussion in winch a product, service, idea, publicity, etc., and thus to know the ideas, opinions, emotions, attitudes and motivations of the participants.

Sounding

Simple method and of low cost, that is characterized to make simple and objective oral questions; in the same way, simple and objective answers are obtained; an example of a question that could be realized in a sounding is: “what marks of jeans you use”.

5. To collect the information

Once we have determined the information that we will need, the sources from where we will secure and the methods to it that we will use to obtain it, we happened to the task of the harvesting of the information. For it, we determined previously who will be the ones in charge or responsible for this one task, when it will begin and how long it will last.

6. To analyze the information

Once we have collected the required information, we come to enter the information (count of data), then, to process it (to classify the data, tabular them, to codify them) and, finally, to process the data, to analyze it and to draw our conclusions.

7. To make decisions or to design strategies

And, finally, on the basis of the analysis that we have realized, we began to make decisions or to design our strategies, for example:

• on the basis of the information that we have obtained and analyzed on the needs, tastes and preferences of the consumers, we happened to design a product that is in charge to satisfy these needs or preferences.
• on the basis of the information that we have obtained and analyzed on our competition, we happened to design strategies that allow us to block their strengths and to take advantage of their weaknesses.
• on the basis of the information that we have gathered and analyzed on our plan of businesses, we made the decision to give the approval to the project, and to begin with the creation of our new business.

Labels: Study of market, Marketing, Step by step

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