Marketing Research

Marketing Research

Introduction

            The aggressive competition in the world today requires aggressive marketing strategies. An effective marketing strategy will require the use of the services of a marketing research consultant. This is someone who understands the volatility and behaviors of the market. These include competitors and clientele. The store can then use this information to their advantage. To understand this concept fully, this paper will focus on an actual business that will employ the services of a marketing research consultant. The company is specifically an antique store in the midtown Miami area (a three-year lease approximately 3,000 square feet of retail space for $4000 per month has been signed). The owner does not have any inventory yet but will begin attending auctions throughout the state. The document consists of a marketing research proposal for this particular business.

Importance of Marketing Research

            The first and most crucial thing in this section is to discuss the basics of the business. The owner has planned to open the company irrespective of the presence of a marketing research consultant or not. The company will open its doors for business in the next three months. All companies usually require the availability of money to begin and continue their operations. Therefore, the entrepreneur has already set enough capital to start the company, but it will only be enough to carry the market for one year with minimal sales. The market will also hire one employee to help with the sales of the company. The owner will also handle all the other logistics of the business. After having a brief understanding of this, The next task is to establish the need for marketing research, which is by analyzing its importance (Burns et al., 2017).

Marketing research is the gathering, analysis, and interpretation of the information concerning a market. It studies the past, present, and future behaviors of the market and uses this to take the business to greater heights (Al-Shatanawi et al., 2014). One of the significant importance of market research is that it helps in the identification of the target market. Through market research, it is possible to discover the size of the population, their characteristics, and, consequently, their interest in the antique store products. There is also the identification of components of the market from the aspect of whether it is shrinking or declining (Burns et al., 2017). It also aids in the identification of problems and opportunities in the market. Burns et al. (2017), indicate that defining the research problem is an essential step in the market research process. They further suggest that research objectives are almost always dependent on the research objectives. Since this is a new product, marketing research will help in identifying how much the population requires to use the product. An antique store does not necessarily provide basic amenities. Therefore, the company has to find better reasons for convincing people to patronize their store. This brings the issue of the identification of the target market. From the market research, the business should have an understanding of the people likely to buy antique products. They also find out the nature of the market in regards to the existing competition and its environment. When analyzing this competition, the consultant also checks on their sales performances., their channels of distribution, and their customer satisfaction levels. The importance of this is generally to observe patterns of already existing stores and derive the weaknesses which could turn into opportunities for the antique store set to open in three months

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Market research is also a significant enabler when it comes to the formulation of strategies. In the necessary information about the proposed business, the owner stipulates that they are bound to begin attending auctions throughout the state to see what goods they can acquire for the company. Market research helps focus on strategies that touch on events before the opening of the business, such as sourcing of raw materials (Al-Shatanawi et al., 2014). Since companies no longer fit is on a local scale, the market research may help the business identify strategies of attending auctions beyond the state to acquire unique antique goods. It is a season where it is quite hard to predict the need of the customers, but with the presence of marketing research, it is possible to come with a predictor strategy. Still, on policy, the market research will enable the business to determine the best approaches to the market. How will they beat competitors? In essence, this is the method that they will use to ‘steal’ clientele from the competition.

Before the commencement of a business, it is essential to spot business opportunities that may be beneficial to the company as it opens its doors. Market research will help in identifying potential business partners. Partners do not always mean the people who will inject capital in the business but also other shareholders, such as suppliers. During the market research, that is when the owner of the company could find out whether the auctioneers would become suppliers and whether there would be benefits of long term collaborations with them. It is also during this period that the business finds out about essential facts such as the add-ons to put into the products to attract the clientele base and also to discover new locations. These could open up more sales points.

Statistics indicate that half of the businesses that have the employees do not surpass the fifth year of existence (Nyukorong, 2017). The particular company in question has one employee. However, this number is likely to rise with the increase in business. How can the industry then guarantee sustainability? The answer to this question is that they can guarantee this through market research. The implication of this is that market research reduces business risks. The antique store will be in a position to pilot test their products to see whether they spike interest in employees. Through the pilot test, the business upon opening up will avoid additional expenses on products that do not please the market.

The other importance of market research is that it helps the business to determine the advertising strategy most appropriate for the target market. Some companies have substantial promotional and advertising budgets, but they never seem to work. The reason is that they have not done proper research to determine the networks that their clientele utilize most of the time. Through market research, the store gets to understand the needs, wants, and frustrations of the target market. As a result, when creating promotional materials or messages, they have this in mind. They will, therefore, end up making material that resonates with the consumer, which makes them respond and end up buying the product.

Role of the Market Research Consultant

Role before the commencement of the business

            As a market research consultant, I understand that my duties will revolve around ensuring that the store can realize all the benefits mentioned above. Therefore, there is the acknowledgment that a hard but worthy task lays ahead. One of the roles that are quite important is to advise on the target market that the antique shop should concentrate on. To achieve this, there is a need to understand the entire population. Here, there is a need to interact with the market and enquire about their specific needs, wants, preferences, and dislikes. These are only identifiable through the collection of data on customer demographics, buying habits, factors affecting the product demand which the consultant will have to embark on. The consultant will collect both qualitative and quantitative data. Burns et al. (2017) indicate that qualitative data often leaves the questions open, and therefore, the respondents have the option of giving the answers that they feel fits the situation. This is particularly important for data collection here as the business is not already in operation. There is also the need to identify the financial ability of the clientele to explain to the antique shop owner why they should consider a specific segment and not another one.

The market research consultant also adds value through the analysis of the market and industry trends. This requires an in-depth analysis of what other antique shops have been doing over the years. The consultants must get down to the tiniest details, where they even check the distribution channels and the prices that have been in use over the years (Nyukorong, 2017). It also includes an analysis of the trends that the antique industry is bound to take in the next few years. For efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy, the consultant will check competitors ever within the state to get a specific understanding. They will then proceed to the country level and, lastly, globally. For the last two, it will not be quite detailed, but it will at least give a glimpse and a slight understanding of where antique stores are headed to for the next few years.

The consultant will also analyze the data that they have collected about the aspects mentioned above. It is also their responsibility to ensure that they analyze and understand the implications of the data in their hands. The next thing is for them to prepare data analysis charts and reports that represent the findings. It is their responsibility to interpret to the business owner and ensure they understand the implication of each. The consultant also has the responsibility of ensuring that they will drive the business owner. In the case of the antique store, the owner is the sole decision-maker in the right direction so that they end up having a strong position in the market place.

Role of Consultant Six Months After Business Opening

Consultants’ work does not end upon the opening of a business. Instead, they should continue as the business grows. However, some small businesses, such as the one referenced here, may require services of the consultant only a few months after the opening. Later they may only outsource these services for a short while to save on labor. Thus, this section will look into some roles that the consultant will play six months after the opening of the business. The marketer is always eager to know how the market responds to their product. Thus, this will be the first task which will include soliciting for feedback from clientele on all aspects of the antique store. Is the ambiance welcoming? How is the service? How much utility do they derive from the product? Still, while soliciting this information, the consultant will ensure that they can get consumer opinions on the improvement of both product and market strategies. All these questions will help in determining the satisfaction levels of the target market. The information can quickly turn into improvement strategies within the first few months of business operations. Obtaining this information may not be an easy fete. Therefore, the consultant will utilize the mixed or hybrid method of data collection. According to Burns et al. (2017), this method employs both the qualitative and quantitative approaches of data collections in the research instrument. The technique will allow the consultant to get information that has both predetermined answers and that which does not. The combination of this information should give excellent feedback for the continuity of the business.