Transcript Market Research - SARE

Market Research
Tim Johnson
ATTRA Program Specialist
ATTRA – National Sustainable
Agriculture Information
Service
P.O. Box 3657
Fayetteville, AR 72702
1-800-346-9140 (English)
1-800-411-3222 (Espanol)
http://attra.ncat.org
Market Research
Take Home Message:
Gathering information about
your market is critical to your
company’s success
Knowledge is power. - Sir Francis Bacon
Market Research

Market Research lets
you discover how your
company actually meets,
exceeds or falls short of
customers’ expectations.
(Big Trap)
Market Research

Market Research can also identify competitive
threats and opportunities
Market Research

Two categories

Primary market research


Based on data collected from your customers,
competitors, employees, and suppliers
Secondary market research

Based on data collected from industry studies, books,
research, and other published sources.
Experience is the name everyone gives to their
mistakes - Oscar Wilde
Customer Characteristics
Four Essential
Characteristics
They have a need
 Resources to buy what
you are selling
 Decision making
power
 Easy access to
product or service

Secondary Research

Identify a Customer
Profile
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Demographics
Who buys
 Where do they live, level
of home ownership
 Income
 Age
 Race
 Marital Status
 Education

Secondary Research

Secondary information already exists
Efforts spent locating and gathering
 Most info is available from various government
agencies, local libraries, and the internet.

North Carolina District Office
6302 Fairview Road, Suite 300
Charlotte, NC 28210
(704) 344-6563 Phone | (704) 344-6769 Fax
Secondary Research

Rowan County, NC
19% growth last decade, total population
131,825
 70% residents own their homes, median age
is 36.6
 >50% of households make >$35K
 $38,261 is median income
 41% white collar jobs
 Freightliner, Schools, Food Lion

Secondary Research

Charlotte, NC
26th largest city in U.S.
 594,176 people in city, 1.4
million in metro area
 Ave. household effective
buying income $58,862
 63% of households have
EBI > $35K

Primary Research

The information probably
does not exist
Conduct surveys
 Questionnaires
 Focus Groups
 Interviews
 First hand observation

Ask your current customers
 Observe customers in retail
establishments

Research Outcome
Increased Understanding of …



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Identified customer needs and wants
Determine if product meets the customers
needs
Identifies potential target markets
Determines the best advertising technique
In the business world, the rearview mirror is
always clearer than the windshield. - Warren Buffett
Benefits




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Guides communication
Identifies opportunities
Minimizes risk
Identifies potential
problems
Provides benchmarks
Market Research
Market Research is also a continual process,
conducting research for the business plan is not
enough.
You’ll have to do it again, and again, and again,
to stay attuned to your customers needs and
address the customer characteristics you have
identified as a target market.
Market Research

It is worth it?
84% of those who used it
said yes
 58% said yes to identifying
new opportunities
 Can you really afford not to?

Case Studies

Tallgrass Prairie Producers Co-op
Ten families in Kansas
 Marketed grass-fed beef for 5 years
 Process verified, nutritional testing
 Won national attention for their products
 Conducted market analysis, had a detailed
business plan.
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Case Studies

Tallgrass Prairie Producers Co-op
Management of Co-op took too much time away
from what they really wanted to do… run the farm
 Niche marketing may not be all that it appears
 Expertise in marketing and management needed
 Price and convenience really do matter
 Natural foods? –many contradictions
 How much education of consumers can you afford?
 Quality of life and sustainability on personal level
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Case Studies

Fresh Air Pork
Group of producers in Northeast Iowa
 Started in 1999, closed in 2002
 Marketed hogs that met the Niman Ranch criteria of
no antibiotics, and Animal Welfare Institute certified
 Worked with experts in direct meat marketing
 Target market-local sales, health food stores, and
institutional buying
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Case Studies

Fresh Air Pork
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Success w/ two health food stores and locally
 Never sold any product to an institution
 Could not sell the value cuts – loins, hams
 Complex nature of meat business
Asset : developed relationship with professionals
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Market Research
Take Home Message:
Gathering information about
your market is critical to your
company’s success
Knowledge is power. - Sir Francis Bacon
www.ozarkpasturebeef.com