Transcript Secondary Market Research: What? Why? Who? How? Trends.

Market Research for the
Green Venture
SBDC
January 18, 2011
Jan Knight
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What We’ll Cover
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Market Research
 “Primary”
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vs “Secondary”
Primary Research: Examples
Secondary Market Research:
 Strategies
 Resources
 Tips
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Market Research:
What? Why?
Gathering, recording & analyzing
information about your business.
 Aid decisions in:
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Strategic Planning
Customer Behavior, Preferences,
Service
Product Development/feedback
Marketing & Sales Strategies
Competition
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More reasons for Market
Research
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Business Plans, Marketing Plans, Product
Development, Looking for Funding,
Commercialization plans
Industry information: key players,
segmentation, statistics, trends
Competitors: services & products, sales
methods, marketing, distribution
Market potential: statistics, demographics
Client/partner prospecting – lists of
companies
Executive/people search
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Primary Research
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Data collected from original source (e.g.
customers)
Collected for a specific purpose
Quantitative (Surveys) Hard facts or
opinions representative or larger group.
Qualitative (Focus Groups, In Depth
Interviews) Opinions not representative of
a larger group.
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Focus Groups
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Homogeneous group, spontaneous
input, can be redirected, stimulate
new ideas, need’s good moderator to
stimulate interaction & pick up trends.
Recruiting issues, small sample,
cannot generalize to larger population,
thus validity considerations.
Example – Medical Device Prototype
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Surveys
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Mail Surveys (afford
longer, complicated
questions, show
product…
Phone Surveys (can
control sample…
Email Surveys
(quick turnaround,
less expensive…
BUT….
 Response rate can
be low and slow
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Need good list,
cannot show product
Cannot control who
responds
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Secondary Research
Accessing of information & data
previously collected
 Often for different purpose
 Good precursor to Primary research
(Articles, Studies, newspapers, company
databases)
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Subscription Information
Sources
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Thousands of databases, information on
companies, industries, demographics,
national & international.
($$$$)
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Lexis Nexis: www.lexisnexis.com
Factiva: www.factiva.com
Dialog: www.dialog.com
Hoovers: www.hoovers.com
Additional Hybrid sources: Partly free, partly $.
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Factors Determining Cost
Secondary
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Primary
Mature industries =
more information
New & niche industries
= not studied as much
Less expensive than
Primary Research BUT
robust data in fee
based information.
Database costs
Turnaround time
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Focus groups: #,
locations, facilities,
moderators
Interviews: # and
location
Surveys: # of questions
& respondents
Writing of questions?
Type of analysis,
tabulations & reporting
needed?
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Internet Research
“Doing research on the Web is like using a
library assembled piecemeal by pack rats
and vandalized nightly.”
-----Roger Ebert
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Search Strategies for
Secondary Research
Assess potential availability of
information
Who else would have commissioned a study
on what you want to know?
 Who has money to pay for such studies?
 Where would it have been published?
 Who might be writing about the topic?
 What conferences would focus on the topic?
Think about your own industry & specific
sources!
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Internet Search Strategies
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Create source list
Review key words
and phrases
Keep notes on
sources &
keywords used
Talk to experts
Know when to stop!
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Search Strategies (cont.)
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Don’t just “Google it”
Only 30% overlap between search
engine results
Pick 2 or 3 search engines & learn
advanced search capabilities
Use advanced search capabilities
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Search Strategies (cont.)
TIP:
Be specific and use Boolean logic
 alternative energy = 51,600,000
 “alternative energy”
= 9,940,000
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E.g. “alternative energy” AND wind
NOT solar = 639,000
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Alerts - Google Alerts
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Find a successful Google Search
Save as an “Alert”
Will be “pushed” to your email when
result appears in top 10 or 20 results.
Set up Alerts for clients, competitors,
your own company, your own name
http://www.google.com/alerts
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Try These Phrases
Market Share
Market Trends
Market Data
Demographics
Industry Profile
Customer
Demographics
Best Practices
Benchmarking
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Try These Phrases
Consumer
Preferences
Competitive
Landscape
Growth Trends
Studies, Surveys or
Polls
White Papers
Statistics
Lessons Learned
Commercialization
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Wikipedia?
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Community based, anyone can edit.
Be cautious!
Use only as primer & starting point
Review resources/citations
Corroborate w/other sources
Would NOT cite as source
www.wikipedia.org
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Sources: Newspapers
Look for local stories on competitors,
potential vendors, potential clients
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“big fish in a little pond” vs “little fish
in a big pond.
Portland Business Journal versus
New York Times
National & international newspapers
Make note of writers/experts
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Sources: Listservs ©, Groups
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Sign up for Listservs, Discussion
Groups on topics related to industry
Take note of discussions on trends &
issues
Locate titles & experts from signatures
(for competitors, industry, partners)
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Sources: Blogs & Social
Media
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Search for information on Blogs.
Caution on who is posting & why.
Bias?
“52% of unhappy buyers will post a
product review on a blog vs only 4%
who will provide feedback on a
survey. ” …Quirks Market Research
A wealth of solid customer feedback
to be found in social media
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Examples
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Meetup Groups
http://alternativeenergy.meetup.com/
EBSCO Sustainability Blog
http://ebscosustainability.com/
Biofuels Listserv
www.biofuels.coop/cleantech/listserve.html
LinkedIn Groups: www.linkedin.com
Search for “Clean Technology” under Groups
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Sources: Industry/Trade
Associations
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Membership of professionals in a field
Often commission studies of interest
to members
Specific member benefits may include
access to member lists, data on
members
Do they have a Trade Journal?
Do your target markets belong to
associations?
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Examples
Clean Technologies & Sustainable
Industries Organization
http://www.ct-si.org/
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Clean Energy States Alliance
http://www.cleanenergystates.org/
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Sources: Trade Shows &
Professional Conferences
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Look at online program
Who is speaking – experts?
Look at Tracks & Topics. Can you
discern hot trends or issues of
importance?
Review Exhibitor & Sponsor lists
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Examples
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Examples
Speakers:
John Picard - leading thinker & builder
of sustainable societies
Topics:
Beyond the Meter: Utilities Attempt to
Engage the Customer & Roll Out
Energy Efficiency
Sponsors:
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Sources: Government
Resources
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Authoritative
Timely
Examples
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Labor statistics
Economic Census
International Trade
Demographics
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Company Information
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Competitor? Partners? Clients?
Public (easier to find information)
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Private (harder to find information)
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Full disclosure
SEC filings
Annual reports
Agreements
Not forced to disclose anything
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Company Websites
Search for PPT (PowerPoint presentations)
 Press Releases
 Annual Reports
 Biographical Info on executives
 History of Company
 Product Development
 Branding/Differentiation
 Look at employment opportunities – shows
plans
Caution – tell you what they want you to
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Sources: Market Research
Reports
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Fee based – sometimes expensive
Some are general, some focus on an
industry
Occasionally provide free samples or
abstracts
Variations in data based on
differences in methodology
Some companies sell “by the slice”
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Example
The Future of Clean Technology
Markets to 2020-Market Forecasts,
Deal Analysis & Investment
Opportunities
 GBI Research
 March 30, 2010
 141 Pages
 $ 3,500
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Competitors? Partners?
Clients?
TIP: “reverse link look up”
Find out who is linking to a website.
Useful for: identifying partnerships,
memberships, buyers’ guides, etc.)
e.g. link: http://cleantech.com/
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Website Archive
TIP: “Way Back Machine”
www.archive.org
Provides archives of websites
Useful for: product line growth, executive
changes, changes in marketing strategy,
corporate branding
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Summary
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Plan your strategy
Pick good search tools/directories NOT just
engines
Use “Advanced” searches
Keywords: Be creative & keep track
Consider the source
Research = “competitive edge” & “informed
decisions” & “increased ROI”
Consult professionals when you need help
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Good Luck!
Jan Knight
(520) 731-9300
[email protected]
www.bancroftinfo.com
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