Creating an Effective Customer/Competitive Market Research Program
At some point, every business, regardless of its type, size or orientation, can benefit from the results of a customer and competitive market research program designed to assess and evaluate the market needs, requirements and preferences for the products or services it sells; and its relative position in the overall competitive marketplace. The results of this research can usually provide valuable market and competitive data reflecting:
· Overall market demand, or need, for the company's products and services;
· The specific product and service components that are desired, or preferred, by potential customers;
· The identification of areas where existing products, services and/or customer service can be improved; and
· Areas requiring reengineering and/or fine-tuning with respect to the company's existing product and services offerings.
However, in conducting any market research program, an organization must first ensure that it has established and identified both the appropriate research objectives as well as the proper methodology for carrying out the program. Common research objectives include collecting market data that can be used in the:
· Assessment of customer and market needs, requirements and preferences with respect to the company's products and services;
· Identification of the specific features, characteristics and attributes that define the desired products, services and customer support that would meet the market's overall needs;
· Identification of customer/market perceptions and opinions with respect to the quality and availability of the products and services they are receiving from their present suppliers; and
· Development of suggested, or recommended, improvements to the existing products and services in order to maximize both sales and customer satisfaction.
The assessment and evaluation of the findings from this type of market research program would then be extremely useful in providing a strategic and tactical "roadmap" for an organization to:
· Modify and enhance its existing product or service lines to address the highest levels of market demand;
· Develop new products and/or services to reflect the most important "value-added" requirements of the market;
· Identify and cultivate new target markets based on identified patterns of market decision-making and purchase behavior, product preferences, user characteristics and customer/market perceptions; and
· Strengthen the company's overall product awareness and image, advertising and promotion, and PR activities through recommended refinements and enhancements based on the study findings.
There are also several key areas where businesses can gain significant insight into the needs, requirements and preferences of the market by studying what the competition is offering to its customers. Of course, studying the specific needs and requirements of your own customers remains the most effective way to measure whether you are effectively delivering the products and services they require. However, customer surveys alone may not always provide you with all of the information you need to assess your relative position in the overall competitive marketplace.
While not a substitute for market research or customer surveys, an ongoing program of competitive intelligence gathering and analysis may also provide you with valuable insight that can be used to ensure that you always understand the full implications of the competitive environment in which you operate.
Competitive intelligence data/information gathering, processing and analysis represents an integral part of any business' benchmarking process. Individual competitor profiles may range anywhere from basic summaries focusing on primary vendor "demographics", organization structure, general marketing strategy, product/service offerings, customer support capabilities, strengths and weaknesses, etc. to in-depth profiles expanding upon the basic summaries to include more detailed information on go-to-market strategies; direct and indirect channels of distribution; vendor partnerships, alliances and joint ventures; vertical market segmentation; recent contract "wins" and "losses", etc.
Many businesses use competitive vendor profiles and reports for multiple purposes, including:
· As input for strategic or marketing plan development;
· As tactical "roadmaps" for structuring a competitive positioning program in order to compete more effectively in the marketplace; or
· For providing their sales forces with comprehensive, current and accurate information that they can use on a day-to-day basis to facilitate their ability to sell/market their organization's products and services.
As such, each competitive profiling effort should be developed on a customized basis, and each report, or profile, should contain only that information that the business believes to be relevant to the various users of the data, in however small or great detail as is required. Further, the distribution of the competitive information may be made via either traditional paper-oriented means (i.e., hardcopy, in bound reports) or via electronic means (e.g., downloaded files via the company's proprietary network, or, increasingly, via direct Internet/Intranet access on a "real time" basis) for immediate transmission to the company's sales and/or service organization users in the field (e.g., regional sales/service managers, field sales/service engineers, etc.).
Some companies prefer to collect their own competitive data by "surfing the net" on a regular basis, although there are still many potential problems associated with monitoring competitive data yourself over the Internet. For example:
· You can only access information off the "net" from those competitors that post information on the Internet, and some privately-held companies post virtually no meaningful data;
· The information that is available on the "net" is generally limited to only that which the competitor wants you (i.e., its "customers") to have easy access to; and
· Some of the information currently appearing on the "net" may actually be out-of-date by the time you are able to access it.
Even greater potential problems resulting from "surfing the net" yourself are:
· While your staff may be able to find current and meaningful information, it may not be properly equipped to interpret the strategic implications of the data they have collected with respect to its impact on your company; and
· You may only be successful in collecting "superficial information" on many of your competitors, and not the strategic information that would ultimately provide you with a full measure of insight into your competitors' activities.
This is why it may ultimately be advisable for your organization to consider utilizing the services of a reputable competitive intelligence gathering and analysis firm - one that specializes in both collecting and analyzing competitive data available through both published and non-published (i.e., through proprietary competitive research) sources.
One of the major benefits of utilizing an outside firm to collect, process and analyze competitive data for your company is the fact that you, and your staff, will be completely separated from the actual data collection and competitive contacts. This will serve to completely eliminate any chances for potentially awkward, embarrassing, or even litigious situations. Further, firms that specialize in competitive research can also provide you with a variety of additional, on-line strategic competitive information including:
· New Product/Service Announcements, which provide you with up-to-date news, summaries and synopses of relevant new products and services introduced by the specific vendors you have selected, on an "as happens" basis;
· Competitive product/service "Attack and Defend" papers, which provide specific, tactical information that can be used instantly to assist your sales, marketing and customer services personnel in updating their competitive market information to effectively address new competitive product market entries as they occur.
There are, undoubtedly, many other areas of competitive intelligence that would also serve to support your business in addition to those described above, but they would generally need to be provided on a custom basis, per your specific requirements.
While the focus of the majority of your company's market research efforts should always remain on the customer, monitoring the activities of your competitors will also provide you with key strategic insight into your own relative market position. Essentially, the only way to gain a full perspective of both the demand and supply sides of the services market equation is to look concurrently at the customer and competitive markets, and carving out your own competitive niche on the basis of the research you have conducted.
Until next month, keep your customers satisfied!
Bill
William K. Pollock
President
Strategies For GrowthSM
P.O. Box 1024
Westtown, PA 19395
USA
Tel: (610) 399-9717
Fax: (610) 399-9718
E-Mail:
Website: www.s4growth.com