Objectives:
- Market research is the way we learn about consumers and it is the activity that allows marketing actions to be tailored to consumer needs and characteristics. Most of you will become users of market research rather than specialists in research, thus the course will emphasize research as an aid to management decision making.
- To foster a rudimentary ability to develop, execute and interpret market research. Homework assignments, and class discussion and cases will be aimed at this goal.
Who should attend?
All staff working in the public relations departments and ceremony.
Course Outline:
Market Research:
Collect, organize, and write down data about the market that is currently buying the product(s) or service(s) you will sell.
Some areas to consider:
- Market dynamics, patterns including seasonality
- Customers - demographics, market segment, target markets, needs, buying decisions
- Product - what's out there now, what's the competition offering
- Current sales in the industry
- Benchmarks in the industry
- Suppliers - vendors that you will need to rely on
Target Market:
- Find niche or target markets for your product and describe them.
Product:
- Describe your product.
- How does your product relate to the market?
- What does your market need, what do they currently use, and what do they need above and beyond current use?
Competition:
- Describe your competition.
- Develop your "unique selling proposition."
- What makes you stand apart from your competition?
- What is your competition doing about branding?
Mission Statement:
Write a few sentences that state:
- "Key market" - who you're selling to
- "Contribution" - what you're selling
- "Distinction" - your unique selling proposition
Market Strategies:
Write down the marketing and promotion strategies that you want to use or at least consider using. Strategies to consider:
- Networking - go where your market is
- Direct marketing - sales letters, brochures, flyers
- Advertising - print media, directories
- Training programs - to increase awareness
- Write articles, give advice, become known as an expert
- Direct/personal selling
- Publicity/press releases
- Trade shows
- Web site
Pricing, Positioning and Branding:
- From the information you've collected, establish strategies for determining the price of your product, where your product will be positioned in the market and how you will achieve brand awareness.
Budget:
- Budget your dollars.
- What strategies can you afford?
- What can you do in house, what do you need to outsource.
Marketing Goals:
- Establish quantifiable marketing goals. This means goals that you can turn into numbers. For instance, your goals might be to gain at least 30 new clients or to sell 10 products per week, or to increase your income by 30% this year. Your goals might include sales, profits, or customer's satisfaction.
Monitor Your Results
Test and analyze. Identify the strategies that are working:
- Survey customers
- Track sales, leads, visitors to your web site, percent of sales to impressions
WORKSHOP STYLE:
This will be a participative workshop with a mix of interactive learning sessions, exercises and discussions aimed to provide maximum impact and learning retention for all delegates.
