Methods for analyzing consumer, industrial, and international markets

Marketing Analysis

(1) Describe methods you would use to analyze one of these three different markets: consumer, industrial or international markets. What challenges would you face to ensure accurate data gathering in the market and what recommendations would you make to overcome those challenges?

The consumer market is showing rapid change as it moves increasingly to social media, digital multi-channel platforms, and inbound marketing. In response to this change, a key issue in market research and marketing research is the adequacy and accuracy of user-generated content. User-generated content includes the feedback and input from consumers in forums, blogs, and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Mobile marketing and mobile advertising are variables that have great potential to substantively impact data quality. Mobile marketing and mobile advertising are characterized by the attributes of immediacy and focus (Richmond, Mobile Marketing Secrets Revealed, p. 14). Each of these variables is both a benefit and a challenge to the marketer and to the advertiser.

The immediacy of mobile marketing is that consumers respond to marketing campaigns and advertisements in real time. The benefit of being able to measure consumer response to mobile marketing efforts is readily apparent. What may be less obvious is that immediacy is the norm on mobile digital platforms, which can detract from any sense that the advertisements are unique (Richmond, Mobile Marketing Secrets Revealed, p. 7). Further, in the mobile environment, marketing information is typically transient, leaving nothing behind with the consumer in the manner of more traditional advertising or marketing efforts. One solution to the particular attributes of mobile marketing is the practice of wait marketing. Wait marketing assumes that the time that consumers spend waiting for something is an optimal time to market to them (Derval, Is It the Right Time? Wait Marketing, p. 31). "There are multiple waiting times," wrote Dr. Derval. "The objective of Wait Marketing is to identify the best one for a specific Persona based on the behavior, preferences, and contour" (Derval, Is It the Right Time? Wait Marketing, p. 15).

The focus of mobile marketing is necessarily limited by the technology, and further limited by the attention of the user of the mobile digital device. The benefit of having a more condensed focus in mobile marketing is that analysis will be facilitated -- there will be fewer intervening variables that can cloud the analysis of the consumers' response to the advertisement or marketing efforts. The drawback to a limited marketing focus is that the marketer is challenged to select a focus that is most likely to appeal to the target market, and a marketing campaign must issue only small bits at a time of what could conceivably be a more complex marketing campaign. What happens if the marketer chooses the wrong focus? This challenge can best be addressed by conducting pre-campaign or pre-launch market research as a pilot test with a select group of consumers.

Sources:

Derval, D. (2009). Wait Marketing: Is it the Right Time? Amsterdam, Netherlands: Derval Research.

Richmond, C. (2008).Mobile Marketing Secrets Revealed. Mobile Marketing Masters.

(2) Successful companies recognize that high satisfaction leads to high customer loyalty. Provide an example of a company to which you are loyal in terms of buying products or services. What marketing actions does the company take to promote your loyalty and satisfaction?

Tire Rack is an online tire distribution company that offers convenience, broad selection, and several consumer-friendly services. Just about any type of non-commercial tire can be purchased from Tire Rack, and a wide range of tire manufacturers participate in their distribution service. Also, all current promotional discounts offered by tire manufacturers are available when tires are purchased through Tire Rack -- this means that there is very little incentive to go to a regular tire store, unless there is an immediate need to obtain a tire or set of tires.

In addition to offering many different brands and models of tires, the company includes reviews from consumers who have purchased tires from them. This is invaluable information because the sort of person who will go to the trouble of writing about their tire purchase will generally share technical details that the average consumer may not have previously known about. Before making a tire selection, a consumer can review the many comments posted by others and use the comments to narrow the comparisons until a final selection has been made.

One of the options provided to those making an online tire purchase include the opportunity to buy tire insurance. For about $15 per tire, the covered tires are protected by a road hazard clause that basically replaces a damaged tire for which insurance has been purchased. In these days of limited road maintenance budgets, it is not uncommon to drive across rugged road surfaces or to hit an unavoidable pothole. The Tire Rack hazard insurance is a strong reason why the website experiences such high rates of repeat business. In fact, many of the reviews posted chronicle the different tire purchases that consumers have made from the website, giving a deep layer of tire comparison information to the consumer. And these ratings are provided before a purchase has been made, making them free to prospective customers.