market research for the green venture sbdc january 18, 2011 jan knight

Market Research for the Green Venture

SBDCJanuary 18, 2011

Jan Knight

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What We’ll Cover

Market Research “Primary” 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:Strategic Planning Customer Behavior, Preferences, ServiceProduct Development/feedbackMarketing & Sales StrategiesCompetition

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More reasons for Market Research 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

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

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

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

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

Thousands of databases, information on companies, industries, demographics, national & international.

($$$$) Lexis Nexis: www.lexisnexis.com Factiva: www.factiva.com Dialog: www.dialog.com Hoovers: www.hoovers.comAdditional Hybrid sources: Partly free, partly $.

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Factors Determining Cost

Secondary 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

Primary 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 ResearchAssess 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

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.) 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 E.g. “alternative energy” AND wind

NOT solar = 639,000

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Alerts - Google Alerts

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?

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 “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

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 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 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 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/

Clean Energy States Alliance

http://www.cleanenergystates.org/

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Sources: Trade Shows & Professional Conferences

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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ExamplesSpeakers:

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

Authoritative Timely Examples

Labor statistics Economic Census International Trade Demographics

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Company Information

Competitor? Partners? Clients? Public (easier to find information)

Full disclosure SEC filings Annual reports Agreements

Private (harder to find information)

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

plansCaution – tell you what they want you to know!

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Sources: Market Research Reports 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 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) 731-9300jan@bancroftinfo.com

www.bancroftinfo.com