WELCOME! INTRODUCTION TO MARKET RESEARCH Brought to you by the North Dakota Indian Business Alliance and funded by the Northwest Area Foundation. Before you get started, you may want to download a copy of the slides and handouts for this presentation so you can take notes as you go along.

If you have any problems call 701-250-0728 or email Stacey@agencymabu.com

Learning Objectives

Understand the difference between

primary and secondary research

Prepare for the market research process

Learn various tools used for market

research

Types of Market Research

1.  Primary research is based on information you collect

•  Customer Surveys •  Taste Tests

2.  Secondary research is based on information from studies previously performed by other organizations

•  Industry Reports •  Census Data

Segmenting Your Market Market Segments •  Retirees •  Families with children at home Demographic Profiles •  Age: Over 65 yrs. Old •  Age: Between 30 & 40 yrs. Old •  Household income: Over $75K •  Homeowner Lifestyles/Hobbies •  Hunting •  Fishing •  Camping •  Travel

Industry Codes •  Anytime you conduct market research you will need to know your

industry code because many of the databases used for market research will ask for it.

•  North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.

•  Every type of business will have an industry code. It’s also common for businesses to operate under more than one industry code depending on the range of products and services offered.

•  Looking up the industry code is simple and free by using keywords. •  NAICS WEBSITE: NAICS.com

Insert industry key word

•  Where is my industry now and what’s the forecast for the future?

•  What are major challenges this industry faces?

•  What is the most current industry news? •  How does my business measure up against others in the industry?

Helpful Tip: If you have problems identifying and segmenting your target markets, industry reports will contain information and

resources that can help you.

•  Find customers based on lifestyles and hobbies •  Narrow your customers based on specific demographic information

such as income, age and geographic location

•  Identify your competition •  Locate potential business customers and other business information Lifestyles product is a great tool to use for things such as developing a targeted direct mail list. This can be used not only for direct mail programs. It can also be used to identify good locations for other advertising platforms such as bill boards. It can become even more powerful if you have access to a Geographic mapping tool (see map slides). Point out that the USPS has a direct mail marketing service they might want to check out. U.S. Businesses product is great for identifying potential business customers as well as competitors in the market.

Choose advanced search

Select the criteria based on the demographic factors of your

market segments

Unfortunately these additional

demographic factors under consumer snapshot will not create a “list” of

potential customers so we need to find

another lifestyle variable that will

help us obtain a list of the potential

customers we want

In this case we choose “children’s apparel” to help us

develop a list of potential customers that are likely to fit

our “young families” market segment

We now have a list of people who live in the Bismarck metro area, make over $60K, Like to hunt, fish, camp and RV travel and are likely to have young children in the home

You can use the U.S. Business Database to identify competitors. If you are selling products and services to other businesses, this will be the product you use to find potential business customers. The selection criteria will be a little different for businesses but it’s the same process.

•  Compare spending trends on consumer goods

•  Identify and compare important demographic information

•  Provides tools such as mapping, charts and graphs to help you better analyze your data (and great to include in your business plan!)

Great for comparing multiple geographic areas such as counties and cities!

Industry Associations

THANK YOU! On behalf of the North Dakota Indian Business Alliance (NDIBA) we thank you for utilizing this webinar as a resource for starting your own business. If you would like further technical assistance in the development of your business plan or addressing an issue in your small business please contact Stacey LaCompte at 701-250-0728 or email Stacey@agencymabu.com. Learn more about NDIBA at ndiba.com. If you have specific questions regarding this webinar please contact ONABEN staff member Lynn Wilson via email lynn@onaben.org.