market research for the green venture sbdc january 18, 2011 jan knight
TRANSCRIPT
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) [email protected]
www.bancroftinfo.com