Marketing Module 3 Market Opportunity Analysis Consumer Analysis
Marketing Module 3 Market Opportunity Analysis Consumer Analysis
Marketing Module 3 Market Opportunity Analysis Consumer Analysis
In case you are unfamiliar with this person, he is known as Mark Cuban, an American billionaire
entrepreneur, television personality, media proprietor, and investor, whose net worth is an estimated
$4.3 billion, according to Forbes and ranked #177 on the 2020 Forbes 400 list. He is also the owner of
the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.
He is also a member of the show, Shark Tank. Shark Tank is an American business reality
television series that premiered on August 9, 2009 on ABC. The show is the American franchise of the
international format Dragons' Den, which originated in Japan as Money Tigers in 2001. It
shows entrepreneurs making business presentations to a panel of five investors or "sharks," who
decide whether to invest in their company.
In the show, it is important that participants or arising entrepreneurs have enough knowledge
about their business but must also be knowledgeable about their respective customers. Hence, the
coverage of this module.
In this module and the next module, it will be emphasized to you how important it is to know
your consumer just as how important it is to know your company.
Then comes Tactical Marketing Plan, which consists of planning the actual activities that
improve your competitive position and convey your brand image. Strategic marketing is the idea.
Tactical marketing is the action.
For clarity, the comparison between marketing strategy (strategic marketing) and marketing
tactics (tactical marketing) is shown below.
To help you understand better what SWOT analysis is, SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats, and so a SWOT Analysis is a technique for assessing these four aspects
of your business.
You can use SWOT Analysis to make the most of what you've got, to your organization's best
advantage. And you can reduce the chances of failure, by understanding what you're lacking,
and eliminating hazards that would otherwise catch you unawares.
Better still, you can start to craft a strategy that distinguishes you from your competitors, and so
compete successfully in your market.
Strengths are things that your organization does particularly well, or in a way that distinguishes
you from your competitors. Think about the advantages your organization has over other
organizations. These might be the motivation of your staff, access to certain materials, or a strong
set of manufacturing processes.
Weaknesses, like strengths, are inherent features of your organization, so focus on your people,
resources, systems, and procedures. Think about what you could improve, and the sorts of
practices you should avoid.
Opportunities are openings or chances for something positive to happen, but you'll need to
claim them for yourself! They usually arise from situations outside your organization, and require an
eye to what might happen in the future. They might arise as developments in the market you
serve, or in the technology you use.
Threats include anything that can negatively affect your business from the outside, such as
supply chain problems, shifts in market requirements, or a shortage of recruits. It's vital to
anticipate threats and to take action against them before you become a victim of them and
your growth stalls.
events you’re hosting. Plan only activities that directly support your strategic marketing plan. If
your strategy involves expanding into the high-end consumer market, your tactics might aim to
convey a quality image at a reasonable price. Advertising and events showcasing the newest
products and informational events designed to educate your customer community about use
and maintenance of your products can help to convey your company’s reliability as a prime
reason the customer is better served by purchasing your high-end product line.
1. Micro-environment
The micro-environment is made from individuals and organizations that are close to the
company and directly impact the customer experience.
Examples would include the company itself, its suppliers, other marketing input from agencies,
the markets and segments in which your business trades, your competition and also those around
you (which public relations would call publics) who are not paying customers but still have an
interest in your business. The micro-environment is relatively controllable since the actions of the
business may influence such stakeholders.
b. Customers
Me dealing with another weird
There are 5 type of customers that have to be
considered. Let’s make use of rice as the example customer.
for each.
• Consumer Markets – individual buyers who
buy for their own use. Doña Maria rice is an
example.
• Business Markets – organizational buyers
who buy as input to their own products.
Rice sold to the Jollibee Food Group
becomes a business market.
• Government Markets – government agencies that buy to produce public services. Rice
bought by DSWD that are then given to calamity victims is an example.
• International Markets – buyers are from countries. Taking advantage of wider flat lands,
50% lower production cost and preferential zero tariff for European countries in
Myanmar, SL Agritech intends to plant their soft and sticky rice in Myanmar and export
to the Philippines and elsewhere.
• Reseller Markets – organizational or individual buyers who buy for resell at a profit
without adding anything to the product. An example would be retailers like Robinson’s
supplying companies as part of employee benefits.
c. Competition
The 2 types of competition that need to
be considered from customer’s
perspectives are:
• Direct Competition – similar
offerings from the perspective of
customers
• Indirect Competition – offerings
deemed as substitutes to another
product or service like chocolate
vs. flowers on Valentine’s Day, ow
watching a movie vs. walk in the
park to spend 2 hours of
discretionary time.
d. Channel
Individuals or companies who buy and resell the company’s products to final buyers. (this will
be thoroughly discussed in advance modules).
e. Complementors
Individuals or businesses who can help an organization understand, promote and/or sell its
products or services.
• Physical Distribution
• Marketing Agencies
• Financial Intermediaries
f. Communities
Public stakeholders where the organization needs to be sensitive to their public opinions
2. Macro-environment
The macro-environment is less controllable. The macro environment consists of much larger all-
encompassing influences (which impact the microenvironment) from the broader global society.
Here we would consider culture, political issues, technology, the natural environment, economic
issues, and demographic factors amongst others.
PESTLE Analysis
PESTLE analysis, which is sometimes referred to as PEST analysis, is a concept in marketing
principles. Moreover, this concept is used as a tool by companies to track the environment
they’re operating in or are planning to launch a new project/product/service, etc.
PESTLE is a mnemonic which in its expanded form denotes P for Political, E for Economic, S for
Social, T for Technological, L for Legal, and E for Environmental. It gives a bird’s eye view of the
whole environment from many different angles that one wants to check and keep a track of
while contemplating a certain idea/plan.
These factors determine the extent to which a government may influence the economy or a
certain industry. For example, a government may impose a new tax or duty due to which entire
revenue generating structures of organizations might change. Political factors include tax policies,
Fiscal policy, trade tariffs, etc. that a government may levy around the fiscal year and it may
affect the business environment (economic environment) to a great extent.
• Economic factors in PESTLE Analysis
These factors are determinants of an economy’s performance that directly impacts a
company and have resonating long term effects. For example, a rise in the inflation rate of any
economy would affect the way companies price their products and services. Adding to that, it
would affect the purchasing power of a consumer and change demand/supply models for that
economy. Economic factors include inflation rate, interest rates, foreign exchange rates,
economic growth patterns, etc. It also accounts for the FDI (foreign direct investment) depending
on certain specific industries who’re undergoing this analysis.
• Social factors in PESTLE Analysis
These factors scrutinize the social environment of the market, and gauge determinants like
cultural trends, demographics, population analytics, etc. An example of this can be buying trends
for Western countries like the US where there is high demand during the Holiday season.
• Technological factors in PESTLE Analysis
These factors pertain to innovations in technology that may affect the operations of the
industry and the market favorably or unfavorably. This refers to automation, research and
development, and the amount of technological awareness that a market possesses.
• Legal factors in PESTLE Analysis
These factors have both external and internal sides. There are certain laws that affect the
business environment in a certain country while there are certain policies that companies
maintain for themselves. Legal analysis takes into account both of these angles and then charts
out the strategies in light of these legislations. For example, consumer laws, safety standards, labor
laws, etc.
• Environmental factors in PESTLE Analysis
These factors include all those that influence or are
determined by the surrounding environment. This aspect
of the PESTLE is crucial for certain industries particularly for
example tourism, farming, agriculture, etc. Factors of
a business environmental analysis include but are not
limited to climate, weather, geographical location,
global changes in climate, environmental offsets, etc.
Key success factors are decided by the needs and preferences of your market and customers,
not by your business. However, consumers aren't going to tell you what those KSF are.
Discovering your key success factors requires researching your customers to understand who
they are, what they want from your company, and what prompts them to make a purchase.
A business generally has three to five key success factors that it needs to focus on to achieve
its goals. Key success factors also may relate to areas of weakness that you must overcome to
create a stronger relationship with your customers.
Once you understand and begin using your key success factors, they become part of your
brand and business style.
Example. A major food corporation uses market research to discover that their target
customers are health-conscious mothers between the ages of 25 and 45. Providing a
convenient location is one key success factor for reaching those customers.
To make this KSF part of its business and marketing strategy, the food corporation positions its
grocery stores near gyms, daycare centers, shopping centers, and other areas that its target
customers already frequent. The corporation then creates advertising that highlights the
convenience of shopping at its stores for healthy mothers with busy schedules.
Key success factors can also be applied to individual product launches or events.
Example. A nail salon is advertising its grand opening, and one key success factor of the
opening is having as many people visit the salon as possible that day. To increase customer
turnout, the salon offers a 20 percent discount to the first 50 people who arrive and promotes
this discount in all its marketing.
Tracking how customers respond to your marketing initiatives will show you whether you are
creating strong relationships with your customers. If your marketing results in strong sales, you've
correctly identified and used your key success factors. If not, you may need to return to the research
and planning stage.
You may also discover that as your business grows and your customer base changes, your key
success factors change as well. Data tracking will help you identify trends over time so that you can
adjust your marketing and sales plans accordingly.
Example. Car buyers expect large yearly sales, so a key success factor for a successful car dealership
is the traditional 4th of July sale. This key success factor wouldn't be appropriate for service-oriented
businesses or those selling products with no margin for discount.
To properly identify and use your key success factors, pay attention to customer retention, the
results of trade show presentations and events, how customers respond to your advertising
and promotions, social sentiment regarding your brand, and media coverage. Then, make
sure that all those things actually translate into sales. If your social sentiment is positive, your
media coverage is growing, and your customers are coming back for more, then you know
your strategies are working.
Marketing Research
Market Research is the process of assessing the viability of a new product or service through
techniques such as surveys, product testing, and focus groups.
Market research allows a company to discover who their target market is and what these
consumers think about a product or service before it becomes available to the public.
Market research may be conducted by the company itself or by a third-party company that
specializes in market research. Test subjects are usually compensated with product samples and/or
paid a small stipend for their time.
Marketing Research is “the process or set of processes that links the producers, customers, and
end users to the marketer through information – information used to identify and define marketing
opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing
performance; and improve understanding or marketing as a process.
Marketing research is often partitioned into two sets of categorical pairs, either by target
market:
• Consumer marketing research, and
• Business-to-business (B2B) marketing research
Or alternatively, by methodological approach:
• Qualitative marketing research, and
• Quantitative marketing research
In the 1950’s, the US was richer than ever before and its wealth was spread more widely. The
oil coming from the Arab world was cheap and plentiful, a perfect support system for a nation
splurging on bigger and heavier cars with lots of options. Foreign car makers saw an opportunity;
European and, later, Japanese companies brought in smaller cars – amidst perceptions that
American carmakers clung to their belief that they could roll back the foreigners anytime it wanted.
The idea had always been that the imports could have 5% of the market, nothing more.
In 1966, the import figure reached 10 per cent with VW getting 60% of the total import
market… US carmakers responded by bringing out their new compacts, but the import sales did not
collapse… steadily, Nissan (at that time, known as Datsun) and then Toyota gained on the other
imports. Nissan introduced the small 1600cc car which became known as the first inexpensive fuel-
efficient car with high-tech, high-performance capability. Sales of Nissan cars and other Japanese
vehicles went up. Nissan promptly jumped into third place among the importers. The US carmakers
tried to play ‘catch-up’; they realized that Japanese cars could be more than functional, they could
be good. In American factories, quality began receiving more than mere lip service and US cars
started to get better. The problem was that the Japanese were not standing still. A number of studies
by professional organizations showed that despite the improvements made by Americans, the
Japanese were still significantly ahead in quality… after 1968, the Japanese passed the West
Germans to become the No. 2 producer of motor vehicles in the world… (excerpts from The
Reckoning, by David Halberstam, 1986, Avon Books, ISBN 0-380-70447-1)
Develop questions that will allow you to define your problem (or opportunity), and examine all
potential causes so that the research can be whittled down to the information you actually need to
solve that problem or determine what action to take regarding an opportunity. Oftentimes, these are
questions about who your target market or ideal buyer persona is (for example: “What does our ideal
customer look like?”). These might include questions about demographics, what their occupation is,
what they like to do in their spare time—anything to help you get a clearer picture of who your ideal
buyer persona is. Consider as many variables and potential causes as possible.
To help you develop the research plan, let’s review a few techniques for conducting research:
• Interview prospects and customers. Oftentimes, you get the best feedback by using this tactic
because you’re going straight to the source. This might take the form of a focus group or one-
on-one interviews. Use your defined research problem to help select the right people to
interview.
• Conduct a survey using SurveyMonkey(Online) or another tool.
• Run user tests on your website or landing page(s). This is a cost-effective approach that can
provide a lot of insight and data on how your customers or potential customers behave or
respond to something, whether it’s new messaging or branding or a modified product or
service you are thinking about offering.
Oftentimes, we do all of this work and gather all of the data—only to realize that we didn’t
have to reinvent the wheel because someone had already run a similar, credible study or solved the
same problem. That doesn’t mean you don’t need to do any research, but learning about what
other organizations have done to solve a problem or seize an opportunity can help you tweak your
research study and save you time when considering all of the research options. In marketing
research, this is called secondary data because it has been collected by someone else, versus the
primary data that you would collect through your own research study.
When collecting data, make sure it’s valid and unbiased. You should never ask a research
interviewee, “You think that we should offer a higher pricing tier with additional services, correct?”
This type of question is clearly designed to influence the way the person responds. Try asking both
open-ended and closed-ended questions (for instance, a multiple-choice question asking what
income range best describes you).
Sometimes, it’s important to write up a summary of the study, including the process that you
followed, the results, conclusions, and what steps you recommend taking based on those results.
Even if you don’t need a formal marketing research report, be sure that you review the study and
results so that you can articulate the recommended course of action. Sharing the charts and data
you collected is pointless if it doesn’t lead to action.
Was your hypothesis proven wrong? Great—that’s why you do testing and don’t run with
assumptions when making decisions that could have a major impact on your organization. It’s always
better to take the results as they are than to twist the data to prove yourself right.
The problems, business environment, and trends are constantly changing, which means that
your research is never over. The trends you discovered through your research are evolving. You
should be analyzing your data on a regular basis to see where you can improve. The more you know
about your buyer personas, industry, and company, the more successful your marketing efforts and
company will be. When you look at it that way, you should start to wonder why so many
organizations don’t budget time and resources for marketing research.
It is important to take note that there are a lot more to the marketing research process than
these five core steps, but these are enough to get you started. Good luck, and be sure to share any
tips you have discovered for conducting marketing research!
References:
• Go, J., & Escareal-Go, C. (2017). Principles and Practices in Marketing in the Philippine Setting.
14 Ilang-Ilang St., New Manila, Quezon City, Philippines: Josiah and Carolina Go Foundation.
• CC 658.833 k8487 2023 C.1.
Kotler, P. (2023). Entrepreneurial Marketing. New Jersey, USA. John Wiley & Sons.
• Medina, R. (2008). Principles of Marketing. Manila Philippines: Rex Bookstore, Inc.
• Ligaya, E. F., Jerusalem, V. L., Palencia, J. M., & Palencia, M. M. (2017). Principles of Marketing.
Sampaloc, Manila, Philippines: Fastbooks Educational Supply, Inc.
• Ilano, A. B. (2019). Principles of Marketing. Manila Philippines: Rex Bookstore, Inc.
• https://www.mindtools.com/amtbj63/swot-analysis. Retrieved: 11 December 2023.
• https://pestleanalysis.com/what-is-pestle-analysis/. Retrieved: 11 December 2023
• https://www.smartbugmedia.com/blog/the-5-step-marketing-research-process. Retrieved: 11
December 2023