Posted on: 03 December, 2001
Author: Wild Bill Montgomery
I have always been a firm believer that there is neverone correct answer to a ... Some call ... I call it ... and ... I have also come to the ... over I have always been a firm believer that there is neverone correct answer to a question. Some call thatargumentative, I call it Independent and CreativeThought. I have also come to the conclusion over theyears that by feeding answers to a student, they willultimately starve. On the other hand by posing aquestion, you teach them to think and in turn feedtheir own thought and energies.You will never get the right answers however, if youdon't know the right questions. So with this in mind, Ifrom time to time write an article, which is consistsof mostly questions! Questions covering a singlesubject, which I hope will provoke you into independentthought, thus creating productive output. Our topic iswhat? Marketing Research!Marketing Research is a very important step in theevolution of your business. Without research, you haveno basis on which to answer even the most basicquestions; questions that you must answer if you trulydesire to successfully market your product or service.1. Your Market. A. Do you know whom your target market is? B. Who are your current customers and do they fall into your target market? C. Are your current customers loyal to your product? Why or Why not? D. If not, how can your create a loyalty strategy? E. What is the current size and geographic spread of your target market? F. What will it be in the future? G. Will you be able to maintain a product and company growth rate to match that of the projected growth rate of your target market? H. Is your product part of a trend market that has a volatile base, which can collapse or increase rapidly? I. Are you prepared for this? How? J. Do you have backend products or services?2. Your Price. A. Is your market price sensitive? B. If so, how does the price of your product or service stack up against your competitors? C. How are you justifying this price in accordance with the "Price Curve" of your market? D. Is there an obvious perceived value in having a higher price? E. How does your product Service and Support Pricing compare to your competitors? F. Do you offer "credit terms" to aid you in higher pricing strategies? G. How do you think your competitor(s) will react to your pricing structures?3. Your Competition. A. Are you in or entering a market that is already overrun with competition? B. Have you prepared for this with a well-planned strategy to overcome the over abundance of competition? C. What kind of companies make up your competition and can you compete with them in this market? D. Have you diligently analyzed your competitions strengths and weaknesses? E. Have you honestly analyzed yours?Obviously these are not all the questions you need toanswer to successfully market your product. But if youcan answer the questions I've prepared here, you willfind that the answers to others will come more easily.I hope that you have given these questions more than aquick thought and haphazard answer. The old saying"more is better" certainly applies here. The more datayou compile and apply to each question, the better.Also, being the dyslexic-absent-minded professor type,I have found that putting everything on paper makes itclearer, easier to remember and I have it to look backon when I need to refer to something I have long sinceforgotten.Good luck to you in your Marketing Ad-ventures! Article Tags: Target Market Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com