TAGBILARAN CITY COLLEGE

College of Business and Industry

Tagbilaran City, Bohol

Course Code ENTREP213 Instructor Bituin A. Acera

Market Research and

Course Title Email bacera.tcc@gmail.com
Consumer Behavior

Course Credits 3 Contact Number (0928) 7411 718

Course Entrepreneurship Consultation
Classification Core Hours
Pre- Consultation Faculty Room
ENTREP211
Requisite(s) Venue (by appointment)

Duration of Delivery August 25 & 30, 2023

Due Date of Deliverables August 25, 2023

Market Research and Understanding Module

Consumer Behavior 1
Intended Learning Outcomes:

• Define market research and consumer behavior.

• Harness ideas in the market research process.
• Recognize the factors affecting consumer behavior in the market.

MARKET RESEARCH

Market research is the process of gathering, analyzing, and interpreting information to help a
company or individual assess the viability of a product or service and make sound business
decisions. It is of immense importance to entrepreneurs and startup companies to evaluate the
feasibility of a business before committing further resources to the venture.

The following tasks require the use of market research:

• Gathering data on consumer behavior

• Determining how well a product or service meets market demands
 ENTREP213: Module 1 - Market Research and Understanding Consumer Behavior

• Evaluating the market size for a particular product or service

• Facilitating with the business planning process
• Creating a marketing plan for the business
• Addressing the business marketing challenges.
• Identifying major competitors
• Establishing a unique value proposition that distinguishes a business from competitors
• Identifying opportunities for business growth

Many entrepreneurs and startups make the mistake of entering the market without first conducting
in-depth market research, thinking that they know what the market wants. This can cause a
business to make costly mistakes and often leads to failure.

The starting point for any market research endeavor is to gather data on the relevant market
sector. This involves two types of data:
1. Primary information. This is information you gather yourself to obtain for you. Primary
research can be of an exploratory or specific nature.
Exploratory research helps to build up a broad picture of your market and identify any
specific opportunities for market growth.
Specific research is more focused and usually used to assess the market potential of an
opportunity that exploratory research has uncovered.
Primary research can be conducted via email, social media or personal interviews.

2. Secondary information. This is information that has already been compiled and can often
be accessed through online research. Research conducted via internet browsers or public
sources is free and is a good place to start; however, you may have to access studies
done by commercial associations and educational institutions to get the right information,
which may involve a cost.
Market research may seem like a lot of work, it is necessary to have a realistic picture of your
market.

Types of Marketing Research

There are various techniques that can be utilized to perform market research, depending on the
goals and marketing plan of the organization. It can be applied separately to achieve a particular
goal or in combination to create a clearer overview of the market:

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• Competitor analysis
• Interviews
• Focus groups
• Surveys

Competitor Analysis
No business can operate in a vacuum. To reap success, a business has to deal and interact with
all sorts of people, including customers, suppliers, and competitors within its market sector.
Competitors are defined as companies that meet at least one of the following criteria:
• Offer the same product or service
• Offer a similar product or service
• Have the potential to offer the same or similar product or service in the future
• Have the potential to develop a product or service that poses a considerable threat to the
survival of your offering

Analyzing the competitors' strengths and weaknesses will help determine their weaknesses,
counteract their advantages, and anticipate competitor's moves. In analyzing each competitor,
the following information is needed to be gathered:

• The needs and preferences of customers the business is competing to meet.

• The similarities between the competitor’s products and services to the business.
• The strengths and weaknesses of each of the competitor’s products and services.
• How the competitor’s prices compare with the business.
• The competitor’s market performance.
• The level of customer satisfaction with the competitor’s products and services.

Having gathered this information, the business need to formulate a plan that outlines the intention
to compete with each competitor. Do you offer:
• Lower prices?
• Better support?
• Better service quality?
• Easier access to services

Competitor analysis will enable the business to identify Unique Value Proposition (UVP). This is
generally a unique aspect of the product or service offering that sets the business apart from the
competitors. A UVP can be a powerful tool in future marketing campaigns, especially if it meets a
customer need that may have been identified through other marketing research endeavors.

Competitor analysis forms a critical part of the competitive intelligence process, which uses the
information gathered during analysis to strategize and formulate long-term plans for the business.
Management can also use competitor analysis to decide how to counter a competitor’s
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ascendancy, head off perceived threats to the company’s market share, and develop strategies
to achieve a greater competitive advantage in the future.

Interviews

Interviews are classified as a qualitative method of market research involving a one-on-one

interaction between an interviewer and a participant. Interviews are used for exploratory research,
and there are wide ranges of interviewing formats that can be used, depending on what you want
to achieve. Interviews are a form of primary research to learn more about customer needs and
opinions.
Interviews are particularly useful for the following tasks:
• Developing a new product
• Getting feedback after a product launch
• Evaluating a new market segment
• Updating customer needs and opinions
• Finding out the reason for the loss in market share

Interviews can be conducted online or face-to-face. This can be entirely open-ended or structured
with specific questions to elicit responses that help the business to determine opinions and market
trends. Interviews can also provide a picture of how market needs change according to
demographics or location.
Face-to-face interview generally produce the most accurate results, but it is time consuming, and
the cost may be excessive.

Surveys

Surveys are probably one of the easiest ways to generate information for market research. It can
benefit a business accomplishing the following goals:
• Reach a specific audience.
• Understand the customers better.
• Research and analyze a target market.
• Measure brand awareness.
• Gauge opinions about an existing or future product.
• Assess where the business stand compared with the competitors.
• Create social media strategies and build marketing campaigns.
• Delve deeper into customer demographics.
• Conduct market segmentation.
• Decide which creative assets to employ in future campaigns.
• Test branding and positioning.
• Use customer feedback for marketing testimonials.

Surveys can be conducted online or by mail. Whichever avenue is chosen, a survey needs to be
correctly designed to generate enough interest to ensure participation and to elicit responses that
are in line with the survey objectives.

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Target Audience and Segmentation

In marketing, it is essential to understand the target audience; otherwise, the business does not
know which channels to use for your advertising campaigns. It is important to know how to reach
and resonate with the audience by targeting the demographic that is most likely to be attracted
by the business product or service.

The best way to find a target audience is to analyze the specific needs that the product or service
caters to. The more generally used product would be, the easier it is to advertise and formulate a
marketing campaign. It is essential to evaluate the success of any marketing campaign by
monitoring the following aspects:
• Sales
• New customers
• Inquiries
• Requests for information
If these results are not satisfactory, you need to alter your advertising message or amend your
marketing campaign to target other channels.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN THE MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS

Consumer behavior is the study of customers and organizations to determine how they select
and use products and services. It is mainly concerned with psychology, motivations, and behavior.

The study of consumer behavior includes:

• How consumers think and feel about different alternatives (brands,

products, services, and retailers)
• How consumers reason and select between different alternatives
• The behavior of consumers while researching and shopping
• How consumer behavior is influenced by their environment (peers,
culture, media)
• How marketing campaigns can be adapted and improved to more
effectively influence the consumer

These considerations are influenced by three factors:

1. Personal factors – A person’s interests and opinions. These will be affected by

demographics such as age, gender, culture, profession, background and so on.
2. Psychological factors – Everybody’s response to a particular marketing campaign will
be based on their perceptions and attitudes. A person’s ability to comprehend information,
their perception of their need, their attitude, will all play a part.
3. Social factors – Peer groups, from family and friends to social media influence. This
factor also includes social class, income, and education level.

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FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES

North Eastern University. (2021). Guide to market research and understanding

consumer behavior. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/4y8d3np3

Kit Smith, (2016). Brandwatch. How to understand and influence consumer behavior.
Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/2uadwf22

“Research is creating new knowledge” – Neil Armstrong -

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