Market research isn't something you do as a one-off when you launch your business. Business conditions change continually, so your market research should be continuous as well. Otherwise you run the risk of making business decisions based on out-of-date information, which can lead to business failure.

The more you succeed, the more competitors notice - and react to - what you are doing. A market-leading offer one day may be no better than average a few months later.

Apparently loyal customers can be quick to find alternative suppliers who provide a better deal.

As products (and services) age, sales growth and profit margins get squeezed. Understanding where your products are in their lifecycles can help you work out how to maximise overall profitability. At the same time, you need to invest in innovation to build a stream of new, profitable products to market.

Information sources

Published information can provide useful insights into market conditions and trends. As a growing business, your own experience can be even more valuable.

You should be able to build up an in-depth picture of what customers want, how they behave and which of your marketing approaches work best.

Taking the time to talk to key customers pays off. Your suppliers and other business partners can be important sources of market information. You should encourage your employees to share what they know about customers and the market. Effective IT systems can also make it easier to share and analyse key information such as customers' purchasing behaviour and preferences.

You may want to carry out extra research as well - for example, to test customer reaction to a new product.

Meet our research consultants today.

Novatia Consulting Limited
Suite 22,POWA Plaza, Garki Business District,
Abuja
Nigeria
www.novatiaconsulting.com

To effectively manage this information, a company needs a marketing information system. As computers become common business tools in recent time firms are able to collect, store, and manipulate larger amount of data to aid marketing information system (MKIS) which is an ongoing, organized procedure to generate, analyse, disseminate, store, and retrieve information for use in making marketing decisions.

Generally, three trends render the needs for marketing information stronger than any time in the past.

The first trend is the shift from local to national and international marketing. This means that company decision maker must make key decisions based on second-hand information since they are far removed from scenes where their products are sold.


We have discussed the four basic concepts of marketing organisation structure, including the combine type of marketing organisation structure. The type of structure that is suitable to a company depends very much on the size of the business, the nature of the business and its customers. We can match the suitability as follows:


A channel of distribution (also called a marketing channel) is a group of individuals and organizations that direct^ the flow of products from producers to consumers. Providing customers purchasing satisfaction should be the driving force behind all marketing channel activities. Buyer's needs and consumer behaviour is therefore important concerns of channel members.

Channels of distribution make products available at the right time, in the right place, and in the right quantity by providing such product-enhancing functions as service, transportation, and storage. Although customers do not see the distribution of a product, they value the product availability that channels of distribution make available for them.

Consumer behaviour
http://www.businessplannigeria.com.ng/consumer-behaviour/

Abbakin is one of the leading offline and online market research companies in Lagos Nigeria. We offer well defined market research services for small and medium scale businesses, corporate enterprises, institutions, celebrities and multinational companies in diverse industries.

Workforce Group is a market research company in Nigeria helping multinationals take advantage of the ever-growing Nigerian business ecosystem.

akinniranye:
Market research isn't something you do as a one-off when you launch your business. Business conditions change continually, so your market research should be continuous as well. Otherwise you run the risk of making business decisions based on out-of-date information, which can lead to business failure.

The more you succeed, the more competitors notice - and react to - what you are doing. A market-leading offer one day may be no better than average a few months later.

Apparently loyal customers can be quick to find alternative suppliers who provide a better deal.

As products (and services) age, sales growth and profit margins get squeezed. Understanding where your products are in their lifecycles can help you work out how to maximise overall profitability. At the same time, you need to invest in innovation to build a stream of new, profitable products to market.

Information sources

Published information can provide useful insights into market conditions and trends. As a growing business, your own experience can be even more valuable.

You should be able to build up an in-depth picture of what customers want, how they behave and which of your marketing approaches work best.

Taking the time to talk to key customers pays off. Your suppliers and other business partners can be important sources of market information. You should encourage your employees to share what they know about customers and the market. Effective IT systems can also make it easier to share and analyse key information such as customers' purchasing behaviour and preferences.

You may want to carry out extra research as well - for example, to test customer reaction to a new product.

Meet our research consultants today.

Novatia Consulting Limited
Suite 22,POWA Plaza, Garki Business District,
Abuja
Nigeria
www.novatiaconsulting.com