Market Drivers

A driver may be defined as a market fundamental that is basic to meeting a buyer's criteria,
need, or desire to have a product or service. A driver, however, constitutes the factor that will
move a potential buyer into becoming an actual buyer. This understanding may be best
exemplified by one example from AT&T, and another, by looking at an overall model relative
to telecommunications equipment manufacturers.
What is Business Drivers
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Business drivers are the people, information, and tasks that support the fulfillment of
a business objective. They lead the company trying to get it away from pitfalls and
turn unforeseen mistakes into good lessons for future success and sustainability.

A business needs to be constantly driven and updated to be at par with its

competitors and to be in sync with the latest trends in business technology which
change sometimes very unexpectedly.

Marketing research
Main article: Marketing research

Marketing research involves conducting research to support marketing activities, and the
statistical interpretation of data into information. This information is then used by
managers to plan marketing activities, gauge the nature of a firm's marketing
environment and attain information from suppliers. Marketing researchers use statistical
methods such as quantitative research, qualitative research, hypothesis tests, Chi-squared
tests, linear regression, correlations, frequency distributions, poisson distributions,
binomial distributions, etc. to interpret their findings and convert data into information.
The marketing research process spans a number of stages including the definition of a
problem, development of a research plan, collecting and interpretation of data and
disseminating information formally in form of a report. The task of marketing research is
to provide management with relevant, accurate, reliable, valid, and current information.

A distinction should be made between marketing research and market research. Market
research pertains to research in a given market. As an example, a firm may conduct
research in a target market, after selecting a suitable market segment. In contrast,
marketing research relates to all research conducted within marketing. Thus, market
research is a subset of marketing research.

[edit] Marketing environment

[edit] Market segmentation

Main article: Market segmentation

Market segmentation pertains to the division of a market of consumers into persons with
similar needs and wants. As an example, if using Kellogg's cereals in this instance,
Frosties are marketed to children. Crunchy Nut Cornflakes are marketed to adults. Both
goods aforementioned denote two products which are marketed to two distinct groups of
persons, both with like needs, traits, and wants.

The purpose for market segmentation is conducted for two main issues. First, a
segmentation allows a better allocation of a firm's finite resources. A firm only possesses
a certain amount of resources. Accordingly, it must make choices (and appreciate the
related costs) in servicing specific groups of consumers. Furthermore the diversified
tastes of the contemporary Western consumers can be served better. With more diversity
in the tastes of modern consumers, firms are taking note of the benefit of servicing a
multiplicity of new markets.

Types of marketing research

Marketing research, as a sub-set aspect of marketing activities, can be divided into the
following parts:

• Primary research (also known as field research), which involves the conduction
and compilation of research for the purpose it was intended.
• Secondary research (also referred to as desk research), is initially conducted for
one purpose, but often used to support another purpose or end goal.

By these definitions, an example of primary research would be market research

conducted into health foods, which is used solely to ascertain the needs/wants of the
target market for health foods. Secondary research, again according to the above
definition, would be research pertaining to health foods, but used by a firm wishing to
develop an unrelated product.

Primary research is often expensive to prepare, collect and interpret from data to
information. Nonetheless, while secondary research is relatively inexpensive, it often can
become outdated and outmoded, given it is used for a purpose other than for which is was
intended. Primary research can also be broken down into quantitative research and
qualitative research, which as the labels suggest, pertain to numerical and non-numerical
research methods, techniques. The appropriateness of each mode of research depends on
whether data can be quantified (quantitative research), or whether subjective, non-
numeric or abstract concepts are required to be studied (qualitative research).

Marketing strategy

The field of marketing strategy encompasses the strategy involved in the management of
a given product.

A given firm may hold numerous products in the marketplace, spanning numerous and
sometimes wholly unrelated industries. Accordingly, a plan is required in order to
manage effectively such products. Evidently, a company needs to weigh up and ascertain
how to utilize effectively its finite resources. As an example, a start-up car manufacturing
firm would face little success, should it attempt to rival immediately Toyota, Ford,
Nissan, Chevrolet, or any other large global car maker. Moreover, a product may be
reaching the end of its life-cycle. Thus, the issue of divest, or a ceasing of production
may be made. With regard to the aforesaid questions, each scenario requires a unique
marketing strategy to be employed. Below are listed some prominent marketing strategy
models, which seek to propose means to answer the preceding questions.

[edit] Marketing specializations

With the rapidly emerging force of globalization, the distinction between marketing
within a firm's home country and marketing within external markets is disappearing very
quickly. With this occurrence in mind, firms need to reorient their marketing strategies to
meet the challenges of the global marketplace, in addition to sustaining their
competitiveness within home markets.[14]

[edit] Buying behaviour

A marketing firm must ascertain the nature of the customers buying behaviour, if it is to
market its product properly. In order to entice and persuade a consumer to buy a product,
marketers try to determine the behavioural process of how a given product is purchased.
Buying behaviour is usually split in two prime strands, whether selling to the consumer,
known as business-to-consumer (B2C) or another business, similarly known as business-
to-business (B2B).

[edit] B2C buying behaviour

This mode of behaviour concerns consumers, in the purchase of a given product. As an

example, if one pictures a pair of sneakers, the desire for a pair of sneakers would be
followed by an information search on available types/brands. This may include perusing
media outlets, but most commonly consists of information gathered from family and
friends.If the information search is insufficient, the consumer may search for alternative
means to satisfy the need/want. In this case, this may be buying leather shoes, sandals,
etc. The purchase decision is then made, in which the consumer actually buys the
product. Following this stage, a post-purchase evaluation is often conducted, comprising
an appraisal of the value/utility brought by the purchase of the sneakers. If the
value/utility is high, then a repeat purchase may be bought. This could then develop into
consumer loyalty, for the firm producing the pair of sneakers.

[edit] B2B buying behaviour

Relates to organizational/industrial buying behavior.[15] The term "B2B" stands for

Business to Business. B2B marketing in its most simple definition is when one business
markets a product or service to another business. B2C and B2B behavior are not exact, as
similarities and differences exist, Some of the key differences are listed below:

In a straight re-buy, the fourth, fifth and sixth stages are omitted. In a modified re-buy
scenario, the fifth and sixth stages are precluded. In a new buy, all aforementioned stages
are conducted.

Services marketing
Services marketing relates to the marketing of services, as opposed to tangible products.
A typical definition of a service (as opposed to a good) is thus:

• The use of it is inseparable from its purchase (i.e. a service is used and consumed
simultaneously)
• It does not possess material form, and thus cannot be smelt, heard, tasted, or felt.
• The use of a service is inherently subjective, in that due to the human condition,
all persons experiencing a service would experience it uniquely.

As examples of the above points, a train ride can be deemed as a service. If one buys a
train ticket, the use of the train is typically experienced concurrently with the purchase of
the ticket. Although the train is a physical object, one is not paying for the permanent
ownership of the tangible components of the train.

Services (by comparison with goods) can also be viewed as a spectrum. Not all products
are pure goods, nor are all pure services. An intermediary example may be a restaurant,
where the waiter service is intangible, but the food is tangible.

Competitive Landscape
Competitive Landscape analysis identifies your competitors online and offline. It involves a systematic
analysis of the current environment and what they are doing in the organic search space.

The best way to compete is to equip yourself with in depth knowledge of what your competitors are doing.
Knowing where you rank compared to your competitors creates the foundation of any search engine
optimization strategy and gives you a baseline to measure your results.

The competitive landscape is fluid. Your competitors are actively improving their organic search ranks.
Maybe they hired a solid SEO firm to help in improving the quality of organic site content. In addition,
search engine spiders s are crawling web sites 24/7 and supplementing their index with new content. If
Google adds 10 million new pages to their index, chances are that 10 to 10,000 new pages have just been
added to your competitive business area and probably even your target keywords.

The Search Agency methodology for monitoring the competitive landscape includes:

• Competitor SEO Analysis: We identify key competitors in your space and analyze their
strengths and weaknesses in the areas of content optimization, promotional and linking strategies,
and target keywords.
 • Competitor Features: We review unique features of your competitors’ site(s) content and
product offerings and analyze the impact of those features in producing high level organic search
results.
• Navigation: We evaluate the architecture of each of your significant competitors' sites to
determine the impact of site structure of their sites on organic rankings and the competitive
landscape.

Competitive Landscape
Competitive Landscape analysis identifies your competitors online and offline. It involves a systematic
analysis of the current environment and what they are doing in the organic search space.

The best way to compete is to equip yourself with in depth knowledge of what your competitors are doing.
Knowing where you rank compared to your competitors creates the foundation of any search engine
optimization strategy and gives you a baseline to measure your results.

The competitive landscape is fluid. Your competitors are actively improving their organic search ranks.
Maybe they hired a solid SEO firm to help in improving the quality of organic site content. In addition,
search engine spiders s are crawling web sites 24/7 and supplementing their index with new content. If
Google adds 10 million new pages to their index, chances are that 10 to 10,000 new pages have just been
added to your competitive business area and probably even your target keywords.

The Search Agency methodology for monitoring the competitive landscape includes:

• Competitor SEO Analysis: We identify key competitors in your space and analyze their
strengths and weaknesses in the areas of content optimization, promotional and linking strategies,
and target keywords.
• Competitor Features: We review unique features of your competitors’ site(s) content and
product offerings and analyze the impact of those features in producing high level organic search
results.
• Navigation: We evaluate the architecture of each of your significant competitors' sites to
determine the impact of site structure of their sites on organic rankings and the competitive
landscape.

Analyzing Your Competitive Landscape

Posted on 22. Oct, 2009 by Adam in Business
 Every business plan should include a
comprehensive overview of your business’ marketplace competition. Competition means
there is a market for your business and, despite what some may argue, it’s healthy to have
one or more competitors. Any business that provides a similar service or product in the
same region may be viewed as a primary or secondary competitor. Your business needs
to highlight and build upon the weaknesses of its competitors to increase its profitability
and market share. The following provides a step-by-step process in creating your
competitive analysis.

Identifying competitors: One easy way to locate competitors is to use a Google or

Yahoo! map. Enter in your business’ proposed or existing address and search for nearby
businesses of a similar category. For example, if you’re opening a pizzeria, you can
search “pizza shops” or “pizzerias” in the same zip code or city. Through this easy
process, you’ve identified potential competitors. If your business operates in a niche
industry, the best way to identify competitors is to leverage established contacts and web
research.

Understanding your competition: Now that you have identified your top competitors
(aim to analyze at least two direct competitors), it is necessary to learn everything about
these companies. What do I mean? Visit their website; call the business directly to learn
more about the way they operate or what they sell; physically go to the competitor’s
place of business; and research customer reviews. The latter step can be implemented by
simply typing in “customer reviews of XXX” in your online search bar. Also, these
reviews usually are posted on websites such as Yelp.com and CitySearch.com.

Pointing out their weaknesses and strengths (eloquently): Lesson to be learned – no

bashing on competitors; it is unprofessional and makes your business look worse. When I
say bashing, I mean using expressions such as “they suck” or “they have no customer
assistance.” Every company has some element of customer service, so a statement like
that is literally untrue. Now, the competitor may lack quality customer service, and such
an observation would be a much more acceptable approach in pointing out a weakness in
a business. When I am writing a competitive analysis, I always include one to two
strengths and two to three weaknesses of each competitor.

Your competitive advantages: Ah, finally, we’ve reached the point of emphasizing your
strengths. Truly use this section to emphasize why you’re a better business in a bulleted
format (preferred) and include a few statements in paragraph form about how you intend
to surpass your competition. Examples include greater industry knowledge, lower prices,
friendlier and more attentive staff, larger inventory of products, and so forth. Your best
bet is to underscore your own unique competitive edge that cannot be argued. Voila,
you’ve completed your competitive analysis.