Role of Data in Marketing Strategy
Data form the foundation for decision making and strategy development. Data come from two main sources: that which already exists, say, in a database or warehouse (referred to as secondary data); and that which is collected to address specific questions as with a focus group or survey (often referred to as primary data).
Your default approach to data should be to extract as much information as possible from existing sources. Collecting primary data should only be done when secondary data are unable to provide sufficient confidence in the decisions that need to be made.
Your marketing strategy provides a basis for believing that the goals of a marketing plan will be met. It illustrates how your goals will be met by identifying who your customers are and what it will take to get them to want to do business with us. Thus the four main processes used to create a marketing strategy are described as follows:
Step 1: Defining
Define the potential users by the type of want or "need satisfaction" that you plan to offer. With Business Source Premier you can search broadly for market surveys and conditions. Here you can find "canned" SWOT analyses from Data Monitor on large and mid-size companies. Use LexisNexis Markets and Industry News to search on topics related to groups of industries. Use IBISWorld Industry Market Research to find industry overviews.
IBISWorld provides reports on hundreds of U.S. industries. Each report consists of 30 to 40 pages of key statistics and analysis on market characteristics, operating conditions, current and forecast performance, major industry participants and more. Metropolitan State University of Denver's College of Business provides funds to support access to IBISWorld.
Step 2: Segmenting
Indicate how you might segment this market (state the variables and levels of the variables; keep it simple, 2 variables with 2 levels). Use Business Decision Academic, SRDS Nielsen Segmentation & Market Solutions, or Passport to begin your market segmentation research. Explain your choices and how you expect each segment's perceptions, attitudes or behaviors to differ. It's often important to know the applied technology or scientific elements behind even a consumer product. You can use any of the so-called "science" databases for this. Databases that cut across science, social science, techology, business and medicine are Science Direct, Wiley Interscience, IEEE, and Sage Journals Online.
Find media opportunities and marketing information including rates and contact data for national and/or international magazines, digital media, newspapers, television, radio, direct marketing, and out-of-home businesses; as well as demographic and lifestyle information for counties and metropolitan areas in the U.S. (through Local Market Profiles).
Online market research tool monitors economic trends and gives strategic analysis, market size, and market share for numerous products across key countries. Passport includes demographic, psychographic, economic and marketing reports, and statistics, which are comparable across countries. It provides country profiles that include economic news and emerging sectors, and integrated data sets that provide historical trends and forecasting numbers. Datasets may be downloaded to Excel.
Provides access to thousands of full-text journal articles and ebooks related to science, technology, engineering, medicine, social sciences, and humanities.
Provides full-text for journals and books covering all subject areas. Wiley does not provide a "full text only" search or filter therefore your results will include books and articles where full text is not immediately available. To access the full text, search for the book or article title in Start My Research on Auraria Library's homepage or request it through Interlibrary Loan.
The IEEE Xplore Digital Library serves as a premier platform for accessing a wealth of scientific and technical literature published by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and its partners. With over six million documents, it offers a comprehensive collection of highly-cited resources in electrical engineering, computer science, and related fields. Users can explore a diverse array of content, including more than 200 journals, over 3 million conference papers, and approximately 14,000 technical standards. This extensive repository is essential for researchers, students, and professionals seeking authoritative information and insights in their disciplines. You can explore more about the IEEE and its extensive content by visiting their resources homepage.
Full text access to hundreds of Sage journals in business, humanities, social sciences, science, technology, and medicine.
Step 3: Targeting
Identify one segment to target (e.g., those who prefer to drink “real” orange juice as a pick-me-up when out doing fun things). Explain why this segment is important and justify this choice in terms of target’s market attractiveness and the firm’s competitive abilities. Go back to SRDS Nielsen Segmentation & Market Solutions for market segments keyed to major metro, state and city. For very local markets by State, County and City, try Reference USA (Use a Business Custom Search) If your product has a national or international market, start with Passport Global Market Information Database (GMID). A word of caution: GMID won't work for market segments that are smaller than a national level.
If you need statistical support for your decisions, start with the Auraria Library Statistics Guide; then go local, national or international with Colorado By the Numbers, the PEW Research Center or Census and Eurostat. For raw data in aggregate markets useICPSRor Data.gov (Federal Government data).
Find media opportunities and marketing information including rates and contact data for national and/or international magazines, digital media, newspapers, television, radio, direct marketing, and out-of-home businesses; as well as demographic and lifestyle information for counties and metropolitan areas in the U.S. (through Local Market Profiles).
Online market research tool monitors economic trends and gives strategic analysis, market size, and market share for numerous products across key countries. Passport includes demographic, psychographic, economic and marketing reports, and statistics, which are comparable across countries. It provides country profiles that include economic news and emerging sectors, and integrated data sets that provide historical trends and forecasting numbers. Datasets may be downloaded to Excel.
Data, statistics, and forecasts on the European Union as a whole and on separate countries within the Union. Explore data by theme, news, or country. To find facts about a specific country, click on Data visualizations, then Country facts. Eurostat relies on each country to send in their data, so it is sometimes incomplete. Includes the Eurostat Yearbook.
The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) maintains and provides access to an archive of social science data for research and instruction, and offers training in quantitative methods to facilitate effective data use. Auraria campus users (faculty, staff, students) must register for a personal ICPSR account from an on-campus, networked computer (or a VPN connection) to be able to download data.
Step 4: Positioning
Define your intended position, that is, how you want those in the targeted market segment to think about your offering relative to those of your competitors. Use Business Decision Academic, or IBISWorld Market Industry Research or Social Explorer Professional. With IBISWorld search industries by keyword, company or NAICS Code. With Social Explorer Professional research your market demographics based on the 2010 US Federal Census.
Identify the attributes of the product category and state which are the determinant attributes for this market segment. To fully understand the attributes of your product, you may need to go back again to the applied technology, engineering or science behind your product. For this try ACM Digital Library, IEEEXplore, Science Direct, Engineering Village. which cover not only the technology but the human factors engineering for many products.
IBISWorld provides reports on hundreds of U.S. industries. Each report consists of 30 to 40 pages of key statistics and analysis on market characteristics, operating conditions, current and forecast performance, major industry participants and more. Metropolitan State University of Denver's College of Business provides funds to support access to IBISWorld.
The ACM Digital Library is a research, discovery and networking platform containing:
The IEEE Xplore Digital Library serves as a premier platform for accessing a wealth of scientific and technical literature published by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and its partners. With over six million documents, it offers a comprehensive collection of highly-cited resources in electrical engineering, computer science, and related fields. Users can explore a diverse array of content, including more than 200 journals, over 3 million conference papers, and approximately 14,000 technical standards. This extensive repository is essential for researchers, students, and professionals seeking authoritative information and insights in their disciplines. You can explore more about the IEEE and its extensive content by visiting their resources homepage.
Includes full text access to over 1,000 regional, national, and international scholarly business journals, business periodicals, and industry publications. Topics include management, economics, finance, accounting, international business, and much more. Also has case studies, company profiles, country economic reports, industry reports, CountryWatch forecasts, market research reports, and SWOT analyses. the Icon Group.
Provides access to thousands of full-text journal articles and ebooks related to science, technology, engineering, medicine, social sciences, and humanities.
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