1.2 Flashcards
Choice
Giving customers options and increasing the chance that the product will be perfect for the tastes/habits of one type of customer.
Convenience
Making life easier for customers, perhaps by a great location (next to the bus stop) or a product that saves time in preparation or consumption.
Identifying customers
Finding out who they are: their age, gender, incomes, where they live and what they want.
Quality
To a customer quality means getting what they want, or perhaps better than expected; some companies use the term ‘customer delight’.
Understanding customers
Learning why customers do what they do, making it easier to see how to make a product that better suits them.
Focus group
A group discussion among people selected from the target market; it draws on psychology to provide qualitative insights into consumer attitudes.
Primary research
Research conducted first-hand; it is tailored to a company’s specific needs.
Qualitative data
In-depth research into the opinions and views of a small group of potential or actual customers; it can provide insight into why consumers buy what they buy.
Quantitative data
Factual research among a large enough sample of people to provide statistically reliable results.
Secondary research
When a company uses research that has already been carried out for general purposes.
Demographics
The study of the statistical differences that exist within a population, both now and in the future.
Lifestyle
Grouping people by common characteristics in how they live.
Location
The extent to which consumers identify with the place where they were born or grew up.
Market segments
The subsets within a market that have been identified as a result of market segmentation.
Competition
Companies operating in your market or market sector.
Gap in the market
An area on a market map where few or no existing brands operate, implying a business opportunity to fill an unmet consumer need.
Market map
Measuring where existing brands sit on a two-factor grid, for example young/old compared with high price/low price.
Competitive environment
The strength of competition between companies in the same market.
Innovative
A new, perhaps original, product or process.
Unethical
An action or decision that is wrong from a moral standpoint.
Aims
A general statement of where you’re heading, for example ‘to get to university’.
Market share
The percentage of a market held by one company or brand.
Objectives
A clear, measurable goal, so success or failure is clear to see.
SMART objectives
Targets that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.
Survival
Keeping the business going, which ultimately depends on determination and cash.
