MKTG 3175: Principles of Marketing

Consumer research:

Industry and market research:

Business and general news:

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Access the library's online resources anywhere. Start with the resource links on this guide, and log in with your Tigerworld information when prompted.

Additional instructions are posted on the handout below.

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It is necessary to conduct primary research as part of your marketing plan. Not all information will be available through online articles, reports and other sources.

Suggestions:

• Visit the locations of similar companies, shops, stores, etc:
  • Product / service selection - what's being offered?
  • Prices - what do the products/ services cost? (Try to capture a range)
  • Promotion - what is the customer service experience? Are coupons, sales, etc. on offer?
  • Customers - who's shopping? (get a general sense of gender, age, etc.)
  • Look around outside. What do you see nearby? Why/why not is this a good location for the business?
• Visit the company's web shop:
  • Similar to above, examine the product, service selection; price points; and promotions.
• Visit the company's corporate or investor website:
  • Large public companies will have such a site (private / independent companies may not)
  • What is the company's mission, vision, values statement? Who might this appeal to?
  • Review annual investor reports
  • Do recent news articles about this company match the claims on their website?
• Assess the company's social media:
  • Which platforms are they using?
  • What's their brand message / image?
  • How does the company interact with/ respond to their customers?
  • What kind of customer base is following/interacting with the company?