[9.4] Market Research

Essential idea: Market research is any organized effort to gather information

about markets or customers.

The Purpose of Market Research

often identifies : • how to improve a product, service or system• how to increase its chance of success within a

particular sector or segment.• the price a user is prepared to pay• determines the constraints a designer has to

work within

Costly & Time consuming but vitally important

Consumer Awareness • Gathering information in order to be able to

generate a brief and specification for a product.

• Identification of target market • Identify target market demographics

Costly & Time consuming but vitally important

Competing Product Awareness

• Evaluating the market potential of products at various stages of development

• Developing ideas into products to suit market requirements.

• Identifying suitable promotional strategies, what are competitors doing? What are they not doing?

Costly & Time consuming but vitally important

Developing an awareness of the wider market • Collecting data relating to economic trends • Taking into account technological trends and scientific

advances and how consumers perceive these changes.

• Considering consumers reactions to technology and green design and the subsequent impact on design development and market segmentation.

• Is the market sector and segment static or volatile? • What is driving change (if any) in the market?

Primary Market Research - Product

Attribute analysis • An analysis of competing products by breaking the products down

into all its attributes, form, appearance, materials, function, weight, ergonomic factors, manufacturing techniques, component parts etc.

Primary Market Research - Product

• Attribute analysis

Primary Market Research - Product

Competing Marketing • How are products currently promoted or marketed?

Primary Market Research - Product

Product testing • Observed testing of a consumer using a product, how

do they interact? How does the product perform?

Primary Market Research - Product

Product Disassembly • Full disassembly of

competing products how are they manufactured, cost analysis for materials, production methods and assembly.

Primary Market Research - Consumer

• surveys• User trial• observed product

interaction• Interviews• focus groups.

Secondary Product Research

• market analysis• size of market sector • size of segment • number of units sold • value of market

Secondary Product Research • Geographical distribution of consumers

Secondary Product Research

• Literature search

Secondary Product Research Perceptual mapping

Secondary Product Research Environmental scanning

• defined as ‘the study and interpretation of the political, economic, social and technological events and trends which influence a business, an industry or even a total market.

Secondary Product Research

Expert Appraisal

• An expert in a particular field is chosen to give their opinion

Secondary Consumer Research

• Demographic data, population size, gender mix, age profiles, average income, disposable income etc.

Task

Look back at the methods of collecting research and identify:

• Advantages• Disadvantages• Whether data collected if qualitative or

quantitative• How reliable the data would be• Costs (expensive or low cost)

Task

• Discuss the importance of research to the design development process.