So You Think Marketing Has Changed

Written by Bobette Kyle


Withrepparttar proliferation ofrepparttar 121371 Internet,repparttar 121372 meaning ofrepparttar 121373 word "marketing" has also proliferated. There seem to be as many definitions of marketing as there are marketers. Many see marketing as a series of tactics or gimmicks. Some push pyramid programs [multi-level marketing (MLM) or network marketing] asrepparttar 121374 way to successful Internet marketing. Others may sayrepparttar 121375 Web has made traditional marketing obsolete. I believe thatrepparttar 121376 Internet has expanded our capabilities, created new ways of doing business, and radically changed business dynamics. It has not, however, changedrepparttar 121377 basics of what we do.

Basic, traditional marketing is as relevant as ever. The Four P's - product, price, place (distribution), and promotion - are still very much alive. Strategic thinking, segmenting, and targeting can still earn you a competitive advantage. Marketing is still a process of a) determining what our customers need and want, b) planning how we are going to meet those needs and wants, and then c) implementing our plan. We still have products, services, and ideas to sell at some price. We still deliver to our customers via some means of distribution. We still promote and we still advertise. Those arerepparttar 121378 basics. The basics still exist and always will.

What *has* changed isrepparttar 121379 business environment. Companies compete with more efficient technologies. Customers have better access to their cost options and they communicate to each other in a way never before possible. In some industries,repparttar 121380 Internet has loweredrepparttar 121381 cost of entry so that entrepreneurs, with little more than a home office, have enteredrepparttar 121382 competition. The changes in competitive environment are numerous.

Affordable Market Research

Written by Bobette Kyle


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Affordable Market Research by Bobette Kyle

Until recently, limited budgets kept most types of market research out of reach for entrepreneurs and other small- budget businesses. Today, throughrepparttar 121373 Internet, small-budget businesses have more research options. Secondary research sources are easier to find. More affordable primary research methods - both qualitative and quantitative - are available online as well.

** Market Research Categories **

There are four broad types of research, categorized by whererepparttar 121374 research originated and howrepparttar 121375 research is conducted.

* Whererepparttar 121376 market research originated - primary versus secondary.

Primary research originates with your company. Generally,repparttar 121377 results are proprietary and belong to you. You may find, however, that some research firms will conduct limited but relatively inexpensive primary research withrepparttar 121378 requirement that they can makerepparttar 121379 results available to other companies. An alternative to conducting primary research is to find secondary research, or research that originated elsewhere. You can obtain secondary research either by purchasingrepparttar 121380 information or finding it through free resources.

* Howrepparttar 121381 market research is conducted - qualitative versus quantitative.

Qualitative research tends to be exploratory and directional in nature. It is designed to bring out issues associated withrepparttar 121382 subject matter as well as clue you in torepparttar 121383 best general direction to proceed. Quantitative research, onrepparttar 121384 other hand, is designed to be analytical and rigid. This type of research produces results that are more statistically accurate than qualitative research results. Often, companies first conduct qualitative research when developing a concept or looking for ideas then later complete quantitative research to fine-tune and optimize.

* Combiningrepparttar 121385 two categories.

Combiningrepparttar 121386 primary/secondary and qualitative/quantitative categories results inrepparttar 121387 four types of research. These are: primary quantitative, primary qualitative, secondary quantitative, and secondary qualitative research.

** Secondary Market Research **

As a small-budget business, much of your research will be limited to secondary research. Bothrepparttar 121388 good news andrepparttar 121389 bad news is that there is a lot of it out there. By doing a targeted Internet search you are likely to find a lot of free, useful information.

Potentially, you can find secondary research from numerous sources. Press releases and news articles often quote studies. Industry leaders and suppliers publish white papers or other studies. Annual reports are also good places to look for industry information. Research firms’ sites are another source of secondary research. Their main business is conducting primary research for clients or compiling and selling detailed syndicated reports. Often, they have top line data available inrepparttar 121390 form of press releases or executive summaries. The Federal government is another increasingly useful source of secondary data. At last count, 100 different government agencies publish freely available data.

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