MARKET RESEARCH

1. MARKET RESEARCH • SEGMENTATION • POSITIONING • COMPETITON • PROFILING

2. STEP 2: Market Review: External Analysis

3. Identifying your opportunities and threats as part of the SWOT process  At this point, you have completed the Internal Analysis (the SW) of the SWOT process, and so, in order to complete the SWOT analysis, the external analysis of the target market is required in order to identify the Opportunities and Threats that exist. This will enable you to make choices about which products you want to develop and sell, and to which markets (PMC’S –PRODUCT/MARKET Combinations) This can be done by becoming more informed about your existing and potential market(s)

4. STEP 2: Market Review: External AnalysisRecap: What is Step 2? 2.1: Considering Trade Structure: Distribution Channels and Segmentation 2.2: Researching and Analysing your current customer profile 2.3: Reviewing ‘Styles’ of different markets/countries and their suitability for your products 2.4: Researching and Identifying relevant Design Trends in the existing and potential Market to inform your product development/identify where opportunities exist 2.5: Assessing Promotional Opportunities for your business 2.6: Researching the current Business environment and growth opportunities in different EU countries to identify appropriate target markets/countries 2.7: Researching Market Access Requirements (Legislative/Non- legislative) in target markets to ensure that these can be met 2.8: Assessing your competition to ensure that you have a competitive advantage, or at least a fair chance 2.9: Identifying Your Opportunities and Threats from your External Analysis The ‘OT’ of SWOT

5. Understanding market segmentation enables a business to better : • Target it’s products to the right customers • Identify the specific needs of these customer groups..... • Provide products and services which meet customer needs (thereby greatly increasing your chances of doing business)

6. WHICH segment ? Retailer/design-boutiques

9. A VARIETY OF SOURCES FOR MARKET RESEARCH whereandhowto find informationabout segmentation CBI WEBSITE http://www.cbi.eu/system/files/marketintel_platforms/ 2013_cbi_market_channels_and_segments_- _home_decoration.pdf

10. Understanding market segmentation enables a business to better Defining and understanding which market segment you are selling to or are hoping to sell to are crucial. This will direct everything you do within the whole marketing mix from what products you develop, at what price, to when and how you promote and distribute them - your ‘positioning.’

11. Positioning and Market mapping Once an entrepreneur has identified an appropriate segment of the market to target, the challenge is to position the product so that it meets the needs and wants of the target customers. One way to do this is to use a “market map” The market map illustrates the range of “positions” that a product can take in a market based on two dimensions that are important to customers. Examples of those dimensions might be: High price v low price Basic quality v High quality Low volume v high volume Necessity v luxury Light v heavy Simple v complex Lo-tech v high-tech Young v Old

12. Mapping Plot the following organization onto a positioning map.. • Ikea • Harrods • Habitat • Carrefour • Gallery Lafayette • OBI • OTTO • Armani Casa • ZARA Home ZARA OBI Ikea Armani

13. FASHIONABLE CHANGES EVERY SEASON mycustomer me VOLUME BUSINESS – LOW PRICE HIGH PRICE LUXURY SEGMENT STANDARD PROUDCT – WITHOUT FASHION FOCUS Source: Euromonitor and other specific sources

14. 2.2 Researching and Analysing your current customer profile As part of the review process, it is important to understand who your existing customers are, where they fit within the trade structure, in which segment of the market they are positioned, their purchasing cycles and preferred methods of sourcing, their product and marketing plans and potential areas of growth, their values, the profile of their end consumers etc. This will enable you to build a profile of your existing market and to build on your existing successes by continuing to satisfy this market. It will also inform you on how to expand this market by finding ‘like-minded’/similar customers.

15. Analyse your customers The right information will let you build up a useful profile of your customers. This typically includes. • Who they are • What they think and believe, what interests them and their opinion of you and your product • Their purchasing behaviour – which products they buy, where they buy them, when, and how they pay

16. How frequently will they purchase? Is this a regular or special purchase? Are there certain times or days of the week or the year when products will be more demand (e.g. special foods may be in greater demand during New Years) Where do they live? How old are they? Are they men, women, children? What is their occupation? Income? Status? Level of education? Religion? Special interests? Customer profile Will customers buy this product when they buy other related products? How important is the place of purchase? Will they go to buy it alone or with someone else? Is delivery important? What stores, locations, or outlets will make it easiest for customers to find and buy your products? Where would they expect to find them? Where will they want to buy? What benefits these customers will get by buying my product? What products with what features will meet their expectations? How will they want it packaged? What quantities will they want? When will they want to buy? How will customers want to buy? Knowledge about target customers is the basis for providing them the products that will satisfy them, make them loyal, repeat buyers, and provide profits to the business. What will the target customers want to buy? Who are the target customers? Why will they want to buy? Courtesy Reinhardt Werner

17. Which other questions ????? Address Country Trade channel - Business Products Best sellers Segment end-consumer • age, gender, income, style, motives, occupation..... purchase behaviour Where they buy How they source Buying cycle Lead time Sampling Terms of payment Packaging, labelling.........

18. D & M Depot nv./saIndustrieweg 23IZ. West Z62630 AartselaarBelgiumMr. Steve VercammenManaging Director0032-3-.....Email:http://www.dmdepot.be/ Started in 1992 as a ceramic and glass wholesale business. Export went full speed and the number of clients grew steadily. The success is the result of a unique collection, pure and linear, which radiates their own creative vision regarding trends and decoration. The showroom is now 600sqm, the warehouse 4000sqm and the office 400sqm. Contribution to the creation of contemporary collections. • Importer, wholesaler, distributor – exhibiting at M&O, Deco Brussels, Ambiente and Macef appr. 600 retail clients mainly furniture stores, department stores, flower boutiques, design stores • ceramics, glassware, vases, bots, planters • Segment: high • Style: contemporary • product development: own design department • endconsumer: urban, high income, 30-50y, f/m, design led, trendy,cool • purchase: directly from manufacturer, mainly Asia and East Europe • sourcing: visits several fairs in Asia and Europe, Internet, visits suppliers • buying criteria: design conciousness, CSR, eco friendly, knowledge of EU regulations • Buying cycle: 2x per year for shipment/inhouse: March and Sept., sampling 12 months in advance. Lead time 60 days. Production and pre-production samples. • Labelling: own brand • Exlcusivity: on products in Europe • Turn-over: 20 mio €, payment: L/C 30 days,

19. A VARIETY OF SOURCES FOR MARKET RESEARCH where and how to find information As part of the Market Review process using the workshop material, and your own knowledge and research, summarise and try to profile your existing customers. It may also help to visualize your customers/their shops/websites etc. You could create a visual summary/moodboard of each of your existing customers. Try to also contact your customers with a simple questionnaire to confirm their buying cycle (when they usually sample products, and when they usually place orders), their potential product growth areas and their end user customer p

23. GROUP ASSIGNMENT Create your export company 1.1. Product range 1.2. Name of the company 1.3. Visualize – show photos of you representing your style & identity 2. Targeting: Which segment do you choose / aim for? 2.1. low…..high 2.2. why ? 2.2.3. criteria – collect key words…describe 3. Positioning your company 3.1. create a matrix/ 2 axes 3.2. position your product/company. Describe find keyword 4. Profiling your exiting/potential customer (2-3 and make notes of interesting sources) 4.1. visualize 4.2. collect criteria What type of organisations are your customers? (Importers- wholesalers/importers- retailers/retail chains etc.) What market segment are your current customers? (low, mid, high-mid, high) What type of market do your customers sell to? What is the profile of their end consumers? 4.3. position him (in your matrix) 4.4. analyse their strengths and weaknesses 5. Who are the main competitors in that segment (benchmarks)?

24. Research Myths • Research is only for intellectuals and academic people • Market research is too expensive • I am afraid to loose control with an • information overload

25. Market Research Define your research problem Which technique? • Desk research (incl Internet) • Field research Differences?

26. Market Research Process Gather Data • Which information is available? • Which countries to start with? Organise into Information (patterns) • Sorting and avoid getting lost (information overload) • Filtering and matching reliable and useful data • Organising and checking against the research problem Interpret into Intelligence • Explain the cause and predict what will happen • Give indication of actions

27. Elements of Market Analyses What do you research? Market size (country/culture/economy, consumer and industrial markets) Market requirements (quality standards, ntb’s etc.) Trade Flows Market structure (supply chain, price sensitivity etc.) Market growth and trends Market targeting and segmentation Competitors Consumers / buyers

28. Gathering market information (sources) CBI: complete market studies BSO’s in your own country NGO’s: ITC, FAO, OECD, UNCTAD, World Bank: www.concordeurope.org Chambers of Commerce ( in your target countries) On Line Directories: Kompass, TREM, Kelly’s, WLW, ABC, Europages. Trade Associations: www.fita.org Embassies Banks EU information centres: http://exporthelp.europa.eu/ Libraries Trade Magazines Exhibitions

29. WWW.CBI.EU CBI database A wealth if information, up-to-date information on more than 37 sectors in European Union • market access requirements, • market size, • consumer trends, • trade structure, • packaging, • pricing, • terms of trade and  • export guidelines • Selection for target group 37 sectors • Analysis of information CBI expertise included • English & Spanish language accessible information • Free of charge for target group • Helpdesk service marketaccess@cbi.eu

32. INFO SOURCES

34. Useful internet sources http://www.exporthelp.europa.eu/The Export Helpdesk is an online service, provided by the European Commission, to facilitate market access for developing countries to the EU. provides; Trade statistics, requirements and taxes, imports tariffs, customs documents, rules of origin, a market place and links.http://www.intracen.org/The International Trade Centre (ITC) offers a lot of tools, statistics, capacity building programmes, web portals covering all aspects of international trade. It is one of the most comprehensive sources on trade information in the internet.www.p-maps.org/pmaps/index_cluster.php?currentpmap=24The Product Map website consists of 72 market analysis portals covering over 5000 products. Each portal offers extensive international trade statistics for over 180 countries, powerful market analysis tools www.intracen.org/menus/busserv.htmInformation that helps SMEs to improve competitiveness. Export Fitness Checker, Export packaging, Export Quality Management, Legal Aspects of Foreign Trade. Multilateral Trading Systems, Trade Finance. Trade Support Infrastructure, Index to Internet Information Sources.www.intracen.org/menus/countries.htmOverview of ITC‘s technical cooperation activities at the country and regional levels. Provides links to national trade support institutions and country-specific business information. In addition, it presents trade and market profiles, country maps, based on trade statistics which benchmark national trade performance and provide indicators on export supply and import demand.

35. http://www.cbi.eu/CBI concentrates on five core competencies. These are: market knowledge, product and production improvement, quality control, export marketing and management, market entry. For using the website registration is necessary but all information is free.http://www.cbi.eu/marketinfo/cbi/Market information database: customised information on more than 35 product groups: publications for download: market surveys, manuals, fashion forecasts, market briefs, non-tariff barriers.http://www.auma.de/AUMA is the association of the German trade fair industry. On its website AUMA presents a database for trade fair shows in Germany and worldwide. www.xe.com/XE. com has become the world’s provider of Internet foreign exchange tools and services. http://www.newapproach.org/This site provides access to information on standards. Users can search in a list of directives or by keyword search.http://www.tradepoint.org/The World Trade Point Federation (WTPF), an international non-governmental organization. Through a network of more than 120 trade information and facilitation centres, known as Trade Points, the WTPF assists (SMEs) in over 90 countries worldwide to trade internationally through the use of electronic commerce technologies.

36. www.emarketservices.com/They focus their work on SMEs. eMarket Services is a not for profit project. They provide knowledge and information about e-marketplaces in different industries (amongst others handicraft, home textiles, gift items, accessories, interior decoration)www.e-trade-center.com/The website enables both German and foreign companies to publicize their products and services on Internet and, conversely, to enquire for the products and services they need. It provides them with an opportunity of presenting their diverse requirements for cooperation, such as searching for investors, technical know-how, etc.www.fairguide.com/FAIR Guide of Construct Data is the largest fairs and exhibitors directory on the internet, to find companies (exhibitors and organizers), fairs and exhibitions all over the world.www.foreign-trade.com/FOREIGN TRADE ON-LINE, leading global B2B trade portal. The portal offers a lot of information useful for international business like e.g. descriptions of Incoterms, HS-Codes, Ocean Container Dimensions, Air Container Dimensions, Common Measurements, metric to US/US to metric, weight conversion, currency converter etc.http://www.sippo.ch/SIPPO helps SMEs in emerging markets and markets in transition to enter the Swiss and EU market, and provides Swiss importers with assistance in finding new products, new suppliers and new sourcing markets.

37. http://www.vfi-deutschland.de/VFI is the German association of non food importers. On its website it offers very interesting information to producers looking for access to the German market. www.fairtrade.net/index.htmlFLO International exists to improve the position of the poor and disadvantaged producers in the developing world, by setting the Fairtrade standards and by creating a framework that enables trade to take place at conditions respecting their interest.http://www.bundesfirmenregister.de/Bundesfirmenregister is a database providing information on German companies. It covers about 1 million German companies, in 9000 sectors. http://www.europages.com/Europages is a business directory giving free access to 600,000 of the most dynamic export companies in 35 European countries on the Internet. invitations to tender.http://www.handelsvertreter.de/a database to find commercial representatives, manufacturer’s agents and sales agents to enter the German market. Specialists in the industry sectors, amongst others Accessories, Home & Garden, Home Textiles can be reached.http://www.kellysearch.com/Kellysearch is a business directory covering over two million companies and ten million products. The companies come from all over the world but the main areas covered are UK and The Netherlands.http://www.kompass.com/This business directory lists 23m product and service references in 53,000 classes, 1,9 m companies in 70 countries. 750 0000 trade names, 3,5m executive names. You can search for products and services, company names, trade names and executives worldwide, in different regions and in single countries. Full company profiles available.

38. http://www.tgreurope.com/The Thomas Global Register Europe is a directory of 210,000 manufacturers and distributors from 21 European countries, classified by 10,500 products and services categories. http://www.universalpartners.com/UniversalPartners.com is the premier online community which links companies together who wish to expand their business globally. http://www.alibaba.com/Alibaba.com Corporation is China’s leading e-commerce company, operating the world’s largest online marketplaces for both international and domestic China trade http://www.export911.com/ The Canadian Government offers information about: starting an export business, international trade, export procedure, international commercial terms (incoterms), payments, LCs, export documents, purchase orders, packaging, freight of tariffs, export labelling, research and development, quality control, hazardous materials, product coding, etc.

39. e-marketplace www.e-trade-center.com www.foreign-trade.com http://www.vfi-deutschland.de/ http://www.bundesfirmenregister.de/ http://www.europages.com http://www.kellysearch.com http://www.kompass.com http://www.tgreurope.com http://www.universalpartners.com http://www.alibaba.com

40. Examples of importer websites www.kenty.it www.bombayduck.co.uk www.matalan.co.uk www.unicef.org.uk www.pollardharris.com www.lambert-home.de http://www.dmdepot.be www.objectavor.co.uk www.helioferretti.com www.xenos.nl www.cemile.com.tr http://www.vossbergversand.com http://www.dmdepot.be/ http://www.coin.it/ www.purepeopleproducts.com http://www.butlers.de/ www.contento.com www.vf-furniture.com www.bahne.dk http://www.t-boxx.com/ www.oakom.it http://www.habac.com/ http://www.marcopoloeurope.com www.cruselita.com www.indiajane.co.uk www.iblaursen.dk http://www.fairtrade.nl/ www.moebelkolonie.com www.habitat.fi http://www.ninelives.de http://www.housedoctor.dk/ www.cultathome.de http://www.okversand.com www.theafricahouse.com www.traidcraft.co.uk www.african-hands.com www.aidtoartisans.org www.prettyafrika.com www.becleverltd.com www.kazuribeads.co.uk www.acacia-designs.com www.uniqueco-designs.com www.cavalierigrop.it www.contigo.de

41. GROUP ASSIGNMENT Create your export company 1.1. Product range 1.2. Name of the company 1.3. Visualize – show photos of you representing your style & identity 2. Targeting: Which segment do you choose / aim for? 2.1. low…..high 2.2. why ? 2.2.3. criteria – collect key words…describe 3. Positioning your company 3.1. create a matrix/ 2 axes 3.2. position your product/company. Describe find keyword 4. Profiling your exiting/potential customer (2-3 and make notes of interesting sources) 4.1. visualize 4.2. collect criteria 4.3. position him (in your matrix) 4.4. analyse their strengths and weaknesses 5. Who are the main competitors in that segment (benchmarks)?

43. Competitor analysis After having identified a potentially interesting export market, it is important to know whether your company and its products can compete with the other suppliers in that market. Competitors and their pricing and product range will have a direct effect on the potential success of your trade opportunities. To learn more about your competitors, research is very important.

44. 2.8: Assessing your competition to ensure that you have a competitive advantage We live in a very competitive market. There is increasing competition for well-designed gift and interior products from all over the world. Your competitors are the existing suppliers of your potential customers! In order to give yourselves an edge over the competition it is essential to research the offer of your competitors. This should be reviewed fully by looking at the product ranges available, the prices, styles, and other added value elements such as packaging. Collecting information and visualising the competition will provide a base from which to work, enabling you to develop more competitively priced, innovative, and market focused products. Using the workshop materials, the market intelligence platform, and your own research, consider the following

45. Assignment: Who do you see as your main competitors? In what ways do you have a competitive advantage? In what ways do you have a competitive disadvantage? Collate visual information about your competitors. You can research this information by visiting shops, websites and looking at trade magazines and/or visiting international trade fairs. Compile a comparative shop/web report or a trade fair report with as many visual references as possible. This will enable you to build up a good impression of what your competitors are selling. This could be structured under headings such as key products, key price points, strong design features, added value aspects such as packaging.

46. Important Questions: Who are the raw materials suppliers and manufacturers in your primary markets? Is there much competition in these markets? What sort of competitive products are on offer? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your main competitors? How many competitors from your own country are active in the target market?

47. What products compete with yours? Prepare a list of all the competition and then highlight who your main competitors (national and international) are. To learn more about competition, you can do a research study regarding your industry and ask customers and suppliers for their opinions.

48. Who are the suppliers or manufacturers of those products? In most European countries, the products must carry the name of the manufacturer or importer. Register the names What do you know about them? Are they small or do they belong to a multinational? If possible, visit competing companies at trade fairs to learn how products are priced and distributed. You can prepare a list of your main competitor’s strengths and weaknesses.

49. Assess the competitors’ prices Price is one of the main motives for buying - next to design, uniqueness and quality You will find that your potential buyers will force you into price-fighting with competing suppliers Consequently, your price-setting largely depends on the competitors’ prices.

50. By using the internet you can find out a lot about your competitors. Use the following activity to research some information about your major local, international and regional competitors. (Use Google to describe what you do: exporter/manufacturer of……….based in………) Search the internet and make a list of your main competitors in: The Philippines Vietnam India China Indonesia Thailand Europe Try to compare: Product range Style Prices Quality appearance of products Quality of website promotion Market to which they seem to be promoting