Marketing Study Outline – What you need to know
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In order to be able to conduct a decent targeting and marketing campaign, you must first understand the fundamentals by finding out what they are. The only way to do this is to find a specific guideline for you to follow. Check out the guideline below.
1. Your Objective to the Research
- Explain in one paragraph why the research is being done, what you hope to learn and for what purpose the information that you attain may be used.
2. Description of the Market
This should be general like one paragraph
Who is your Target Market(s)
- Why you chose this particular market
- Get a complete profile of your market (e.g., demographics, psychographics, and behaviors)
- What benefits does your market seek (i.e., what points-of-pain or problems are being solved)
- What factors can affect their decision to purchase or use your product/service
- What attitudes do they have about the products/services that are currently not on the market?
- How is the product used?
- Products and Services that appeal to the target market
- In general terms, what is currently so appealing to this market?
- If there are no current providers, what types of products/services may appeal to this market in the future? (i.e., what is used now to solve the problem?)
3. Market Metrics
Get many Size estimates (current and future) for all of the following:
- Overall market
- Current size as it stands
- Potential size for the future
- Actual penetration of current products/service within the entire market
Individual market segments
- Current size
- Potential size
- Actual penetration of current products/service within the total market
- Usage rates
- Frequency of product purchases
- Growth estimates (current and in the future) for:
- Overall market
- Individual market segments
Competitive Analysis
You must include a Summary of who your Current Competitors are
Listing the competition by market share ranking (by each target market if possible) is a good way to size them up. You can also be more specific by searching for individual points listed below.
Current Competitors – full analysis of top competitors including:
- Products & Services (e.g., description, uniqueness, pricing, etc.)
- Their Market share at current
- Current customers (targeted audience)
- Positioning and promotion strategies
- Partnerships/Alliances/Distributors
- Recent news
SWOT Analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats
It is extremely important to focus attention on the SWOT section of this report. While most other information in this report can be gleaned from company and secondary materials, much of what appears in the SWOT section is based on the researcher’s own opinions of the competitor based on the information that is collected. Consequently, this is often one of the hardest areas of the report to write as well.
Potential Competitors (any competition in the future)
- You will need to get an explanation (though it need not be as detailed as Current Competitors) on who they are or maybe and why they are seen as potential competitors
5. Additional
- Extraneous Variables
o Discuss factors that may affect this market (e.g., technological, social, governmental, competitive, etc.)
- Market Trends and what is expected to happen in the future
If you can follow these basic tips for finding and selecting your target market, you should be ready to search online and check out the competition and their rankings in the search engines. Below are some general guidelines for you to follow in creating your competitive analysis which is the most important factor in being an affiliate marketer. Knowing your competition just as well as your audience is the key point which is going to keep you on top of the competition.
Up next to the Affiliate Marketing Tutorial: GUIDELINES FOR DOING A COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS…
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