You may purchase up to 23 Market Research Studies each period. The following list provides a brief summary of information within each study.
Industry benchmarking (page 103) – The benchmarking report compiles
general information from annual reports about each of the MARKSTRAT
competitors. The same data is provided in a common format for all companies, in such a way that would allow you to compare competitive performance. The data provided includes sales, production costs, marketing expenditures and other expenses.
Consumer survey (page 104) – The consumer survey provides information on:
(1) the level of brand awareness – the percentage of potential consumers in each segment who can spontaneously recall a given brand name; (2) brand purchase intentions – the percentage of potential consumers in each segment who intended to buy a given brand; (3) shopping habits – percentage of potential consumers in each segment who prefer to shop in a given distribution channel.
Consumer panel (page 105) – This study provides the total unit sales for each
segment; the relative size of each segment; and the market shares, based on units sold, for each brand in each segment.
Distribution panel (page 106) – The distribution panel gives information on the
total sales in units in each distribution channel; the relative size of each channel; and the market shares, based on units sold, for each brand in each channel. A second chart provides the distribution coverage for each brand in each channel, i.e. the percentage of stores carrying a given brand.
Semantic scales (page 107) – Semantic scales describe how consumers perceive
the marketed brands. Respondents are asked to rate each brand along each physical characteristic on a scale from 1 to 7 according to the way they perceive the brand. For instance, a brand rated 2.3 on the Power scale is perceived as being less powerful than a brand rating 5.5 on the same scale. The study also
Finally, it provides the importance of each characteristic, in other words, the weight each characteristic holds in the buying decision. Additional charts and graphs are available in the simulation. For instance, you can obtain a graph representing the relationship between physical characteristics and perceptions, or a graph representing the evolution of customer needs since the beginning of the simulation.
Multidimensional scaling of brand similarities and preferences (page 108 to 110) – This is one of the most important studies that may be purchased. It
provides a map showing the similarities and differences between marketed brands on three different dimensions. Two brands close to one another on the map are perceived as being similar. Inversely, two brands located in different quadrants are perceived as being significantly different; for instance, one may be perceived as less economical or as more convenient. Further information on perceptual maps and their interpretation will be explained in chapter 7.
Market forecast (page 111) – This study estimates the expected size in units
and the growth rate of each segment for the next period as well as in five years time. These estimates are based on the current market situation and assume that no substantial changes such as brand introductions, or significant price increases or decreases will take place in the future. Consequently, depending on what actions are actually taken by your firm and your competitors, the resulting market size will either be higher or lower. For the new Vodite market, the estimates are based on interviews of potential consumers; these are less accurate and often turn out to be optimistic.
Competitive advertising estimates (page 112) – This study estimates the total
advertising expenditures for each competitive brand by segment. (This study also provides the average advertising spending by brand and by firm, in total and for each segment).
Competitive sales force estimates (page 113) – This study estimates the
channel and in total. (It also provides the average sales force size by brand and by firm, in total and for each channel).
Advertising experiment (page 114) – This study estimates the effects of
increasing your advertising budget by a given percentage. It projects brand awareness and market share for each of your brands. If for example, the advertising budget has been increased by 20% – assuming no change in other competitive actions, the resulting change in contribution after marketing is also provided. An increase in contribution for a given brand shows that you would have benefited from a higher level of advertising spending for this brand.
Sales force experiment (page 114) – The sales force experiment predicts the
increased distribution coverage and market share for each of your brands, if the number of salespeople had been increased. For example, you may test the impact of adding 10 more salespeople – assuming no change in other competitive actions. The resulting change in contribution after marketing is also provided. An increase in contribution for a given brand shows that you would have benefited from allocating more salespeople to this brand.
Conjoint analysis (page 115) – This study is rather complex and expensive and
is therefore not always made available to students. It provides the utilities – a real number between from 0 to 1 – of various levels for each of the four most important physical characteristics and for each segment. High utilities, for instance close to 1, demonstrate high consumer preferences for the corresponding physical levels.