The present paper is inscribed in the frame of an extensive quali-quantitative research (since November, 1995) carried out by the team Marketing Entrepreneur about the daily morning paper Pagina 12, founded on May 26 1987. One of the initial aims was to evaluate the positioning and image of Pagina 12 among its followers, its deserters and its potential readers. The first study consisted in two parts: a semiologic investigation which compared three daily papers of Buenos Aires Argentina (Pagina 12 La Nacion and Clarm) and the work of operative inquiry groups coordinated by sociologists, semiologists and psychologists. From the integration of these two modes of work appears that in the imaginary of the explored segments the newspapers occupied the following spaces.
Research into travel and tourism probably only accounts for 5% of the research industry's total turnover in spite of the fact that leisure is the world's largest industry (in many European countries tourism is the major revenue earner). This reflects both the highly fragmented nature of much of the industry and inward looking managerial attitudes. Two specific phenomena of the travel and tourism industry which directly restrict managers' scope for effective marketing action, inevitably limiting the relevance of market research's potential contribution, and which lead the industry to be highly sales as opposed to marketing-orientated are discussed in some detail in the paper: the influence of external political and financial happenings, and the official control of and interference with many sub-sectors of the industry. Research's contribution to successful travel and tourism marketing is currently concentrated on recording the past and measuring the present, rather than planning for the future; new product development, effective campaign assessment, in-depth understanding of complex consumer choice processes, user-friendly holiday brochure design and methodologically sound customer satifaction monitoring (as opposed to current widespread haphazard quality control exercises) are highlighted as five areas in which research should be making a greater contribution than it does at the present time. The paper concludes that research professionals need to get more closely involved in the travel and tourism industry if they are to be able to educate management about the necessity for market research as a vital and cost-effective input. In addition to this closer involvement, what is probably required in a cost-conscious, sales orientated and highly competitive industry forced to work with low profit margins, is hard evidence that research can indeed lead to more effective decision-making and thus higher sales and profits. The challenge which faces us is to demonstrate that research is better than intuition.
The focus of this paper is on the evolution of the research business system since the 1950s as well as the development of competitive intelligence in the last decades. The purpose is to provide some background reference regarding pragmatic definitions and the major characteristics of ways of working now and in the future.
Eagle Star, one of the leading manufacturers of home insurance in the UK sought to develop a comprehensive understanding of the diversity of needs and benefits that consumers associate with their property insurance and to quantify what people were prepared to pay for their insurance. Moreover, we wanted to develop a predictive model that would help us understand the choices that consumers may make, in spending a discretionary income, given a new product design competing in an overpopulated marketplace. Our major problem was the lack of an effective research tool for the task. We chose the SIMALTO technique; it had all the fundamental attributes for the job, but needed some re-engineering. To the usual "attributes" and "levels" we added both "cost and "saving for each component of the trade-off matrix. We then gave consumers incremental budgets to spend on their product that added a further component of "willingness to pay". Presented as a game it overcame the barriers to researching insurance and succeeded in generating dynamic, real data on product cover coupled with spending preferences and behaviour: and put the fun back into research! The process enabled the 'product attribute mix' and 'willingness to pay' to be optimised for particular segments of the market and different product concepts. A unique feature of this approach was the ability to simulate budgets to suit the individual's personal financial situation. Consumers' flexibility in being able to choose between spending their discretionary income and pocketing any savings was a particular innovation. 'Cash in hand' was identified as a clear indicator of risk aversion. The research highlighted the need for a radical repositioning of property insurance communication within the market. This was coupled with an opportunity to create the perception of product differentiation and competitive advantage through targeted communication. By correlating research survey data with client database records a key objective in delivering actionable findings to internal customers was achieved. This gave us a competitive edge in understanding how the consumer operates in the property insurance marketplace. In addition, the predictive and interactive model gave us an overview to the optimum product concepts for key markets and avoided the wastage of expense on abortive product designs. Finally, we succeeded in adding a new dimension to a unique tool: a new dimension to future financial product innovation research.
The paper argues that the small business market is a key sector for banks, providing the future base for the important corporate middle market and that there are opportunities for hunks to increase their business profitability in this sector while at the same time improving customer satisfaction. It shows how research can play an important role in the improvement of bank performance and profitability in the sector, at points ranging from service development and enhancement through relationship management to monitoring of performance. It provides evidence of a number of interesting trends and issues to be tackled including: -ways of increasing market share of new business customers -the impact of marketing action aimed at small businesses on a bank's reputation in other business sectors -identification of key market segments more likely to grow fast, and their special needs and priorities -the need to communicate the value of banking services to justify their cost -lack of small business understanding of service pricing. Conclusions include the need for better implementation of marketing and relationship management policies at the branch and local office level, opportunities to use new technology t0 add value and improve quality of service, the importance of monitoring all aspects of service quality and ways to strengthen relationships between banks and their small business customers.
This paper is divided into two parts. The first part will outline some elements of a semiotic theory of the brand. In the definition of the brand identity, a crucial point is an identification of basic values and the distinction of these from a more superficial brand's elements. This distinction is particularly relevant in order to pilot the brand evolution over time. A precise approach for spotting the brand's basic values will be described in this part. In the second part a specific methodology, called "Brand Audit" will be presented. The Brand Audit is a research procedure designed to help the strategic marketing of a given brand. It is based on five types of information. The brand communication universe, the company's culture and objectives, the socio-cultural trends, the market data, and the consumers' responses are investigated and put together, in order to collect several different versions of the identity of the studied brand. These five types of information are in constant interaction and evolution and must be apprehended within a unique theoretical and methodological framework.
Against the background of European integration and globalisation of the aerospace industry competitive intelligence receives new significance. More than ever before good knowledge of ones competitors is essential if one wishes to succeed in the market. Structures such as those existing in the aerospace industry which are becoming more and more complex make it increasingly difficult to keep all relevant areas of competition under observation. In addition a global company spread over various locations suffers from a growing lack of transparency in its internal knowledge base and with a flood of external information swelling by day. This paper describes the structure and process of competition analysis at DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) which enables the competitive scene to be kept under continuous observation and events relevant to the companys competitive position to be identified and announced in an early-warning system. The paper shows how it is possible to build such a system. The central area of activity is the formation of competitor working groups operating across the borders of individual departments.
This paper is divided into three parts. The first one presents the semiotical concepts employed and the presence of signs in human communication. The purpose of this part is to lay the theoretical basis of the study developed. The second part is focused on a discussion on the role of consumption and of advertising, so as to outline those issues in the light of semiotics. The third part presents the form of sign classification so as to provide the guidelines for the creation of a map for the reading and the analysis of advertising campaigns, based on the theoretical assumptions and in the elaboration of a map for reading and analysis of the same campaign in the light of the consumer/reader. The creation of the map in the light of the consumer is undertaken on the basis of the market research qualitative method - thorough interviews - together with the sign classification previously proposed. The confrontation between those two maps enables a reading that will help in the Pre and Post-Testing stages, in the sense of detecting deviations in the reading of the campaign/message conveyed, as well as identifying clues for eliminating occasional noises in the communication.
In industrial markets one of the most challenging aspects of market and competitive intelligence processes is the actual collection of data information and intelligence as a basis for knowledge. Compared to consumer markets industrial markets generally lack formalised information sources and data gathering processes. To compile meaningful data on competitors the practitioner of industrial market intelligence must probe in the dark using a whole range of tactile senses. This paper reviews the diversity of tools and techniques that can be applied to competitive intelligence in this sector the challenges one faces and the barriers of ethical practice that must be respected.
This paper attempts to illustrate the state of market intelligence/ competitive intelligence in Asia by presenting a case study on the use of market intelligence/ competitive intelligence in market entry decision- making in the soybean milk business in China. The client's situation and objectives are outlined the market intelligence/competitive intelligence approach taken is explained methodology detailed and main findings presented. Potential limitations to the market intelligence/competitive intelligence approach are highlighted throughout the case study. Finally some broad conclusions on trends in market intelligence/ competitive intelligence and potential problems and opportunities specific to Asia are made.
Ever-increasing resources are being devoted to learning about customers. What do they want how do they perceive us and our offer how do we match up against the competition? Attendant pressures mount on research specialists product brand and marketing managers to provide insights to inform strategy formulation. While these investments are well motivated relatively little is known about whether they are value creating and if so how? This descriptive paper explores the relationship between market sensing activities and competitive performance. It cautions that many investments in learning about markets may not yield substantive returns without appropriate alignment of the supporting organizational infrastructure. Managers are urged that achieving organizational alignment is a requirement for making intelligence count.