Scope of a complete market survey

For a product marketing research the chief focal points for a comprehensive market survey are the product, the market, and competition. Every investigation undertaken to provide data upon which market policies are to be formulated or built should include a careful investigation of these three factors.

Naturally, some research surveys will deal with but a single phase or subdivision of one of the factors, but accurate and comprehensive information on all of these matters and in all of their subdivisions must be made available by research under any scientific marketing procedure.

Relationship of product, market, and competition

A very large part of product analysis is concerned with the study of the product in relation to its intrinsic qualities and to the company that makes and sells it. However, it is impossible to discuss all the essential product points without occasionally touching upon the relationship of these points to the market. Consequently, some references will be made to the product in the light of the market although the essential points which fall under the heading of the market are discussed on a different page. Nor is the matter of competition a topic that is completely exclusive. It cannot be set off in an air-tight part.

Accordingly, the phases of competition which relate to the product will be discussed on this page while those which relate to the market will be given space on a next page. In no case are those distinctions anything but arbitrary for purposes of clearer discussion and understanding.

Essential product factors

The essential points in a survey of the product are somewhat as follows:

• Classification of the various items in the product line
• Uses of the various items
• The individuality or exclusive points of the items according to their intrinsic qualities and constructional details
• The weaknesses of the items in competition with products of other manufacturers
• Production or manufacturing data
• Questions of possible adaptations of or improvements in the various items
• Possibilities of standardizing the product line
• The history of the development of the product line
• The organization behind its manufacture and sale

Obviously, some of these points will yield valuable data that will indicate the most effective and economical market policies, some will provide concrete information helpful in developing marketing plans, and some will perform both of these services.

Classification of the product

The first step in the analysis of the product is to make an accurate classification of each item in the line. The distributor who has a clear conception of the class in which each item which he is attempting to market belongs, will be able to discover and solve the fundamental marketing problems that come up in each case. In the case of manufactured consumers' goods, several classifications are available. There is, for instance, the old "necessity-luxury" classification. A necessity may be defined as a product that is required to maintain the standard of living of a particular class of purchasers. For example, a set of encyclopaedias might be a necessity to some people and a luxury to others.

This classification is not very practical since it is not definite in its tie-up or relationship with the general market. It places too much stress upon an indefinite and largely non-ascertainable "necessary standard of living." But if this classification can be set up with some exactness, it does indicate the marketing procedure to follow.

Marketing campaigns for necessities demand emphasis upon price and utility, those for luxuries must stress beauty, quality, appearance, or similar "emotional" inducements. If this classification is used, the marketing organization must be on the alert continually in order to discover promptly any changes in the "necessary standard of living" of particular groups of people, that will shift certain commodities from luxuries to necessities.

Style classification

Another possible classification is based upon the "staple-novelty" conception. This classification is commonly used in connection with two groups of manufactured consumers' goods which fall within the same general line. Some lines of hats, for example, are staple while others are new each season. The presence or absence of a definite style factor is the basis of this division or classification. Sometimes the "fad" is added to the "staple-novelty" group, in the sense that a "novelty" may have an opportunity of securing a permanent market because of a certain stability of style while the "fad" is fairly sure to have only a passing sale. Here, too, when an accurate classification is possible, valuable marketing inferences may be drawn. If a product is a "fad," the marketing campaign must be quick and effective.

Intensified marketing efforts must be applied at strategic points and at the very outset. A new style of women's wear, based on the ephemeral popularity of a "talkie" star or other character in the public eye, must be pushed to the utmost while the demand lasts. Expediency rather than gradual development must govern policy. On the other hand, if a novelty product appears to hold the possibility of awakening permanent demand, a considerable investment in good will may be justified, and the marketing plan may be based on the policy of going slowly but surely.

Classification according to demand

Perhaps the most useful classification of manufactured consumers' goods is the division according to the type of demand. This classification divides consumers' goods into three groups according to the characteristic reactions of the purchasers. These groups are: Convenience goods, shopping goods, and specialty goods. As was pointed out in the previous discussion, the neglect on the part of the manufacturer and distributor to view their commodities from the consumers' standpoint, as indicated in the present classification, accounts for much of the difficulty experienced in marketing.

Since convenience goods are articles of small unit price which are purchased from the nearest retail outlet, according to the consumer's requirements, the manufacturer or distributor must strive for very general retail distribution. His product must be in practically every retail outlet in those territories where it is offered for sale. This necessity affects the whole set-up of his personal sales campaign and his use of middlemen. Moreover, it puts a premium on brand recognition so far as advertising is concerned and it limits somewhat the possibility of securing widespread insistence where retail distribution is "spotty" rather than general. Many of the so-called staple goods come under the classification of convenience goods while others may be included under the shopping or specialty heads.

Shopping goods are purchased after comparing prices, qualities, and styles at different stores. They do not need to be on the shelves of so many retail outlets but they do need to be distributed through the particular type of retail outlet which specializes in shopping goods, the department store. Their chief marketing problems are those of price, discount, and selective distribution. Consumer advertising to establish brand insistence may be profitable in some cases but not in a very large number.

Specialty goods are those goods which have some particular attraction other than price alone. In order to purchase specialty goods, consumers will go out of their way and put themselves to some inconvenience. In many cases, they will not accept substitutes. Here, then, the problem is largely one of developing consumer insistence by means of advertising. This fact will have a very definite bearing upon the mediums used, the type of copy, and the whole campaign. Again, specialty goods may be distributed through a smaller number of retail outlets so, that the expenses of physical distribution and of personal salesmanship on the part of the manufacturer or wholesale distributor may be relatively low. On the whole, this three-fold classification is decidedly practical.

The reactions of purchasers are rather typical of large sections of the market, so that a product classification on this basis is somewhat more definite, extensive, and stable than other types of classification.

Analysis of product uses

The several uses to which each item in the product line may be put and the various services which each may render the consumer are among the most important points to be discovered in an analysis of the product. What a consumer is going to do with goods is vital information because upon this factor depend the selling points that the manufacturer or distributing middleman will have to stress in dealing with the consumer.

An effort should be made to catalogue all the possible uses for each product, because the uses of a product very largely determine its market. Moreover, each market requires a special marketing approach. This fact necessitates a careful tabulation of uses, and an approximate quantitative rating for each. Some uses will be very frequent, others will be infrequent, and still others will be special or unusual, but all should be noted and roughly estimated.

The market research department likewise should be continually on the lookout for new uses. The market is often broadened by the discovery of new uses or the revelation of use possibilities that have been entirely neglected. Of course, caution must be exercised not to emphasize uses which are better filled by some competing product.

Many markets have been developed by the discovery of new uses which an existing product could serve adequately. Lux, for example, was introduced first as a flake soap to be used in washing woolens and delicate silks. Later, its possibilities as a soap for dishwashing, in washing machines, and for toilet purposes were developed and widely advertised. Three-in-one Oil was put on the market first as a. bicycle oil. Its sales have been greatly increased by suggesting its application to sewing machines, typewriters, hinges, and so on.

The pamphlet enclosed with each bottle and describing these uses is a distinguishing marketing feature. The Fleischmann Company, after considerable research, succeeded in popularising the idea of eating yeast for health, and built up a greater volume of sales with this added use than it could ever have secured from the use of yeast in home-baked bread. Moreover, new use possibilities and suggestions often succeed in stimulating the sale of slow-moving products. Mechanical refrigerators sold faster when offered at lower prices. Cold control made it possible to regulate temperatures and to produce ice cubes and frozen desserts faster. Automatic defrosters threw the switch back to normal position before refrigerator temperature went too low. Easy ice-cube removal, and the addition of super freezers, hydrators, utility baskets, drop shelf on door, interior lights, etc., further stimulated sales.

Intrinsic characteristics of the product

A study of the product to determine what individuality it possesses with respect to its inherent qualities and constructional details is also exceedingly important. Such physical properties of the product as size, shape, design, colour, appearance, weight, strength, hardness texture, elasticity, and other characteristics, should be carefully examined in an effort to discover its exclusive features and to catalogue the collected data.

People are interested in reading about the materials of which manufactured products are made. Specific details, interestingly described, have a decided news value in consumer advertising. Prospects, too, very frequently demand that salesmen be absolutely accurate in presenting detailed product information. It should be remembered that consumers' manufactured goods must be sold in most cases to professional buyers employed by professional middlemen before these same goods can be sold to ultimate consumers by retail sales people.

These professional buyers will want to know what is behind such terms as texture, gloss, lack of gloss, strength, etc. The market research department must compile this detailed information in usable form so that it can be passed on to the advertising department and the field sales department.

Conditions of production or manufacture

Closely allied to this type of information is production or manufacturing data. For example, the assertion may be made that the individuality of a certain make of linen tablecloth lies in its strength, texture, gloss or lack of gloss, or some other inherent quality. As a matter of fact, these inherent qualities are effects and not causes.

To get down to the fundamentals of individuality or superiority in the tablecloth, the research group must discover, analyse, and attractively present in usable form just what manufacturing method produces the strength, texture, gloss, or lack of gloss. It must know the kinds and qualities of raw materials used, the sources of the raw materials; the basic methods of manufacture, and the special or unusual mechanical or chemical processes employed. Every minute point that helps to explain the physical properties or the particular characteristics of the finished product should be uncovered.

The advertising manager and the field sales manager have neither the time nor ability to go deeply into such matters. It is essentially the function of the research department to provide this information and to keep it up to the minute in completeness and accuracy. Without this knowledge of production the advertising department and the field salesmen tend to rely upon "suggestion, persuasion, and glossed-over generalities" in their selling efforts and upon "knocking" competition to meet sales resistance.

Intrinsic characteristics of competing products

The research department must discover and indicate the points of individuality, superiority and distinctiveness in the product being marketed. Each item in the product line must be compared with directly competing products of the same kind and material, and with indirectly competing products which have the same use possibilities but which are not necessarily of the same kind or the same material.

Certain definite points such as quality, design, performance, ease of operation, and durability should be brought out together with their underlying physical and processing causes. These points should be weighed, compared, and contrasted with those of the principal competing products and the exclusive and individual characteristics of the company's own product line should be definitely indicated.

Technical tests of products

Laboratory and field tests of the various items in the product line will be exceedingly helpful in bringing out the exclusive qualities and constructional details of the goods being marketed. They are important at the outset to prove that the intrinsic qualities and constructional details are correct.

Rushing into a market with an untried article is dangerous and often expensive. Unless the product is right, even the most carefully planned sales campaigns will fail. There should first be technical tests in the laboratory or shop to find out how the product will stand up under conditions of use. The manufacturer of a well-known food product experimented for years to get it exactly right.

Literally hundreds of times the company thought the product was ready for the market, only to find after exhaustive tests that changes were still necessary. Manufacturers of automobiles and automobile equipment have found by costly experience the value of subjecting their products to the most searching tests that could be devised before offering them to the public.

Technical tests alone are not sufficient. Practical or user tests should also be conducted to prove that the product will operate in the hands of the user as well as it operates in the laboratory. Almost any expenditure of time or money is justified at the outset to insure the manufacturer against the disasters likely to follow the premature exploiting of an unproved product.

These tests should not be discontinued as soon as the product is put on the market. It is important to carry them on periodically during the entire time that the product is being manufactured. Continuous effort is necessary to keep up to the minute the individuality and distinctiveness of the company's various lines.

Every time a new competing product is put on the market, it, too, must be carefully analysed to discover what effect it may have upon the exclusiveness of the company's own product line. Laboratory tests of new competing products are invaluable to indicate the revisions of selling points and marketing emphasis that may be necessary to meet the inroads of the new invader. The same is true of the field tests. Reactions of consumers to the new competing product as compared with the company's own items must be secured.

Overcoming weaknesses of product line

Obviously, this process of analysing the inherent qualities and constructional details of the product line will disclose many weaknesses. These weak points and disadvantages should be listed as carefully as the points of superiority. Attacks from competitors and definite sales resistance from consumers may be expected because of these weaknesses. Consequently, it is wise to know exactly what they are so that preparation may be made to meet the objections and resistance certain- to be encountered. Moreover, a careful study of the situation may suggest possibilities of improving the product line or adapting it in some way to minimize the weaknesses without making it necessary to change very radically either the materials or the processes of manufacture. In this connection, it is important to remember that the intelligent and progressive retailer is in a splendid position to detect product weaknesses and to suggest needed improvements.

Consumers are very likely to express their "kicks" and fault-finding in positive terms to the dealer from whom they buy. In fact, they are often more apt to be specific to the dealer than in answering a mailed questionnaire which is to be returned to the manufacturer.

Product improvement and adaptation

There will be instances in which product research discovers no exclusive or individual features of superiority and no outstanding defects in a particular product as compared with competing products. Technical and user tests may uncover nothing that is distinctive and different from the standpoint of either superiority or inferiority. In its inherent qualities and constructional details, the product may be matched very closely by a number of competing articles. If the product has definite weaknesses or if it is neither superior nor inferior to competing lines, then the market research department should undertake studies to determine the possibilities of introducing improvements.

Examples of improvement and adaptation

There are many examples of product improvements, made to overcome weaknesses, that have resulted in competitive advantages. For a long time flashlights tended to roll very easily because of their cylindrical shape. They had no stable resting base when laid down upon the flat surface of a table, desk, or chair.

Then, one manufacturer put an octagonal metal rim around the lens holder and his particular flashlight met a consumers' objection and added a competitive individuality. Still another change added a ring which fastened in the base of the light so that it could be hung on a nail or hook. In the same general way, careful study and analysis can develop exclusive product features, even if no particular disadvantages exist and where competing products are closely similar in durability, serviceability and performance.

Minor physical improvements which provide new possibilities of controlled and convenient use may be added to the product without changing it fundamentally. "All electric toasters, for example, are approximately the same, but each has some feature of its own, such as a special turnover arrangement, a plug that pulls out easily, or a rack for keeping the toast warm." The autographic feature on Eastman cameras, the red wheel on Lorain regulator gas ranges, the system of "cold-control" on Frigidaire electric refrigerators, are also typical examples.

Nor is it necessary to confine the newly proposed individualistic feature to a genuine improvement as far as performance or quality is concerned, or to the addition of a new or varied use possibility. More attention to design, appearance, colour, and other "emotional" features may be effective in developing individuality. This is particularly true in the marketing of manufactured consumers' goods, since the true measure of consumers' value is subjective rather than objective.

Between an unattractive and an attractive product, given approximately the same price range and the same possibilities of performance, the consumer's choice is usually for the attractive article. A gold band on a fountain pen, an ivory insert on a cigarette holder, a red edge on a shovel or red point on a pick do not necessarily add quality or performance to the particular product, but they may stamp it with considerable competitive individuality.

Identification and packaging

Naturally, these same elements of individuality may be acquired by careful attention to the selection and use of a brand name, a trademark, a slogan, or a trade character, and by unique, unusual, and usable packages. These matters will not be detailed here because they are discussed on different pages. It is sufficient to indicate that the market research department may be called upon to perform most of the testing on which basic identifying and packaging policies are to be formulated, and that matters of identification and packaging are mainly determined in the light of what can be accomplished to give the product line individuality and competitive distinctiveness.

Possibilities of standardization and simplification

A source of product research that is often fertile is an inquiry into the possibility of standardizing or simplifying the product, especially if a wide variety of sizes and styles is made. By standardization we mean interchangeability of parts so that the articles produced are uniform. Simplification refers to a reduction in the number of types and sizes offered of the same article or line of articles.

Many manufacturers could reduce advantageously the number of items in their line. It is obvious that in most cases standardization and simplification of output will result in increased manufacturing efficiency and decreased manufacturing costs. By reducing the inventory of stocks such a program makes deliveries quicker and prices lower. Furthermore, by focusing the consumers' attention on essentials it decreases selling expense.

Generally speaking, it is necessary to satisfy consumers' demands but it is not necessary to load a line with products that add to confusion and expense and that result in scattered sales effort. The manufacturer who turns out products that he can make and sell economically and effectively and who does not bow to expediency by adding lines and styles at the whim of scattered individuals, will be ultimately in a stronger position than one whose desire for present business is such that he burdens himself with a line consisting chiefly of relatively unprofitable or inactive numbers.

This matter of standardization and simplification, of course, is very largely a matter of product policy and from that point of view it will be discussed on a different page. Nevertheless, the inquiry into the economies made possible will inevitably fall to the research department.

Development of the product line

Another important factor that must be studied and summarized by the market research department for the use of the sales personnel is the history of the development of the product line. Definite information must be compiled and made available with respect to the origin of the various items in the product line, the number of lines or products sold in the company's early days, the various items that have been added or dropped and other interesting factors. In this compilation, the "whys" as well as the results should be presented.

The relationship between changes in individual products and the line as a whole, and consumers' or buyers' wants, should be stressed. If this information can be imparted to the field sales force or inserted in the salesman's manual it may prove to be of real sales service. Frequently the salesmen will meet prospects and customers who are familiar with the past history of the business enterprise, and it may be necessary to explain to them changes that have come about or to capitalize incidents in the company's progress.

The organization behind the product line

A similar point upon which detailed information may be compiled with good effect by the research department relates to the company itself. An outline of the general organization of the company, facts about the officers and executives, items that indicate the financial responsibility and high reputation of the firm, and interesting descriptions of the plant or business establishment and its facilities may prove to be valuable talking points for specific campaigns.

In making this compilation, the market research department should remember that the facts are to be used as selling points. These points can be most easily developed by stressing the close relationship existing between the various department heads and the salesman in the field. Customers and prospects are always interested in knowing what the house stands ready to do for them. Concrete examples of cooperation between the home office organization and the salesman will strengthen the appeal of the product to the Consumer.

Background material

These two latter types of information make up background or secondary marketing material. The market research department must be judicious in choosing the amount of such material to be presented to the advertising and sales personnel. One writer on advertising puts this word of caution as follows :

"Family history of a manufacturing concern is like a pedigree of a race horse. In most cases it explains why they win. But people who pay to see a horse race don't want their view of the race shut off by a signboard telling the pedigree of the horses. Merchants are more interested in proof that a product will sell and keep on selling at a profit than they are in definite evidence that for seventeen generations the presidents have worn side whiskers, or in the established fact that the office help is protected from flies in summer time by specially prepared pink mosquito netting."

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