1. Market Research Projects
Solvay Consulting Club
19/10/2013

2. Agenda
• The House of Marketing
• Market Research Project
• Project Management
• Desk research
• Interviews
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3. THoM offers marketing talent, adapted to the new business
context
In a economical environment where turbulence is the new norm,
The House of Marketing develops marketing talent and provides
marketing excellence at the right moment, exceeding clients'
expectations by delivering higher return on investment and by
making the organization more agile.
We achieve this by recruiting passionate marketers for whom we
create an inspiring and nurturing environment so that they can
develop their full potential.
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4. THoM ‘s 3 main service offerings
Temporary Marketing
Support
Marketing Consultancy
Marketing Talent
Development
To bridge Capacity &
Competence gaps
To tackle strategic
marketing
challenges
To develop, counsel
& train marketers on
the job
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5. We can help to bridge capacity & function gaps….
Product &
Brand
Managers
Business
Analysts
E-Marketers
& Social
Media
Specialists
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Broad experience
Coordination activities of
specialists in
production, sales, advertising,
promotion, R&D, …
Churn analysis, churn
reduction
Product placement
optimization
Marketing
Managers
Market & competitor
analysis
Market assessment &
quantification
Clustering of customers
Channel &
Category
Managers
E-strategy definition & rollout
Coordination, design &
implementation of emarketing actions
Website
management, email
marketing, social
media, mobile
Process
Managers
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B2B and B2C environments
Marketing plan, go-to-market
strategy &
implementation, people
management, business
intelligence
Coordination of Marketing
activities
Strong analytical and
negotiation skills
Enhancing retail partnerships
by increasing category sales
and aiding in fact
based/strategic selling
Extended experience in SME
and large matrix organizations
Alignment of organization
towards similar goals
Clear roles & responsibilities
definition, organizational
design

6. …and help you tackle strategic marketing challenges
Mostly project based
THoM expertise & solutions
Client challenges
Volume
driven
Margin
driven
Positioning
• Customer intelligence: translate data into
relevant insights
• Segmentation
• Business and marketing planning
• Innovation Management Program
• Attract new customers
• Increase customer spending
• Reduce customer churn
• Increase Innovation success rate
• Pricing exercise
• Category assessment
• Marketing performance management
• Restore customer trust
• Capture more customer value
• Margin management
• Doing more with less resources
• Tracking of ROI
(ROMI, CLTV, dashboards)
• Marketing audit
• Define or redefine positioning
• Changing customer experience from
product push to relational (customercentric)
• Positioning on the sustainability dimension
• Positioning towards current and potential
employees
• Positioning workshop, define brand
identity card
• Customer (store) experience
• Sustainability
• Employer branding
Consumer analytics and insights are crucial for each of the three challenges
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7. Performance demands the right talent at the right
place, & ongoing training
The House of Marketing can help you to develop and keep the right talents in
your marketing department.
Marketing Talent Program
(see www.marketingtalent.be)
- One company or multi company
accelerated traineeship programs
- Training reinforced by coaching on the
job
- Relevant Marketing training, from general
to very specific & tailor made
- product management
- project management
- communication (online, offline)
- social media
- email marketing
-……
Training
Counseling
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- Personal counseling focused on
marketing related skills and technical skills
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8. FACTS – our vision of how marketing should evolve
Simplicity
Strategic consistency
Leadership continuity
Prioritize & making choices
Consistent brand across all channels
Seek leadership in specific category
Customer centricity
Focused team
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
• Detect trends & act
• Early warning systems & processes
Innovative company culture
Diversity of profiles
Idea generation process
Idea valuation
Porosity & open-mindedness
Agile & up to date organization
Built around customer engagement
Willingness to change
Flexibility & Speed
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
KPI’s & dashboards
Scenario analysis & ROMI
Connect with marketing intelligence
Analytical culture & skills
• People: yours & every stakeholder
• Planet: ACT on innovation, packaging, promotion...
• Profit: business-minded marketers
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9. Agenda
• The House of Marketing
• Market Research Project
• Project Management
• Desk research
• Interviews
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10. Case of Company X, active in the HR-services sector
Payroll services
HR Administration
Selfemployed
Small
companies
HR Advice
Large
companies
For confidentiality reasons figures on the slides have been modified and client issue has been
slightly adapted
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11. Question
Previous studies indicated a low market penetration in Antwerp.
Should our company invest in the region of Antwerp?
How would you approach this question?
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12. Market
potential
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Market
penetration
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13. Market
potential
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Market
penetration
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14. Step 1 – Take the helicopter view (compare Antwerp vs Belgium)
Antwerp is the province with most employers (37k) and 2nd in terms of #
employees (520k)
Employees per province - % of total in Belgium
Employers per province - % of total in Belgium
520.446 employees
37.331 employers
ANTWERPEN
WESTVLAANDEREN
13%
ANTWERPEN
19%
17%
OOST
VLAANDEREN
13%
WESTVLAANDEREN
LIMBURG
8%
8%
11%
13%
OOST
VLAANDEREN
LIMBURG
7%
10%
11%
20%
3%
4%
HAINAUT
9%
HAINAUT
LIEGE
9%
LIEGE
8%
NAMUR
> 12,5% of employers
5% - 12,5% of employers
< 5% of employers
NAMUR
4%
> 12,5% of employees
3%
5% - 12,5% of employees
LUXEMBOURG
< 5% of employees
2%
LUXEMBOURG
1%
• Situated at 40 km from Brussels and close to other important regions: 60% of the European buying power is
situated within a ray of 500 km from the city Antwerpen.
• An extensive transportation network between Antwerp and other important European regions.
• Services is an important sector but the industrial sector keeps growing in Antwerpen.
The harbour is also an important place for Industry.
Source: RSZ Q3 2010 (private sector)
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7%

15. Step 2 – Zoom in
The ‘arrondissement Antwerpen’ represents 60% of companies and 62% of
employment in the province
Arrondissement Turnhout
Companies
Arrondissement Mechelen
22.237 employers
(60% of Antwerpen)
6.325 employers
(17% of Antwerpen)
8.769 employers
(23% of Antwerpen)
# heads
Arrondissement Antwerpen
319.829 heads
(62% of Antwerpen)
Average: 66 heads/customer
84.811 heads
(16% of Antwerpen)
Average: 40 heads/customer
115.806 heads
(22% of Antwerpen)
Average: 32 heads/customer
Source: RSZ Q3 2010 (private sector)
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16. Step 3 – take a different angle
Employment in province Antwerpen is driven by Industry, Commerce, Admin
Services and the Health Sector
<50 in Antwerpen:
196k heads
50-200 in Antwerpen:
94k heads
>200 in Antwerpen:
230k heads
Top sectors within the <50 market
(in # heads)
Top sectors within the 50-200 market
(in # heads)
Top sectors within the >200 market
(in # heads)
80,000
80,000
80,000
70,000
70,000
70,000
60,000
60,000
60,000
50,000
50,000
50,000
40,000
To be compared with other regions
40,000
40,000
30,000
30,000
30,000
20,000
20,000
20,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
0
0
0
Top 6: 75% of employment
Top 6: 81% of employment
Source: RSZ Q3 2010 (private sector)
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Top 6: 87% of employment

17. Step 4 – get to a level of detail that will be directly actionable
(e.g. as briefing to sales team)
Most important activities within the sector Industry are Chemicals & Food
Sector Industry in # heads
Segment < 50 in Antwerpen
Sector Industry in # heads
Segment >200 in Antwerpen
Sector Industry in # heads
Segment 50-200 in Antwerpen
18,000
18,000
18,000
16,000
16,000
16,000
14,000
14,000
14,000
12,000
12,000
12,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
8,000
8,000
8,000
6,000
6,000
6,000
4,000
4,000
4,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
0
0
0
Source: RSZ Q3 2010 (private sector)
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18. Step 5 – Compare to competitor performance
Competitors are much more present and have a higher awareness ratio
Unaided awareness Study of Company X
Unaided awareness in
Antwerpen:
• competitor 1: 40%
• competitor 2: 29%
• company X: 11%
Awareness of
company x:
11%
Top of mind in
Antwerpen:
• competitor 1: 20%
• competitor 2: 17%
• Company X: 5%
Source: Awareness Barometer
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19. Market
potential
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Market
penetration
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20. Step 1 – Evaluate situation for sub-segments of clients
With its 5.000 customers in Antwerpen, company X has a lower market
penetration compared to the national market penetration
Market penetration of Company X in Antwerpen
% market penetration
50%
40%
37%
Average: 32%
32%
30%
Average: 24%
20%
27%
22%
Average: 14,5%
13%
10%
10%
5%
6%
1-4
5-9
7%
0%
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10-19
20-49
50-99
20
100-199
200-499
500-999
>999

21. Step 2- Evaluate situation for different type of products
Product C is the most important product in terms of invoicing
Invoicing value and number of customers per key product in Antwerpen (cross-segment)
4,000
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
Product C
Product A
Product D
Invoicing (M EUR)
Number of customers
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Product B
Product E

22. Step 3 – take a detailed look at internal KPI
The ‘arrondissement Antwerpen’ only represents 20% of our customers in the
province Antwerpen
customers
Arrondissement ‘Turnhout’
(20% of customers Antwerpen)
5,4% penetration
(40% of customers Antwerpen)
5,8% penetration
(40% of customers Antwerpen)
8,4% penetration
# heads
Arrondissement ‘Mechelen’
Average: 70 heads/customer
Average: 60 heads/customer
Average: 40 heads/customer
Invoicing
Arrondissement ‘Antwerpen’
Average: 4.000 EUR/customer
Average: 4.800 EUR/customer
Average: 5.200 EUR/customer
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23. Step 4 – investigate root causes
Customers indicated the importance of having a supplier close to their
business, which is a weakness for company X
Competitor 1
Competitor 2
Company X
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24. Step 5- also think beyond your organization
Having a strong partner-network seems to be important to develop business in the
<50 segment
Company X: 55 partners
Company X: 34 partners
Company X: 43 partners
10% of top 100 partners
35% of top 100 partners
30% of top 100 partners
Current partner network in Antwerp is rather weak
compared to other regions
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25. Last step – quantify market potential
Market Share (MS) and value of total market for
P1, P2 and P3 within the < 50 segment
Average market share on national level
% market share
A market share increase from 4%
to 11% generates + 4,5 M EUR
+ 1% MS SSS generates + 1,1 M €
P2:
3,6%
P1 : 4% MS
P1
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A market share increase from 4,2%
to 9,8% generates + 1,2 M €
P2
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P3:
4,2% MS
P3
Invoicing total
market (100% MS)

26. Gathering information via different channels…
Desk
research
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Analyze
figures
Internal
interviews
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External
interviews

27. … to come to the conclusions and recommendations
• Antwerpen is an important & interesting region, with untapped potential
• Market penetration is especially low in the <50 segment and in the
‘arrondissement Antwerpen’, where potential is highest
• Actions to grow:
 Work on local awareness (action plan)
 Open new branches
 Further develop value proposition for specific sectors (e.g. credentials)
 Develop partnerships with accountants
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28. Agenda
• The House of Marketing
• Market Research Project
• Project Management
• Desk research
• Interviews
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29. Quiz: What’s the difference between these 2 buildings?
Bilbao Guggenheim
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Sydney Opera House
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30. Quiz: What’s the difference between these 2 buildings?
Bilbao
Guggenheim
Sydney
Opera House
• Architectural Masterpiece
• More than 1 million visitors per year
• Estimated Construction Time of 4 years
• Construction cost of +/- € 80 million
Completed in 1997…
on time
Completed in 1973…
with 10 years delay
Cost € 84 million…
on budget
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Cost € 77 million…
initial budget € 5 million
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31. There are numerous reasons why projects usually fail…
People are not
working toward the
same goals and
specifications
The scope of the
project keeps
changing
Team members lack
the right skills or
expertise for the
project
Cost/Budget
overruns
Work is redone or
duplicated and will
impact project cycle
time
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Team is sitting on
different
locations, no
connections, etc…
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32. Project Management aims
at systematically reducing
risks of failure
Project Management
is the application of
knowledge, skills, tools and
techniques to project activities to
meet project requirements.
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33. Step 1: Initiate
Project Management starts with defining the project and setting
up the right scope and objectives
1. Define the mission: why do we need to do the project?
2. Define the scope: what’s included and what’s not?
3. Set up objectives: what objectives do we aim to reach? (SMART*)
4. Align clear roles & responsibilities
5. Identify the end-deliverables
* SMART: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time
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34. Example of project objectives
What to
achieve
Target value of the
indicator
Indicators
Statement
Measures
Performance Targets
Create a revised
report that
summarizes monthly
sales activity
Content
Report must include the following
data for each product line:
•Total number of items sold
•Total sales revenue
•Total returns
Schedule
Report must be operational by August
31
Budget
Development expenditures are not to
exceed $40,000
Approvals
New report format must be
approved by
•Vice president of sales
•Regional sales manager
•District sales manager
•Sales representatives
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35. Step 2 - Project plan
Divide project in streams or phases by listing activities
(incl. sequence, duration, dependencies, resources)
XX
Key activities
XX
Confidence
Clarity
Communication
Consistency
Control
Credibility
XX
Phase 1
desk research
interviews
Plan your interviews on time!
Phase 2
Testing
Phase 3
Training
Feedback sessions
Key meetings
Today
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Status
meeting
Status
meeting
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Validation
meeting

36. Brainstorming on project deliverables is done
by answering 6 questions chronologically
• What topics do you think you need to address in order to answer the question?
(Use structured thinking to be logical and exhaustive)
• Why do you need this topic? How relevant is it?
• What can’t you deliberately do? (Constraints, scope definition) And which
parameters/drivers can you address?
• What are the problems you expect to occur (for every topic) and how can you
address them?
• Define the deliverable(s) for each topic
• Having listed the topics, what is the immediate logical route of topics to follow?
Now you can list your ideas: Topic, Deliverable, Special remark(s)
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37. Step 3 – Execute/ control
Important to have regular meetings with your team
Holding regular progress meetings with your team will enable you to:
• Have better communication – by keeping all the needed people involved
• Risk control - more people = better overall view
• Better overview - better status of where you are
• Do progress reporting to management (& stakeholders)
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38. Step 4 – Project closing
An important process (and phase) of your project!
The end is near,
but you’re not there yet…
You should have laid the foundations of closure at the start:
• Clear goal and objectives
• People’s commitment to the end
• Project closure activities foreseen in the project plan
• Foresee a formalized but fun end ‘event’ so that people can
disconnect
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39. Agenda
• The House of Marketing
• Market Research Project
• Project Management
• Desk research
• Interviews
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40. Question
Consumer trends 2020-2025 for a major automotive company
How will youth evolve in Russia? What is the likely impact on
motoring?
How would you approach this?
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41. Main challenges
1
2
3
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Don’t get lost in the mass of information
Reconcile inconsistent data sources
From gut feeling to a real trend (or to the bin)
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42. Tip & tricks for desk research
Where to
start ?
Start by defining what you want to know. Keep a broad view of
the information you are looking for.
Gather data
Online sources, Government departments, libraries, public
sources, business specific information, magazines &
publications, etc.
Analyse info
Check the quality of your source (e.g. governmental vs
commercial), try to find at least 3 different sources to ensure
they broadly agree and check how data was collected
Define
storyline
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Always keep in mind what you are looking for and the question
you are trying to answer
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43. Agenda
• The House of Marketing
• Market Research Project
• Project Management
• Desk research
• Interviews
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44. A good interview, starts with good preparation
What
Who
• Internal interviews vs. external interviews
• Why do you want to interview him /her?
• Do some background research: what is his / her expertise?
How
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• What do you want to find out during the interview?
• What do you want to learn?
•
•
•
•
Where will you take the interview?
Which questions will you ask?
Prepare all your questions before the interview
The duration of the interview can maximum take 1,5h
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45. Put your questionnaire in a logical structure
1. Start with short introduction that explains the purpose of the interview
2. Begin with more open, general questions to bring the interviewee at ease
3. Ask specific or critical questions in the end
(but don’t avoid them!)
4. End the interview by thanking the interviewee, ask if he/she has more questions
5. Leave your contact details, so he/she can contact you
A good interviewer brings his/her interviewee at ease (also non-verbal behavior) and keeps
the overhand of the interview (follow your structure of questions)
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46. Watch out for the typical pitfalls when conducting an interview
1.
2.
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Make sure your questions are clear for the interviewee
- Don’t speak too fast, leave time for silences
- Don’t use any jargon in your questions
- Don’t ask suggestive questions
3.
Make sure the interviewee feels at ease
- Provide a good location
- Do not interrupt the interviewee during his/her answers
- Be unbiased, do not criticize the interviewee
4.
Interview pitfalls
Keep third parties out of the interview
Don’t write too much during the interview. If you can’t record the
interview, it’s best to take the interview with two.
- One is responsible for asking the right questions
- The other one will take notes
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47. Market Research Projects
Solvay Consulting Club
09/03/2013