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Unit 17 :
Market Research : Presenting Results
Advanced
Vocabulary
Repeat these sentences with your teacher first.
1. preliminary (adj.)
coming before a more important action or event, especially introducing or preparing for it
2. market positioning (n.)
the particular group of customers that a company has, or that a product is aimed at, or the type of business that a company does, in relation to other companies or products
3. market shares (n.)
the number of things that a company sells compared with the number of things of the same type that other companies sell
4. imported (adj.)
to buy or bring in products from another country
5. domestic (adj.)
relating to a person’s own country
6. core (adj.)
the basic and most important part of something
7. substandard (adj.)
below a satisfactory standard
8. niche (adj.)
a job or position that is very suitable for someone, especially one that they like
Dialogue
Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.
Thompson
Paul
Hmmm, why isn’t the projector coming on….?
What? What’s wrong with it? Paul, come in here and take a look.
There’s no need, President Thompson. It’s good now… Ok, so today I’ll be giving you the results of the preliminary follow up analysis and an analysis of our competitors.
Ok, sounds good. Let’s begin.
We’ve completed our market surveys and initial competitor profile surveys for motor home brands in the Chinese market. This data includes the products themselves, strategies, market positioning, market shares, advantages and disadvantages.
Um, can you enlarge the font a bit? I can’t see it clearly.
Ok, give me a second and I’ll blow that up for you… Alright, let’s take a look at the brands first. Currently, the leading imported motor home brands are Mercedes Benz and GM. The leading domestic brand is Great Wall.
Do you have information about specific product models?
Yes. We analyzed the market shares of the top selling vehicle models and you can see the results of the evaluation in the graphic here.
Ok…. I see.
So, now let me talk about branding strategy. Some brands’ product lines are complete. For example, Mercedes Benz; motor homes are in no way their main product. Motor homes, however, are the core product of local Great Wall. They hope to become China’s leading motor home brand.
So, Great Wall’s competitive advantage is quite strong?
That’s right. Take a look at this chart. In the last few years, Great Wall has made a very large investment in marketing and sales channels. Plus, their prices are low. These are their core commercial strategies.
Then what about their disadvantages?
Technology is their drawback. Their quality level isn’t as high because their innovative technology is substandard. They mainly take the low price route and focus on the mass-market approach.
But their rate of growth and profit margin are both very high, right?
Correct. But, President Thompson, I think the market is still currently lacking a motor home in the mid-level price range that performs well but is still in a reasonable price range for the middle class market.
I see.
Article
Read the article with your teacher.
Use market surveys to increase customer knowledge
There are lots of ways you can use market surveys to increase customer knowledge. Depending on your specific objectives, there are different questionnaire models. What are you looking for?
Get to know your customers. Do you know who your customers are? A lot of businesses don’t. When you know who your customers are, you’ll have a better understanding about what they need, what they don’t need, and how to expand your audience reach.
Understand which products or services could use a boost. Ask about the merchandise your customers buy with a product survey. You’ll get a clearer picture of which product offerings are selling, which aren’t, and why.
Learn about your competition. You may be surprised to see who you’re competing with. Understand who your competitors are and why you may be losing business and market share to them.
Price correctly. When you’re launching a new product or service (or if an existing product isn’t doing well), it could be because of how much you’re charging. Re-evaluate your prices with a product feedback survey.
You don’t have to spend loads of money to get answers. Simply by using a market survey questionnaire to reach out to your target market, you can make sure your efforts are as effective as possible. Just think about the answers you want to develop the best questions!
Source: Inc., “10 ways to maximize your professional development”
Discussion：
Answer the following questions to your teacher.
1.You are a staff/owner in a new coffee shop, how will you promote your shop to encourage people visit your shop?
Let’s practice
Choose the correct answer.
1. Market ____ is the percentage of a market accounted for by a specific entity.
A.survey
B.share
C.positioning
D.advantage
2. Home-made parts are being substituted for ____ ones.
A.imported
B.domestic
C.local
D.native
3. The use of new technology is ____ to our strategy.
A.minor
B.core
C.unnecessary
D.dispensable
4. Rob, were you a _____ student ?
A.well-attended
B.well-behaved
C.well-beloved
D.well-beaten
