Advertising Research And Planning for Your Business: THE MARKETING MIX

How much are consumers paying for your product or service?

• What is your pricing strategy?

• What is competition's pricing strategy?

• What is consumer perception of your product's value? Do they think your price is too high, too low, or just right for its value?

• Are you profitable?
• Do you have a price advantage?

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DATABASES

• Statista.com -- This database contains an amazing collection of industry forecasts and insights, consumers insights and preferences, industry insights and forecasts, key country and company reports, as well as worldwide statistics on a great number of major industries and markets. Also includes a tool to help you put together a numbers-rich business plan. It's almost a one-stop shop of information.

Statista is only available through specific computers in the Business Library, so please ask staff for assistance.

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E-BOOKS

"Pricing." Encyclopedia of Small Business, edited by Virgil L. Burton, III, 5th ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2017, pp. 836-838. Gale eBooks, https://link-gale-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/apps/doc/CX6062700448/GVRL?u=nypl&sid=GVRL&xid=e5acef8f. Accessed 29 June 2020.

"The pricing of goods and services is almost always determined by demand, which creates the market or confirms an offering as legitimate. In free market economies prices also tend to be controlled by competition, and for most businesses the cost of production and distribution also play an important role."

Truell, Allen D., and Michael Milbier. "Pricing." Encyclopedia of Business and Finance, 3rd ed., vol. 2, Macmillan Reference USA, 2014, pp. 609-612. Gale eBooks, https://link-gale-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/apps/doc/CX3727500255/GVRL?u=nypl&sid=GVRL&xid=eaa20733. Accessed 29 June 2020.

"Price is perhaps the most important of the four Ps (product, promotion, and place being the others) of marketing because it is the only one that generates revenue for a company. Price is most simply described as the value exchange that occurs for a product or service. Broadly, price is the total of all values exchanged for a product or service."

Who uses your product or service? 

• Do you know why they chose you?
• Who uses the competition's? Do you know why they chose competition's?
• Do you know who your consumers are, in terms of:
  • Demographics: age, gender, lifestyle, geographic location,  etc., education, employment, income level, ethnic identity
  • Psychographics: interests, value sets, brand loyalty, psychological and emotional motivations
  • Purchase motivations
• The bottom line: do you know what makes your consumers tick?

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DATABASES

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BOOKS AND E-BOOKS

Best Customers by New Strategist Press Editors (Editor) 

ISBN: 1937737403

Publication Date: 2017-06-18

"Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2014 Consumer Expenditure Survey, [this book] examines spending patterns by the demographic characteristics of households ... [It] analyzes household spending on more than 300 products and services by age of householder, household income, household type, race and Hispanic origin of householder, region of residence, and educational attainment of most educated household member. It identifies which households spend the most on a product or service (the best customers) and which control the largest share of spending (the biggest customers) ... New Strategist has calculated the indexes and market shares to reveal the trends. Text accompanies each table that identifies the best and biggest customers, analyzes spending patterns, describes spending trends for the product over the past few years, and products future trends based on the nation's changing demographics."

American Generations opens with an in-depth overview of the demographics of each generation. The 11 additional chapters examine Attitudes, Education, Health, Housing, Income, Labor Force, Living Arrangements, Population, Spending, Time Use, and Wealth. This edition of American Generations includes 2016 attitudes data from the General Social Survey, 2015 time use data from the American Time Use Survey, as well as recent income, housing, labor force, and spending data. Household net worth, assets, and debt are also profiled. Each chapter includes tables and text showing how the generations are alike and different, the important trends to watch, and what to expect in the future.

The Psychology of Consumer Profiling in a Digital Age by Barrie Gunter 

ISBN: 1138957968

Publication Date: 2016-05-16

Understanding how consumers choose between different products and services is a crucial part of professional marketing. Targeting brands at the consumers most likely to be interested in them is another critical aspect of business success. Marketers need to know what consumers think about brands, why they like them and what purposes they serve. This means delving into the psychology of the consumer to find ways of differentiating between consumers and matching brands to consumer niches at the level of consumers' relationships with brands. Using psychology to segment consumers has been regarded as a valuable adjunct to standard geo-demographic definitions of market segments. The Psychology and Consumer Profiling in a Digital Age examines how this field of 'psychographics' has evolved, the different approaches to psychological segmentation of consumers, the different ways in which it has been applied in consumer marketing settings, and whether psychographics works. It draws upon research from around the world and incorporates its analysis of the use of psychographics with an examination of major shifts in marketing in a digital and global era.

Hedonism, Utilitarianism, and Consumer Behavior : Exploring the Consequences of Customer Orientation

Scarpi, Daniele, author

Cham, Switzerland : Palgrave Macmillan, [2020]

This book investigates the effects of utilitarian and hedonic shopping behavior, drawing on original empirical research. Consumers have been shown to shop in one of two ways: they are either mainly driven by fun, escapism, and variety, or by need and efficiency. 

How do consumers access your product or service?

• Where is the business located geographically?
• Can people find it easily?
• Is it in a convenient location?
• Is it online?
• Is it available through various points/outlets (multi-channel), or only in a single location? 
• Is accessibility and availability equal to, better than or worse than competition's?
• Do you have a location advantage?

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DATABASES

Statista --  Provides a voluminous set of data dealing with statistics, forecasts and surveys, industry and country studies, and many more.

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E-BOOKS

"Distribution Channels." Encyclopedia of Small Business, edited by Virgil L. Burton, III, 5th ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2017, pp. 351-353. Gale eBooks, https://link-gale-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/apps/doc/CX6062700189/GVRL?u=nypl&sid=GVRL&xid=f861c4f6. Accessed 1 July 2020.

"Goods produced in factories and commodities produced in agriculture must reach consumers. The systems by which goods reach consumers are known as distribution channels. These are organizations that facilitate the sale and movement of products. The totality of all distribution channels forms a distribution network."

Fundukian, Laurie J., editor. Gale Encyclopedia of E-Commerce. 2nd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2012. Gale eBooks, https://link-gale-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/apps/pub/4OCY/GVRL?u=nypl&sid=GVRL. Accessed 1 July 2020.

"Provides access to the world of Internet commerce and addresses the concerns of those who want to join the ranks of the Internet business community. Features 470 essays on topics related to the emerging world of e-commerce. Includes profiles of individuals and organizations considered to be the industry leaders and innovators and covers significant events, case studies and legal issues important to understanding the current e-commerce environment."

How can you move people to patronize your product or service?

• What activities will you implement to persuade people to patronize your product or service?
• What is the best story about your product or service that will convince them to patronize you?
• What medium/media will you use to reach them -- radio, television, magazines, digital media?
• How can you turn them into repeat consumers?
• In what stage is your business -- launch, growth, expansion? How does that communicate in your promotions efforts?
• How much will you spend for promotions?

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E-BOOKS

"Sales Promotion." Encyclopedia of Small Business, edited by Virgil L. Burton, III, 5th ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2017, pp. 953-955. Gale eBooks, https://link-gale-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/apps/doc/CX6062700509/GVRL?u=nypl&sid=GVRL&xid=460852aa. Accessed 13 July 2020.

Truell, Allen D., and Michael Milbier. "Promotion." Encyclopedia of Business and Finance, 3rd ed., vol. 2, Macmillan Reference USA, 2014, pp. 630-633. Gale eBooks, https://link-gale-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/apps/doc/CX3727500264/GVRL?u=nypl&sid=GVRL&xid=0dfac42a. Accessed 14 Sept. 2020.

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DATABASES

Statista -- provides helpful statistics on a wide variety of industries and business categories, including promotional activities of specific markets. This database is only available through specific computers in the library, so please ask staff for assistance.