YOUR GUIDE TO MARKET RESEARCH ppsx

YOUR GUIDE TO MARKET RESEARCH
A GUIDE TO PRACTICAL AND LOW COST MARKET RESEARCH
METHODOLOGIES IN EU COUNTRIES
EXPORT MANUAL
CENTRE FOR THE PROMOTION OF IMPORTS FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
YOUR GUIDE TO MARKET RESEARCH
A guide to practical and low cost market research
methodologies in EU countries
Compiled for CBI by:
Searce
in collaboration with
A. van Duijvenbode
2003
CONTENTS
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Why is research so essential?
1.2 What is market research?
PART 2: THE MARKET RESEARCH PROCESS
2.1 Step 1 Define your research problem
2.2 Step 2 Which research technique?
2.2.1 Desk research
2.2.2 Desk research using the Internet
2.2.3 Field research
2.3 Step 3 Research planning
2.4 Step 4 Collecting relevant data
2.5 Step 5 Analysis - from data to information
2.6 Step 6 Transform information into intelligence
PART 3: RESEARCH AT EXPORT MARKETING STAGES
3.1 Stage 1 Export Market Analysis, Internal Analysis and SWOT
3.1.1 Market size
3.1.2 Market requirements

3.1.3 Trade flows
3.1.4 Market structure
3.1.5 Market growth and trends
3.1.6 Market targeting and segmentation
3.1.7 Competitors
3.1.8 Consumers / buyers
3.1.9 Internal Analysis and SWOT
3.2 Stage 2 Decision making and formulating objectives
3.3 Stage 3 Market Entry Strategy (MES) and Export Marketing Plan (EMP)
3.3.1 Product and positioning
3.3.2 Prices and margins
3.3.3 Place and distribution
3.3.4 Promotion
3.4 Stage 4 Evaluation and feedback
PART 4: ORGANISING MARKET RESEARCH
4.1 Research preparation and budget
4.2 Involving other people in research
4.3 Organising your data and information (MIS)
CHECKLIST
APPENDICES
1 Useful Internet sites
2 Useful addresses
3 Recommended reading
GLOSSARY
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PART 1 INTRODUCTION
‘Your Guide to Market Research’ is a manual which provides practical guidelines for
exporters from developing countries to become familiar with their prospective mar-
kets. This manual consists of four parts: Introduction to research (Part 1), How to
carry out research using the Market Research Process (Part 2), What to research
during the Export Marketing Stages (Part 3) and Organising Market Research (Part 4).
1.1 Why is research so essential?
Market research is an essential business tool and a must in a competitive market
environment where buyers are not really waiting for your product. The more know-
ledge you have about your prospective markets and its customers, the more likely
you will succeed. A good understanding of local consumer target groups and their
buying habits will help you to find out the right applications for your product.
Using research you can develop a product concept and choose the right positioning
strategy in each market. For example, you may discover that a particular taste in food
is mainstream in one market, while it is a specialty in another market.
From discovering a niche to planning an effective export marketing strategy, research
can provide the details which can be crucial for success. Less money and energy will
be wasted on false hopes, especially when you plan to export for the first time.
On the other hand, do not expect that market research is a guarantee for business
success. However, it can certainly help prevent you from taking wrong decisions.
Market research can help you in the following ways:
•
You can find out: the largest markets for your product, the fastest
growing markets, market trends and prospects, market conditions,

practices and your opportunities.
•
It enables you to narrow down your view from a broad scope. You
can set your priorities towards a specific target market and plan
future markets over a longer term.
•
It helps you to identify the best product introduction tactics. After e.g.
one year, you can evaluate your own and your trade partners’ efforts.
Then you can make the necessary adjustments in each market.
•
Getting an insight into your competitors, including their strengths
and weaknesses, their mistakes and reasons for success.
•
You may also find ideas for new product development.
•
By showing more interest in and understanding of their market,
buyers will take you more seriously.
Proactive approach
By staying aware of latest developments in your target markets, you can make your
marketing decisions more quickly. In a fast changing international business environ-
ment you need such a proactive approach, which is actually your competitive edge.
Even in a period of slowing population growth, new trends and consumer target
groups emerge. For example, the growing number of older people or single house-
holds. Both groups look for convenience products. By market research you can find
out how large these groups are, how they differ by country and you can anticipate
their interests.
a good understanding
is the key to succes
narrow your view
from a broad scope

being proactive as a
competitive edge
5
By responding quickly and introducing your product specifically tailored to these
groups in terms of size, appearance etc., your proactive approach may prove to be
successful.
Research as an integral part of your strategy
Market research is more than just compiling data and statistics. All data
collected needs to be
analysed and to be transformed into relevant
information. This forms the basis of your marketing
strategy and tools.
Researching markets, like all planning processes, is cyclical. At first, as
you review your initial data, you may find that some of the information
raises new questions that suggests the need for additional research.
In the end you can build up your own information system and add
missing or new data after each search, keeping your system up-to-date.
So, research does not stand on its own, but forms an integral part of
your Export Marketing Strategy. It is a continuous process.
Research needs a commitment
Market research requires a commitment in terms of time and money. Many companies
still aim to make every export venture ‘self financing’, i.e. start to export and finance
the investment from the profit from sales in these markets. This does not apply to
market research. Here you need to invest some money before introducing the product,
which prevents you from making expensive mistakes in your target markets later on.
1.2 What is market research?
As you now have become more aware of the essence of market research, you need
to know what it exactly is. Market research includes all methods to evaluate which
foreign markets have the best potential for your products. A simple definition is:
Market research is the collection and analysis of data about markets, people,

restrictions, channels and players to support better export marketing decisions.
The following myths keep exporters away from undertaking any form of research:
There are various research techniques, which are covered in Chapter 2.2.
definition research
research does not need
to be expensive
6
•
Myth 1: ‘Research is only for intellectuals and academic people’
This misunderstanding is partly created by researchers who have their own sophisticated
definitions and jargon. However, good researchers are well aware that research can be
easily designed and implemented by anyone.
• Myth 2: ‘The trade partner will do all necessary research’
Some exporters believe that they already have enough information through their trade part-
ner or expect the research to be done primarily by them. In addition, some exporters regard
market information as a by-product of their accounting system. But often trade partners
lack giving a neutral overview of the market and channel developments in their country.
•
Myth 3: ‘Market research is too expensive’
Market research does not necessarily mean doing surveys, interviewing large numbers of
people and carrying out complicated computer analyses, which are expensive - especially
when entering different EU countries. There are many low cost techniques (e.g. desk or
internet research) which are explained in this manual.
• Myth 4: ‘I am afraid to lose control with an information overload’
Some exporters are already very busy and are afraid of losing track when browsing
through all information and dealings with researchers. However, most research discussed
in this manual requires common sense and a time commitment.
PART 2 THE MARKET RESEARCH PROCESS
Effective research comes from good preparation, categorization and planning. Within
the limits of time and budget, you have to collect a lot of data, without losing track.

Your research will succeed when you structure your approach.
This Part explains the 6-step research process (see below), and focuses on some low-
cost techniques which could be used during this process. Within each process, you can
combine different research subjects (e.g. countries, market size, target groups, trends,
players, trade channels) and use different techniques.
7
Step 1
Define your research
problem
•
What export marketing experience do you have?
•
What do you want to be clarified by research?
•
Categorizing data by country and subject
•
Structuring by a Research Action Plan
Step 2
Which research
technique?
Step 3
Research planning
•
Which information is available?
•
Which countries to start with?
Step 4
Collecting relevant data
•
Explain the cause and predict what will happen

•
Give indication of actions
Step 6
Transform information
into intelligence
•
Desk research
•
Desk research using the internet
•
Field research
Step 5
Analysis - from data to
information -
•
Sorting and avoid getting lost (information overload)
•
Filtering and matching reliable and useful data
•
Organising and checking against the research problem
2.1 STEP 1 Define your research problem
What export marketing experience do you have?
Most exporters start with a broad view by doing (desk) research initially or by looking
at the market environment. Here it is important to define your research problem in
relation to your export marketing experience. Where does your company stand in
exporting to the EU? Do you already have clients in some countries or is this your first
export business venture to the EU?
For example, when starting to export to the EU, you first have to find out whether this
business venture is worth your investment. Your research problem would be then first
to familiarise yourself with EU markets by finding out relevant information on subjects

such as: market sizes, requirements, structure, developments, segments, main players etc.
This research problem is evident if you are considering exporting for the first time,
but also if you already have customers in EU markets and are considering expanding
to other EU countries. In both cases, you will have to deal with each export marketing
stage in which you will have to find relevant information. What to research during each
export marketing stage will be further explained in Part 3 of this manual.
What do you want to be clarified by research?
When you have become familiar with EU markets, knowing which opportunities exist,
and when you have an idea of which markets to approach, the logical next step is to
go further into details. The more details you want, the more specific your research
problems will be. Finding out how your competitors sell in these markets - if you
should imitate them or innovate - and how to adapt your product in both cases - could
be a problem which you can clarify by research.
In assessing export opportunities, you may have carried out some research in the past.
You also may already have some information on EU markets within your own com-
pany. Once you have checked your internal sources and defined your research problem,
you can make a list of what you want to know and what can be found out. You should
try to find information which is obtainable, affordable and relevant.
It may take some time and effort to become more trained in research, but once you
carried out a research process a few times, it will be easier and ultimately be of great
benefit, particularly when you know the useful sources which are relevant for your
specific product.
EXAMPLE
AN EXPORTER OF TEXTILES
know your buyers’
market conditions
your efforts will be
rewarded later
8
An exporter of textiles sent samples of his new collection to his existing customers and to potential

customers whose addresses he collected from a mailing list. He was convinced that this was the most
effective way of doing market research because ‘response could immediately turn into orders’. So he
invested some money to send his parcels and was hoping to get at least some reactions. But unfor-
tunately he did not receive any feedback from potential customers, who already receive so many sam-
ples. His existing customers politely told him that they were not interested because both the design and
colours of his collection were dated. ‘He should have sent these one year ago’ a few of them said.
With these results the exporter concluded that market research was too costly. Besides, it did not give
him any return and thus would not be needed anymore. The mistake he makes here is that he does not
regard this result positively, as a basis for a new market research. Even if he was already selling to
some customers, he runs the risk of losing them in the future. So he has a research problem to solve
here! By analysing his market more closely he can create a new collection, becoming the basis for his
future strategy.
He could do some desk research e.g. looking at internet sites of European exhibitions and magazines
to get an idea of the trend forecasts and visiting sites of some major clothing retailers. With this infor-
mation, he can develop an export collection and a well thought-over USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
to clients. Instead of spending money on sending samples, he could search on Internet sites of some tra-
ding platforms, where he can find buyers who may be interested. Once the contact is there, samples can
be sent.
secondary data as the
first step
finding relevant infor-
mation in a limited time
9
2.2 STEP 2 Which research technique?
Now that you have thought about the neccessary information of each country, you
need to find out the sources to get some of this information.
In market research there are several techniques for collecting data, which are either
desk research or field research. Each technique relates to the sort of data, which is
subdivided into primary data and secondary data:
•

Primary data: in this case you, or a research specialist, collect data directly from
the foreign marketplace using mainly field research (see Chapter 2.2.3).
Field research always relates specifically to your product, is done on the spot,
and usually follows desk research.
•
Secondary data: here you are looking for data previously collected by others e.g.
companies, governments using desk research. Secondary data is less expensive
and by using the internet, you can find much in on-line databases.
The next section focuses on these techniques, which are useful and affordable for
exporters from developing countries.
2.2.1 Desk research
What is it and what to collect?
Desk research is the best technique to do your first asses-
ment. Here you collect secondary data in your company
(internal sources) or elsewhere (external sources). You
search for information in hardcopy or in electronic form.
Some examples are: country overviews, market surveys,
company profiles, sales tracking data, trade statistics,
consumer surveys, articles, newsletters, magazines etc.
Within the abundance of information, especially in deve-
loped countries, you can familiarise yourself with new
markets. At the same time, you must try to find relevant
data for your specific product.
The challenge here is to collect and compile as much useful information and statistics
about your target markets within a limited time.
During your desk research, try to mark the pieces of information with a date and
source. In doing so, you still know where you got it from, especially if the information
proves to be irrelevant later on.
DESK RESEARCH
Advantages Disadvantages

- Data collection is fast - It is often too general
- Relatively cheap - You have to validate its reliability
- Field research could be obsolete - Conflicting statistics, different definitions
- You or your staff can do it - Information can be too old
Where to find secondary data?
Start collecting all data from your office at your desk, surfing on the Internet and
requesting data by e-mail, phone, fax etc. In most EU countries, especially in
Germany, France and the UK, people want a written request for information including
a short explanation who you are and why you need it. Data collection usually takes
time, so you could have trainees or students doing much of this work. Here you need
to give them a clear briefing of what you want - see also Chapter 4.1.
How to ask for free or low cost information?
Try to make a friendly but polite standard fax, e-mail or letter. You could use this
several times by slightly modifying it according to the people or organisation you are
contacting. Avoid asking too many questions, start with 2 or 3 questions and try to be
as specific as possible. In your request, it is important to set a deadline, which gives
you a reason to follow up later, but do not push too hard unless you have to pay for
the information.
It is important to find the right contact person, but often they are not in or too busy.
So simply explain what you are looking for. There is a risk of miscommunication
between you and staff of the organisation, which is dealing with your requests.
They may not be familiar with your product or your situation. Bear in mind that when
asking for information free of charge, you cannot be certain to get specific answers.
The main sources
CBI
CBI is a good starting point for your desk research. There are around 35 informative
EU Market Surveys on specific sectors available. Each survey reviews the latest mar-
ket developments, opportunities and provides export marketing guidelines. They are
already tailored for exporters from developing countries. In addition, each survey
gives many references and sources (addresses and Internet sites) for further research.

Registered exporters can download the CBI surveys
from the site www.cbi.nl.
CBI also provides manuals on export planning and other
topics, two fashion forecasts per year and a bimonthly
magazine, the CBI News Bulletin.
A special database, the Accessguide, has been set up
with all relevant information on non-tarif trade barriers
(e.g. environmental, health, safety and social issues)
- see - www.cbi.nl/accessguide.
In most EU countries, there are similar organisations
which stimulate imports from developing countries.
These can be found at www.tpo-net.com.
BSOs
In many developing countries, there are organisations which promote the exports
from their country through assistance and export promotion programmes. There are
governmental BSOs (e.g. ministries and national trade promotion organisations) and
sector associations. Next to individual assistance, they can provide the following
information services:
•
Trade and country statistics and publications about EU markets.
•
News bulletins and information on market opportunities for specific products.
•
Database of other exporters in your country and of EU importers.
•
Specific product or market information through customised research.
do not ask too many
questions
simply explain what
you are looking for

10
2
1
NGOs
Within the large number of NGOs, some organisations such as ITC, FAO, OECD,
UNCTAD, World Bank, Oxfam etc. offer assistance programmes for exporters from
developing countries.
Concord is a EU coordination centre for NGOs, which is a good starting point to find
NGOs in your target markets. Their site www.concordeurope.org gives an overview
of National NGO platforms e.g. www.bond.org.uk and of NGO networks in all EU
countries.
At the sites www.unsystem.org; www.oneworld.net or www.euforic.org you also can
find links to NGOs aiming for a greater fairness in global trade.
In addition, you could contact the local ministries of foreign affairs, which publish
address lists of NGOs in their country. As well as providing information, NGOs may
offer credit schemes, incentives or provide assistance in locating and contacting
potential customers in EU countries.
Chambers of Commerce
Before approaching organisations abroad, you could check your local Chamber of
Commerce, which also functions as a BSO. As well as the usual Chambers, there are
bilateral Chambers of Commerce e.g. The Dutch - South African Chamber.
In EU countries, most Chambers offer a variety of information e.g. regulations and
the major trends in industry. You can also find information about local trade press,
trade fairs, business culture and links to other relevant organisations.
Addresses of Chambers of Commerce in EU countries are given in Appendix 2.
Trade Associations
European Trade Associations that are well organised can provide good information.
They have their own reference libraries for their members. They sometimes conduct
their own national or international market studies. In their annual report, which are
sold at low cost to non-members, you can find extracts of these studies.

If possible, try to visit these associations direct or at trade fairs. Be aware that there
are trade organisations at different levels (e.g. retail, manufacturing, or industrial
level). Each organisation provides information from their own perspective.
Recently many Trade Associations have an Internet site from which articles can be
downloaded. You also will find links to other product or sector related organisations.
Embassies
Your embassies in target markets can be a useful source for general economic data
or country information. They provide guidance on any local regulations or laws.
They usually also have general information on doing business within their country.
In addition, they can introduce you to key persons or organisations in your sector,
and to translators.
Banks
Banks are another source, especially for financially related data such as exchange rate
forecasts. Major banks also have departments that are involved in researching world
markets, economic trends and developments in international trade.
EU Information Centres
Most EU countries now have a local information centre in the major cities, or there
may be a special European corner in local libraries. Here you can find information on
EU legislation and directives, EU funding schemes and sources. You can also find
general information about the EU member countries here.
NGO platforms and
local networks
extracts of studies in
annual reports
general information
EU member countries
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4
5

6
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8
Libraries
You could visit libraries in your own country or in your
target markets. As well as National libraries, most
organisations mentioned so far, have libraries which
you can visit. You oftenneed to make an appointment
beforehand.
Searching in libraries is a self-service activity, which
implies that you need to get familiar with their search
system. You often search by subject, title or keyword,
which leads you to a book or publication. You can copy
useful parts.
National libraries have an online catalogue at their
Internet site. In case of a complex system, you could
have a look beforehand.
Some libraries have a document supply service which
can carry out a search for you at limited cost and send
the result of this search to you, even if you are overseas.
You need, however, to become a full member.
In most libraries, reading rooms have consumer magazines, international newspapers,
journals, trade magazines, annual reports and sometimes an online article database and
market reports.
Trade magazines and newspapers
Trade magazines published in your target market are very useful for gaining a general
impression of current market activity - competitors, trends, current issues and opinions,
active agents and distributors. Special features can sometimes include relevant market
statistics. You can receive these magazines overseas by contacting them by e-mail,
ask at a library, your embassy or to someone you know who lives there. Once you are

in contact with them, you can ask for back copies.
Other
The method to collect information from all these organisations as well as from airlines,
national statistics offices, exhibitions, etc is very much the same as mentioned earlier
- see page 10.
Contacting these sources will give you a basic understanding of what information is
available and some opinions of experts (e.g. at trade associations or trade press). You
undoubtedly will get many tips on other sources for further research.
sector specific
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10
9
11
2.2.2 Desk research using the Internet
The internet offers an almost endless stream of information. Recently, developments
in electronic and information technology have been fast. If you are connected to the
Internet, you can access an innumerable number of sources from your desk.
The ultimate technique for data collection?
The internet is an essential and useful research tool, which can save you much time.
However to avoid disappointment, you must be creative when entering key-words and
narrow your search in time. Once you spontaneously start to search for a subject, you
can easily find yourself going off at an interesting looking link leading to nowhere.
Afterwards, you may look at your watch to find out that you have spent several hours
and failed to find any relevant informationon the subject. So you need to go on the
Web again, the disappointment may be repeated etc. etc. Try to be prepared, creative,
stick to the subject and know when to stop.
How to structure your Internet search?
Similar to all other research techniques, structure your search and write down before-
hand what you are looking for, keeping your Research Action Plan (see Chapter 2.3)
at hand. You could search in the following ways:

1 Search by keyword using search engines
2 Search at Internet sites and their links
3 Search in (online) databases
4 Search at relevant information portals for your product.
Search by keyword: an example
Your Internet connection provides around 100 million websites throughout the world,
more information than any library can offer. This enormous amount of information is
categorized by data providers in their own way. There is no one way to carry out an
ideal search. But there are some techniques and skills that save you time, especially
with regards to narrowing or refining a search.
You could search in a creative way by using different keywords. You also can mini-
mize the number of entries by adding codes to your keywords. These codes differ
per search engine. If for example, you are looking for information on the Spanish
market for luxury nuts, you could search by using the following codes:
+ (plus sign) Indicates that words must appear in each webpage
e.g. link the words spain+market+nuts (omit blanc space)
- (minus sign) Identified words that should not appear in each webpage.
e.g. spain+market-flea market, which excludes ‘flea market’
“ ” (quotes) Indicates the exact multiword phrase you are looking for.
e.g. “the Spanish food market” (as e.g. title of report)
AND To connect two or more words
e.g. spain AND market AND nuts (try with blanc space)
OR Make combinations with words
NOT Use in combination with AND in order to exclude words
an enormous resource
be creative and stick
to your subject
use different keywords
and search engines
13

1
The best advice is to do it yourself and get familiar with search
techniques through trial and error. In the example, you could first
search on keywords in English and later on in Spanish, which you
need to translate.
Here try to set yourself a limited time e.g. 1 hour and scroll per
search, a maximum of ten pages. Please be aware that each page
shows the documents in which your keywords are used, which are
not necessarily the most relevant documents. So try to use more
keywords, change them regularly and use different terms each time.
Search engines
In addition, use a few search engines, of which google.com is the
most popular. Others engines include msn.com, altavista.com.
And if you are looking specifically into Spain, use Spanish search
engines. You can find these at www.searchenginewatch.com or at
www.whitelines.nl
SEARCH BY KEYWORD
➧ Spanish market for luxury nuts:
•
Using Explorer or Netscape, go to a search engine e.g. google.com
•
You can search using one of the following keywords in these or any other combinations
➧ Spanish market luxury nuts
➧ Spain+market +nuts
➧ Spain consumption nuts
➧ Mercado nuez
➧ Consumo AND nuez NOT pistachios
➧ Spain+production +nuts
➧ Spain+Gallina Blanca +nuez
SEARCH BY TOPIC

•
At general sites of Spanish organisations, ministeries or statistics offices,
you can
search in their database for information on nut relevant topics such as; demographic,
socio-economic, culture and daily patterns. At sites of consumer magazines you can
search for information on Spanish eating and drinking habits and health issues.
Search at Internet sites and their links
You can scroll through sites of organisations, companies and retailers in EU countries
and see what you can find. Here you need to know the Internet address of the organi-
sation. Or you can try to find the organisation by the name and the country characters.
Each Internet address has a suffix or TLD (Top Level Domain name) which indicates
the nature of the organisation or the country code. For example:
ORGANISATIONS COUNTRY
•
.com is a commercial company
•
.de = Germany
•
.net is a service provider
•
.fr = France
•
.org is a non-profit organisation
•
.co.uk = United Kingdom
•
.gov is a governmental organisation
•
.nl = The Netherlands
For example, if you want to know which nuts are popular in Spain, try to find out

what sort of nuts are being sold by the largest retailer. In Spain, El Corte Inglés, the
largest department store, is important in food retailing and has much information
on their Internet site. If you do not have the correct address, try www.elcorteingles.es
(es is the country code for Spain). or www.elcorteingles.com. Otherwise, you can
type ‘el corte ingles’ as a keyword using a search engine.
use your intuition to
search by name and
suffix
14
2
At their site you can check the food section (= alimentacion) showing their products
and prices. You could also find out their purchasing policies for foreign suppliers.
The useful links at their site lead you to the largest hypermarket chains Eroski and
Hipercor in Spain, both operated by El Corte Inglés.
As well as companies’ own sites, governments, national statistics offices, NGOs,
trade associations, trade portals, trade fairs, trade press also have their own Internet
sites. In addition, you may also find worldwide news media (e.g. Financial Times)
useful; they publish articles on the EU economy, specific industries and on individual
companies.
SEARCH MORE SPECIFICALLY AT INTERNET SITES
➧
URLs of useful sites related to nuts
•
Have your research action plan and bookmarks near at hand
•
Go to the sites of:
-The International Tree Nut Council ➧ www.nuthealth.org
- Intern. Trade Press ‘The Cracker
➧ inc.treenuts.org/cracket.html
- Intern. Trade Press ‘The Clipper’

➧ www.agropress.com
- Alimarket, Spanish food magazine
➧ www.alimarket.es
- Portal for Food Ingredients
➧ www. ingrid.net
- ITC, P-Maps or C-Maps
➧ www.intracen.org
- Spanish Business Platform
➧ www.spaindustry.com
- Spanish Statistics Office (INE)
➧ www.ine.es
•
If the URL no longer exists, you can search for the new site using a search engine
and enter the name of the company, organisation or magazine
Search in databases
There are databases on the Internet which you can not find by search engines because
they only can be found when searching on particular websites e.g. of Governments
or universities. It is definitely worthwhile to do searches at these sites e.g. or
www.usatrade.gov where you can come across market reports on EU countries
which are made for US exporters, which can be downloaded free.
You can also buy up-to-date information reports from online databases, which might
be more specific to your product. Online databases are operated by business infor-
mation providers such as LexisNexis, Marketresearch.com and market research
companies such as Nielsen, Mintel, Frost&Sullivan, Euromonitor, Snapdata etc.
Also, some magazines put reports and articles available online at a
charge. Often you can download a summary or table of contents of
the reports and check how well they actually cover your specific
product well.
Once you decide to purchase a report, you must pay in advance by
a valid credit card. Then you can download the report or have it sent

by e-mail on CD Rom or in hardcopy. Most reports are expensive,
even if you can buy them in parts. If you have the time, you could
continue to search for free information on other sites instead.
Search at information portals
Sector based information portals are designed to be ‘one-stop-shops’ for all your
information needs. They are made by knowledgeable experts in the sector.
For different sectors, there are useful portals which offer comprehensive information
or act as a gateway to other sources on the Internet.
check out useful sites
are these reports
worth the money?
15
3
4
These are a good starting point for your search. Most of
these portals offer industry news, information about
product development, business directories, trade statistics,
news sources and sometimes a business platform.
In addition, they provide information about existing, new
or upcoming regulations. Internet addresses of some
interesting portals are given in Appendix 1.
Further information about portals can often be obtained
from the trade press or from other online sources e.g. the
CBI website at www.cbi.nl (link plaza) or the International
Trade Centre (ITC) tool P-maps (www.p-maps.org).
However these P-maps are at a charge.
Specific information
Information from these sources may give you an idea about the sector, but may not
specific enough for your product or market to make the right decision.
Often research for your specific product has never been done, or companies who have

done so will not share that information with potential competitors. In addition, the
data in these secondary sources may be at least 1-2 year old, especially when trade
statistics were used. Furthermore, southern EU countries are relatively slow in
providing statistics. In the meantime, trends may have changed.
Registration necessary
More frequently, you need to register in order to search on websites and have free
access to basic data and articles. The registration procedure can be free of charge,
but it can be off-putting if you have to register for virtually every site you are visiting.
You have to remember many different passwords, so try to use the same username
and password for each site. If this is not possible and the service automatically
provides you with a password, keep a list of passwords during your search.
Managing favourites or bookmarks
While searching, you come across interesting websites and addresses you can store
in your computer. In Explorer you can create a map ‘favourites’ (or bookmarks),
which you can categorize by subject or by country by using ‘Organize Favourites’.
To these categories, you can add useful sites as follows:
•
When you are at the interesting site select ‘Favourites’ in the Explorer menu
•
Click on ‘Add to favourites’ and now you can select under which category you
want to store the site. You can also rename this site.
Printing and saving internet pages
When searching on the Internet, you could print out the useful pages you come across
Or you can ‘cut’ and ‘paste’ the text of internet pages in a word processing program,
for example Microsoft Word. Here you first select the text with your mouse and copy
it with the right mouse button. Then you paste the non-formatted text using the option
‘paste special’ (under the menu ‘edit’) into a new document.
information is too
general or outdated
creating and organizing

your favourites
16
zooming in on your
specific situation
an in-depth approach
which needs time
when credibility to
buyers is required
talk to other exporters
17
2.2.3 Field research
What is it and what to collect?
Field research is the technique to collect primary data using interviews, question-
naires, store checks, observations, product testing etc This implies that you do the
collection on the spot. Here you are zooming in from the general country and sector
level to your specific situation.
The role of field research?
There is often a need to validate the findings from desk research and collect additional
information. You could cover some of the missing information, and interviews with
buyers or consumers can be a real eye-opener. You may become aware of hidden
feelings people have towards your company, country or product. Even if statistics
show a growing market, field research can be crucial to take the final decision on
whether or not to go, and if so, how to do it.
Field research often requires a whole process
Field research focuses on consumer or buyers’ motives (e.g. why they would buy your
product instead of your competitors product), which form a basis for your positioning
strategy. So it requires a well thought through and in-depth approach. Therefore, each
subject (e.g. market trend or price) requires a whole research process.
So field research is more time consuming than desk research, where you can combine
several subjects during a process.

FIELD RESEARCH
Advantages (if you do it yourself) Disadvantages
- Direct exposure gives a better feel - Usually more expensive than expected
for the market
- Chance to meet potential customers -
Takes much time due to a lack of contacts
- You can adjust the list of required - Time consuming to judge the reliability
information during the field research of research specialist - see Chapter 4.2
Doing it in a reliable and professional way?
In doing field research, some different approaches can be identified. Depending on
sample size (i.e. the number of people selected for field research), country, budget,
you could decide to have a research specialist doing it for you. If you want to give
the research results credibility to buyers, you could decide to use a more scientific
method. For example by running questionnaires and interviews among a sampled
target group of consumers or buyers. For details on how to work with research
specialists - see Chapter 4.
Start field research in your own country
•
Companies already exporting to the EU: you could talk with other exporters,
especially those who export to the markets of interest to you. What do they know
that may be valuable to you? Even if they maybe reluctant - any information could
be of use. However, you need to verify its relevance to your own data later on.
•
Exporters of similar products: a talk to other companies exporting products similar
to yours, but who do not directly compete, may be useful. There might be a way to
join forces in research and enter the export market together.
Field research at exhibitions
A more down-to-earth approach would be to have inter-
views with key persons such as importers, wholesalers
or retailers during your visits to exhibitions in the EU.

Here you should consider the following five points:
Planning of visit
If you are planning a visit to an exhibition, plan it well
in advance and not two weeks beforehand. With too
short notice, it will be difficult to fix appointments.
If the people you want to see have promised to give
you some information, allow them some time to have
it ready.
Try to order a catalogue beforehand and check the site of the exhibition. In this way
you can get familiar with the categories, themes and products exposed and find out
interesting stands and contacts.
In your approach, you could make a following distinction:
•
Visiting potential customers ➧ Checking your chances in their market
•
Visiting competitors ➧ Checking how they approach their market
(You could pretend to be a ‘buyer’)
Making appointments
Try to find out the right contact person and try to make an appointment with him or
her beforehand. Briefly explain that you are interested in their company, their products
and culture. Once you in contact, it is a way to enter the stand. Often large stands do
not allow people to enter without having an appointment.
Even if your contact person is away or too busy, you may speak to someone else and
observe their products, promotion etc.
The right timing
When visiting people at e.g. an exhibition, choose the right timing. At the beginning
of a fair, the atmosphere is usually tense with people not really being in the mood to
answer questions to someone they do not know well. Try to find a quiet moment or
one of the last days of the fair, when people are more relaxed or bored.
The questions

Ask a few simple ‘spontaneous’ questions from the top of your
head, already set in mind. You could prepare a questionnaire
with between 10 - 15 questions for your own reference. Start
the conversation by making a compliment about their product
or stand. Because many people at the stand are sales staff, they
are likely to talk about their product. When they ask who you are,
you briefly introduce yourself and mention that you are trying to
get familiar with their market. Avoid selling your product.
The conversation
Once the person carries on talking, try to get control over the
conversation by asking him some simple questions. You do not
need to say that it is an interview. A small ‘conversation’ sounds
less demanding than showing up an endless list of questions.
•
Try to get a bit deeper into each subject, rather then jumping
from one question to the another. This usually generates an
ongoing conversation.
an appointment to
let you in
the last days are the
best
18
2
4
5
3
1
•
Establish his or her position and try to find out what responsibilities he/she has
within the company.

•
Keep the most important question for the final part and try to get a contact person
with whom you can get in touch later. If the person has given you good information,
you can offer a small present or gadget from your country in return.
•
After visiting each stand, you can use a note pad to write down relevant information
and some details of the company e.g. products, contact person, special things he was
talking about, which could be also private (e.g. he visited your country last year).
Field research by doing store checks
Once you are in an EU country, you also could check some stores. Here you can pick
up price catalogues and see how competitive or similar products to yours are being
displayed. You could also count how much shelf space these products have. Check
which products have the biggest and best (eye-level) space. You also can get an
impression of in-store promotion and their merchandising tools. You even could ask
a few people their opinion e.g. store manager or sales staff.
Field research by marketplace observations
Observation research is a technique that helps to turn the facts you have found so far
into something meaningful. The most realistic and low cost technique is a marketplace
observation. Here you, or a trainee or research specialist, pose as consumers (known
as mystery shoppers), watching and recording the actions of consumers in-store.
In shops, you can get an impression of the staff and e.g. discover that some of them
are not able to give proper explanation about e.g. technical products.
In your hotel, you could look at some local TV stations, where e.g. commercials give
you an overall picture of what is hot, and what is not.
Doing your own field research by using the Internet
You can also carry out your own field research by collecting primary data by the
Internet:
•
Using electronic questionnaires with existing customers
•

By tracking and tracing visitors to your website (if you have one)
•
By offering added value functionalities on the website for which visitors have
to register
An example of an added value functionality is offering registered visitors subscription
to e-mail alerts or access to a virtual exhibition, which will update them on new
developments in your range. By requesting registration, you can directly find out who
is interested in your company and product range. Thereby, you create a database with
prospective customers who you can approach directly.
turning facts into a
sensible asessment
collecting primary
data by the Internet
19
2.3 STEP 3 Research planning
Once you have clarified your research problem and decided which research techniques
to use, you will be in the position to set out a plan of action - research planning - to
get the information you need.
Categorizing data by country and subject
Start to categorize all data during collection and separate them by making small piles.
Now you can recognise from which countries or subjects you have sufficient data and
what you still need to collect.
When searching on the Internet, print out the useful data you find and mark it by
category e.g. country, product, consumers, trends, trade channel etc Prints are easier
to read than on a screen and it allows you to highlight important information.
Structuring your research by a Research Action Plan
You could use a Research action plan (see table below) which helps you to do
research efficiently and make time commitments. After you collected sufficient
information, you can summarize all relevance on each subject in a brief conclusion.
Once these are filled in, you have a profile of each country with some key facts and

figures. These profiles give you an idea of how easy or difficult it will be to export
to that country, possible next steps or what further research is needed.
A copy of a research plan is handy when searching on the Internet. Undoubtedly
you will come across many subjects categorized in many different ways. The plan
keeps your investigations focused on your key subjects for research.
EXAMPLE RESEARCH ACTION PLAN
(for the year 2004)
Country / Subject Sources Do by Done Summary conclusion
GERMANY
• Market
• Restrictions
• Products/trends
• Number of customers
meeting profile “A”
• Distribution
• Prices
• Competitors
• Other
UNITED KINGDOM
• Market
• etc
FRANCE
• Market
ITALY
You could also plan the research techniques e.g. starting by desk (Internet) and field
research in your own country. Next, you could plan visits to desk research sources in
EU countries and prepare field research e.g. at exhibitions. As described in the
previous Chapter 2.2.3, planning and preparation are very important here.
piling up categories
keeping control over

countries and subjects
20
15 Aug
20 Aug
25 Aug
25 Aug
1 Sept
5 Sept
10 Sept
15 Sept
16 Aug
18 Aug
19 Aug
12 Aug
19 Aug
23 Aug
30 Aug
3 Sept
10 Sept
13 Aug
15 Aug
Decreasing by 2%
Environmental reg.
More research needed
Bayern 400,000
Former East 200,000
Importer/Mail order
Enduser € 25-35
Falling by 2% in 2004
2 large International

companies
More research needed
Growing by 3%
Growing by 2%
Wating for information
Trade Association/Portal
ISO/TARIC
Trade Magazines
Statistische Bundesamt,
Magazines
Euromonitor
Public Ledger/ITC
Magazines,
Companys’ Website
Other sources
Mintel/ONS
Trade Association/Portal
Trade Association
2.4 STEP 4 Collecting relevant data
Once you have set up a Research Action Plan , the next step is to collect data from all
available sources in EU countries in the most effective way. Finding the right sources
in more EU countries simultaneously is not an easy job.
The main shortcoming of collecting data on foreign countries is that data for particular
market areas or for specific product groups is not available. These countries simply do
not have governmental agencies that collect this data on a regular basis.
You could start to collect relevant data in your own country. Afterwards you carry on
to ‘easy’ countries, ending up in ‘difficult’ countries with few information sources.
Which information is available and what is easy to find?
Review the information you already have, your internal sources, which may vary
from your own sales and foreign customer records (including prices) to easy to find

external sources. This could be information from a BSO on exporting, general infor-
mation on the EU, annual reports of competitors already exporting to the EU, articles
in your local trade press and the like. You can also check some of the websites, which
you already had in your favourites.
Which countries to start with?
When researching the EU, you have to be aware that you cannot just look into one
country and use much of its information for other EU countries. The EU market is
still complex and fragmented for many products, consisting of many market segments
with different cultures, people, languages, rules and regulations.
Trade statistics are relatively easy to get, but it is mainly the market information
which is difficult to collect.
Trade statistics are usually available for most EU countries and give you a rough
indication on growing EU markets. Although you have to bear in mind that re-exports
can be high especially in The Netherlands and Belgium. Another point of concern is
that in these statistics, products are often subdivided into very broad categories e.g.
according to raw material. In many cases, your specific product is within a larger
product group, which still leaves some questions to be resolved.
Market information is often available for the large EU countries. As countries become
more important as a market, a greater interest in basic data and better collection
methods develop. The United Kingdom, Germany and France have good and up-to
date information sources. Because they often provide their information according to
similar definitions, you can compare them easier.
Start with the countries that have much information in English such as the United
Kingdom, Scandinavian countries and, to some extent, Germany. If your native
language is French or Spanish, southern EU countries would be a good start.
If you are considering entering Austria, information on the German market gives you
a basic idea e.g. about trends or the mood in German speaking countries. Besides,
German trade press often cover the Austrian market as well.
your own information
EU countries are not

‘roughly the same’
identify growing mar-
kets by trade statistics
UK, France, Germany;
up-to-date information
21
2.5 STEP 5 Analysis - from data to information
S
orting and avoid getting lost in an information overload
In the past 20 years, various innovations such as computers,
television, satellites have pushed people from a state of
information scarcity to a state of information surplus in a
very short time. So next to effective collection of data, you
need to effectively manage and use this endless stream of
information.
As already mentioned in Chapter 2.3, you can stay in control
over data by categorizing them as early as possible. An
overview of subjects by country you have already summarised
in your Research Action Plan. It helps you see what you
have done, what is still missing, when to stop searching and
start analysis.
This structured approach prevents you getting lost in an
information overload. If you do not have the time yourself,
someone else could do this for you. The sooner you start
sorting data, the better it will be in the end.
Filtering and matching reliable and useful data
Now you have to quickly read all data, some of which must be translated, and create
useful information. You need to ‘digest’ the data and convert them into patterns.
During this process, try to get relevant information on each subject, to reconcile
contradictory items, to interpolate missing information, to identify inaccurate data

and deepen the overall picture of your prospective markets.
It is important to start classifying all statistical information. You will find that the
collected statistical data about specific products, markets or market segments will
probably be still insufficient to make decisions. Data and pieces of information on
some countries may be too old, incomplete or some pieces of statistics may leave
you with still many questions, especially when comparing EU countries.
So you may have an information gap and if these gaps are too big, you will have to
do additional (field) research. You then need to consider your critical information
elements, i.e. what do you really need?
The major problems when analysing secondary data, especially from sources on the
Internet, are described below:
Reliability
Data collected from the Internet in particular may not be reliable or trustworthy. So
check the writer of the article or report or check the sort of site you got it from (com-
mercial, personal, academic or governmental). Also, check if the sites give an address
or telephone number of a person or organisation. What was your impression of the
whole site?
In addition, official statistics are sometimes too optimistic, reflecting national pride
rather than reality. On the other hand, companies sometimes understate their sales
statistics in order to match their sales reported to tax authorities.
Completeness
Most statistics available are two years old, which is a reasonable timeframe to know
consumption and trade statistics in each country. You may get more recent data e.g.
from Germany or the UK, but two year old statistics is a good basis to know the
trends in different EU countries.
pick up statistics first
information gap
sometimes too
optimistic
two year old statistics

as a good basis
22
Comparability
This problem is caused by a lack of data in some countries. EU countries also use dif-
ferent sources, methodologies and different ways of reporting their statistics. Southern
EU countries and smaller EU countries in particular, have their own definitions and
specific categories of product groups or retailers.
Therefore, try to use a single source especially for general data (demographic, socio-
economic trade statistics, retailing). It will be hard to find a low cost single source for
your specific product in e.g. six EU countries.
You may find this in on-line databases or in reports from business information sup-
pliers, but it will be expensive and even then, you cannot be sure of their accuracy.
The best comparable data are provided by Nielsen, Gfk, Taylor-Nelson SOFRES,
IPSOS or NPD. These companies are specialized in tracking and monitoring retail
sales which is analyzed through their EU branches.
Relationships and Consistency
When analysing, you can also try to understand the relationship between variables
e.g. price, income and retail sales. For example, the relationship between high income,
single households and purchase of consumer durables (white goods, digital cameras,
audio equipment). You also could try to find out the reasons for increases or decreases
in e.g. sales or of sudden peaks in imports.
You could check these relationships country by country. Start with Germany which is
one of the most reliable and accurate information sources within the EU.
By making relationships between data, you are also checking their consistency. Try
to find a relationship between your secondary and primary data as well. Once these
are clear, it will give you an idea of the future development in each country. You could
use this when estimating demand or forecasting sales.
Organising and checking against the research problem
Once the blanks in your Research Action Plan are filled in and you have read through
and analysed information on each country and subject, you probably are now more

familiar with the EU market place - your research problem. Still, it remains to be
seen if you can get all the answers to your specific product. But at least you have an
indication whether you should enter some markets and how to proceed further. Some
missing information can be backed up by field research, which you could combine
with your next business trip to the EU.
In addition, you are now more aware of the complexity and lack of clarity of your
prospective markets e.g. about the large differences between regions in these
countries. So by knowing the reasons, it would be easier for you to define what to
research in a next process.
All information is important for your export marketing strategy and is useful to
have in mind when talking to buyers.
different sources
different methodologies
country by country
primary and secondary
data
familiar at last!
23
2.6 STEP 6 Transform information into intelligence
Explain the cause of issues and predict what will happen when
Now that all data has been collected and organised into useful information, it has to
be transformed into intelligence. Try to understand and explain the cause of important
issues. Then you will have to try to predict what will happen, how it will develop, and
how it can be acted upon.
In this transformation process, you use your analyses
and expertise to show how markets operate. Also
clarify the threats and opportunities and the possible
consequences of actions by others (e.g. competitors)
operating in the same market.
This intelligence can be summarized into a brief

report. Preparing a thorough report may take a long
time. When working with a research specialist, you
may expect a clearly understandable written report
with relevant details - being one of their skills.
If you have to communicate the results personally,
you could present them in the form of a presentation,
instead of a written report.
Whatever the form of presentation, research results
must be as short and as clear as possible.
As a rule, by Keeping It Short and Simple (K.I.S.S.)
it remains clear to yourself and this will be surely
appreciated by others.
The result should at least include:
• Brief explanation why the research was done
• The research objectives
• How the research was done (methodology)?
• What are the main findings (consumers, competitor trends, opportunities, threats)
• Conclusions and recommendations
• Appendices (statistics, addresses etc.)
Your report should be easy to understand for all involved and provide an indication of
what actions should follow.
analysis and expertise
K.I.S.S.= Keep It
Short and Simple
24
PART 3 RESEARCH AT EXPORT MARKETING STAGES
This figure gives an overview on what to research (i.e. research subject) during the
Export Marketing Stages, which for the purpose of this manual are combined into
four major stages. Detailed information on the export stages can be found in CBI’s
‘Export Planner’.

Most research you need to do will be in the stages 1 and 3. In each stage, the role
of research differs, as shown below.
25
• Market size (country/culture/economy,
consumer and industrial markets)
•
Market requirements
(quality
standards, ntb’s etc.)
•
Trade Flows
• Market structure (supply chain,
price sensitivity etc.)
• Market growth and trends
• Market targeting and segmentation
• Competitors
• Consumers / buyers
• Internal Analysis
• SWOT
•
Decision and objectives
• Product and positioning
• Prices and margins
• Place and distribution
• Promotion
•
Product
(concept testing)
•
Price

(acceptance)
•
Place
(change channel)
•
Promotion
(awareness)
RESEARCH SUBJECT ROLE OF RESEARCH
•
Direction
•
Narrowing view
•
Setting priorities
•
Forecast
•
Measurement
Stage 1
• Export Market Analysis
• Internal Analysis
• SWOT
Stage 3
• Market Entry Strategy
• Export Marketing Plan
Stage 2
• Decision making and
formulating objectives
Stage 4
• Evaluation / Feedback

EXPORT STAGE
3.1.1
3.1.2
3.1.3
3.1.4
3.1.5
3.1.6
3.1.7
3.1.8
3.1.9
3.1.9
3.2
3.3.1
3.3.2
3.3.3
3.3.4
3.4
Chapter
3.1 STAGE 1 Export Market Analysis, Internal Analysis and SWOT
Market research during stage 1
In stage 1, you must investigate most research subjects during your Export Market
Analysis. For each subject you need to find as much as secondary and primary data
as you can. When collecting this data, you can follow the steps in the research process
as given in Part 2. You can use a Research Action Plan here to keep control of your
research activities.
➧ Firstly, you start from a broad view by becoming familiar with EU countries, their
market size, requirements, trade flows, market structure, growth and trends in these
markets. All data collected on these subjects already give you a rough picture of
which countries are difficult and which countries are rather easy to enter.
➧ Secondly, you will have to set your priorities and choose target markets in terms of

primary, secondary and tertiary markets. In this choice, you can use much of the
data gathered so far, including your chances in these markets.
➧ Thirdly, you narrow down your view by segmenting your primary markets and and
focus your research to get more details about your competitors and consumers and
buyers there.
This approach enables you to identify and get more control over your target markets.
Now you should be able to do an Internal Analysis by estimating if your company
could enter these markets.
The results of your Export Market Analysis and Internal Analysis will be the main
input for a SWOT Analysis.
Try to combine subjects
In your desk research, try to combine more subjects in order to save time and costs.
For example, when looking into prices, check them at all levels at once. After you
have collected all price related information, you can separate this by stage and subject.
Most information you will use in stage 3: price level discounts etc., but you also can
use this information for stage 1 for relevant price-related information when looking
into the subjects: market structure and competitors.
26
Stage 1
• Export Market Analysis
• Internal Analysis
• SWOT
Stage 3
• Market Entry Strategy
• Export Marketing Plan
Stage 2
• Decision making and
formulating objectives
Stage 4
• Evaluation / Feedback