Exploring Competitive Advantage and Marketing Research for Business Growth

1. Chapter Nine Competitive Advantage and Marketing Research

2. TOP 9 LIST FOR BUSINESS PLAN PROJECTS • Custom made corn heads, Rusty Olson • Contract hunting lodge, Mike Johnson • Pooling of ag inputs, Dana Morgan • Hunting guide service, Brent Neighbor • Crop injury specialists, Joshua Berg • Precision planting, Thomas Book • Springer, grain wagon latch, Stephanie Creese • Adventure travel consulting, Francis Lorenz • Machinery and grain storage, Patrick Newlon

3. GROUP 1ADVENTURE TRAVEL CONSULTING • Francis Lorenz • Eric Vangorp • Aarron Osterhaus • Tyson Kaldenberg • Tyler Rees

4. GROUP 2Springer, Latch for Wagon Chute • Stephanie Creese • Brent Bonner • Darrick Hall • Laura Northway • Marc Oostenink

5. Group 3Crop Injury Specialists • Joshua Berg • Daniel Severs • Ryan Jones • Ramon Kuntz • Trent Kuntz

6. Group 4Precision Planting • Thomas Book • Benjamin Furman • David Eisenman • Ryan Sauer • Sam Behrens

7. Group 5Contract Hunting Lodge • Mike Johnson • Adam Gittins • Bryan Bradley • Clinton Veren • John Lyle

8. Group 6Machinery and Grain Storage • Patrick Newlon • Chris Steinkamp • Matthew Willimack • Patrick Kuehn • Quinn Showalter • Terrance Wood

9. Group 7Hunting Guide Service • Brent Neighbor • Brett Moffatt • David Curren • Holly Blackford • Leslie Miller

10. Group 8Pooling of Ag. Inputs • Dana Morgan • Adam McKain • Judd Gross • Reid Weiland • Tory Hetland • Victor Dobroff

11. Group 9Custom Made Corn Heads • Rusty Olson • Amanda Taylor • John Peterson • Reid Swanson • Steven King

12. Chapter Focus • Define competitive advantage • Demonstrate the importance and benefits of having a competitive advantage • Describe three ways to create a competitive advantage for your business • Explain the purpose of the marketing research process and steps involved in putting it into practice • Illustrate what marketing research can do for your small business

13. The Five Forces for Competition Threat of New Entrants Rivalry Among Existing Competitors Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining Power of Buyers Threat of Substitute Products or Services Fig. 9-1

14. Competitive Advantage Cycle Luck External Factors Failure of Competitor Competitive Advantage Superior Profit Performance Superior Skills Internal Factors Superior Resources Fig. 9-2

15. Market Research Expenditures (1 of 2) Time spent on market research before launching most recent new product or service: Fig. 9-3a

16. Market Research Expenditures (2 of 2) Out-of-pocket money spent on the market research: Fig. 9-3b

17. Market Research Process Draw Con- clusions Analyze Data Collect Data Develop a Plan Identify Problem Fig. 9-4

18. Matrix of Customer Needs and Types New opportunities for products/ services Unspoken Customer Needs Existing products or services Spoken Served Unserved Markets Fig. 9-5

19. Marketing Research • Determine potential customers • Determine their demographics • Determine their buying habits • Determine if they will buy your products or services • Determine the competition • Determine your potential sales

20. Marketing Research • Trends in the industry • Trade journals • Trade associations • Statistics • Status of the competition • Market share • Financial situation • Vulnerabilities

21. Marketing Research Methods • Secondary data • WWW • Government data • Commercial data • Survey of Buying Power • CACI • Claritas • Trade associations

22. Marketing Research Methods • Primary data • Surveys • Phone • Mail • In person • Test marketing • Focus groups • Beta users • Analogues

23. Marketing Research Methods • Data sources • Census of Agriculture • Census of Retail Trade • State sales tax reports • Survey of Buying Power • SEC annual reports • Trade journals • Iowa Agricultural Statistics