Market Analysis Model |
|
This
is a consumer behavior model that
evaluates the sales and potential
performance of products in a competitive
environment. The model has the following
general features:
- It allows
for an easy analysis of the market
acceptance of new products in a
competitive environment.
- It forecasts
over time the sales and market potential
of all products in the market segment
being considered.
- It aids
the product planner in easily identifying
the key characteristics of a product,
market segment and the competition.
- It is easy
to add a new product for the purpose
of analysis. It is also easy to
change parameters of the product,
such as price, engineering characteristics
(for example, energy savings, if
the product was a water heater),
etc. None of the above changes require
a new market survey or new data
assessments.
- The data
requirements are flexible and, if
desired, can evolve over time. That
is, the model can easily use managerial
assessments or the results of a
market research study or any combination
thereof. Thus, additional data obtained
at a later date can be easily incorporated
into the model.
- The model
is based on new advancements in
consumer behavior modeling that
have been getting rapid acceptance
in the market place.
The following
is a description of three applications
of the market analysis model: |
|
|
|
A
Market Analysis System for Conservation
Technologies.
This model was
built for the Department of Energy
to aid them in their analysis of the
market
acceptance of solar water heaters
and heat pumps. The system was designed
with a specific focus on forecasting
the demand for alternative energy
water heaters in the residential market
sector. The model was based on explicit
behavioral models of individuals in
the consumer population. The data
was obtained from an interactive computer
survey. Individual consumer behavior
was modeled explicitly using a probabilistic
choice model whose parameters are
estimated from the market survey using
the technique of conjoint analysis.
Factors such as consumer awareness
and market inertia are treated explicitly.
A sample of the questions answered
by the model included:
- What pricing
strategy should be used?
- How will
tax credits affect solar water heater
sales?
- How will
advertising affect sales?
|
|
|
A
Market Analysis System for Information
Storage and Retrievable Technologies.
This model was designed
to help management formulate product
development and marketing strategies
for the introduction of a new product
for information storage and retrieval.
The data used for the model was management
assessments based on surveys. Performing
a complete market research study was
postponed to a later date. A sample
of the questions that could be answered
included:
-
What pricing strategy should be
used?
- How
will the introduction of competing
emerging technologies affect the
market? How rapidly will this occur?
- How
will faster recording speed or additional
features affect product sales?
-
How will advertising and/or sales
force coverage affect sales?
|
|
|
A
Market Analysis System for Brake Products.
This system
was built to serve as a planning tool
for aiding management in the analysis
of important issues surrounding the
market introduction of disc brakes.
The system is similar to the previous
two models. The data used for this
model was supplied by the management
staff and was a combination of assessments
and the results of surveys. Typical
questions asked of the model were:
- How would
profitability be affected by product
characteristics such as performance,
lifetime and weight? How would profitability
be affected by the product launch
date?
- How sensitive
are the sales projections to various
assumptions about the market place,
products and the competition?
- What pricing
strategy should be used?
- How will
advertising and/or sales force coverage
affect the market?
|
|
|
|