Chapter 9: Small Business Marketing - Customers and Products

Target market

a marketing term (also called serviceable obtainable market, or SOM) that refers to the group of customers in the area you plan to serve who would be likely to be interested in your product, or those of competitors; can refer to individuals or market groups called segments

Secondary research

information already collected for some other purpose than the current problem or questions

Primary research

new information collected to solve the problem at hand or answer the current questions

Me-too products

products essentially similar to something already on the market

Predetermined market segments

professionally compiled target audiences based on shared demographic, financial, shopping, and psychographic characteristics

Open-ended question

question that allows respondents to express themselves as they choose, for example, "What do you like about this book?"

Dichotomous question

question that has only two possible choices; for example, "Have you shopped here before?"

Scalar question

question that is answered by some sort of scale; for example, "On a scale of 1 to 5, how do you like this book?"

Perishability

services exhibit perishability in that if it is not used when offered, it cannot be saved for later use

Value proposition

small business owners' unique selling points that will be used to differentiate their products and/or services from those of the competition

Total product

the entire bundle of products, services and meanings of your offering. Includes extras like service, warranty, or delivery as well as what the product means to the customer

4 P's of marketing

the four elements of a marketing plan - product, price, promotion (advertising) and placement (distribution).

Categorical question

question that is answered by selecting the proper category, for example, "What is your ethnicity? White, African-American, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, Other."

Testimonial

statement made that is allowed to be publicly repeated and attributed to the person that made it

Marketing research

systematic collection and interpretation of data to support marketing future decisions

influencer

a customer role describing a person or group who can make credible or recognized suggestions or recommendations to others regarding purchase choices

Decision maker

a customer role that describes a person in an organization who is responsible for choosing which product or service will be obtained

Purchaser

a customer role that describes an individual or institution that pays for or obtains a product or service

Survey

a data collection method using a questionnaire - in person, on phone, paper or Internet

Customer profile

a detailed description of an archetypical or hypothetical potential customer for a product or service, also called a customer persona

Focus group

a form of data gathering done in a small group led by a moderator

Long-term value (LTV)

a marketing concept that refers to the revenue (or profit) generated by one customer over his or her lifetime dealing with one firm. Higher long-term value is usually preferred

Customer lifetime value (CLV)

a marketing concept that refers to the revenue (or profit) generated by one customer over his or her lifetime dealing with one firm. Higher long-term value is usually preferred; also known as long-term value of LTV.

Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM)

a marketing term (also called the target market) that refers to the customers within the geographic reach of a firm who also might be interested in the firm's particular product or service

Penetrated Market (PM)

a marketing term that describes the actual number of customers of an operating firm, divided by the size of the target market, which gives a percentage of the market the firm (or product/service) has attained so far

Total Available Market (TAM)

a marketing term that refers to all of the people or organizations (in one nation, region, or the world) who might consider a product or service being offered

Serviceable Available Market (SAM)

a marketing term that refers to the customers within the geographic reach of a firm

Services

a nonphysical product

Goods

a physical product

Heterogeneity

a quality of a service in that each time it is provided it will be slightly different from the last time

Inseparability

a quality of a service in which the service being done cannot be disconnected from the provider of the service

Budget cycle

a term applied to the schedule and the process for setting the schedule for making purchases by an individual or an organization

Tangibility

an item's capability of being seen, touched, tasted or felt

Augmented product

core product plus features that tend to differentiate it from competition

End user

customer role that describes the person who eventually makes actual use of a product or service in his or her personal or work life

Ethnographic research

data gathered by simple observation - seeing what consumers do, rather than asking them

Outstanding customer service

the idea of "going all out" for the customer or providing over-the-top service, not just the basic help, professionalism, and friendliness we all expect in any business transaction; an employee or manager who is trying to make sure the customer walks away with an exceptional experience

Prototype

the name given to the first model of a product or service. Some prototypes may be functioning, but built in a way that no consumer would buy it (e.g., with exposed wires and sharp edges) but shows the product can do what is promised. Some prototypes look like the final product, but might not be functional. Prototypes are made to prove aspects of the idea and are seen as the first stop along the path of product/service creation

Product Development Process

the procedure to organize and pursue the creation of new goods or services

Customer development process

the procedure to organize and pursue the finding, obtaining and keeping of new customers

Feedback

the process of communicating within or to the organization about how the outputs worked or were received

Market segmentation

the process of dividing the market into groups that have somewhat homogeneous needs for a product or service

Segmentation

the process of dividing the market into smaller portions of people who have common characteristics

Commercialization

the process of making the new products ready for use by consumers by achieving standards of durability and performance suitable for the market and comparable to (if not better than) the competition

Purchasing Process

the sequence of steps an individual or organization goes through in making a decision to buy a product or service

Customer job

the term given to what a potential customer is trying to do—perform or complete some sort of task, solve some problem, or try to achieve some outcome. The target of the job is often the key to what a proposed product or service is intended to help

Churn

the turnover rate for your customers—the percentage of customers you typically lose after their first purchase from you

Core product

the very basic description of what the product is - a bar of soap, a house-cleaning service

Pivot

typically, a term describing a change of direction in the thinking of an entrepreneur or a firm, often based on new data or other findings