DCDM | Marketing Research and Analysis

Today's market environment, characterised by increasing business pressures and increasingly diverse consumer needs and expectations, imply that you need to have accurate and actionable market information to make the correct business decisions. Our Market Research and Analysis Practice can assist you to gather relevant market information and formulate appropriate market strategies for your brands. Our capabilities in this area include:

Strategic decision-making implies that you have up-to-date information about your consumers, competitors, market intermediaries and current as well as future market environment. Well-organised market intelligence can be a substantial source of competitive advantage, providing you with the information you need to make the best and the most efficient business decision.

We provide you with strategic analysis of the business environment in which you operate, through:

Analysis of the market environment

Market Sizing and Growth Potential

Product portfolio analysis

Industry analysis and sector reviews

Our market segmentation capability provides answers to questions such as: - Who are my best clients and how do they behave? What do my clients value? What are the benefits they seek from my product? How do I best communicate with my target market? In an environment where consumer behaviour and attitudes, needs and expectations are becoming increasingly diverse, answers to the above questions are not only interesting but also critical to business success.

The DCDM Market Segmentation Model is a custom-designed marketplace analysis that meets your specific business needs. What we deliver is not only a grouping of the market into a number of segments. Our job is done only when we provide you with actionable recommendations on how to use the segmentation results to impact bottom line: What is the value of each segment for your business? What drives these people? How best to market to them?

Market Modelling

To successfully manage your brands or devise strategies, you need to understand how your market works: what influences are likely to be most important, what actions are likely to evoke the best response and what will most encourage sales. With current market environment, characterised by rapid technological change and innovation, fiercer competition and better informed consumers, the availability of market models allows you to make optimum decisions with regard to price, advertising and all other elements that are likely to impact on your performance.

Using econometric modelling, we can provide you with an effective and properly thought-through modelling programme that enables you to forecast market performance under alternative scenarios and design-build business and marketing plans.

Usage & Attitude Surveys

What are the buying habits of customers in your market? Where do they normally do their shopping? What are your competitive strengths and weaknesses in the minds of consumers? How do consumers rate your company and your competitors? These are the types of questions answered by our Usage & Attitude Surveys.

Drawing from the opinions of both the final consumer and market intermediaries, we provide you with information on the general state of the market for your brand. We identify areas you need to improve as pointed out by consumer behaviour and attitudes.

Product Launch Surveys

You are planning to launch a new brand on the market and need to assess the level of interest of your target market in the brand as well as the potential sources of market for the brand. We have the necessary tools that will provide you with the information you need to decide whether to launch the brand or not and what should be the launching strategy.

Our analysis framework, based on the Simulated Test Market Methodology, comprises of the following:

Purchase Test and POS Simulation Exercise
This will provide you with the level of interest of your target market in the brand. Estimates of trial, purchase and repeat purchase rates are obtained which are used to estimate potential consumer and market shares.

Brand Interaction Analysis
Apart from the potential market performance of the brand, it is imperative for you to know from where potential consumers of the brand would come from. Our Brand Interaction Analysis addresses this issue.

Leverage Analysis
This involves a complete diagnostic of all elements of the marketing mix with a view to identify key drivers of brand performance.

Market information gathered through a retail census can be used strategically in order to make better business decisions. A retail census represents a useful starting point to analyse business gaps, particularly with regard to your distribution network, resulting in opportunities for you to improve your overall performance. Our retail census capability provides you with information on the following issues:

Number of retail outlets and the proportion of which sells your products.

Classification data on the retail outlets: size, location, quality, environment.

Retail outlets that account for a substantial proportion of your sales.

Potential for you to improve business with retail outlets.

With these information you can formulate strategies with regard to your distribution network: Are there outlets with which you need to cease business because of cost implications? Are there outlets with which you need to strengthen your relationships? Are you using the most effective POS communication techniques? Is there room for improvement?