Market Research Studies

One of your decisions will be to order market research studies. All studies are ordered at the beginning of a period and are conducted by a specialized research firm during that period. Hence, the information provided is relevant to the market situation during the analyzed period with the exception of the Market Forecast study. The results are delivered with your annual report at the end of the period and can be used for the next period’s decisions.

Companies can buy 12 different types of studies, as shown in Figure 6. Studies deal with the Squazol and Trigol markets, customers and channels. All studies are further detailed in section IV.2.F.

Note: only four studies will be available in your Period 0 report:  Customer survey, Customer panel, Distribution panel and Market Forecast.

Most of the studies apply only if there are products marketed during the period in the corresponding market. For instance, ordering the Customer Panel study for the Trigol market is irrelevant if no Trigol products at all are marketed. If you order these studies and if no products were marketed in the period, you will not be charged for them. However, the corresponding cost is subtracted from your budget when you make your decisions. You can use the Benchmarking study to anticipate whether competition will launch new products.

Read section Ordering Market Research Studies to review the Market Research decision form.

Figure 6 – Available market research studies