Bulletin Vol. 2 No. 1 January 2003

B U L L E T I N

Tools and Resources for Data-Driven Market Research

Vol. 2 No. 1 January 2003


	IN THIS ISSUE: Happy New Year! Market Research Tools for 2003 Eagle Optics Opts for a Planned Approach	Bulletin Archive

FROM THE EDITOR

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our venture with Microsoft’s bCentral is about to enter its second year. While Third Wave Research has been providing customized demographic research services since 1994, our venture into online self-serve tools for small business is fairly new. Over the last year bCentral Market Research Tools visitors like you have helped us understand what you want and need.

Now would be a good time for you to give us some feedback, as we finalize plans for additions and improvements to the Market Research Tools. Visit bcentral.thirdwaveresearch.com and explore the tools. Then tell us what you think.

Our plans

We’ve got some housekeeping and some remodeling in mind. Soon we’ll be updating our Zip code files. (Our tools are built on the more precise U.S. Census geographic units, and every so often we match that up with the latest Zip code boundaries used by the U.S. Post Office to offer a Zip code geographic selection to users.)

We’re going to apply some digital dynamite to the walls between silos of data in the current tool set. When the dust clears, visitors will be able to create a report that draws data from each existing tool.

We’ve got a new tool coming your way based on the Merchandise Line Sales file. This tool will allow you to see channels of distribution for different goods and services. Ever wondered who sells more motor oil — gas stations or convenience stores? This tool will hold the answer to that question and many more.

Your plans

The tools we build get better through feedback from users like you. Ask questions. We will try to address them in the articles we produce. Tell us your research dilemmas. We will pass your suggestions on to our developers. Respond to our surveys. Your answers help us understand your marketing challenges and offer new ways to help you succeed.

It is our goal to build tools that fill your market research needs — and the fastest way we can do that is with your help.

SURVEY

Thank you, everyone who took our quiz last month, "Business vs. Family: Who Wins at the Holidays?" and submitted your scores for comparison. While some of you are clearly keeping more balls in the air than others, on the whole our respondents did just fine at balancing business and family life during the 2002 holiday season. The average score (the point spread between “business” and “family”-oriented activities) was 2.7, with 64% of respondents earning a score of 2 or 3. Only 10% received a score over 4, meaning too much emphasis on one area or the other. (And as you might expect, the majority of those in the “danger zone” were giving the bulk of their attention to business, not to family.) New Year’s Resolution: Keep your priorities in balance as 2003 gets underway!

TOOL BITS

In the last three issues, we followed along as Belinda researched locations and market potential for her new cosmetics boutique. Today we wish Belinda “good luck” and begin a new two-part story. Maybe later we’ll check back in with Belinda as her marketing gets underway, but for now, we’ll follow a different entrepreneur on a different path of discovery.

Eagle Optics Opts for a Planned Approach

A dentist and a nurse turn their birdwatching hobby into a business selling binoculars. Despite their inexperience, their business thrives — but they know better than to assume it will stay that way. The owners of Eagle Optics Outfitters want to develop a marketing plan and document it in writing. They begin with a Business Review.

Click here to read the story...

A note from the editor

The process Dan and his wife follow in this two-part story is based on the marketing methodology I describe in my book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Marketing Basics. Yes, it’s one of those orange-and-blue guides, and I happen to think it’s a pretty good book. Reviewers have praised my “sage and practical advice”. I hope you’ll give it a browse online or next time you’re in a bookstore.

Would you like to see your business experience described in this column, like Belinda and the Eagle Optics team? Let me know what you’re doing, and perhaps I can share your story with our readers.

Sarah White

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I look forward to your feedback. Click here to write to me and I will try to respond promptly.

Best regards,
Sarah White, Editor, the Bulletin
Third Wave Research

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About Third Wave Research

The BULLETIN is published occasionally by Madison, Wisconsin-based Third Wave Research. Editor Sarah White and other associates of Third Wave Research write articles that appear in bCentral's "Demographics" and "Market Research" topic areas. For information about Third Wave Research's services, click here.

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