Consumer markets and consumer buyer behavior. Market analysis Contents

What are suitable sources for procuring information?
The following administrative bodies and internet sites provide free input for your market analysis:

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  The U.S. Census Bureau provides reliable information that covers all topics from A for advance monthly retail sales, to Z for zip-codes. With resources such as surveys, programs, and news articles, there is no shortage of information.
  
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  The Small Business Administration provides free acess to business and economic statistics collected by the U.S. government.
  
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  Statistics, market data, and studies can be found online at Statista. There you can view data from market research and opinion research institutions, information from the business world, and official statistics.
  
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  GlobalData supposedly produces over 15,000 reports, briefings, forecasts, and data books a year. It features a wide range of sectors, companies, and countries.
  

Competitive analysis: what are the market characteristics?
The competitive analysis considers individual factors that are important for a market. Here, the essential characteristics of a market are analyzed and described. The “Five Forces Framework” is an established tool for analyzing competition, especially in the consulting industry. The management theorist, Michael E. Porter, shows which factors are important for the analysis of both the market and the competition:

1. 
   Bargaining power of customers: How do customers react to price increases or decreases? How important is your product or service for your target group?
   
2. 
   Bargaining power of suppliers: Suppliers have a particularly high bargaining power if the number of suppliers is limited. How can you react to price increases if necessary? 
   
3. 
   Threat of substituteproducts and markets: Are there alternatives to your product or service? Could emerging innovation jeopardize the distribution of your product or service?
   
4.