Chapter 6

5. characteristics
9. the collection of information to determine the status of something, such as in developing a customer profile
11. the collection and analysis of information aimed at understanding the behavior of consumers in a certain market
13. a group of people or companies who have a demand for a product or service and are willing and able to buy it
15. conditions or circumstances that make it difficult or costly for outside firms to enter a market to compete with established firm or firms
20. a complete picture of a venture’s prospective customers, including geographic, demographic, and psychographic data
21. the act of identifying a specific market niche for a product
22. the ability of industry to support new growth
23. a portion of the total sales generated by all competing companies in a given market
24. subgroups of buyers with similar characteristics, segmented by geographics, demographics, psychographics, and
25. information that is collected for the first time, is current, and relates directly to the collector’s study
26. the initial collection and analysis of information used when very little is known about a subject; it forms a foundation for later research

1. situations where the cost of producing one unit of a good or service decreases as the volume of production increases; the decrease of production costs relative to the price of goods and services
2. a feature that makes a product more desirable than its competitors
3. a study that pinpoints the features and benefits of goods or services that customers value
4. the study of the market based on where customers live, including region, state, country, city, and/or area
6. the study of consumers based on social and psychological characteristics, including personalities, values, opinions, beliefs, motivations, attitudes, and lifestyle elements
7. customers who buy goods or services for business use
8. a small, specialized segment of the market based on customer needs discovered in market research
10. information that has already been collected by someone else
11. the process of grouping a market into smaller subgroups defined by specific characteristics
12. a group of people whose opinions are studied to determine the opinions that can be expected from a larger population
14. the tendency to buy a particular brand of a product
16. a collection of businesses with a common line of products or services
17. the number and diversity of contacts with which a business must deal
18. the study of the past to explain present circumstances and predict future trends
19. a specific group of customers whom a business wishes to reach