Why Research an Organization?
“The business research process entails learning everything possible about a company’s customers, competitors and the industry. The major objectives of the process are determining what products or services to offer, which customers are most likely to buy them, where to sell them and how to price and promote them. Various steps in the business research process help a company achieve these objectives .”
What Do You Want to Know?
Purpose–What Does the Company Do?
“First, find out who the company is and what it does .” You should answer questions such as:
Where is it headquartered and it is an international company?
What are the company’s products and/or services?
What need does it meet for customers?
Who are the Company’s Customers?
“At least part of the business research process should be devoted to studying a company’s target audience–the customers who are most likely to purchase the company’s products. For example, a small radio station’s primary target audience may be white professional women between the ages of 35 and 54 .”
“The process continues with a study of the consumer or business customer. It is important to determine what the customer wants and needs before developing products to meet those needs. The consumer will usually dictate which products will sell. If consumers’ needs are not met, they will usually buy competitive products .” The target market is the customers who will be most likely to buy the product/service offered.
Who are the Company’s Competitors?
To understand the company, you must also understand the company’s competitors. Competition can be thought of very broadly. For example, the competitors for a movie theater would obviously be other theaters, video stores, and services such as Netflix. But competition would be anything that could substitute as entertainment, such as going to a baseball game or to a concert. “One way to garner information on the competition is through secondary research. Secondary research information is data that are already available about the industry: market share and total market sales. Secondary research may also provide detailed information about competitors, such as number of employees, products they sell and their key strengths. Secondary research can be obtained through various sources, depending on the industry. or example, the NPD Group uses their CREST analysis for restaurants. Nielsen provides data about consumer package goods .”
What are the Company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats?
“Once detailed information on customers and the competition has been garnered, a SWOT analysis can be used to study the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A strength may be the company’s market share or a good reputation among customers, according to “SWOT Analysis” at quicklime.com, a popular business reference site. A weakness may be inexperienced management. Additionally, a company may have an opportunity to purchase another company. Threats may include new government regulation in the industry or a well-financed new competitor.
A company uses the SWOT analysis to exploit its strengths via available opportunities. For example, a company with strong financial backing could purchase another company to increase its distribution and market share. A business can also minimize its weaknesses against potential threats, for example by hiring more experienced marketing people to deal with an increase in competition .”
Where to Find Information about a Company
“Ask Questions:
Determine what you really need to know. What questions do you need answered?
Consider which sources are most likely to have the information you need.
What you already know about the company/industry will help you decide where to look for information . “
Use Primary Business Information
“During business research, primary business information can be gathered. .” For the purpose of business research, primary information is that which is offered by the primary source, the company. Any communication or information from the company is considered primary information.
Visit the Company’s Website
“Start with the company website. This is usually the single best resource. Scroll through the whole website .” “Companies are savvy corporate communicators. They recognize the value of having informative Web sites where they can showcase their products and services and communicate their vision .” The About Us section of a company’s website can be very helpful.
“If the company does not have its own website go to other internet sites that provide extensive information about companies and industries. Simply type in the company name and use the different search engines to go to any sites that refer to the company .”
“Note down the company mission, vision and values statements. This tells you about the company culture. Use this information to highlight why you are a good fit in your job interview .”
“Find out the company’s strategic goals, special projects and new developments .”
“Go to competitor websites to get information on developments in the company’s industry or sector .”
Use Secondary Business Information
“Secondary business information is obtained from third-parties, such as government agencies, media sources and trade associations. This type of information is easier to obtain, requires less effort and can be cost-effective, as long as the source of the information is reliable. For example, statistics from government agencies, such as the U.S. Census Bureau and the Small Business Administration, provide a wealth of information you can use to obtain answers to your business research questions .”
Find Current News and In-depth Articles about the Company
“Articles published in leading business magazines and trade journals often provide added depth and insight into a company’s operations, strategy and competition. . . .You can also check any of the excellent business Web sites devoted to business news such as Bloomberg, CNNMoney, MarketWatch, Yahoo! Finance or Google Business News .” Other sources are “articles from major newspapers worldwide, law reviews and journals, federal and state cases and statutes, federal regulations, tax materials, patents, and more .” “ . . . . Look up the company in the business periodical index to find articles in business publications and industry trade magazines .”
Search for Financial Information about the Company
“Public companies issue annual and quarterly report cards containing income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements that reveal their financial soundness and profitability. The daily stock market reflects investors’ collective opinion on publicly traded companies’ current performance and future prospects. . . Morningstar, Reuter’s and Yahoo! Finance offer free stock reports along with premium services.”
About the Company You Chose
Add a brief section here with information such as your company’s mission statement, whether it is an international company, the location of the company’s headquarters, when the company began, and who are the company’s leaders? About 4-5 sentences should be fine.
What Does the Company Do?
Add a brief section here about what the company does. What does it provide (products/services)? Describe the products/services. About 3-5 sentences should be fine.
Who are the Company’s Customers and Competitors?
Add a brief section here about the company’s target market(s) for its products/services and who the competitors are for the company. About 3-5 sentences should be fine.
What are the Company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT Analysis)?
Add a brief section here about the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. For example, Krispy Kreme’s strength is its history and strong brand name. Its weakness is that people are more health conscious now and donuts are not seen as being a healthy treat. An opportunity for Krispy Kreme is that it could make donuts that are healthier. Threats would be other companies like Donut World, Dunkin’ Donuts, bakeries, and cafes such as Starbucks which offer a similar product/experience as Krispy Kreme. You can do a search of SWOT and your company name to find information. About 4-6 sentences should be fine.
Other Interesting Company Information
Add a brief section of about 3+ sentences here to describe anything else interesting about the company.
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