| A | B |
|---|
| Competitive analysis | identifying and examining the characteristics of a competing firm |
| Customer profile | description of the characteristics of the person or company that is likely to purchase a product or service |
| Customer relationship management | the goal of a new marketing trend that focuses on understanding customers as individuals instead of as part of a group |
| Demographics | data that describe a group of people in terms of their age, marital status, family size, ethnicity, gender, profession, education, and income |
| Direct competition | a business that makes most of its money selling the same or similar products or services to the same market as other businesses |
| Focus group | in-depth interview with a group of target customers who provide valuable ideas on products or services |
| Geographic data | data that help a business determine where its potential customers live and how far they will travel to visit the business |
| Indirect competition | a business that makes only a small amount of money selling the same or similar products and services to the same market as other businesses |
| Market research | system for collecting, recording, and analyzing information about customers, competitors, products, and services |
| Market segments | groups of customers within a large market who share common characteristics |
| Primary data | information collected or the very first time to fit a specific purpose |
| Psychographics | data that describe a group of people in terms of their tastes, opinions, personality traits, and lifestyle habits |
| Secondary data | data found in already-published sources |
| Survey | list of questions to ask customers to find out demographic and psychographic information; can be conducted by mail, over the phone, on the Internet, or in person |
| Target market | the individuals or companies that are interested in a particular product or service and are willing and able to pay for it |
| Use-based data | data that help a business determine how often potential customers use a particular service |
