6.+Customer+Market+Research

Customer market research is the discovery and analysis of the relevant characteristics about the market. The //actual customer market// is all the people who have a stated interest in a particular service. The //potential customer market// includes, in addition, all those who could be expected to need the service. Sources include:

**//Internal records//**//.// Customer types may be identified from //internal records//. **//Secondary sources (external//**). Profiles of users and potential users may be drawn from //U.S.// //Census data// (e.g., age, years of education completed, occupation, income, gender, race, size of household or family, mobility and geographic area of residence.) This information is necessary because communities differ in demographic composition. //Local sources// are also valuable including Chamber of Commerce, market research departments of broadcast and print media, local planning departments, school systems. The human services departments of local government can supply current relevant data about the composition of the local population, and indicators of demographic and social trends. **//Organization-specific sources//**//.// You may also identify organization–specific sources for nonprofits in education, religious, charity, libraries and museums. For example the US Public Library Geographic Database is a secondary source of customer data for public libraries. **//Psychographic//** information is useful to measure attitudes, opinions and interests. **//Lifestyles//**—takes a look at just that! This information is not as readily available and expensive (www.claritas.com). A nonprofit marketer should at least be conscious of general research findings and use these, based upon judgment, as well as draw upon their experience with the community-served. **//Nonprofit managers//** may also be queried as to their information needs.

__**Resources:**__ //**Market Rearch Handbook 20008 by Stats Canada**// [] []= [] [] //**K**////**ing Township Demographics at a Glace**// [] [] [] [] King City (village - from Environics) [] [] [] Snowball [] Schomberg (village from Environics) [] [] Nobleton (village from Environics) []
 * //What customer data does the organization collect-and from where?//
 * //What methods are used?//
 * //What do you recommend?//
 * //Please **list suggested internal, secondary and organization-specific sources** you recommend (see above.)//
 * //Also **speculate on how they may acquire psychographic or lifestyle** information//.
 * //Cite any interviews you may have conducted, summarizing the information//.

__**Resources:**__
 * //Chapter 4 can provide a basis of understanding consumer behavior. A reminder of the difficulty that nonprofit managers face—the complexity of understanding consumer behavior—does this organization have experiential data gathered over time? Staff knowledge can be valuable.//
 * //Chapter 5: what data sources and methods of gathering data do they use//