Using Mind Mapping to Easily Organize Marketing Research Projects

When undertaking any marketing research project, the first step the market researcher needs to take is to determine exactly how the project will be carried out. Questions such as: “Will this be a phone survey or a computer survey?”, “How many respondents will be surveyed?”, and “How long will the survey be in field?” are crucial to answer before starting the research project. It is often at this point that researchers can get a bit overwhelmed; successfully organizing a research project requires the fitting together of many components. Mind Maps can provide an easy and workable way to organize a research project. By clearly “mapping out” the research project, from beginning to end, using visuals, key words and pictures, the intuitive process of finding out what the consumer thinks can naturally emerge.

An Example of Mind Mapping a Research Project

Consider, as an example, a market researcher who has been hired by her client to find out how well his fast food product rates among fast food consumers. The researcher wants to organize how the study will proceed using a Mind Map. He/She begins by listing the main research objective of the study in the center of the Mind Map, which, in this case, is to find out how fast food consumers rate Product X. Next, he or she lists the main points he or she will undertake in the study, such as “recruit panel”, and “field survey”. These steps are attached to the central topic via “branches” that flow from the topic. Here, the researcher may want to insert any pictures, colors or visuals she chooses to make the Mind Map more intuitive. For example, she may insert a graphic depicting people next to the step “recruit panel”, to represent the people in the panel.

After listing the main steps of the project, the researcher outlines the components of each step, and attaches these components to the steps via “child branches”. Thus, she attaches, “contact panel recruitment firm”, to the step regarding recruiting the panel. Again, he/she may use a visual, such as the logo of the recruitment firm he/she ordinarily uses, to enhance the listed components. He/She then continues attaching components to each main step he/she has listed, as well as lists, via more “child branches”, any sub-components of the components. When he/she has finished, the researcher has a Mind Map outlining the complete research project, from start to finish, along with each step that will be taken, and the aspects that comprise these steps. Moreover, since he/she has used colors, visuals and other images to construct the Mind Map, he/she now has all of the information he/she needs to begin the project distilled down into an easily comprehensible layout. The attached Mind Map diagram represents the example research project layout described above.

Beginning the Research Project

With the all-important, and arguably most challenging, step of organizing the research project out of the way, the researcher is now free to begin the work of conducting the study. As shown in the attached Mind Map diagram, all of the steps he/she needs to conduct the study are clearly laid out. Compare this method of organizing a research project with the method of simply taking notes on a piece of paper. Absent the visual imagery and spatial layout of the Mind Map, the second method would likely be more tedious to comprehend, and thus, work with. The researcher now has the distinct advantage of conducting the study using information that is easily organized and intuitively processed. The research project is ready to commence.

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The Color of Your JV Brand: How it Influences Profits

Did you know that color has amazing psychological factors? Color has been proven to stimulate emotional responses and moods in people. If you have formed a joint venture and are marketing a joint product or service under your JV brand, then take these colorful tips and advice to heart when you develop your marketing materials. 

What Do Your JV’s Colors Say?

What colors have you chosen for your JV brand? Why did you choose them? Sometimes, business owners don’t stop to think about why we make certain choices. For instance if your favorite color is purple but your business is in the financial industry, you may be wise to research and think about using the color green as your business branding color. Green is associated with the color of money and wealth. Color plays a large psychological factor in how your customers perceive your business and respond to your products. 

Color and Cost: The Relationship

Now your JV is ready to market and sell your new product. What color or colors will you choose? First, think of all the marketing materials you will need, such as letterhead, envelopes, business cards, and brochures. The colors will need to be printed on them, and thus, you must consider cost as well. Fewer colors mean cheaper cost. Do you have a JV logo? Even if you use names, the font and font color have importance.

Colors enhance your JV’s appearance, and influence your customers’ behavior. Consider for instance a restaurant. Most popular chain restaurants use the colors red and orange. These colors have been determined to stimulate appetite and encourage diners to eat more quickly. Just what a restaurant wants in a customer! 

Consider the Cultural Influences

There are many cultural differences in color psychology, however. So it would be wise to consider your target market. If your JV plans to export products to other countries, your color choices could be devastating. As an example, in North America we generally consider black the color of death, but in China, white represents death. And in Brazil purple is the color of death. Consider these factors as well.

Generally, in North American culture, consumers are affected psychologically by certain colors:

• Red – Excitement, danger, power intensity, love, passion. Red is a very noticeable color and is known to stimulate heartbeat and respiration.

• Blue – Cool, trust, reliability, peace. Blue is the most popular color. It causes peaceful and tranquil feelings.

• Green – Nature, wealth, growth, abundance. Green is a calming and refreshing color, and darker green is associated with wealth and money.

• Yellow – Warmth, happiness, sunshine. An optimistic color that enhances concentration and speeds metabolism. Be careful not to overuse yellow as it can be overpowering.

• Purple – Royal, dignity, spirituality. Also associated with luxury and sophistication.

• White – Pure, clean, virginal, innocence. Also a neutral color.

• Black – Authority, power, death, villainous.

These are just a few of the main colors used in marketing and branding a business. The many colors of the spectrum are at your disposal. Choose them wisely for your JV branding efforts.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

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Who Is Your Target Joint Venture Market?

Some businesses try to be everything to all people. Many joint ventures begin and fail because they’ve determined that their combined forces are good for everyone. Rather than focusing on their target market, they spread their marketing efforts too thin and end up with fewer customers. Your joint venture business can successfully market to a targeted segment, but first you need to know what that segment is.

Gather Relevant Data

The fast road to market failure is assumptions. Never assume who your customer is. Assumptions leave you and your JV partner with wrong decisions about pricing, advertising, promotions, and ultimately, can lead to business failure.

In order to get the most targeted information in your customers’ hands, you need to know who your customers are. You can get valuable information by simply asking. Ask your current customers to fill out an easy survey with demographical data and can be done anonymously. You might even offer a special coupon or free item for completing the survey. If your market segment is local or regional gather demographical information from your local library, Chamber of Commerce, or even town hall. 

Information that is important to know includes, but is certainly not limited to, the following:

• Age – Who visits your business and buys your products or services? Is it a younger crowd? Professionals 20-50? Elderly?

• Gender – Do men or women primarily use your product? Or is it about even?

• Marital Status – You may find that married individuals are your type of customer. Or perhaps single persons are the ideal customers.

• Education – Do your customers hold college degrees? Or are they high school grads?

• Income – Is your product or service selling to middle and higher incomes? Or does a larger market segment have average or below incomes?

You may even want to acquire other demographical information that can help you better identify your target market, such as social class, regular activities, attitudes and beliefs, or lifestyle. This information gives you the tools you need to determine where your joint venture business fits into a niche and how you can specialize.

Formulate a Targeted JV Marketing Strategy

With the valuable information you have gathered, you can make better decisions about not only how to market your JV business, but also where your business fits in a specific niche and how you can specialize with a particular market segment. You and your JV partner should know where your target market comes from. Are your customers local or regional? Do you sell to a national or international audience? Is your JV business primarily B2B?

Start a marketing strategy with your niche in mind. For instance, if your JV specializes in selling custom-made soaps and lotions, your market can be both local and national, and you will probably want to target promotions to married women with higher education and incomes. Remember, with more specific information, you will have a better idea on which media this demographic reads and where to place your marketing efforts.

Get the specific information you need to determine your target market. It could help you find your specialization and niche and will help you to make better decisions.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Technorati Tags: Business, clients, joint venture, Marketing, Money, strategic alliance, strategy

How You Can Improve Your Well-Being with a Joint Venture

When was the last time you made a bad decision? Perhaps it was just this morning when you decided to skip breakfast. Your decision to skip the most important meal of the day was a personal one, which only affected you. However, what if your decision had an impact on your joint venture or your JV partner? If you didn’t fuel up properly and your body and mind did not function at its highest level, could you be on a path to making more bad decisions that affect the success of your JV? It’s possible. That’s why simply becoming a member of a JV can help you make better decisions and improve your well-being.

Responsibility of Human Cooperation

Psychological studies have shown that when individuals act only for themselves, they tend to make decisions based almost solely on emotion. A key factor in a successful JV is cooperation, which requires each partner to focus not only on his own needs and wants, but his partner’s as well. When someone else may be affected by a decision, we as humans tend to act more rationally, rather than seek to maximize our own benefits.

What this says is that your involvement with a JV can help you make better decisions when someone else’s well-being is also at stake. The power of cooperation is the leverage needed to get group members to contribute their highest efforts for the collective benefit of the group.

Improvement of Information Processing Capabilities

As mentioned, when you make decisions that may have an impact on others, you will tend to be more rational. We as humans are emotional creatures. And emotions can sometimes lead to irrational behavior, especially when it comes to competing with others for resources. 

However, if you pool resources and share in a common goal with a joint venture partner, you will tend to take in more information and process the information more thoroughly on a non-competitive level. In essence, your shared culture develops a better processing system for mutual benefit. 

Better Behavior Makes a Better Person

Cooperation for mutual advantage is evidenced in basic society. We have developed societal regulators who help make the laws that benefit society as a whole and have enforcers who make sure that no one benefits at another’s expense. This is the entire basis for the term “civilization”. We have become better people and improved society by not remaining barbaric or savage in nature. 

The same goes for you as an individual. You can improve your personal emotional and cognitive maturity with the decisions you make for the benefit of your JV. Your financial situation can improve with the pooling of resources and cooperation you get with your JV partner. In addition, you will feel more compassion and enter a more rational psychological state when you know that your decisions are benefiting both you and someone else. So go ahead, have that bagel and make better decisions today.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Technorati Tags: Business, clients, joint venture, Marketing, Money, strategic alliance, strategy