If you ask people on the street what their idea of the object of study of Market Research is, many answers would point to a classic idea. The most common image of these shows consumers making retail purchases of products and services. However, there are many other segments within the market that also require the advice of agencies in our field. We are referring to the business-to-business or B2B niche.
Within the logistics and value-added chains there are intermediaries whose size implies movement of purchases and sales that go from medium wholesale to wholesale. This sector also includes transfers of products and services from one side of the world to the other. Therefore, aspects that are sometimes not observed in retail projects must be reviewed. Based on the above, today we list four concepts of market studies between companies.
Tariffs. This concept gained greater attention from insiders and outsiders in recent weeks due to the trade war that began in North America. In very simple terms, these are the taxes that a country charges in customs, whether for the import and/or export of products. These costs have a lot of weight when planning and executing business projects. In a globalized world, these prices had been reduced through free trade agreements, but this is currently controversial.
Incoterms. When trading on a large scale and the movement of goods between countries is required, it is a primary requirement to clearly establish all the contractual conditions between the two parties that exchange capital and products. The different types of these terms are known as Incoterms. Knowledge of them ranges from knowing what each one implies to keeping up with the list that is adjusted from time to time.
Volumes. To define the market size of a certain category, the goal is to quantify the total or the part of interest. Each merchandise has a unit of measurement that is sought to be universal as far as possible. This unit can be expressed from the piece or group of these, through tons to liters. It should be noted that there are many cases where some countries express their movements in units different from the majority and it is necessary to apply the appropriate conversions.
Values. Prices are an attribute that changes over time and is based on multiple circumstances. In this field there is greater standardization since the majority of transactions use the United States dollar. Special care must be taken with the expression of this currency because sources can be consulted that express it either in constant prices based on a given year or in current prices.
There are more attributes that are analyzed in market studies of the category. In another future entry of our blog we will address the issue of harmonized codes. However, we believe that the topics mentioned above largely summarize what many clients request when looking for answers to base their decisions. In these months this data and information acquire greater strategic value than before, if possible.
At Acertiva we have collaborated with brands that have required points such as those addressed today. Thanks to our two decades of experience in Market Research in Latin America, we can put at your disposal a team of analysts and strategic suppliers. If you have a study in the works, get in touch with us. We will respond with the way in which together we can make your next success story a reality.
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