SERVICES

MARKET RESEARCH AND BUSINESS PLANNING

GO-TO MARKET STRATEGY

At Ethics Plus Consulting, we strive to deliver actionable insights with deep perspective.
We try and identify the most attractive segments to target your entry strategy, through generating insights about target customer segments. Further we help you in defining your value proposition: i.e. we match the customer needs to your unique products or services and their value. The next step would be to set the right price point to enter the market. Following that, we understand the channels in which you need to be present in order to reach your target market. Finally, we understand your team and execution capabilities, and help you to detail your business plan to enter the new market.

MARKET SIZING AND FORECASTING

Understanding the total and addressable market size is critical for any company trying to launch a new product or service, investment decisions such as mergers and acquisitions, and marketing & pricing strategy.
Our consultants are able to prepare independent and robust analysis that will estimate the total market size and provide you a well-reasoned view of the total addressable market opportunity. We customize our approach to each modeling exercise, using a combination of different data sources based on the information available. Data sources used include the public domain, our own subscriptions or from primary research data.

Our market analysis will help answer strategic questions such as:

  • How big is the total market?
  • What is the addressable opportunity within that market?
  • How can one gain a share of that addressable opportunity?

We have many years of experience of successfully producing customized market sizing and forecasting models in a variety of sectors/industries.

FEASIBILITY STUDY

A feasibility study analyses the viability of a proposed business idea, with the objective of deciding whether to go ahead with it. It is often the first step towards the success of a new business and is a powerful tool to model the likely future performance of the project or business. The study often serves to provide a framework for its development and delivery.

We specialize in conducting market feasibility studies through primary market research, both qualitative and quantitative. Our feasibility studies highlight the major demand, supply, operational and financial assumptions being used and the risk associated. During the course of our study, we key in on understanding the market potential – we drill down and understand the demand supply scenario, customers and their various segments, growth rates, competitive scenario, industry trends, barriers to entry, risks going forward, SWOT and many other factors.

We are also specialists in assessing the financial feasibility of any proposed business. We spend time in meticulously working out the assumptions and inputs to be used in the financial model. We further build financial models comprising of P & L analysis, balance sheet and cash flow statements, including financial projections.

Why a Feasibility Study is a beneficial exercise

  • Provides valuable inputs for a ‘go/no-go’ decision
  • Validate the market for products/services
  • Assess multiple parameters thus improving the success rate
  • Understand the key competitive forces
  • Minimize risk and undertake cost-benefit analysis
  • Plan the investments required in the business and understand expected ROI and other key indicators
  • Identify the optimal timing of the venture and a build a case for presenting to key stakeholders
  • Helps in securing funding from financial institutions and others and even can attract equity investment

In some cases, we may suggest undertaking a pre-feasibility study or a market assessment rather than a full feasibility study.

BUSINESS PLANS

With investors having more and more businesses to choose from, it is more important than ever that a business plan should make the right first impression.

We specialize in preparing professional business plans for a wide variety of industries and businesses in Dubai. Our business plans are widely accepted by banks, free zones, government institutions, and various funding institutions. Whether you want to raise capital, secure a loan or pitch to an investor, we can assist you in your efforts to prepare a well-rounded business plan.

Our services include:

  • Strategy and Business Model Development
  • Custom Business Plan Consulting
  • Business Plan writing and re-writes
  • Franchise Business Plans
  • Business Plan Reviews
  • Business Plan Makeovers

For many business owners, preparing a financial forecast is the most daunting aspect of preparing a business plan. Whether you are kick-starting a small mom-and-pop store or a high-growth online business, we can help you prepare a suitable financial plan.

CONSUMER USAGE AND ATTITUDE STUDIES

Ethics Plus Consulting can survey your customers and prospects to determine their attitudes and beliefs about a product and how they use a product, and the role these beliefs and behaviors play on product choice.
When researching the given products or services, we usually narrow down on two questions: Who is using them and what do they feel about them?

The audience for this type of research comprises of anyone using a given product or service.
Some of the questions that the research tends to look at include:

  • Which products are being used
  • Which are the companies that supply these products
  • What is the opinion of the above companies
  • How much of the given products are being used
  • What is the feedback in terms of product quality, pricing, availability and related customer service

Once the results of the research are analyzed, we can then evaluate the data by industry vertical and identify segments that have various uses and attitudes.

We work with our clients to understand the exact application of the U & A study – be it a new market opportunity, gathering insights for their branding campaign or understanding the competition.

U & A studies are one of the most important forms of marketplace intelligence. They provide critical information on customers, brands, communications and serve as a tool for tracking changes in brands, customers and the market itself.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY STUDY

While customer satisfaction may be defined as a measurement of customer feeling with respect to products and services, customer loyalty is a measure of loyalty behavior i.e. the act of customers making repeat purchases of current brands.

A plan to survey your customers and measure customer satisfaction is typically a simple way to retain customer loyalty. Asking satisfaction and loyalty related questions to customers will help gather key insights in order to keep customers happy.

While customer satisfaction surveys are geared towards measuring customers’ current attitudes, customer loyalty surveys focus on predicting customer behavior and attitudes.

CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION STUDIES

Simply put, segmentation is the process of dividing markets or customers into specific groups.
We provide our clients with detailed customer profiling services that would help them in a range of sales and marketing initiatives. Our profiling and segmentation projects provide a tangible return on investment by enhancing the effectiveness of product design, pricing strategy, brand positioning, customer support and retention and other sales / business development efforts.

It is important for any marketing manager or product development in charge to understand the various customer segments and their needs, attitudes or aspirations. One of the key objectives of any segmentation study is to identify the most valuable segments to target. Execution is the key in any segmentation exercise, as without the right execution, segmentation efforts will not deliver the value that companies look for.

At Ethics Plus, we feel that segmentation is both an art and a science. Effectively structuring the research, asking the right questions and drawing the appropriate responses is an art. At the same time, science is involved in validating the quantitative research involved. A customer segmentation study provides a basis by which business decision makers can maximize profitability by targeting their company’s focus on those market segments that are most suitable to their products/services.

PRICING RESEARCH STUDIES

Our pricing research can provide you with the customer information required to take important decisions.
When we look at the various elements of a marketing mix, pricing is uniquely one of the most important.

Pricing strategy can:

  • Play a major role in influencing the customer’s purchasing decision
  • Provide an idea about the product quality and brand image
  • Assist marketers to understand the various segments based on price-sensitivity

Optimizing the pricing strategy is important and can determine any company’s profitability and market share. In many types of businesses, a price increase or decrease of a percentage points can have a large impact on operating profits. We understand that customers evaluate price with various considerations that relate to product, positioning, and other factors.
Our pricing research has helped clients optimize their pricing strategy for a wide range of products and services.

ADVERTISING, PACKAGING AND CONCEPT TESTING STUDIES

Ad effectiveness studies can identify the impact of an ad campaign on financial metrics such as sales volume and revenues. They also reveal insights such as whether or not the ad creates, strengthens, or modifies awareness or attitudes.

Package testing studies are designed to measure the usability and appeal of packaging. This helps clients improve upon and develop more useful and attractive package designs.

Concept testing involves the assessment of potential customers’ reactions to a proposed product or service before its launch in the marketplace.

Concept testing helps in fine-tuning ideas so that the potential for market acceptance is maximized.

Some of the key attributes of concept testing studies are:

  • Identify the key segments of the population to whom the product/service appeals the most
  • Convey the products key attributes and characteristics to the target consumers
  • Collect suitable data to develop the product/service and carry out its promotion and distribution

BRAND STRATEGY AND POSITIONING

We have developed a ‘Brand Health Check’ research study, where we uncover various insights that assist in taking important decisions for a brand. Our brand health check can be tailor made to suit a specific brand or category.

A brand health check will help you understand who your customers are and how they perceive, receive and connect with your brand.

Some of the questions that this research can help answer are:

  • What is my brand’s equity in the market?
  • How is my brand performing on awareness and usage?
  • Is the brand share growing or declining?
  • How is my brand performing over time and vis-à-vis competition?
  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of my brand?
  • What are the key next steps for our brand?

A brand equity research helps in capturing the power of a brand in comparison with other brands in the same category.