Sample Business: Mainstream Boutique (Onalaska)
A good place to start to research a market is with the company's website. Mainstream Boutique's website provides good clues about their market segment in general or nationally.
This information can be found on their Home Page - Our Story. Take note of the clues you find on business's homepage. Look for "About" or "Mission" or any keyword or phrase that will describe the purpose and goals of the business. For Mainstream Boutique, I see "family" as a target market for both franchisees and customers.
This is a good starting point for researching the Onalaska location. Start by linking to their Facebook page and Instagram. Look at posts, videos, and reels. The website and social media provide anecdotal information.
For data-based information you can use the database ReferenceSolutions. I've attached some screenshots to show what steps to take to search the database to make decisions about your market segment based on the concept of "family" and the price point for Mainstream Boutique's clothing.
From Reference Solutions Home Page - choose Consumer Lifestyle Automobile Database
Next, select the Advanced Search tab
Next, choose the filters that will return the results you need to understand the market segment.
I based my choice of filters thinking about "family" and "price point" for Mainstrean Boutique in the Onalaska Metro Area:
Follow these steps - one at a time - for each filter
- choose one main filter (red arrow) in the left column
- choose a subfilter (green arrow)
- UPDATE COUNT (orange arrow)
When you have completed the filter process click VIEW RESULTS
On the next screen, click the Matrix Tab then choose from drop down boxes - Children Present and Income - and check Choose Output Rows/Columns.
Use the data in the chart below to figure out your likely customer segment. Think about is mostly likely to be able to afford purchasing clothing at Mainstream Boutique.
