How are markets, customers, and competitive advantages analyzed?

"Benefit segmentation is the differentiation of markets based on what a product will do rather than on customer characteristics. Big data refers to large data sets and systems and solutions developed to manage large accumulations of data. Brainstorming is a method of generating ideas in which group members suggest as many possibilities as they can without criticizing or evaluating any of the suggestions. Bundling is the strategy of grouping two or more related products together and pricing them as a single product. Buyer behavior consists of the actions people take in buying and using goods and services. Capital products are large, expensive items with a long life span that are purchased by businesses for use in making other products or providing a service. Competitive advantage is a set of unique features of a company and its products that are perceived by the target market as significant and superior to those of the competition; it is also called differential advantage. Convenience products are relatively inexpensive items that require little shopping effort and are purchased routinely without planning. Cost competitive advantage is a firm’s ability to produce a product or service at a lower cost than all other competitors in an industry while maintaining satisfactory profit margins. Culture is the set of values, ideas, attitudes, and other symbols created to shape human behavior. Customer satisfaction is the customer’s feeling that a product has met or exceeded expectations. Customer value is the ratio of benefits to the sacrifice necessary to obtain those benefits, as determined by the customer; it reflects the willingness of customers to actually buy a product. Demographic segmentation is the differentiation of markets through the use of categories such as age, education, gender, income, and household size. Differential competitive advantage is a firm’s ability to provide a unique product or service with a set of features that the target market perceives as important and better than the competitor’s. Distribution strategy is creating the means by which products flow from the producer to the consumer. Dynamic pricing uses computer algorithms that allow for prices to change based on demand. Environmental scanning is the process in which a firm continually collects and evaluates information about its external environment. Exchange is the process in which two parties give something of value to each other to satisfy their respective needs. Expense items are items purchased by businesses that are smaller and less expensive than capital products and usually have a life span of less than one year. An experiment is a marketing research method in which the investigator changes one or more variables—price, packaging, design, shelf space, advertising theme, or advertising expenditures—while observing the effects of these changes on another variable, usually sales. The five Ps are product, price, promotion, place (distribution), and people, which together make up the marketing mix. A focus group is a group of eight to 12 participants led by a moderator in an in-depth discussion on one particular topic or concept. Geographic segmentation is the differentiation of markets by region of the country, city or county size, market density, or climate."