Use Advertising Based on ecommerce Research

The advertising model can be very informal or it may be highly formalised 
and based on considerable ecommerce research. 

It should be easy to obtain basic information on competitors such as product 
range both in specification and price with any  discounts as well as the 
delivery arrangements and terms of trade together with their ecommerce 
arrangements.

In business to business marketing research is treated as a part of the 
advertising program.

One of the problems of market research is that in a survey of customers some 
of the respondents may be customers of your competitors and they may will pass 
on intelligence about your enquiries,  thus alerting your competitors to your 
envisaged entry into the market. 

The population can be split into groups determined by  location of residence,  
and it is supposed that this is a predictor of future behaviour.

Unfortunately many marketing programs are cancelled before they have had time 
to make an impact on the marketplace.

Find out what your competitor's ecommerce marketing objectives relate to - 
what products do they have and are they introducing new ones?  Are they 
expanding their market share in the existing market will they expand into 
new markets?