A critique of the rapid market assessment of new products: A comment

Abstract

Baker and S u m Net0 advance a methodology that they term "rapid market assessment." It can be used to describe a marketing system and estimate the quantity and price of product that may be marketed by a new entrant. The relationship of the rapid market assessment of new products to the application of rapid reconnaissance techniques to subsector analysis should be noted. There was also a need for more methodology detailing the procedure to determine the point at which to enter the market system. The applicability of the methodology to alternative cases needs development.These comments are on the recent article by Baker and Souza Netol in the December issue of Agribusiness titled "The Rapid Market Assessment (RMA) of New Products." These comments are made to provide information about related literature not cited by Baker and Souza Neto, and to further the methodology for assessing product markets.Although having served as colleague reviewer of the article by Baker and Souza Neto, the importance of their topic deserves more discussion. This comment contributes to that dialogue.Baker and Souza Net0 propose a methodology for what they refer to as "rapid market assessment (RMA) of new products." They apply that methodology to evaluate the potential for new producers to enter an existing market for goat cheese in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Their purpose is to use the market assessment information to evaluate the potential for the product in a Farming Systems Research (FSR) and Development project in northeast Brazil.The contribution by Baker and Souza Net0 in reporting this work to a journal is noteworthy, as citations for comparable single-city market assessment studies in developing countries were not found. However, the relationship between rapid reconnaissance techniques that provide parameters to FSR, the application of this technique to subseqtor analysis, and the application of reconnaissance techniques to the marketing of one product in a specific market deserves discussion.