The Shrinking Chinese Market for Nike Sneakers

Marketing Viewpoint by Ruth Winett

Secret Sources of Market Intelligence

What non-buyers can tell you

To increase sales, study non-buyers, people or companies that could, but don’t currently, purchase from your company. Non-buyers can provide valuable insights about their current practices, unsolved problems, and unmet needs. Non-buyers can also evaluate products or services that your company is developing.

Four Categories of Non-users To Question

Rawn and Roberts describe four categories of non-users in an article in Quirk’s Marketing Research Review. Place your non-buyers into one of these categories and ask them questions like the ones we have provided.

They are "not aware of the category" [of products or services].

What information sources do they access? Do they have a need for your products or services? Why or why not?

New business owners may know that they need property and liability insurance, workers‘ compensation insurance, and unemployment insurance. However, new owners of coastal businesses may not realize that they also need flood insurance and may not know where to get reliable information about flood insurance.

They are aware of the category but are not considering purchasing.

How did they learn about the category? Why aren’t they considering a purchase?

Many wealthy stock market investors knew about the SpaceX IPO but considered participating in the IPO to be too risky, distrusted Musk, or preferred tested technology.

They had considered a purchase but did not make the purchase.

Why did they consider, but not make, a purchase? Was it price? Competition? Access? What might change their minds?

A medical practice may consider outsourcing record keeping to an AI company but decide to do the work in-house to save money and importantly, protect their data and their patients’ privacy.

They had previously purchased and cancelled or lapsed.

What went wrong? Was it a process or product issue? Is this the sign of a developing trend?

After seventy years, McDonald’s Coke sales had declined. McDonald’s even tried and then dropped Pepsi. Coke tried various new beverages and finally hit on one that appealed to McDonald’s customers—"dirty cokes” or Cokes plus Red Bull or another add-on. Coke apparently has saved a big account. By exploring the reasons for customer defections, you may learn something that will improve your product or your services and prevent other defections.

It’s important to know for each group and sub-group what problems they are trying to solve; what assumptions they have made about different solutions or options; where they get information; and whether they have the capacity, the desire, and the funds to purchase from your organization. Some sub-segments are worth pursuing; others are not. They may have little need for your offering or may be too small to be worthwhile.

Sources:

*"The Hidden Half: Understanding Consumers Who Aren’t Buying," Kyle Rawn and Lindsay Roberts, Quirk’s Marketing Research Review, May/June, 2026, p. 46.

The 70-year marriage between McDonald's and Coke has some issues. The Wall Street Journal. Heather Haddon, Laura Cooper.

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