What are the market forecasting methods for predicting demand levels?

Market forecasting methods for predicting demand levels:

a. Survey or sample of buyer’s intentions preferably suited for short and medium-term sales forecasting.

b. Composite of sales force thoughts human judgement applied through the staff in the organisation for example, sales people, who might have an overall understanding of demand development in an exact market.

c. Expert thoughts industry experts or consultants and what they talking about, but this method frequently hampered by a lack of expertise accessible.

d. Past-sales analysis trends (projections) by using a study of past or historical performance for example, high low method, time series and scatter graphs or regression analysis. Major restriction of this method is as past performance may not be an excellent indication of the future.

e. Market test methods for example, consumer trials and testing of new products or product characteristics, giving direct and frequently qualitative opinions, but valuable assistance in determining future ‘potential’ for customer demand.

f. Queuing theory is usually seems a branch of operations management since the results can be used to plan for resources required to give a product or service.