IBDP Business 4.4

Market research

gathering and analysing info about the market and customer to determine a market strategy

Systematic market research

it takes place at regular timed intervals

Ad hoc market research

takes place only when necessary

frequency of market research

must be a regular exercise to match changing market

Why do market research

reduces risk, provides up to date data and helps with any large decisions

How is market research done

primary and secondary research, and quantitative and qualitative sampling

Primary research

gather new data, explore information that does not exist yet

Primary research advantages

up to date, focused on the organisations needs, data is unique, and advantage over rivals

Primary research disadvantages

expensive, time consuming, and largely subject to bias

Survey

document that contains questions, offering closed or open questions about perception or habits

Survey advantages

hard and soft data, easy to analyse and do, good response rate

Survey disadvantages

large sample needed, can get dishonest answers

Interview

face to face meeting to collect info about reasons behind behaviour and preferences

Interview advantages

in depth data, flexibility with answers

Interview disadvantages

time consuming, hard to get large sample, and interviewer bias

Structured interview

fixed set of questions

Unstructured interview

loose questions, more free

Focus group

6-10 people that participate in discussion about the brand/product to give insight on customer prefence

Focus group advantage

less guidance, less bias and an unconventional way to get conventional data

Focus group disadvantage

people might give different answers because they are being observed, and a smaller sample size

Observation

process of observing something or someone’s behaviour in a controlled or real life environment

Observation advantages

Convenient to identify patterns and confirm marketing strategies

Observation disadvantages

reasons for behaviour are unknown

Secondary research

gathering existing data, that was collected by someone else

Secondary research advantages

already available, and quick access

Secondary research disadvantages

available to everyone, and might not aline with organisation’s needs

Market analysis

publication about particular markets discussing growth, share and trends

Market analysis advantages

professional, trustworthy, and available

Market analysis disadvantages

expensive

Academic journal

periodical publications from educational institutions

Academic journal advantages

peer reviewed, regular and reliable

Academic journal disadvantages

theoretical and not based on the real world

Government publications

official document provided by the government about demographics, economy growth and employment

Government publication advantages

reliable and up to date

Government publication disadvantages

some data is not top secret and not business focused

Media article

texts that are published in newspapers and magazines that offer opinions, perspectives and business issues

Media article advantages

reflects current trends and is easy to access

Media article disadvantage

biased

Online content

anything that is posted online such as videos, blogs and pictures that offer direct feedback

Online content advantages

easy to access and offer useful insights

Online content disadvantages

the most unreliable and biased and can be manipulated

Quantitative research

collecting measurable numerical data about market share, growth, customer info and sales

Examples of quantitative research

Survey and observation

Quantitative research advantages

easy to measure and analyse, minimal bias

Quantitative research disadvantages

superficial, needs a large sample, and is expensive and time consuming

Qualitative research

collecting non-numerical data that is hard to measure such as opinions, reasons for behaviour and preferences

Qualitative research examples

Focus group and interview

Qualitative research advantages

provides insights, and does not need large sample

Qualitative research disadvantages

hard to analyse and biased

Sampling population

all potential respondents

Sample

a small representative part of the population

Sampling

primary research process of selecting the respondents that represent the population using sampling methods

Quota sampling

sampling method wherein the population is divided into groups of age, gender and lifestyle, and a fixed number of respondents in each group is then involved in research

Quota sampling advantages

representative and reliable

Quota sampling disadvantages

sampling errors

Random sampling

sampling method whereby all members of the population have equal chances to be respondents

Random sampling advantages

convenient and minimal bias

Random sampling disadvantages

not representative of the segments

Convenience sampling

sampling method whereby researchers select respondents that are most conveniently accessed

Convenience sampling advantages

convenient and quick

Convenience sampling disadvantages

the least representative of all