1.1.2 Market research

What is product orientation?

Only looking at the product or production process when designing

Inward looking

They make what they think is the best product and people will want it

What is market orientation?

Identifying customer needs or wants and meeting them

When is product orientation best?

Little competition

Limited customer knowledge

Low disposable income of customers

What is market research?

The collection and analysis of market information

Why is market research good?

Finds out what customers need/want

Predicts demand

Learn how customers behave with a product (e.g. if it’s bought online)

Know how to price it

Identifies competitors

Learn what could affect the market

What aspects of the business environment could affect the market?

Social

Political

Economic

Legal

Technological

What are the pros of quantitative research?

Quick

Easy

Statistically analysed

What are the pros of qualitative research?

More information

No limiting answers

What is primary research?

When a business gathers new data or employs someone to do it on their behalf

The questions will be specific to the needs of the business

What is secondary research?

Gathering data that already exists

How can primary data be collected?

Focus groups

Observations

Surveys

Interviews

Test marketing (samples make predictions about the whole market)

What are the pros of primary data?

Specific

Competitors can't benefit from it

Can use with new products there's no data on

Can investigate problems found by secondary research

What are the cons of primary data?

Labour-intensive

Expensive

Slow

What are the pros of secondary data?

Easy

Fast

Cheap

Best for initial research

What are the cons of secondary data?

May have errors

Out of date

What are limitations of market research?

Human behaviour - only people who bother to participate

Representative sample - won't be that accurate and big mix of demographics to look at

Bias - phrasing questions in a certain way and only giving socially acceptable answers

What are the pros of ICT being used for market research?

Easy

Cheap

Quick

Wide audience

More information

Easy admin

What forms of ICT can be used for market research?

Their own website

What data is collected from websites?

Time of day/year it's used most

What people click on

How much they buy/spend online

What are the pros of website ICT data gathering?

People can write reviews

Free

What are the cons of website ICT data gathering?

Not many people will write reviews

Won't know reasoning behind the number of sales

Competitors can look at it

What is social networking?

The use of internet-based platforms to make connections with people