Chapter 3: Internal Secondary Research

A complete set of Question and Answer flashcards covering Chapter 3 Internal Secondary Research concepts, advantages, limitations, sales and customer data analysis, and segmentation.

What is secondary research?

Secondary research is existing research not originally conducted by the researcher that can be used to address the research objective.

Under what scenarios is secondary research typically applied?

Secondary research is typically applied when monitoring competitor and market trends, examining outcomes to similar past research questions, benchmarking against past internal performance, and benchmarking against competitor performance.

How do internal secondary research and external secondary research differ?

Internal secondary research is conducted within an organization using past research studies or internal sales and customer databases, whereas external secondary research uses outside resources such as industry databases, external research studies, and articles on consumer and industry trends.

What are the six advantages of secondary research listed in the lecture?

The six advantages are readily available data, typically inexpensive, no sample access required, supports subsequent primary research, data likely structured to organizational requirements, and may be the only information on certain objectives.

What are the four limitations of secondary research?

The limitations are that data may lack specificity or may not fit the objective, data may be outdated, quality or accuracy of data may be suspect, and units of measurement may be inappropriate.

What is internal secondary data?

Internal secondary data consists of information gathered within a researcher's own company, such as past primary research studies, sales data, and customer data.

How are past primary research results defined and used as internal secondary research?

Past primary research consists of results from past studies conducted internally (such as surveys and focus groups) not collected for the current research objective; researchers look through these data for findings relevant to a new objective.

What is sales data and how is it used in research?

Sales data is data collected on which and how many products, services, or memberships are sold. Market researchers use it to assess the effectiveness of marketing efforts and to perform trend analysis to help predict future sales.

What is customer data and how is it used in research?

Customer data is data collected on who products, services, or memberships are sold to. Market researchers use it to perform segmentation analysis.

What is the purpose of segmentation analysis?

Segmentation analysis is used to determine which customers are most profitable and the degree to which product differentiation is required.

What are six common forms in which sales data are collected?

Sales data are commonly collected as new and returning customers, sales by product line, type of product or services sold, sales by sales representative, sales by time, and sales by location.

Why do organizations track sales data for new versus returning customers?

It allows an organization to monitor the optimum mix between the two and adjust their ratio, helping determine the possible need for expanding the customer base.

How does monitoring sales by product line guide business decisions?

It helps determine whether a particular product line needs to be invigorated with new formulas or designs, or whether it needs to be discontinued.

What decision is aided by knowing sales by type of product or service?

Knowing which individual items or services are selling the most and least helps in making decisions regarding the product mix.

Why is collecting sales data by sales representative important when personal selling is used?

It can motivate members of a sales team, establish appropriate sales goals, and identify which representatives may need additional training.

How does reporting sales data by time assist marketing efforts?

When reported in conjunction with various marketing campaigns, sales data by time yields intel that helps determine which campaigns are most successful.

What benefit does tracking sales by location offer to multi-area corporations?

It can pinpoint issues at specific locations, triggering additional marketing tactics or examination of the product mix.

What tool is typically used to monitor daily or live real-time sales reports?

A sales dashboard.

What are five common attributes used to segment customers?

The five common ways to segment customers are age, gender, geography, psychographic attributes (attitudes and behaviors), and usage or loyalty level (high, medium, occasional users).

How does mapping customer geography assist an organization?

It helps affirm targeted marketing efforts and uncovers geographical areas that the company can exploit.

Why is secondary research often described as 'low hanging fruit'?

Because it is readily available and much cheaper (if not free) compared to primary research, leading researchers to conduct it before considering primary research.