4.1 Market research

What is market research?

Collection and analysis of info about a market to help businesses make informed decisions.

Benefits of effective market research

Informed decision making, suitable marketing mix, adapt to customer needs/wants

Name some reasons why market research is important

Reduces risk, identifies future needs of customers, understand consumer behaviour and trends, pricing, gaps in the market (market niches), identify competitors

Types of market research data

quantitative and qualitative

Quantitive data

Numerical information, statistics

Qualitative data

Opinion or judgement based info

Market research methods

primary and secondary research

What are some methods of primary market research?

Questionnaires, focus groups (interactive discussion with participants), interviews, observation, online surveys

What is the process of primary research?

Establish purpose, choose method, choose sample, research, analyse, produce report

Purpose of primary research

Collect directly from customers or potential customers.

Types of secondary research

Academic journals, industry reports, government, online database

Different types of sampling

Random sampling- unbiased selection, represent general population

Quota sampling- specific characteristics (age, gender, location)