Market research

this is a topic in component one that covers primary and secondary reseach including different methods. this will also cover sampling and bias.

Market research definition

The process of collecting information and data about a business’s customers, the marketplace and the activities of competitors within that marketplace

Uses of market research

Discover needs, understand market structure, test responses to new products, to understand the life cycle ect

Primary research definition

The collecting of first hand data specific to the businesses needs

Benefits of primary research

Specific to the business, competitors cant use the results, up to date

Drawbacks of primary research

Time consuming and expensive, not immediately available, risks of bias

Secondary research definition

Is the collection of data that already exists, is collected externally and is non-specific to your business.

Benefits of secondary research

Quickly and easily available, cheaper to collect, can use several data sources

Drawbacks of secondary research

Data might be out of date, not specific to the needs, might be bias, little control over quality, problems of interpretation

Methods of primary research

Consumer panel, focus groups, questionaries, interviews, mystery shopper, test marketing

Methods of secondary research

Books, newspaper articles, reviews, industry magazines, online articles

Quantitative data definition

Is the gathering of statistical data to inform the company about people’s behaviour but does not identify the reasons

Qualitative data

Is the gathering of non-statistical information that gives a company in-depth insight into the reasons for human behaviour.

Benefits of quantitative data

Less time intensive, increased reliability, easier to administer, can compare findings

Benefits of qualitative data

Data rich, personal approach, easily adapted for cultural sensitivity

Drawbacks of quantitative data

Missing data, potential for misunderstanding of the questions, needs larger sample size, more expensive

Drawbacks of qualitative data

Expensive to gather, difficult to gather, difficult to interpret, takes more time, difficult to make comparisons

Sample definition

Is a group of respondents selected to represent the view of the target market as a whole

Size of the sample depends on

Budget, importance accuracy, degree of confidence in results

Bias definitions

Something that may cause data within a sample to be weighted towards one side

Random sampling definition

A method of sampling where every member of the population has an equal chance of being interviewed.

Quota sampling definitions

A method of sampling whereby the population is segmented into a number of groups that share specific characteristics.