business market research

primary research

new research performed paid for by yourself

secondary research

research that was performed for some other reason by someone else and is old research

quantitative research

asking lots of people so the answers will statistically represent the population

qualitative research

finding out about people’s emotions and feelings about a product

primary research pro’s

• reduces the risk of making products no one wants

• it is up to date, relied on

• designed for a specific purpose more accurate

• helps develop a brand image because needs and wants are better satisfied and products are better

primary research cons

• it is costly and expensive to perform

• take time to obtain and analyse the results

• hard to get people to take part in the survey

secondary research pro’s

• helps develop a brand image

• it is fast because it already exists

• all you really need is the internet

• less expensive than primary research

secondary research con’s

• information may be out of date

• can you trust it?

• may cost money to buy from a market research agency

quantitative research pro’s

• reduces the risk of making products no one wants

• by asking a small representative sample of the whole population, you can reduce costs and produce research that can be applied to the whole population

quantitative research con’s

• you need to find and ask a large number of people = time consuming and costly

• the research will only represent the whole population if it was performed correctly

qualitative research pro’s

• reduce the risk of making products that no one wants

qualitative con’s

• it is costly

focus group

a group of people who are brought together to answer questions about a product

focus group pro’s

• you get to see people’s reactions and how they actually use the product

• good discussions generate a deeper understanding of consumer wants and needs this can lead to the business making better products and help develop the brand or increase market share

focus group con’s

• expensive — the business may need to pay a researcher to organise and lead the discussion.

• biased results

• time consuming