1.2.2 Market Research Flashcards
Primary Research
Precise first-hand research completed by the business tailored for their needs. The research can be carried by asking existing customers, potential customers and researching markets to understand better
Primary Research Advantage
More accurate than secondary research
Primary Research Disadvantage
More time consuming than secondary research
Types of Primary Research
Surveys
Questionnaires
Focus Groups
Observation
Surveys
Online surveys are cheap, useful ways of getting a limited amount of feedback
Surveys advantage
Can be used regularly (eg. can be used monthly to check on customer satisfaction)
Surveys disadvantage
Overwhelmingly answered by people with lots of spare time, usually older people so may not be perfectly accurate
Questionnaire
A business could carry out a questionnaire to assess potential demand for a product / service. Can be done in person, online or over the phone
Questionnaire advantage
A business can identify its target customers as there can be targeted promotion and selling prices can be influenced by the target market
Questionnaire disadvantage
Very time consuming and can be expensive and may not be fully useful as the questions could be biased giving misleading results
Focus Groups
A group conversation of people selected from the target market drawing on psychology to give qualitative insight into customers attitudes
Focus Groups advantage
Give businesses an insight into customer perception and behaviour, helping the firm decide of branding and promotion
Focus Group disadvantage
Time consuming and expensive. The interviewer could influence the results
Observations
Watching where and how long customers spend in shops
Observations advantage
Can show where people are interested but still do not buy - this could be due to layout or need entirely meeting customer needs
Observations disadvantage
Time consuming and expensive
Secondary Research
Research that has already been carried out for general purpose by another business which is available for free or purchase. Second-hand information
Secondary Research advantage
Saves time as research is already done
Secondary research disadvantage
Could not be entirely relevant and is often out of date
Types of secondary research
Internet Research
Market Reports
Government reports
Internet research
Data taken from competitors websites, news articles and social media to provide an overview of the market
Market Reports
Industry specific to show the whole industry not just the target market
Government reports
General information about the industry that is still useful for the business. May be used to understand how much to pay employees
Qualitative research
In depth research into people views often to get opinions. These are often open questions. Eg. what people like on pizza
Quantitative Research
Collecting lots of answers to specific closed questions, providing factual information. It is usually carried out in surveys / questionnaires Eg. Do you like pizza? Yes or No.
