3.2 - market research Flashcards
what is market research?
the process of gathering, analysing and interpreting information about a market
what is a product oriented business?
a business that produces the product first and then find a market for it (can be risky)
what is a market oriented business?
businesses carry out market research to find out consumer wants before a product is developed and produced
what is primary (field) research?
the collection of new data. It involves direct contact with potential or existing customers
what are the 2 benefits and 3 drawbacks of primary research?
- up-to-date and accurate information
- specific to the business
- expensive to pay for interviewers & researchers
- time-consuming
- information may not be accurate if questions were biased
what are 4 methods of primary research?
- questionnaires
- online surveys
- interviews
- focus groups
what are postal questionnaires?
self completion questionnaires mailed by post to be mailed back
what are the 2 benefits and 2 drawbacks of postal questionnaires?
- detailed information can be obtained
- opinions can be obtained on open ended questions e.g. their opinion on products
- time consuming to gather & collate results
- bias could occur if they don’t question a fair sample (e.g. only teenagers)
what are the 3 benefits and 3 drawbacks of online surveys?
- can find out what customers want
- quick response time and data is easily presented on charts
- easy completion for customer
- absence of interviewer means consumer may answer too briefly as they’re not being prompted
- consumer may rush the survey
- may not be suitable for a target market that doesn’t use the internet
what are the 2 benefits and 2 drawbacks of interviews?
- detailed information can be gathered about customer likes/dislikes about a product
- interviewer can explain questions so consumers answer them correctly
- very time consuming
- could lead to bias if interviewers prompt consumers with answers they want to hear
what are focus groups?
a group of people that provide information through a group discussion with a researcher present
what are the 2 benefits and 2 drawbacks of focus groups?
- detailed information provided
- quicker & cheaper than individual interviews
- can be expensive & time-consuming if conducted by a specialist market research agency
- feedback could be biased if some people are influenced by other opinions in the group
what is sampling?
the process of selecting representative units from a larger group (since it isn’t possible to interview all potential consumers)
what is the need for sampling?
it isn’t possible to interview all potential consumers (too time consuming and expensive) so a sample has to be decided on.
what are the two methods of sampling?
- random sampling
- quota sampling
what is a random sample?
when people are selected at random. e.g. everyone has a chance of being picked but not all of the people may be a potential customer of the product/service
what is a quota sample?
when people are selected on the basis of characteristics (age, gender, income) e.g. street interviewers must interview 40 males and 40 females
what is secondary (desk) research?
the use of information that already exists
what are 4 methods of secondary research?
- government statistics
- newspapers
- market research agencies
- customer service department
how can government statistics be used for market research?
can find information about the demographics of a country
how can newspapers be used for market research?
may have useful articles and information about the general state of the economy and whether consumer spending will increase/decrease in the future
how can market research agencies be used for market research?
specialist agencies can carry out research on behalf of companies
how can the customer service department be used for market research?
can look at customer records, sales history and feedback
what are the 2 benefits and 3 drawbacks of secondary research?
- easy and quick to obtain
- usually cheap/free (except market research agencies)
- can be out of date
- isn’t specific to the business
- competitors have access to the same sources
