3.3 - Market Research

Question 1

What is Market Research?

Answer 1

Collection of data to obtain insight and knowledge into the needs and wants if customers and structure and dynamics of the market

Question 2

What does the right kind of market research provide?

Answer 2

The right kind of market research can provide important insights that aid marketing strategy and decision making

Question 3

Give examples of what the right market research can provide important insights into

Answer 3

Dimensions of the market
Competitor Strategies
Needs, wants and expectations of customers
Market Segments

Question 4

What is Primary Research?

Answer 4

Research of data collected first hand for a specific purpose

Question 5

Give examples of Primary Research

Answer 5

Focus Groups
Observation
Surveys
Telephone interviews
Test marketing
Experiments

Question 6

What are the benefits of Primary Research?

Answer 6

Directly focused to research objectives
Kept private (not publicly available)
More detailed insights - particularly into customers views

Question 7

What are the drawbacks of Primary Research?

Answer 7

Time consuming and costly to obtain
Risk of survey bias
Sampling may be representative

Question 8

What is Secondary Research?

Answer 8

Existing research data that has been collected first hand for a specific purpose

Question 9

Give examples of Secondary Research

Answer 9

Google
Published Market Research Reports
Internal transactional data
Media reports
Competitor materials
Trade associations
Official statistics

Question 10

What are the benefits of Secondary Research?

Answer 10

Often free and easy to obtain
Good source of market insights
Quick to access and use

Question 11

What are the drawbacks of Secondary research?

Answer 11

Can quickly become out of date
Not tailored to business needs
Specialist reports often quite expensive

Question 12

What is Quantitative Research?

Answer 12

Research based on numerical data

Question 13

What are the Key Facts of Quantitative Research?

Answer 13

Concerned with and based on data
Addresses research questions
Based on larger samples
Main methods of obtaining are various forms of survey

Question 14

What are the benefits of Quantitative Research?

Answer 14

Data relatively easy to analyse
Numerical data provides insights into relevant trends
Can be compared with data from other sources

Question 15

What are the drawbacks of Quantitative Research?

Answer 15

Focuses on data rather than explaining why things happen
Doesn’t explain the reason behind numerical areas
May lack reliability in sample size and method is not valid

Question 16

What is Qualitative Research?

Answer 16

Research based on views and opinions

Question 17

What are the Key Facts of Qualitative Research?

Answer 17

Based on opinions, attitudes, beliefs and intentions
Answers research questions
Aims to understand why customers behave in a certain way or how they respond to a new product or service

Question 18

What are the benefits of Qualitative Research?

Answer 18

Essential for important new products development and launches
Focuses on understanding customer needs, wants, expectations
Can highlight issues that need addressing
Effective way of testing elements of the marketing mix

Question 19

What are the drawbacks of Qualitative Research?

Answer 19

Expensive to collect and analyse - requires specialist research skills
Based around opinions - Always a risk that sample is not representative

Question 20

What is Sampling?

Answer 20

Involves the gathering of data from a sample of respondents, the results of which should be representative of the population

Question 21

Why is Sampling widely used in Market Research?

Answer 21

Sampling is widely used in Market Research as it can provide statistically valid insights of the profile of the overall population

Question 22

What are the benefits of Sampling?

Answer 22

Even a relatively small sample size can provide useful research insights
Using sampling before making marketing decisions can reduce risks and costs
Sampling is flexible and relatively quick

Question 23

What are the drawbacks of Sampling?

Answer 23

Biggest risk = Sample is unrepresentative of population - leading to incorrect decisions
Risk of bias in research questions
Less useful in market segments where customer tastes and preferences are changing frequently