4.4 Market research Flashcards
Marketing process
The process of collecting and analysing data about customers, and competitors
Benefits
- Up to date information
- Identify likely future trends
- Improve marketing strategy
- Testing of new products
Limitations
- Costly
- Time-consuming
- Questionable reliability
Primary Research
First-hand
- Surveys
- Interviews
- Focus Groups
- Observation
Surveys
Quantitative (numerical results) and Qualitative research (non-numerical, behavioural)
Interviews
One on one discussions
Gain lots of Qualitative data
Pro - explain questions, higher % of responders
Con - Time consuming, costly and interviewer bias
Focus Groups
Small and interactive discussion groups with multiple people
E.g. Customer Panel
Pros – wider range of views, lively discussions
Cons – One member may dominate, costly
Observations
Watching how people behave rather than asking
Pros - Natural behaviour, inexpensive, non bias
Cons – Time-consuming, ‘what’ not ‘why’
Secondary Research
second-hand data
- Information that already exists collected by someone else for their specific purpose
Types of Secondary Research:
Market Analyses
Characteristics and outlook for a market
- market growth, demographics of customers
Types of Secondary Research:
Academic journals
Harvard Business Review
Journal of International Education
Types of Secondary Research:
Government Publications
E.g. population census, change in demographics
Types of Secondary Research:
Media articles
- Newspapers, TV
- Specialist media – BBC Business News, Marketing Weekly
Types of Secondary Research:
Company Accounts
Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet
Ethical considerations
Ask for permission:
- Observation?
Should not cause harm
- Confidential/anonymous
Own personal bias
methods of sampling (6)
Quota, Random, Stratified, Cluster, Snowballing, Convenience
Convenience Sampling
Selecting respondents because of their availability or ease of access
- Asking people on the street during the day
Snowball sampling
- One person is asked
- This person refers a friend, who refers a friend
Domino effect
Quota Sampling
- Population is segmented into distinct sub-groups (e.g. Male/Female)
- Researcher then uses ‘judgement’ to get a sample
Random sampling
- Each member of target population has an equal chance of being selected
Randomly picked from a group
Cluster Sampling
Taking a sample from one or two groups of the population
- Population = Germany
- Samples are taken from Frankfurt and Munich to represent Germany
Stratified Sampling
Population is segmented into group (strata) which share common characteristics (e.g. age, then gender)
