Chapter 33: Market Research Flashcards
Market Research
Collection, presentation & analysis of information relating to the marketing & consumption of goods & services.
Purpose of market research
- Idenify gaps in market
- Identify & understand customer needs
- Reduce risks
- Inform business decisions
Why does market research information help a business
Information enables business to be informed in its decisions & so reduce risk of failure
Categories of market research
Primary research (field)
Secondary research (desk)
Primary research (field)
Data collected firsthand for a specific research purpose
Secondary research (desk)
Collection of data that already exists
Methods of market research (primary)
- Focus group
- Observation
- Test marketing
- Survey
- Questionnaire
Methods of market research (secondary)
- Media
- Business websites
- Commercial publications
- Government publications
- Internal data
- Competitors
Questionnaires
A list of written questions used to record the views & opinions of respondents
Postal Surveys
Questionnaires sent out by letters & people complete in own time, however the majority are never returned therefore resources are wasted
Telephone interviews
A wide geographical area can be covered however some people do not like being phoned by businesses
Personal interviews
Questions can be explained & detailed information can be obtained, however people do not like being approached in street
Online surveys
Increase as use of internet increases
Focus groups (ad)
A number of customers are invited to a discussion led by market researchers where very detailed information & opinions of customer tastes & preferences can be collected.
Focus groups ad/dis
Cost effective method, however if group is small data might be unreliable
Observation
Market researchers watch the behaviour of customers in retail, how much time they spend looking at particular products, however, the reason for behaviour not explained therefore many questions go unanswered
Test marketing
Selling product in restricted geographical area to test it before launch. After, feedback is gathered from customers & information provided is used to modify product before final launch to reduce risk of failure
Test marketing (dis)
Competitors can learn about product, so increased competition
Features secondary research
Easy & quick to gather, internal data immediately available & external data available online, however data collected might not be what business needs or if data out of date it is inaccurate
Untapped
Supply, market or talent that is available but has not yet been exploited
Advantages of social media in market research
Broad reach, ability to target specific groups of people, free or low cost, personal, fast, easy
Quantitative data
Information that can be quantified (expressed in numbers).
Sample
Small group of people which must represent a proportion of a total market when carrying out market research
Consumer panels
Groups of customers are asked for feedback about products over a set period
Qualitative data
Information about attitudes, beliefs & inentions, usually written in words.
Qualitative data features
Very detailed however difficult to interpret
Quantitative data features
Easy to gather, process & present to readers, open to less interpretation
Primary advantages
- Up to date
- Specific to business needs
- Provides answers to exact questions
Primary disadvantages
- Can be expensive & time consuming
- May have bias problems
Secondary advantages
- Inexpensive & quick
- Cost- effective analysis
Secondary disadvantages
- Often out of date
- Might not be available
- Little control over quality
- Difficult to interpret
