Market Research Flashcards
Focus groups
A group of consumers who are selected to represent the target market brought together to discuss their feelings on a product/market
Quantitive data
Data that is numerical such as statistics or facts
Why does quantitative data limit the information that a business can find out?
It doesn’t give a reason or detail
What is qualitative data
Data that tells you what someone thinks or feels
Why can qualitative be more beneficial than quantitative?
You will have a better understanding of peoples opinions and reasons
How many people normally take place in focus groups
6-10 poeple
Which groups can be tarteged in a focus group?
The target market
What is normally the incentive for taking part in a focus group
People get paid in money or gift cards
Why might the accuracy of the information collected in a focus group be limited?
Observer interference
Advantages of focus groups
Data is usually accurate as people are chosen to represent the target market
The ability to ask further questions (unlike questionnaires) to get more in depth responses
Disadvantages of focus groups
Focus groups are small sized which limits the quantity of responses.
The selection of people to take part is time consuming and costly
Trials
In a trial, a product or service is sold for a short amount of time as a test to see whether or not consumers like the product.
Advantages of trials
Risk reduction
Reliability of conclusions
Disadvantages of trials
Short term and long term costs
Secondary research
Sometimes called desk research, refers to data that already exists
Examples of secondary research
Websites
Internal data
Censu data
Newspapers and magazines
Primary research
Also known as field research, is new research that a business undertakes itself. It is new data being collected for the first time
Examples of primary research
Questionnaires
Interviews
Focus groups
Trials
Advantages of questionnaires
Can easily target particular customers
Can distribute to many respondents to get varied opinions
Cheaper than other primary research methods
Disadvantages of questionnaires
Not all customers will complete every question leading to gaps in results data
Customers may not understand all of the questions
Interviews
One to one meeting when the interviewee is asked a set of questions by the interviewer to gain market research
Why might interviews be more effective than questionnaires
You would get deeper insights and more developed responses
Disadvantages/problems with interviews regarding time and money
Interviews take longer to complete and are one on one whereas surveys are quick and more people can complete them.
Surveys are typically free whereas you usually have to pay people to interview them
Secondary market research : websites
Most companies put information about themselves and their products on the internet m, all of which can be used by other competitors as secondary data
Advantages of websites as secondary research
It is a quicker way to obtain data compared to primary market research methods
Disadvantages of websites as secondary research
The data may not be up to date
The data may not match the purpose of the market research required
Census data (secondary research)
Data collected by the government even 10 years
Questioning the entire population on their income, occupation etc…
Newspapers and magazines as secondary market research
Information can be identified from reading newspapers and magazines. For example, new products competitors are offering
Internal data
Refers to last sales figures, profits and comments from customers. This can be used for future decision making and is usually stored in computer systems
Quantitative data key points
Can be used to create percentages and graphs making things easier to analyse
Typically quantitative data can incorporate responses from a larger number of people
Qualitative data key points
Can offer more in depth information
The detail or opinion may be more useful in satisfying the market research brief
