market research Flashcards
what does market research involve?
researching, analysing and recording what is happening in a market.
what is the aim of market research?
aims to find out what customers want so that they can then satisfy these wants
what does market research look at?
- Buying habits/types of customers
- Advertising campaigns (successful, competitors)
- Feedback on products
- Future products
- Feedback on prices, quality, promotions
what are the benefits of market research?
Helps businesses to make informed decisions so that products launches are a success.
Reduces the risk of an unsuccessful product launch or development which can be very costly.
Customers feel valued as their opinions are taken into consideration.
Enhances the company’s reputation as they are meeting the needs and wants of customers.
what is desk research?
Information that already exists
what are the forms desk research can be?
- Written
- Oral
- Pictorial
- Graphical
- Numeral
what is the positive of desk research?
in general
Can be researched at a ‘desk’ = cost effective
Easily obtained
what is the negatives of desk research?
in general
Information could be old and outdated as well as containing bias.
Old information (secondary) = out of date
May not be specific to your needs
Can be biased
what are the advantages of written desk research?
kept for future reference.
More accurate
what are the advantages of oral desk research?
Instant response
what are the advantages of pictorial desk research?
Information is attractive. More easily understood.
what are the advantages of graphical desk research?
Comparisons can be made easily and presented clearly.
what are the advantages of numerical desk research?
Clear information
Easy understood
Comparisons can be made easily.
what are the disadvantages of written desk research?
Unable to obtain clarification.
Must be literate.
what are the disadvantages of oral desk research?
No evidence if not recorded. Information can be misinterpreted or misheard.
what are the disadvantages of pictorial desk research?
Not suited to all information.
what are the disadvantages of graphical desk research?
Requires skills to create graph. Information needs to be understood. for graph to be valuable.
what are the disadvantages of numerical desk research?
Requires numeracy skills. May not have much meaning if not explained properly.
desk research can be?
Desk research can be quantitative – factual can be measured or counted – statistics.
Deck research can be qualitative – based on opinions.
what is field research?
Where someone physically goes out and collects new and specific information. Primary source of information and it is first-hand
what are the advantages of field research?
information is new and up to date
Gives businesses a competitive advantage as competitors do not have access to this information.
It is specific to your need; you have gathered the exact information that you need. Because you have gathered information yourself, it is reliable
what are the disadvantages of field research?
an expensive and time-consuming process to gather the information
what are the methods of field research?
- questionnaires/ surveys
- personal interview
- hall tests
- focus groups
what does questionnaire/surveys involve?
Involves asking people their opinion or their feedback through a series of questions
what are the advantages to questionnaires?
- Relatively inexpensive method
- People in large geographical area can be targeted
what are the disadvantages to questionnaires?
- Not always a high response level (phone/post)
- Clarification cannot always be gained so questions may be skipped
what does personal interview involve?
When people meet face-to-face and several questions will be asked. Usually between a manager and a potential employee. The information that is gathered will allow the manager to determine if the person is suited to the job
what are the advantages of personal interviews?
- Clarification can happen if questions are not understood.
- Information is obtained instantly
what are the disadvantages of personal interviews?
- Time-consuming method and expensive as interviewers need to be paid.
- Analysis will need to be done manually and can take a long time.
what does hall tests involve?
Involves a product being given to consumers to test out them. Then give feedback and their opinion on the product. Based on this, changes may need to be made before is it released.
what are the advantages of hall tests?
- Diverse group can be asked.
- First-hand information.
what are the disadvantages of hall tests?
- People may feel they need to give positive feedback.
- Can be expensive to make changes to the product.
what does focus groups involve?
When a group of people are asked for their views on a product/topic and a discussion will be generated. Used to observe people’s reactions and feelings towards something.
what are the advantages of focus groups?
- First-hand information is gathered.
- Lots of opinions will be gathered.
what are the disadvantages of focus groups?
- People may feel they can’t disagree so false information can be gathered.
what are the characteristics of quality information?
- timely
- accurate
- appropriate
- available
- complete
- concise
- cost effective
- objective
Characteristics of quality information
timely…?
information must be available when needed and quick to gather. Information must be up to date
Characteristics of quality information
accurate…?
information must be correct
Characteristics of quality information
appropriate…?
information should be for the purpose required
Characteristics of quality information
available…?
easy to find and easily obtained
Characteristics of quality information
complete…?
nothing should be missing
Characteristics of quality information
concise…?
short and to the point
Characteristics of quality information
cost effective…?
value gained from information must be greater than the cost obtaining it
Characteristics of quality information
objective…?
free from bias
what are the uses of market research?
- descriptive
- predictive
- explanatory
- exploratory
what does descriptive do?
to help identify what’s happening in markets
what does predictive do?
help predict what is likely to happen within markets in the future
what does explanatory do?
help explain certain factors that have already occurred in markets
what does exploratory do?
help investigate new possibilities
what is sampling?
When carrying out field research different ‘samples’ of the population is asked.
These ‘samples’ of people can be decided through either random sampling or quota sampling.
The larger the sample the more reliable the response will be.
what are the two types of sampling?
- random
- quota
what is random sampling?
involves randomly selecting people from a list
individuals are then asked to take part in a method of field research
what are the advantages of random sampling?
- No chance of bias as it is a random group.
- Many opinions and views can be gathered.
what are the disadvantages of random sampling?
- Group is made up of all different target markets: unfocused
- Does not take into consideration the person differences e.g. age – do they know anything about the topic being asked.
what is quota sampling?
This method of sampling is where people are selected based on certain characteristics: age, gender, occupation etc.
This interviewer selects a group of people who meet the needed characteristics.
what are the advantages of quota sampling?
- Less expensive to carry out with random sampling as fewer resources are needed.
- Results will be focused as the group is specific to the need.
what are the disadvantages of quota sampling?
- May have bias results as group has been specifically selected, will not be representative of whole population.
- As all members of group have the same characteristics, they may all have the same views and opinion which will not give the business a wide variety of information.
