U3- Market Research Flashcards
What are the 2 categories of methods for gathering market research?
Field research (primary) where the business collects information itself
Desk research (secondary) the business uses someone else’s information for its own purpose
Name 6 field methods
Personal interview
Postal survey
Telephone survey
Hall test
Consumer audit
Test marketing
Name 4 desk sources
Government statistics
Newspapers/ magazines
Trade journals
Internet
Describe field research
More expensive and time consuming to collect
A large enough sample must be taken to ensure its accuracy
However it should be more accurate than desk research and will be up to date
What does the market research method depend on?
The finance available
How quickly the information is needed
How accurate or precise the information needs to be for the decision to be made
Describe a personal interview/ street survey
Stopping people in the street or visiting them at home
Street surveys are often briefer and do not allow for as many follow up questions
Give 4 advantages of street survey/ personal interview
Allows the organisation to directly gain the views of customers
Allows 2 way communication between the interviewer and interviewee
The interviewer can clarify any questions to aid understanding
Specific market segments can be targeted
Give 4 disadvantages of street survey/ personal interview
Interviewers have to be trained to ensure accurate information is received
It can be time consuming
Very expensive method as it can be labour intensive to collect and analyse the data
People don’t like to be stopped in the street or disturbed at home
Describe a postal survey
This involves sending out questionnaires by post for people to complete and return
Give 4 advantages of postal survey
Survey forms can be sent out to all customers
Reaches a large geographical area
Focus can be on customers in a targeted area
Relatively cheap method
Give 4 disadvantages of postal survey
Usually has a very poor response rate as can be seen as junk mail
May have to add incentives such as a prize to get a response
Questions need to be fairly simple and easily understood
Design costs may be high
Describe a telephone survey
Phoning people at home or work to ask their opinions
Give 4 advantages of telephone survey
Instant feedback from customers
Focus can be on certain groups of customer
Can be used as part of after sales service
Large numbers can be contacted quickly
Give 4 disadvantages of telephone survey
Sometimes gains a hostile response from the person called
People are often unhappy with being called at home
Cold calling can lead to poor business reputation
There are increased legal restrictions on cold calling
Describe a hall test
A large number of consumers are invited to comment on a range of products
Give 3 advantages of a hall test
Gives consumers the change to give feedback and to try a product
Allows the product to be demonstrated
Fairly cheap method
Give 2 disadvantages of hall test
Can be difficult to analyse qualitative information
Consumers often give favourable replies simply to be polite
Describe consumer audit
This is the process of determine who your ideas customer is, measuring their real experience with your product and using that data to make decisions which will enhance customer experience
Give 2 advantages of consumer audit
Can provide accurate information on consumer buying patterns
Can be used to predict consumer trends
Give 3 disadvantages of consumer audit
Consumers get fed up quickly resulting in high turnover of respondents and in accurate data
Consumers may not compete the journals accurately or on time
Very expensive method as some consumers receive payments to complete diaries
Describe test marketing
This involves selling the new product in one small market sector before launching it fully into the wider market
Give 2 advantages of test marketing
Allows for the product to be amended or improved before a national launch
Saves the cost of a national launch if the product doesn’t receive good reviews in the test market
Give a disadvantage of test marketing
Regional tastes may not represent the nation as a whole
Describe observation
Watching how consumers shop and behave in store and their reactions to products on display
Give 2 advantages of observation
Provides accurate quantitative information
There is no direct contact with customers so no bias can be introduced
Give a disadvantage of observation
Cannot clarify any situations or ask for explanations
Describe an internet survey
Businesses can now contact customers directly once they have made a purchase online
Give 3 advantages of internet survey
Customers are more likely to respond as it is less hassle to fill in a questionnaire online
Business can create a data base of customers details to help analyse the results
Lower cost than many other methods
Give 3 disadvantages of internet survey
Cost of designing the online questionnaire can be high
Customers may still not respond
Can end up in spam folder
Describe social media
Many businesses now have teams set up to monitor comments on products that appear on social media
Give 3 advantages of social media
Usually honest opinions are likely to be seen
No direct contact with customer is needed
Businesses can respond quickly to negative comments
Give 2 disadvantages of social media
Costly to set up and run
Information will be available to competitors
Give 2 advantages of loyalty cards
Up to date information on consumer buying habits is obtained
Can encourage customers to remain loyal to the store
Give 2 disadvantages of loyalty cards
Expensive to set up and run
Need to provide discounts to encourage customers to keep using them
Give 4 facts about mystery shopper
Conducts undercover research to gain a realistic customer experience
Can give immediate feedback to management or employee
May be used to asses competitors services
Used primarily to discover areas of weakness or praise strengths
Describe desk research
Can give the business detailed information about market conditions and changes in the external environment
Can be obtained quickly and cheaply however its value is limited
The information is difficult to verify, so decisions based on it could be wrong
The information is also available to competitors so the business doesn’t gain any competitive advantage
Give 4 ways that organisations can use market research
Use feedback to ensure marketing is targeted at the correct sector
Use the internet to gain a better understanding of the size and profile of the market
Ask opinions and use these to make alterations to existing products
Use feedback to enter into new markets or increase market share
What is quota sampling?
When those chosen to be surveyed are selected in proportion to the whole population by age, social status etc
This type of survey is preferred when carrying out research
Give 3 advantages of quota sampling
Cheaper as it needs fewer resources
Statistics are available showing the proportions of different groups within the population that are readily available
Interviewers can substitute someone else if the interviewee is not at home at the time of the visit or phone call
Give 2 disadvantages of quota sampling
Results can be less representative than using the random sampling method
It is easier to introduce bias which may impact the results
