The document discusses various methods and approaches for conducting market research. It describes primary research methods like questionnaires, focus groups, interviews, and observation that involve directly collecting data from customers. It also covers secondary research which uses previously collected data from sources like government publications and the internet. Both qualitative and quantitative research approaches are explained. The document provides details on sampling methods for selecting representative groups of people for market research surveys.

1. Market Research

2. MARKET RESEARCH
MARKET RESEARCH is the process of gathering, analysing, and interpreting
information about a market. Businesses spend money on market research because it
helps to reduce the risk of failure
 Identify and anticipate customer needs and wants
 Quantify likely demand
 Gain insight into consumer behavior

3. PRIMARY/FIELD RESEARCH
 PRIMARY/FIELD RESEARCH is the collection and the collation of original data via
direct contact with potential or existing customers.
 These data are collected by the researcher
 Most primary information is gathered by asking consumers questions or by
monitoring their behavior

4. METHODS OF PRIMARY RESEARCH

5. QUESTIONNAIRES
 A questionnaire is a list of written questions. They are very common in market
research and are used to record the views and opinions of respondents.
 a good questionnaire will:
 Have a balance of open and closed questions.
 Contain clear and simple questions.
 Not contain leading questions.
 Be short
 Questionnaires can be used in different situations.
 Postal surveys – questionnaire are sent out to people and they are asked to
complete them in their own. They may be more convenient for people but the vast
majority of questionnaires are never returned. This means that resources are wasted.
 On line surveys – sends links to customers to online surveys after they made a
purchase. This is a cheap method of data gathering because they avoid the postal
and printing costs

6. ✓ Can gather detailed information
✓ Consumer opinions can be gathered
✓ Cheaper
✓ Can be linked to prize draws
If they are poorly designed it may provide misleading information
Time consuming and expensive
Time consuming to collate and analyze

7. FOCUS GROUP
 if a business wants very detailed information from customers it might use focus group
or consumer panels.
 A focus group is where a number of customers are invited to attend a discussion led
by market researchers.
 The group must be representative of the whole population and be prepared to answer
detailed questions.
 This is a relatively cost-effective method of collecting information but the group may
be small.
 ✓ Provide detailed information about consumer opinions
 Expensive, time consuming, bias

8. INTERVIEWS
 INTERVIEWS: it revolves around an interviewer asking questions from an interviewee.
 Telephone interviews – the main advantage of interviewing people over the telephone is
that it is cheaper. A wide geographical area can be covered. However, some people do
not like being telephoned by businesses.
 ✓ Can explain the questions if the interviewee does not understand
 ✓ Can gather detailed information
 Interviewee bias – Sometimes the interviewer could lead the interviewee into
answering in a certain way.
 Time consuming and expensive

9. OBSERVATION
 This is a method where the researcher will observe how consumers behave.
 For Eg: they can count the no of cars or people who pass a particular locations, no of
people who look at new shop display or no of people who take a product from the
shelf.
 ✓ Cheap way of gathering data
 Only basic information can be collected.

10. Test marketing
 This involves selling a new product in a restricted geographical area to test it and
get an idea on how much it will sell before it is launched.
 After a set period, feedback is gathered from customers.
 This feedback is used to modify the product before the final launch. This reduces
the risk of failure

11. Advantages of primary research
 Data are collected that applies to the issue being researched
 Data will only will be available to the organization that collects data. Can gain marketing
advantage
 Can be used to collect data that secondary data is not available
Disadvantages of primary research
 Expensive
 Samples may not represent the views of all the population
 Research depends on the quality of the research methods used

12. SECONDARY/DESK RESEARCH
 SECONDARY/DESK RESEARCH is information that has already been collected and is
available for use by others
 Sources of secondary research
 Government publication.
 Market intelligence report.
 Newspaper report.
 Internal company databases.
 Internet – information is available on websites. Anyone can update therefore its not very
reliable/accurate.
 Competitors reports.

13. Use of Social media to support market research
 Social media - Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ have expanded the landscape in which
market research is conducted.
 Social media is transforming market research in exciting new ways.
 It is also requiring a skill set that didn't exist before.
 Social media is creating an environment that yields unfiltered feedback. Great for reputation
management and brand awareness, market researchers can take advantage of the advanced
capabilities inherent in social media. Learning to master social media for market research will
enhance the knowledge obtained about your target market.
✓ Broad reach – It can reach millions of people.
✓ Ability to target – it allows specific groups of people to be targeted.
✓ Free or low cost
✓ Personal – it allows communication on a personal basis with individual customers and groups.
✓ Fast and easy

14. Advantages of secondary research
 As secondary data is easily available it is less time consuming and less costly to obtain information.
 Comparison of secondary sources and their data is possible. For eg: we can take information from
website and compare.
 Identifies the nature of the market and assists with the planning of primary research.
Disadvantages of secondary research.
 May not be updated frequently and may therefore be out of date.
 As it was originally collected for another purpose, it may not be entirely suitable or presented in the
most effective way for the business using it.
 Data collection methods and accuracy of these may be unknown.
 Might not be available completely for new product developments.

15. Qualitative research
 Qualitative research is based on opinions, attitudes, beliefs and intentions. This kind of
 research deals with questions such as "Why"? "Would?", or "How?"
 Qualitative research aims to understand why customers behave in a certain way or how
they may respond to a new product. Given that these opinions are often obtained from
small numbers of people, the findings are not necessarily statistically valid. However,
such data can highlight potential issues which can be explored in quantitative research.
 Focus groups and interviews are common methods used to collect qualitative data. This
kind of data is often revealing and useful, but it is costly and time-consuming to collect,
particularly for a start-up or small business.

16. Quantitative research
 This is research based on larger samples and is, therefore, more statistically valid.
 Quantitative research is concerned with data and addresses question such as "how
many?", "how often", "who?", "when?" and "where?"
 The results of quantitative research will generally be numerical form – for example:
 35% of customers rate the new product as "attractive"
 70% of potential customers use the Internet to buy their hotel accommodation in Dorset
 3 out of 5 customers will buy a new food product after being offered a free in-store
sample
 The main methods of obtaining quantitative data are the various forms of surveys –
i.e. telephone, postal, face-to-face and online.

17. SAMPLES
 Definition of sample: the group of people taking part in a market research survey selected
to be representative of the overall target market.
 As everyone in the population cannot be asked, a sample will have to be selected.
 There are 2 factors to consider when selecting a sample.
 Cost and time – if the business selects a large sample then the cost and time will increase.
 Accuracy of the results – if the business selects a large sample then there is more chance for the
results to be more accurate

18. Sampling methods
 Random Sample- members are selected at random
 Quota Sample- members selected on a basis of certain characteristics
 Stratified sampling – random sampling method but the samples are divided into
segments on previous knowledge about how the population is divided up.