Market research involves finding out about the market for the products or services a business offers. There are two main types of market research, primary and secondary. 

Primary Research

Primary research is also known as ‘field research’. Primary research involves collecting new information by making direct contact with consumers. The business collects the information they want directly from customers or potential customers.

Primary Research Methods

There are 4 main methods of primary research:

1. Questionnaires - face to face, postal, telephone or online

2.   Interview

3. Observation

4. Consumer Panel/ Focus group

Advantages

• Information is obtained directly from the business customers, staff so it is more trust worthy.

• If the person doesn’t understand a question, it can be explained by the questioner leading to less unreliable answers.

• As data is obtained from the source it is more reliable

• It is up-to-date and collected specifically for the purpose

Disadvantages

• Inaccurate – people may not give accurate answers eg they may say they will buy something when they will not

• It takes time and money – to design the primary research, carry it out and analyse the data. This money and time could perhaps be better spent doing something else.

Secondary Research

Secondary research is also known as ‘desk research’. Secondary research is the collection of data which already exists. The business does not collect the data, they might pay to access data which has already been collected by someone else.

Secondary Research Methods

Below is some of the most common methods of secondary research.

Newspaper / magazines

Public Libraries

Internet

Government publications

Data collected by another business

Statistics

Advantages

• Information is cheaper to obtain as it has already been collected

• Information is available immediately

• If taken from a reliable source the information should be reasonably accurate

• The data available covers a wide range of sources

Disadvantages

• The data is unlikely to have been collected for exactly the same purpose as the business requires so it may not meet the business’s direct needs

• Information may be out-of-date depending on when it was collected

• Information is available to every other business

Access to internet on a mobile device has led to much more market research and given that so many people have a mobile device, market research is being gathered constantly. Market research can be gathered by the following means;

•Social media - all social media provides feedback  which can affect reputations and brand awareness.

•Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets provide great market research – e.g trip advisor app can detect where you are and offer choices for restaurants or trips. This information can then be used for market research purposes.

•Wearable tech-provide instant and real time feedback on activity which can used for market research purposes- e.g. sat nav , go pros, fit bits .

•Passive tracking via mobile, tablets, laptops, desktop, smart TVs mean that consumer habits and trends can be identified and used for market research.

•Online focus groups / surveys / social media monitoring etc

Advantages

•Conduct market research more easily through social media monitoring

•Less time / cost

•More convenient

•No interviewer - good for sensitive questions

•Using technology allows you to interact with people across wide geographic area

•Questionnaires can be more easily filled in by using a variety of digital methods with the results more easily gathered by the business.

•Technology gives more choice and options for when, where, and how to research different markets

•Feedback and results can be processed quicker e.g. Google docs or survey monkey

Disadvantages

•Limited sampling and respondent availability.  Certain populations are less likely to have internet access and to respond to online questionnaires. 

•Possible cooperation problems.  Users today are constantly bombarded by messages and can easily delete your advances.

•No interviewer.  A lack of a trained interviewer to clarify and probe can possibly lead to less reliable data.

•The downside, though, is that ‘online research’ can give the false impression that it is as statistically reliable as traditional research. All research has an element of uncertainty attached to it but research from digital technologies cannot be certain of a respondents profile