Market Research

Market Research

1. Primary Research - Primary research (or field research) gathers original information directly for your purpose, rather than being gathered from published sources.

   • Observation
     • Observation is when a person from the small business, preferably the person owns the shop for example, sit outside a shop and watch how many people walk by, look at the window display etc. This is good because the you get an idea of how many people look and are interested in what is being sold. Observation works well in retail markets.
   • Surveys
     • Surveys are conducted to get thoughts and ideas of the public which can potentially help the product or service. Surveys can help improve the business in other ways, depending on the questions. You can do postal surveys, online surveys and face-to-face surveys.
       • Postal surveys are sent to the address of potential customers who completes a form and sends it back. This is good because it is relatively cheap and can cover a wide geographical area. However, response rates are often very low and it can take be a long time before enough surveys are returned.
       • Online surveys are surveys that are conducted on the internet. They are good because they are increasingly popular and at a relatively low cost. Online surveys are widely used by small businesses as a way of capturing the views of existing and potential customers.
       • Face-to-face surveys are also useful because it gets detailed answers from an individual. It also allows the business to get reliable answers. However, face-to-face surveys can be costly.
   • Telephone Interviews
     • Not to be confused with 'telesales', the telephone interview allow quicker feedback than a postal survey. However, potential customers are often wary of being called and may be reluctant to give anything other than short answers.
   • Focus Groups
     • Focus groups are groups of potential customers that are brought together to discuss their feelings about a product or market. This means you can get detailed information about customer tastes and preferences which can help with making your business better.

2. Secondary Research - Secondary research (or desk research) gathers existing information through available sources.

   • Internet
     • Internet in today’s world is the fastest growing source of information. The internet has become mature and today you can get any information from the internet. You can get information while staying at home and the information can be found faster than you can find from any other source. This is good because it is free compared to other sources. It depends on what you research because sometimes you have to pay a small amount of money. For example, it can be signing in to something which requires you to pay a small amount each year.
   • Records
     • Another type of secondary research is records. There are many different kinds of records: Personnel, Public Sector, Government and so on. Personnel records can also be very useful in research if data is unavailable in published from Letters and diaries can have a personal bias as they are written by human beings and they contain personal judgement. Public Sector Records are records that can be published or unpublished but they carry information that cannot be obtained from other sources. This is good because it makes the research secure so only certain people can see it. Government Records are available in the form of government surveys, tax records, census data and other statistical reports. This is good because the information is reliable, they are easily available and widely used in research studies.

3. Factual information is called quantitative data. Information collected about opinions and views is called qualitative data.

4. Secondary research makes use of existing data from whatever sources are available. There are types for example, Government records. It is an advantage for new small businesses. Secondary research is usually he starting and the base to develop your own primary research. It also cheaper and generally quicker than creating your own research. However, it might not match with what you are trying to achieve but it will need some changing. Another issue with secondary research is that by the time it reaches you it's often outdated; markets change quickly so it might not be reliable.

5. Primary research is your own research. Primary research is something that you have control over. You choose the questions and select your panel through qualitative research, allowing you to detailed answers from individuals. You decide what to do and so on. This can be a good thing for a new small business because then you get a feel of how to manage a business and be able to make decisions. This is the most accurate way to research a market sector that is specific to you and your product. However, it is more expensive. Primary research alone will take a lot of time, refining and will need some experience in producing quality questionnaires. This is hard especially for a new small business.

6. We think you need a combination of the two will give you all the information you need. We think that secondary research will be better for a new small business because primary research will be too much because the are beginners. However, secondary research will not give the business as much relevant information as primary research does. Secondary research might be over complicated for the business to understand. Secondary will be more beneficial for new small companies because it is cheaper. At the same time, relying on secondary research is likely to leave you with answers that are vague or inappropriate to your specific audience. If the new small business uses both, it would be more more beneficial for them.