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1.1.2 Market Research - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Surveys: The most widely used method of gathering primary research is to use sampling by using surveys. Involves asking a series of questions to a certain number of respondents. The results from the 'sample' are used to make inferences in which the results of the sample are extrapolated to be true for the wider population. A wide range of respondents can be reached using online survey tools.
      - Observation: Where market researchers watch the behaviour of customers in a store or judge the potential consumer traffic at a particular location. Researches may observe the impact of packaging on consumer choice, or the impact that the particular placement of a product in a store may have on consumer choice.
      - Interviews: Interviewer asks questions. This method takes longer than surveys but does allow the interviewee to ask follow-up questions and gather the information that can easily be missed when conducting surveys.
      - Test Marketing: Free samples are provided for a limited period to the target market to gauge their response to the product.
      - Focus Groups: Free range discussions led by a marketing specialist who collects detailed feedback from the target market. Usually limited to a small group of 12-15 people.
    - - Information gathering is focused on the needs of the business/specific to the needs of the business and will not be available to its rivals
      - The business can get in-depth information from respondents e.g. reasons behind certain behaviour
      - Primary Market Research is more up-to-date, reliable and can be used to ask specific questions, so will be more relevant
      - better for two-way communication and follow-up questions
    - - The sample size may be too small and unrepresentative of all the customers leading to unreliable results
      - Interviewer bias may mean that researches can guide respondents to answer questions in a particular way. Respondents may also be influenced by the responses of others, or not provide accurate information
      - The business may need to hire a specialist market research agency to help and the process can be expensive and time consuming
  - - - Information is already available so is quicker to collect than primary research
      - information is often free (e.g. government statistics) and is cheaper to collect leading to lower costs in comparison with primary research
      - Suitable for a small business that lacks a large marketing budget and/or expertise
      - easily accessibe
    - - Information has been collected for other purposes and therefore may lack relevance or may not be factually correct e.g. wikipedia
      - Can be expensive to purchase market specific secondary data from specialist companies
      - information may be out-of-date - especially in dynamic markets