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Market research
refers to marketing activities designed to discover the opinions, beliefs, and
preferences of potential and existing customers. used to gain insight into a
specific market.
market research can be of 2 types

continuous research

takes place on an ongoing basis

why is market research done?

gives business up-to-date information(important for fast pace industries)
enables businesses to improve marketing strategies by using different combinations
of the marketing mix for each target
assess customers' reactions to new products by testing into small groups of
customers first to avoid losses
lets businesses predict what might likely happen in the future. predicting likely
trends will allow them to act accordingly to maximize future opportunities
and helps reduce the risk of failure

Primary market research

primary research is market research involving getting new first-hand data for a specific
purpose. it is used to gather data and information from customers to identify buying
patterns.

Advantages of market research

Relevance (it is for a specific purpose, and directly addresses questions)

Up to Date (more reliable than secondary research)

Confidential and unique (as it is done firsthand, rival firms do not have access
to it)

disadvantages of market research

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 time-consuming (it is a lengthy process and delays decision making which could
lead to lost market opportunities)

costly (data is hard to collect so it is costly)

validity (if questionnaires are poor, it will lead to miss leaded results)

surveys
a survey or a questionnaire is a document that contains a series of questions which is
used to collect data for a specific purpose. a most common method of primary research.

Advantages of surveys

it has the ability to generate qualitative and quantitative answers which are
specific to the needs of the researcher

simple to complete (data easy to collect)

Disadvantages of surveys

it can be costly and time consuming

there may be biased or dishonest answers from the people who are answering
the questions.

features of a survey

surveys should avoid bias in order to collect useful and meaningful data

avoid jargon (technical language)

include both, close-ended and open-ended questions(open-ended allows the

interviewer to get qualitative answers)

be tried and tested

gather relevant data(avoid unnecessary questions)

examples and types of surveys:

self-completed

personal surveys (face-to-face, interview, quicker)

telephone surveys (similar to personal, able to reach a wider range of people.

drawbacks is it is costly)

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 online surveys (they are much deeper)

postal surveys(surveys that are sent to homes in the paper. the drawback is that
people might treat the survey as junk mail

interviews
interviews involve one-to-one discussions between the interviewer and interviewee. can
be face-to-face or through telecommunication

The advantages of interviews

beliefs, attitudes, and feelings can be examined in detail

in-depth interviews are used when the business is planning to introduce a

change or bring new initiatives.

The disadvantages of interviews

provide a range of non-quantifiable information that might prove to be difficult to

analyze.

time-consuming

Focus groups

focus groups involve small decision groups to gain insight into the attitudes and
behavior of respondents. the group is made up of participants with similar consumer
profiles.

Advantages of Focus groups

helps a business by providing information so they can refine marketing

strategies

By using a focus group, detailed questions can be asked and participants are
more likely to engage in discussions to generate insightful information

Disadvantages of Focus groups

the drawback is that only extroverts take part and not everyone can share their
own opinion as they might be afraid to

another drawback is that they have to be paid which costs the business

consumer panels

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 small groups of consumers within a business's target market who are used for regular
market research. they are specialists and critics.
-used for regular market research

Observations
watching how people behave and respond in different situations.

done under controlled conditions

used by restaurants, theme parks

records people's actual behavior

Advantages of Observation

A benefit of using observations is that they record people's actual behavior rather
than what people say they would do (as in the case of interviews and surveys).

The disadvantages of Observation

observations do not necessarily reveal why a person behaves or responds in the

way they do.

Secondary Market Research

Secondary research (or desk research) involves the collection of second-hand
data and information that already exists. This means that the data and
information have previously been gathered by others, such as government
publications or news articles.

Secondary research can be collected from internal and external sources.

Internal sources are those that have already been gathered by the organization
itself, such as company annual reports and sales records.

External sources come from outside the business, e.g. market analyses, academic
journals,' government publications, and media articles (including the internet).

Advantages of Secondary Market Research

There is a huge range of sources that the market researcher can use,
especially with online sources, making secondary data usually more accessible

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 than primary data.

Data or information that Is already available is generally cheaper and faster to

collect and analyze rather than primary research that has to be collected.

Disadvantages of Secondary Market Research

Secondary data is second-hand data, so the results might be outdated or can

become obsolete quite quickly.

Unlike primary research, secondary data and information is widely available to

competitors.

Market Analysis

Market analysis reveals the characteristics and the outlook (trends) for a particular
product or industry, e.g. market size, market share, and market growth rate. It can help
to measure
how well a business is doing compared with its rivals.

-helps to compare the firms with their rivals

-market research firms, competitors, trade publications (magazines)

Government Publications

Government publications publish a broad range of data on their websites which usually
share, data like a population census, social trends, labor market rates, inflation rates,
and unemployment figures. (these are data regarded as secondary information which
help the firms)
Media articles

the general media contain a plethora of valuable information as part of secondary

research. such as business magazines(Forbes), Newspapers (Wall street journal),
Television documentaries and news channels that provide data that can be counted as
secondary data.

Academic Journals
Academic journals are periodical publications from educational and research
institutions. Data and information relating to a particular academic discipline are
published in these journals. For example, the Harvard Business Review is a globally
recognized business management magazine from Harvard

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 University. their main purpose is to provide theoretical information about
businesses but not for making profits.

The Internet
All of the above methods of secondary market research (market analyses, academic
journals, government publications, and media articles) can be conducted via the
internet. Many people
start their secondary research by 'Googling' the topic or using other websites such as
Wikipedia. The internet can provide a range of invaluable information, if not a good
starting point
to find other sources of secondary market research data and information.

Ethics and Market Research

marketers need to consider the ethical issues of conducting market research, such
as not accessing confidential data for personal gain

through observations, using videography and photography for primary market

research can be an invasion of privacy

at this age, there are many technological advancements it's much easier for
businesses to connect with their customers.

if businesses are not ethical with their market research, they need to face public
criticism

The Five D’s

Damage (make sure the data collected from the people are not later used against them
to hurt them)

Deceitful ( make sure the researchers are open, trustworthy, and transparent about
how the data is going to be used and not sharing the personal information of the people
unless they approve. secondary data can also be unethical because there could be
plagiarism data)

Deceptive (deceptive practices and misleading activities are unethical for example
when talking to the person on the phone, not telling them their call is being recorded or
when in observation there are cameras in the room. consent is important.)
Disclosure (invasion of privacy, breach of confidentiality, disclosing private information
)

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 Detachment (deliberately asking misleading questions in a survey will mean misleading
and unrepresentative data are collected)

Qualitative and Quantitative

Qualitative

Qualitative market research involves getting non-numerical

answers and opinions from respondents.

It is commonly used as part of primary research.

The main purpose of using qualitative data is to understand the behavior, attitudes,
and perceptions of customers, employees, or other respondents.

Eg: focus groups and in-depth interviews

Advantages of Qualitative Research

Information gathered from qualitative research can be very rich. Unlike a

questionnaire, there is flexibility in the process so extra and useful information
from interviews can be gathered.

With one-to-one interviews, respondents are not under the pressure of

conforming to the views and opinions of the majority. This should help to
generate more honest and representative answers.

Disadvantages of Quantitative Research

It can be very time consuming to conduct and to interpret the findings.

Quantitative responses are easier and quicker to collate than qualitative
responses.

A high level of interviewing expertise is required to engage and encourage

respondents. The costs of hiring skilled interviewers can therefore be high.

Quantitative

Quantitative Research Relies on more factual and measurable information than

more opinionated like qualitative.

Eg. Questionnaires and surveys

multiple choices questions, true or false questions

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 ranking and sliding scales

Advantages of quantitative research

quantitative research is much quicker and easier

usually, there is not any need to hire any interviewer or expert because the ones
who are answering the questions can infer and understand what they need to
do.

The disadvantage of Qualitative research

the answers of quantitative are not flexible like qualitative
with quantitative research, you cant explore the driving forces (motivators) and
restraining forces (demotivators) concerning the behavior and attitudes of
respondents.

Sampling Methods

💡 All the potential customers of a particular market make up what

researchers call the population.

Sampling is the practice of selecting a small group (or sample) of the population for a
particular market for primary research purposes.

The key questions to ask when deciding on the type of sampling method to use are:
who needs to be asked, what needs to be asked, and whether the costs of the
market research can be justified.

six main methods of sampling are quota, random, stratified, cluster, snowballing,
and convenience.

Quota sampling

Quota sampling is the most commonly used sampling method, whereby a certain
number of people (known as the quota) from different market segments is selected.

Advantages of Quota sampling

relatively representative sample can be obtained quickly.

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 findings are more reliable than simply asking anyone on a random basis to
participate in market research.

The disadvantage of Quota sampling

the number of people who are selected from the segmentation is not always
representative of the population (sampling errors might occur). not everyone
gets an equal chance to be sampled.

Random sampling
Random sampling involves giving everyone in the population an equal chance of being
selected for the sample. The respondents are often randomly chosen by a computer
using information from a database. Random sampling is useful when all members of a
population have the same or very similar characteristics

Advantages of Random Sampling

An advantage of random sampling is that it is quite easy to get a sample. Also,
everyone has an equal chance of being selected so this might help to minimize bias
or unrepresentative samples
being judgmentally selected (as in the case of quota samples)

Disadvantages of Random Sampling

it is indiscriminate, i.e. it might select people who are not part of the target group
due to the randomness of selection. Therefore, sample sizes need to be large
enough to get representative and meaningful results.

Stratified Sampling

Stratified sampling is similar to quota sampling in that it involves segmentation.

The population is likely to be heterogeneous so needs to be subdivided into

segments (known as strata) that share homogeneous or very similar characteristics.

The difference is that stratified sampling chooses a number of respondents from

each stratum that is proportional to the population and then randomly selects them
as the sample.

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 Advantages of stratified sampling

benefits from using samples that are more representative of a particular market
segment (as it requires similar characteristics in a segment)

Sampling is usually random (known as stratified random sampling) but with

clearer focus so the findings will be more relevant and with less sampling
errors.

Disadvantages of stratified sampling

it can be difficult to select relevant strata, especially if the subgroups of a

population are largely homogeneous.

It can also be an expensive task to generate accurate information about the

population and
then to further subdivide this into representative subgroups.

Cluster Sampling

Cluster sampling is used when getting feedback from respondents involves too much
time, traveling, or money. For example, it would be too time-consuming and costly for a
multinational company to randomly interview people across all the countries that it
operates. Instead, it is more cost-effective to select several geographical areas (known
as clusters) and then to randomly interview people within each of the chosen clusters.

Advantages of cluster sampling

it is quicker, easier and cheaper than other methods of sampling if the population is
widely dispersed over different geographical areas

Disadvantages of cluster sampling

bias and sampling error. By selecting and using just a few locations, the results
might be biased as people living in the same area are likely to share similar views or
characteristics, such as lifestyle and social status.
when you are increasing the no. of cluster in the sample, it would reduce bias and
sampling errors but it would increase costs

Snowballing sampling
Snowballing refers to market research carried out with individuals who then suggest
other friends, family members or colleagues to increase the sample size. Businesses

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 use snowballing when they are unable to get hold of appropriate respondents as the
population is not clear. Snowballing is
common in the financial services sector.

Advantages of snowballing

it can be cheap and quick to get hold of relevant contacts for enlarging the sample.

Disadvantages of snowballing

it is difficult to determine unbiassed sampling because, of the nature of respondent-

driven sampling. (eg. a wealthy person has similar friends who live similar lifestyle
which would increase potential bias)

Convenience Sampling

Convenience sampling uses subjects that are easy (convenient) to reach. For example,
students often use their classmates and friends in a research study.

Advantages of convenience sampling

the ease (availability and the quickness) of data collection. It is particularly useful
when time or cost is a factor for market researchers

Disadvantages of convenience sampling

market researchers inadvertently exclude a large proportion of the population, thus

the findings are often highly unrepresentative of the population.

Sampling Errors
sampling errors occur when findings from the sample differ from the population.
the larger the sampling size, the more reliable the finding data is going to be but the

Non-sampling errors are caused by human error or human behavior. They arise
from the researcher's mistakes in recording, processing, or analyzing data. can also
occur because respondents do not always give truthful and honest answers.

the margin of error This measures the extent to which certainty can be attached to
market research
findings.

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 Sampling errors are caused by mistakes made in the sample design.

1. -The sample size is too small to get statistically valid answers hence there will be
large sampling discrepancies( which means differences between the actual
population and the samples)

2. -sample selected is not representing the entire population (due to poor sampling
design)

3. -An inappropriate sampling method is used. Random sampling will, in theory, have
little bias since everyone has an equal chance of being selected, but snowballing is
less likely to generate such results.

4. -There is bias in the research. This usually comes from bad sample design, but bias
can also arise from misleading questions in an interview or survey.

Findings are only as good as the research methodology used. This concept of
garbage-in-garbage-out (GIGO) applies, whereby unreliable or inaccurate input data
generates poor quality output of information.

Data and information can also be inaccurate or unreliable

due to bias.

The cost of good market research is often very high. For instance, postal and
telephone questionnaires can be expensive. analyzing data takes time and money
too.

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