Market research
Primary and secondary research
- Market research collects information about customers, rivals and the market.
- primary (field) research — new data collected directly (questionnaires, interviews, surveys). Up to date, fits the need, but costly and slow.
- secondary (desk) research — existing data (reports, websites, past sales). Cheap and quick, but may be old.
Practice
Primary (field) research is:
Primary research is new and first-hand; secondary research uses existing data.
Practice
An advantage of secondary research is that it is:
Secondary research is cheap and fast, but may be old or not fit the exact need.
Sampling and using data
- A business asks a small sample, not everyone. If the sample is too small or not typical, the data is unreliable.
- Results go in tables, charts and graphs — read them (most popular product, sales over time) to support a decision.
Practice
If a sample is too small or not typical, the research data may be unreliable.
A poor sample gives unreliable data, so decisions based on it may be wrong.
You've got it
Key idea
- primary = new data you collect (costly, fits need); secondary = existing data (cheap, maybe old)
- a sample stands for the market; a poor sample → unreliable data
- read charts/graphs to support decisions