4.8 • +11k Ratings
Save
Print
Edit
You have already viewed an explanation
Register now and access this and thousands of further explanations for free
I love market research because you really have an idea of what your consumers are looking for."
- Aerin Lauder
It is important for businesses to undertake market research, as it helps them gain useful insight into different groups of consumers and competition. So, how do businesses know which method of market research is best for their brand or product? Let's find out.
When it comes to primary research, the various market research methods can be separated into five different categories.
Surveys are one of the most commonly used market research tools. Surveys can be either digital (online surveys) or physical (survey card). Surveys are often used in the service industry to understand how customers experience different attributes of a service. For example, they are often used to measure customer satisfaction.
A survey asks the respondent several different questions. The questions usually have a set of predetermined answers respondents can choose from.
A survey might consist of questions like 'How likely are you to use this service again?'. The answers are usually provided in the form of a scale (e.g., 'strongly agree', 'somewhat agree', etc.).
Surveys are useful when you want to measure something quantitatively and when you have a relatively large sample to survey.
Focus groups involve getting a group of people together to conduct a group interview.
Usually, a small number of people take part in the focus group (smaller sample size than surveys). These people tend to share demographic traits or share similar characteristics. A focus group involves a moderator who asks the group open-ended questions and guides the discussion.
Focus groups are great for qualitative research, as participants are free to elaborate on a thought or experience they have regarding the research topic. However, focus groups can also lead to issues with bias if people do not feel comfortable expressing their true opinions in front of the rest of the group.
Interviews are similar to focus groups, although they usually involve fewer people. The interview is usually focused on one individual, with a moderator asking them questions.
Interviews can be structured with a list of specific questions the moderator asks the interviewee.
Interviews can also be semi-structured where the interviewer asks a set of predetermined questions and then proposes a topic and lets the interviewee decide what they want to talk about, regarding the topic.
Interviews are useful for qualitative research, and deeply understanding a customer's thought process behind a decision or behaviour.
There are two different types of observations. In the first type, the researcher has no interaction with the subject and in the second type, the researcher has some interactions with the subject. There are many ways in which observation can be used for business research.
During an in-store observation, the researcher or digital camera software tracks how customers move around in a shop, how much time they spend in each section of the shop, and which products they notice first.
Observational research is useful as it lets researchers know the actual behaviour of customers rather than what they tell the researcher or report in a survey.
Field experiments tend to be a more scientific way of doing market research.
Field experiments usually involve testing a hypothesis or multiple hypotheses, and take place in the natural environment of subjects.
An example of field testing would be test marketing. A company would use test marketing when they want to launch a new product on the market. They would first market and make the product available to a small group of people only. For example, a group of people in one specific city. They would then explore how this set group of people reacts to the new product and decide whether to launch it to a larger group of people.
Field experiments are useful for quantitative research and beneficial for businesses as the experiment is specific to its product; the research meets the precise research needs of the business.
The marketing research process is made up of six steps.
During this step, the researcher needs to define the problem they are trying to solve with their research. You should make sure that the problem you decide to focus on is not too broad. The researcher then has to define their objectives and decide on the type of research they are going to conduct (e.g., is it going to be exploratory or descriptive research?). This step should result in a defined research question.
The researcher then has to develop the research plan. During this step, they decide whether they are going to be collecting primary or secondary data, and the type of research method they are going to use (surveys, focus groups, etc.). This step also involves coming up with a sampling plan. Sampling could either be:
All people in the sample group have an equal chance of being selected.
Choosing the people that volunteer to take part in the research.
Deliberately choosing certain people to sample.
During this step, you conduct your research. If your research method is an online survey, this is when you would send participants the survey and ask them to complete it.
During this step, you would use various statistical tools if you were conducting quantitative research, or analyse different interviews if you were conducting qualitative research.
During this step, you would format your analysis and data into detailed insights. You would translate your data into useful recommendations for managers.
This is where your organisation would decide how to tackle the problem you were researching with the findings you presented. The step could also involve a decision on whether you launch your new product or not.
Imagine you are working as a marketing manager for a chain of restaurants. You notice that your online customer reviews are not as good as you would ideally like them to be. To understand why customers are rating your restaurants poorly, you decide to do some market research.
You decide that the most effective way to research this problem is by collecting primary data. So, you ask your customers to complete an online survey after they have finished dining. The sampling method you use is convenience sampling, as you provide the survey to any customer that volunteers to complete it. The survey consists of questions like:
How would you rate the quality of food in our restaurant?
How would you rate service quality in our restaurant?
How would you rate the selection of food options in our restaurant?
Once enough people have completed your survey, you analyse your data. It is clear that the reason why people are rating your restaurant poorly is that they (for instance) are not satisfied with the food quality. As a result of your market research, you decide to inform management that they should invest in better quality ingredients. Finally, you decide to launch a marketing campaign informing consumers about your newly designed menu, with fresher ingredients than other chain restaurants.
There are numerous different ways a business can conduct market research. One of the first decisions to make is whether you want to collect primary or secondary data. If you decide to collect primary data, market research can be in the form of surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, observations, interviews, or field experiments. On the other hand, secondary research involves gathering data that has already been collected by someone else. Secondary research could include internet research, published market reports, or government statistics.
There are several steps you can take to improve the validity of your market research. The first one would be to select the appropriate instrument. For example, if you are looking to conduct quantitative research, you would choose a survey instead of a focus group. Another way to improve validity is by asking specific and relevant questions. You should also make sure that your sample is representative of the population. This can be done by avoiding sampling methods like convenience sampling.
There are several different types of marketing research methods available to marketers. One of the most common types of research instruments is surveys. Surveys are used when the researcher is trying to collect primary data. Other ways to collect primary data include interviews, focus groups, observation, field experiments, and questionnaires. Researchers could also decide to collect secondary data. Secondary data is a form of data that has already been collected prior to your research for a purpose other than the objective of your research.
Be perfectly prepared on time with an individual plan.
Test your knowledge with gamified quizzes.
Create and find flashcards in record time.
Create beautiful notes faster than ever before.
Have all your study materials in one place.
Upload unlimited documents and save them online.
Identify your study strength and weaknesses.
Set individual study goals and earn points reaching them.
Stop procrastinating with our study reminders.
Earn points, unlock badges and level up while studying.
Create flashcards in notes completely automatically.
Create the most beautiful study materials using our templates.
Sign up to highlight and take notes. It’s 100% free.
