Secondary Market Research

Market research can be overwhelming, but the good news is you don't have to start from scratch. You can save a lot of time and effort by using secondary market research methods, gathering secondary data research, and then filling the gaps with additional research. In today's explanation, let's look at how companies conduct secondary market research.

Secondary Market Research Definition

Secondary market research is one of the two types of market research that businesses can employ to get necessary information/data about a target market.

There are two types of market research - primary market research and secondary market research. In this explanation, we will be looking at secondary market research.

Gathering Secondary Data Research

Gathering secondary data is a starting point in market research. It is the process whereby researchers look into the company's internal and external databases to pull out information relevant to their needs. The data collected is not new but existing data that another researcher has obtained for a different purpose.

Unlike primary research, which involves acquiring original data, secondary research uses existing data to save time and costs. One disadvantage is that the data collected may not be as up-to-date and specific as primary data.

While most secondary data is inexpensive to obtain, companies may have to pay a secondary data provider to access specialized data.

Secondary Market Research Sources

The method of gathering secondary data is relatively straightforward. You simply go to reliable sources and search for secondary data relevant to your needs.

The sources can be internal or external.

Internal sources include:

• The company's information,

• Buyer personas,

• Sales reports,

• Annual reports,

• Customer feedback,

• Information systems.

External sources include:

• Government censuses,

• Data gathered from government departments - e.g., tax records,

• Books,

• Journals,

• Business magazines,

• Public libraries,

• Online resources.

Gathering Secondary Data Process

The process of gathering secondary data consists of five steps:

1. Define the research needs

Before doing any research, the researchers need to clarify the research objectives. Why are we conducting research? How can it contribute to the marketing effort?

2. Choose research sources

Once the research's purpose is identified, researchers need to choose the data sources. The sources can be internal, external, or both. One thing to note is that sources can vary widely in quality and credibility. For example, business magazines and published journals have a high-credibility score, whereas a random article or blog post on the Internet might be biased and unreliable.

3. Collect secondary data

The next step is to select data based on the company's needs. The quickest way to source high-quality information is to look at online commercial databases or to buy from secondary data agencies. However, search engines and libraries are also a big help when the company is tight on budget.

4. Combine acquired data

The information collected should be grouped in the same categories or format. This grouping approach simplifies the secondary data analysis and cuts out content that does not contribute to research.

5. Analyze data

Finally, the data needs to be analyzed to answer the research question. If the research needs are unmet, researchers need to look for more secondary data or create their own. Researchers can also use secondary data to form a new perspective and help expand the understanding of a topic.

6. Provide conclusions and feedback

Once the data has been collected and analyzed, researchers must formulate and organize it to allow managers to draw feedback from it. Oftentimes a research report is created that outlines results, conclusions, implications, and recommendations.

Secondary Market Research Advantages and Disadvantages

While gathering secondary data and conducting secondary market research has several advantages like its time-effectiveness and low cost, it has several disadvantages, including:

• Not tailoring to researchers' needs - The published data is captured for another purpose and thus might not meet the specific needs of the research.

• Questionable quality - The data for secondary research can come from various sources. In some cases, researchers may not have the necessary tools and expertise needed to distinguish good content from bad.

• Biases - The previous researcher's bias may distort measurement and observations, making the research results inaccurate.

• Outdated data - This is when existing research results are correct but no longer apply to the current situation.

• Not in control of the data - Since the data belongs to someone, researchers must acquire permission to use it. If researchers subscribe to a database to gain secondary data, they will lose access to the content upon canceling the subscription.

To address the disadvantages of secondary research, researchers should accompany it with primary research - collecting original data through interviews, observations, etc. Using high-quality sources to minimize biases and incorrect information is also crucial.