unit 10 p1
Market research
The process of assessing the viability of a new product or service through techniques such as surveys, product testing and focus groups. Market research allows a company to discover who their target market is and what these consumers think about a product or service before it becomes available to the public. Market research may be conducted by the company itself or by a third-party company that specializes in market research. Test subjects are usually compensated with product samples and/or paid a small stipend for their time.
Primary research
Primary research is research used to collect data for a specific task. Types of primary data collection methods include Personal Observation: The observation of the respondent by a trained observer. The aim is to observe consumer responses and behaviour to a product or customer service. Personal Interviews: Face to face interview between an interviewer and the respondent at home or in shopping centres.
Observation
Watching how consumers behave provides many insights, but can leave questions unanswered. Observation works well in retail markets; sit outside a shop and watch how many people walk by, look at the window display etc.
Postal surveys
Postal surveys where sent to the address of potential customers who complete the form and send back in a pre-paid envelope. Relatively cheap, a postal survey can cover a wide geographical area and avoids the potential for interviewer bias. However, response rates (the proportion of people sending back a completed survey) are often very low and it can take be a long time before enough surveys are returned
Telephone interviews
Not to be confused with “telesales” (which is a method of selling), the telephone interview allow quicker feedback than a postal survey. However, potential customers are often wary of being called and may be reluctant to give anything other than short answers
Online surveys
Increasingly popular and relatively low cost, online surveys are widely
The process of assessing the viability of a new product or service through techniques such as surveys, product testing and focus groups. Market research allows a company to discover who their target market is and what these consumers think about a product or service before it becomes available to the public. Market research may be conducted by the company itself or by a third-party company that specializes in market research. Test subjects are usually compensated with product samples and/or paid a small stipend for their time.
Primary research
Primary research is research used to collect data for a specific task. Types of primary data collection methods include Personal Observation: The observation of the respondent by a trained observer. The aim is to observe consumer responses and behaviour to a product or customer service. Personal Interviews: Face to face interview between an interviewer and the respondent at home or in shopping centres.
Observation
Watching how consumers behave provides many insights, but can leave questions unanswered. Observation works well in retail markets; sit outside a shop and watch how many people walk by, look at the window display etc.
Postal surveys
Postal surveys where sent to the address of potential customers who complete the form and send back in a pre-paid envelope. Relatively cheap, a postal survey can cover a wide geographical area and avoids the potential for interviewer bias. However, response rates (the proportion of people sending back a completed survey) are often very low and it can take be a long time before enough surveys are returned
Telephone interviews
Not to be confused with “telesales” (which is a method of selling), the telephone interview allow quicker feedback than a postal survey. However, potential customers are often wary of being called and may be reluctant to give anything other than short answers
Online surveys
Increasingly popular and relatively low cost, online surveys are widely