Evaluating Primary Market Research

Advantages:
●​ Information gathering is focused on the needs of the
business and will not be available to its rivals
●​ Some primary research methods allow in-depth
information to be gathered from respondents, such as
reasons for certain behaviours or choices
●​ Primary market research is up-to-date and can be used
to ask specific questions and so will be more relevant to
business decisions

Disadvantages

●​ The sample size may be too small and unrepresentative

of target customers, leading to unreliable results
●​ Bias may mean that researchers guide respondents to
answer questions in a particular way
○​ Similarly respondents may be influenced by the
responses of others or provide inaccurate
information
●​ A business may need to hire a specialist market research
agency to help making the process expensive and
time-consuming

The Purpose of Sampling

●​ Primary market research is conducted with a small
representative sample of the market as a whole
○​ It would be both too expensive and time-consuming
to collect data from the whole market
○​ Market researchers use carefully designed sampling
methods from which accurate conclusions can be
drawn about likely customer preferences and
behaviour
○​ In general, the larger the sample size, the more
likely it is that results of market research activities
will reflect the market as a whole
●​ The choice of sampling method will depend upon a wide
range of factors, including
○​ Time available
○​ Knowledge of the target population
○​ Skills of the researcher(s)
●​ Where little time is available to carry out market research
a quota sample may be the most appropriate sampling
method as it is usually very quick and straightforward to
organise
●​ Where a business has a good knowledge of the target
population a random sample is likely to provide a set of
research data that lacks bias and can be interpreted with
insight
●​ Where researchers lack experience or expertise in
market research a convenience sample is likely to
provide a useful set of data that can be easily interpreted
3/2/2025

Sources of secondary research

●​ Government Publications: National governments and trading blocs such as the
EU publish reports and statistics on topics such as the economy, demographics,
industry trends and consumer behaviour
●​ Academic Institutions: Universities and research institutions conduct studies and
publish research papers which provide valuable insights and data on specific
industries, consumer behaviour and market trends
○​ E.g. Stanford University is a globally significant research centre for
engineering and medicine
●​ Industry Associations: Trade associations and industry-specific organisations
provide detailed information about specific sectors, including market size, growth
rates and industry benchmarks
○​ E.g. The International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers
conducts and collates research on production and sales statistics
●​ Specialist Market Research Reports: Companies specialising in market research
produce and sell in-depth reports on various industries, markets and consumer
trends
○​ E.g. Mintel is one of the leading private companies supplying market
research information
●​ Financial Reports: Public limited companies are required to publish annual
reports which can provide valuable information about a company's performance,
market position and future plans
●​ Online Databases: There are various online databases and research platforms
that provide access to a wide range of secondary market research
○​ E.g. Statista and Euromonitor International make a large volume of data
on international commerce available
●​ Media Sources: Newspapers, magazines and online publications often contain
articles, opinion pieces and investigative reports that can offer insights into
market trends, consumer behaviour and industry developments
○​ E.g. The Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal

Choosing the most appropriate sources

●​ Businesses must weigh up the reliability of secondary market research and
aspects such as cost, relevance and availability of data when making a decision
on which secondary data to use
 Advantages & Disadvantages of Secondary Market Research

Advantages Disadvantages

●​ ​ ●​ ​
Information is already available and Information has been collected for
so may be quicker to collect than other purposes and so may be
primary research thereby saving difficult to analyse, may lack
time relevance or may not be factually
●​ Information is often free (e.g. correct, e.g. Wikipedia
government websites and internet ●​ Can be expensive to purchase
sources such as Statista) and market specific secondary data
cheaper to collect, leading to lower from specialist companies, e.g.
costs compared to primary research MINTEL reports
●​ Suitable for a small business that ●​ Information may be out-of-date,
lacks a large marketing budget especially in dynamic markets
and/or expertise

The Accuracy of Market Research Data

●​ Gathering and analysing reliable data is critical to a business
○​ It supports decision-making and reduces risk
○​ It helps businesses to set realistic objectives and manage performance
●​ The reliability and accuracy of market research depend upon a large number of
factors, including
○​ How questions are phrased in questionnaires or other tools used to
conduct surveys
○​ How carefully the sample is selected
■​ Including its size, types of respondent chosen and how closely
these reflect the intended target market
○​ Who conducts the research including their experience, research skills and
source (primary or secondary?)
○​ Potential for Bias when conducting research or analysing results
○​ When and where the research is conducted
■​ Customer tastes, fashions, economic conditions and technology
change, giving data a relatively short period of usefulness
 ■​ Customers in different geographic areas can have very different
opinions

Presenting Market Research Data

●​ Once market research data has been gathered it need to be converted into a
form which is easy to understand and capable of being used to support business
decision-making
●​ Common methods of presenting data include tally charts, bar charts, pie graphs
and scatter graphs

Tally charts
●​ A table or tally chart, is a simple method used to record data in its original form
○​ It is particularly useful for recording frequency of an event as it is
happening
■​ E.g. It may be used to record the number of customers entering a
retail store
○​ Each time a particular event happens, a small vertical line is drawn
■​ Groups of five occurrences are recorded with a diagonal line
through four vertical lines
■​ These groups of five can be easily totaled to identify frequency
●​ In many cases, tally chart data is converted into a chart or graph to make it more
visually appealing

●​ Information presented in graphs and charts is often easy to understand because

it is presented visually
●​ The type of data that has been collected and what it is to be used for will affect
the form of presentation which will be used
○​ Quantitative data tends to be relatively easy to present in a chart or graph
○​ Qualitative data may be better presented in a report

Types of Graphs and Charts

Bar chart

●​ This bar graph provides a clear picture of umbrella sales between January and
April and allows a manager to compare sales month by month
Scatter graph

●​ Scatter graphs allow relationships between two variables to be identified

●​ The scatter graph on the right shows that there is a positive correlation between
the temperature and sales of barbecues
○​ As the temperature increases, sales of barbecues increase
●​ A line of best fit would allow a business to extrapolate the known data to identify
likely sales of barbecues at other temperatures

Analysing Market Research Data

●​ Quantitative data is statistical numeric data that can be used to support decision
making
○​ Quantitative data needs to be accurate and interpreted correctly if it is to
be useful
○​ It may be collected from primary or secondary sources
○​ Sources of quantitative data include
■​ Financial reports
■​ Survey findings
■​ Marketing or sales data
■​ Statistical research from the government or research organisations
●​ Qualitative research data often requires considerable skill and insight to be
interpreted appropriately
○​ It involves comparing and drawing conclusions from opinions, insights,
feelings and preferences
○​ It is mainly collected from primary sources such as focus groups, detailed
surveys/interviews and test marketing
●​ Both forms of data can help business managers forecast sales, identify trends
and make decisions about product development, promotional planning, pricing
tactics and other important marketing mix elements