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Market Research is a cornerstone to understanding your
customers and potential prospects. Good market research provides facts as
opposed to anecdotal comments from staff that may not reflect customer
attitudes, needs, wants and desires.
The purpose of market research is to provide relevant data to help solve
marketing problems a business faces. Conducting quantitative and qualitative
market research is the foundation for any successful business. In fact,
strategies such as market segmentation and product differentiation would
be impossible to develop without market research.
There are two types market research that gather data. The first is
primary research information that you compile yourself or hire a market
research vendor to gather. The other type of market research is referred to as
secondary research data that has already been compiled and organized for
you. Market Research Reports and studies done by government agencies,
trade associations, or other businesses within your industry are examples of
secondary research.
Primary research is basically done four ways:
 | direct mail |
| telemarketing |
| personal interviews |
| focus groups |
When considering which type of survey to use, keep the following costs versus
benefits in the back of your mind when making a decision:
| Mail
 | Most of the costs are for the printing of questionnaires, envelopes,
postage, the cover letter, time taken in the analysis and presentation,
the cost of researcher time, and any incentives that are used. |
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| Telephone
| Most of the costs are for the interviewer's fee, phone charges,
preparation of the questionnaire, cost of researcher time, and the
analysis and presentation of the results of the questioning. |
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| Personal interviews
| Most of the costs are for the printing of questionnaires, prompt cards,
incentives if used, the interviewer's fee and expenses, cost of researcher
time, and analysis and presentation. |
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| Focus Groups
| Most of the costs are for the interviewer's fees and expenses in
recruiting and assembling the groups, conference room or other
facility rental charges, researcher time, incentives if used,
analysis and presentation, and the cost of recording media such as
videos or audio tapes if used. |
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Market Research should be integrated within your overall
business and marketing plan for your organization.
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