Types of primary market research
Marketing research (MR) is a systematic search, collection, analysis and presentation of data and information, related to a specific market situation that an enterprise has encountered. MR can also be defined as the systematic collection, recording and analysis of data in order to improve the quality of decision-making and control procedures in marketing environment.
The goal of marketing research is to answer five key questions:
- What information is needed to solve the tasks?
- Where and when can I get the necessary data?
- In what form and volume can information be obtained?
- How valuable is the information received for solving operating objectives?
- What are the financial and time costs of obtaining data?
By the method of obtaining marketing research information is divided into two main types: secondary research (desk study) and primary research (field study).
Today we will talk about the following market research — primary research (PR).
How Do Experts Define Primary Market Research?
Primary marketing research is the most common type of investigation, as well as the most valuable one. Its main advantage is that it answers only specific questions, filtering out irrelevant problems. The study includes collection of original information, necessary to describe the task, using a specific survey form, target audience, or monitoring it.
The aim of collecting data during this investigation is to improve products, services or operations functions. Field study is carried out “from scratch” without using any other information obtained from other sources.
Types Of Primary Market Research
There are two types of field study: qualitative and quantitative.
In the course of qualitative investigation, detailed in-depth information is collected on the beliefs, opinions and motives of consumers. Then experts study effect of these characteristics on consumer preferences and behavior. Qualitative research allows you to better understand why consumers act in a particular way, and not otherwise. The most common forms of QR are in-depth (personal) interviews and focus groups.
Quantitative studies are engines of understanding the totality of respondents and describing the existing picture using numerical indicators. It is advisable to conduct a quantitative study when it is required to establish statistically reliable quantitative differences between groups, as well as when there is a need to generalize the conclusions.
Also, there are another two types of PR:
Complete (continuous) study covers all respondents. It is usually used to study a small number of them, for example, large consumers or counterparties. This investigation is notable for its accuracy, as well as low costs of resources and time to conduct.
Partial (selective) study covers a certain percentage or target group of respondents. Usually it is a regular sociological study conducted on a statistical population basis of respondents in accordance with its structure. The more accurate the selection, the more accurate the result.
Primary Market Research Methods
The most common forms of qualitative investigation are in-depth (personal) interviews and focus groups.
Personal interviews allows finding out deep preferences of customers and takes a form of free conversation or discussion.
Focus-groups (8-12 people) or mini groups (3-6 people) discuss the topic, answering moderator’s questions and offering their own notions. This helps a company learn a lot about its customers, market trends, etc.
There are three methods for conducting quantitative investigation: observation, physiological measurements, and polling.
Observation is a study that does not imply personal contacts of marketer with respondents. A researcher observes to collect data related to identified information needs.
A physiological study measures voluntary (e.g., eye movements) and involuntary human responses (e.g., brain impulses). So you can track respondent’s response of the respondent to various advertisements, to packaging of goods, etc. Analysts fix objects that a person is looking at, the order of viewing, and time spent viewing each element individually and the entire advertisement as a whole.
Polling (or survey) is the most common form of quantitative research. The survey systematically collects information received from respondents. It aims at understanding and predicting various aspects of consumer attitudes and behavior. The survey can be conducted in the course of personal conversations, as well as by telephone, by mail and via electronic interactive communication.
Primary Market Analysis
For investigations in the field of advertising, content analysis and statistical analysis are especially often used.
Content analysis is used to study those questions that arise from previous studies or were left unanswered.
Statistical analysis is used to create perceptual maps designed to provide a visual representation of how consumers perceive brands or products. Perception maps are especially convenient when studying product positioning, as they provide criteria by which consumers evaluate goods or services.
In order to highlight relevant factors and place estimated brands and products on a perception map, one of three mathematical methods is used: factor analysis, discriminant analysis, or correspondence analysis.
The task of factor analysis is to identify the structure of factors and measure their values and degree of influence on human behavior.
The discriminant analysis is aimed at showing maximum differences between studied objects (discriminate them).
Correspondence analysis, in contrast to factorial and discriminant analysis, allows creating perception maps based on data from nominal and ordinal levels of measurement.
Primary Market Research Companies
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