Unit 3 Assignment 2
P3, P4, M2, D2
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Define Market Research.
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Marketing research – the systematic
gathering, recording and analysis of data
about issues relating to marketing products
and services.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/b
usiness/marketing/marketresearchvid.shtml
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Organisations should undertake secondary
research first as this research is already
available, cheaper and quicker to obtain than
primary research.
Both types of research can be internal and
external.
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Primary research is carried out to answer
questions that are beyond the scope of
secondary research.
Secondary research uses data and
information that has been collected before
either by the organisation or another
organisation.
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Observations
Experimentation
Surveys
E-marketing
Focus Groups
Panels
Field Trials
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Secondary research is important because:
 It may answer questions quickly and cheaply
 Could assist in designing primary research
 Should enable research to interpret primary
research more accurately
 Could be used as comparative data
 May provide evidence that cannot be collected by
primary research
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Secondary research can be obtained in a variety of ways.
Internal data is produced on a day-to-day basis including;
 EPOS
 Loyalty schemes
 Sales
 Website statistics
 E-transaction records
 Accounting records
 Reports from sales staff
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External Methods include:
 News reports
 Trade journals
 Market analysis
 Government statistics
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Qualitative research is subjective and often
open ended.
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Quantitative research relates to numbers and
figures and can be analysed and put into
graphs. This information often includes sales
data, market values, but can include
responses from customers.
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Quantitative research produces numbers and
figures such as the number or percentage of
customer who use a service.
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Quantitative research can be used to:
 Measure products and sales week by week
 Track prices across a variety of retailers and
brands
 Estimate market share of competing brands
 Estimate market and segment size
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Provides data on why people buy- what
motivates them to buy – or their impression
of products, services or advertisements.
Qualitative research can be used to;
 Investigate consumer attitudes towards an
organisation
 Ascertain consumer reactions to change in price
 Ascertain information about consumer
preferences lifestyles and aspirations.
Quantitative
Objective
Research questions: How Many?
What percentage?
Tests theory
Focus is concise and narrow
Measurable
Basic element of analysis is numbers
Qualitative
Subjective
Research questions: What? Why?
Develops theory
Focus is complex and broad
Interpretive
Basic element of analysis is
wording/ideas
Reasoning is logical and deductive
(makes conclusions)
Reasoning is dialectic (involving
opinions) and inductive (leading)
Establishes relationships, causation
Describes meaning and discovery
Highly controlled setting:
experimental setting (outcome
oriented)
Flexible approach: natural setting
(process orientated)
he following statements quantitative or qualitative
Quantitative
Ninety-five per cent of teenagers use the
internet.
The older generation worry about their
retirement, as they perceive a lower income will
have a detrimental effect on their lifestyle.
Research shows that the police believe CCTV is
an excellent deterrent against street crime
because they find that it discourages potential
criminals. Eighty-five per cent do believe it is a
useful tool when used responsibly.
One in three people in the UK own a pet.
Qualitative
Both
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Market Research can be used for a variety of
reasons, the business will decide on the most
appropriate method of research based upon
the information they wish to find out.
Research can;
 Effectively measure progress
 Measure the awareness of a product
 Inform marketing for the future
 Identify strong or weak sales
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Cost - will it be cost effective?
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Effectiveness - is it the most appropriate
method?
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Validity – was a large enough sample taken?
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Reliability – was the research conducted in
similar conditions?
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Introduction- what is market research?
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Describe the following key terms: primary research (give examples), secondary
research (give examples) , quantitative data, qualitative data.
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Choose from one of the case studies- JD sport, Kelloggs,, Tesco (on the shared area)
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Describe the methods of market research that your chosen business uses, what they
use it for and the advantages and limitations of these methods. (use the table on
the next slide)
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Explain how the methods chosen help the business to plan their development. e.g.
McDonalds use sales figures (primary research) to identify trends in products sold,
this can then help the business to develop the product or decide when to advertise.
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E.g. McFlurrys sell more in the summer therefore McDonalds should focus their
advertising fro McFlurrys in the summer.
Method and use
Exit Surveys
Shopping Bag
On-site field research
Focus Groups
Depth Interviews
Government Census
Geo-demographic
data
Commercial market
research reports
Primary/Secondary
Qualitative/Quantitative
Limitations
Method and use
Mintel and
Datamonitor (S1)
Focus Groups (S2)
Survey (S3)
Home Usage Test (S4)
Questionnaire (s4)
Primary/Secondary
Qualitative/Quantitative
Limitations
Method and use
Focus Groups
In Depth interviews
Face to face
interviews
Telephone interviews
Internet Interviews
Test sample
EPOS data
Primary/Secondary
Qualitative/Quantitative
Limitations
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For each method of research used, make
three justified recommendations for
improving the validity of research.
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For your chosen business you need to be
critical of the market research the business
carries out. Consider how the business can
improve the validity of the research including;
sample size, more specific questioning.