What is the primary advantage of using secondary data to a marketing researcher?
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Market research is essential when you’re starting your new business. By researching your target market opens in new window and customers, you can see if there’s a demand for your products and
services as well as determine the best branding opens in new window, pricing opens in new window and
marketing strategies opens in new window to ensure your business is a success. Market research is vital to test your new business idea opens in new window. Discovering there’s a demand for your products and
services helps you write your business plan opens in new window. If you’re looking to raise funding opens in new window, having research that supports your business idea can help convince investors that your start up
is a good bet. Market research can be divided into two main types: primary research and secondary research. The main difference between primary and secondary research is down to how data is collected, and the type of information you want to find out. Learn how market research can benefit your start up >> opens in new window
Primary research is any research that you carry out yourself, or that you commission someone; opens in new window to carry out, that gets information directly from your target audience. Primary research is characterised by:
Examples of primary researchSurveys, one-to-one interviews, focus groups and observation are the most common methods of conducting primary research, though there are lots more. The main examples of primary research are:
Watch this: Understanding the differences between primary and secondary data can make your market research more effective, as Professor Mark Wolters explains in this video: Primary research costsPrimary research can be costly, although a small online survey can be free to set up and run. The more effort, time and people involved in primary research, the more the research project will cost. Doing it yourself opens in new window is the cheapest option, though you’ll need to factor in the cost of your time and effort in doing so. If you want to use an agency to conduct research, costs start from around £5,000. A research project conducted by a London-based market research company could cost around £30,000. A growing number of online tools allow you to conduct primary research yourself, such as such as SurveyMonkey opens in new window. You can include a survey on your website and then email customers asking them to complete it. Running a poll on social media is another good way to gain feedback. Pros and cons of primary research
Secondary researchSecondary research means research that has previously been undertaken, usually by another business or organisation, but is publicly available for free (such as government statistics) or paid-for (such as a research paper by an organisation such as Mintel opens in new window. Secondary research is characterised by:
Secondary research examplesSecondary market research can be found at your local library and online in news stories, industry publications, reports, whitepapers, government, local government and business websites.
Watch this: Watch an example of the type of market research consumer panel an organisation such as YouGov assembles in this video about joining the YouGov UK market research panel: Secondary research costsFor a start up, secondary research is useful as it can be low-cost or even free. A lot of secondary research is freely available online or from public libraries. If you’ve more budget, you can pay for market research reports specific to your market or commission research tailored specifically to you from market research companies. Pros and cons of secondary research
Primary vs secondary research – which should I choose?There are advantages to using both primary or secondary research. Secondary research gives you a foundation to build on, while the primary research fills in the gap by identifying specific needs. First examine your requirements and budget opens in new window. Look to see what secondary research is available first before starting a primary research project. You may be able to find the answers you need for before spending a penny. For example, if you’re thinking of opening a local café or coffee shop opens in new window, you can use secondary research to determine your shop’s location. Secondary sources should reveal useful demographic information, such average household income and spending habits, along with local traffic patterns. You can then conduct primary research by surveying a sampling of households to find out how often they’re likely to use a coffee shop and how much they’re willing to spend. What are the advantages of secondary data over primary data?Saving time and effort
Collecting secondary data for research is much faster and easier than primary data collection. This allows researchers to save time by going straight to the analysis process.
What is an advantage of using secondary research data vs primary research data?Secondary data is easily accessible compared to primary data. Secondary data is available on different platforms that can be accessed by the researcher. Secondary data is very affordable. It requires little to no cost to acquire them because they are sometimes given out for free.
What are the advantages of secondary research over primary research?Pros: As it is largely based on already existing data derived from previous research, secondary research can be conducted more quickly and at a lesser cost. Cons: A major disadvantage of secondary research is that the researcher may have difficulty obtaining information specific to his or her needs.
What is the primary data and secondary data in marketing research?Primary data is information collected through original or first-hand research. For example, surveys and focus group discussions. On the other hand, secondary data is information which has been collected in the past by someone else. For example, researching the internet, newspaper articles and company reports.
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