2. market research

• Market research is :: the process of systematically collecting, recording, and analysing information concerning a specific marketing problem.

• Rationale:

  • through analysing customer buying behaviour, a business can minimise the risk of customers disliking their products
    • • put them in a stronger competitive position

• 

Step 1: Determining informational needs

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• The marketing problem needs to be clearly and accurately stated to determine what needs to be measured
  • hence, information collected must be relevant to the issue or problem being investigated.
• Through determining information needs, businesses are able to:
  • (achieve their marketing objectives, meet customer needs, achieve profit maximisation)

Step 2: Data collection

• Marketing data refers to
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• the information relevant to the defined marketing problem.
  • (two types; primary data & secondary data)

Primary data

is:
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• the facts and figures collected from original sources for the purpose of the specific research problem.

• preferable as it’s collection is directed at solving a specific marketing problem.

• but collection is often time consuming & expensive

  • hence, many business outsource this.
    • (Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO))

• The three main methods used to gather primary data:
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• Survey : gathering data by asking or interviewing people

• Observation : recording behaviour of customers

• Experiment : gathering data by altering factors under controlled conditions → evaluate cause and effect.

Secondary data

is:
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• information that has already been collected by some other person or organisation

• The two types of Secondary data are:
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• Internal data : info that has already been collected by internal sources (within the business)

  • (e.g. customer feedback, research reports)

• External data : published data from external sources

  • (e.g. magazines, newsletters)
  • best known example: reports by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

Step 3: Data analysis and interpretation

• Once data is gathered, conclusions need to be drawn.

• Statistical interpretation analysis is :: the process of focusing on the data that represents average, typical or deviations from typical patterns.

• to draw these conclusions (Statistical interpretation analysis):
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1. tabulate the data
   • (display the information in a table format)
2. Cross-tabulate the different categories of data
   • (make comparisons between individual categories)
     • (e.g. different spending habits between high & low income earners)