Market Research Essays - Market Research, Survey Methodology

Market Research Title Page Number Market research 2-4 Quantitative and Qualitative 5 Factors influencing marketing methods 6 Presentation 7 Questionnaire 8 Evaluation 9 Bibliography 10 Market research is to provide information that helps the business to recognise and respond to market opportunities and to develop suitable products to marketing needs. Primary and secondary data. There are two main sources of market research-Primary and secondary sources. Primary data. This type of research requires obtaining new data. The marketing department gather the data by e.g. Interviews, telephone, post, and questionnaires. Primary data may be collected in the following ways: Observation- although this is one of the simplest methods of research it is not very efficient. The methods consists of observing whatever is under observation to find out consumer trends. This method is not effective because some consumers may not behave as they would in normal circumstances also one of the most important things to find out from research is the reasons for the observational behaviour but the observation does not show much of this information. Sampling surveys- this is the most familiar method used for primary data. The larger the group that is surveyed the more accurate the results would be. Surveys- This is usually done in the high street, where a random sample of people are questioned. The questionnaires are likely to find information about: -What type of product (in a range) is preferred and why. -What expectations the interviewees have of a particular product -The satisfaction of a product. -Ways in which the type of product may be improved. Random Sampling- the researcher starts with a complete list (the population/sample frame) of the group/market to be surveyed. He or she them determines the size of sample required and chooses that sample from the complete list on a random basis, which means that each individual in the sample had the same likehood of ending up in the same sample. Cluster Sampling- This method reduces the cost of marketing research by concentrating on sampling a few or one particular area or target market. The method is usually considered to be statistically accurate enough for most market research. Quota sampling- These are frequency used by commercial marketing research agencies to decrease the cost. The agencies use secondary sources to divide population into groups. In the case of the consumer research these groups will often be social and/or age. The agency will than decide, an the basis of published statistics, a controlled quotas (of groups) of respondents for each interviewer, in the field eg.interviewer could be told to question 20 car owners aged 18-30, 28 car owners between 31-43, 16 car owners between 44-56. Using this method the agency can be certain that the quotas are an accurate reflection of the total population. Telephone surveys- this method is less expensive and time consuming. The interviewees are likely to have been selected from lists which are brought by market research firms and which are complied through individual: -Living in a particular area. -Purchased a car of a certain value. -Booked a foreign holiday. Questionnaires - Manufacturers and suppliers can achieve higher responses giving away a free gift in return for the completion of a survey. This method usually only provides a very low response. This is a very cheap method of research, it also avoids the problem of the interviewer to being biased and it allows more time to think about answers. The types of questions, which are used in questionnaires. Questionnaires are to find out about: peoples opinions, factual information and judgements. The quality of the answers depends on the quality and of the answers depends on the quality of the questions. Closed questions- this is designed to receive one result from two alternatives. E.g. Have you ever used Radio Times, on a regular basis, to plan your TV viewing/Radio listening, but do not now? Yes No Open questions- this is designed for personal responses. E.g. what is our opinion on the invention of the DVD? The prioritising question- this is used to rank orders the preferences. E.g. Place the following features of the proposed optional extras in order of importance to you: Where 1 is the most important and 7 least important: Central locking system Quadraphonic loudspeakers adjustable steering wheel Detachable wheel nuts Allow wheel-trims Metallic finish The scaled question- this is used to select an answer from a scale: E.g. how would you rate the helpfulness of the rulebook? Poor Excellent Panels. A consumer panel consists of a group of about