Topic is

What is research?
What is marketing research?
 Methods of marketing research..

• FIELD RESEARCH
– this is information collected by the organisation
itself or by a paid market research agency
• DESK RESEARCH
– this is information already collected for another
purpose, e.g. government statistics
 FIELD RESEARCH
Involves the use of PRIMARY data which does not already exist and must be
collected from scratch. Methods include:

• Observation
• Personal interview • Use of technology
(EPOS & Loyalty Cards)
• Telephone interview • Consumer panels
• • Test marketing
Postal surveys
• Purchase survey
 COSTS & BENEFITS OF FIELD
• up-to-date
• collected for exact purpose required by the
organisation
• not easily available to competitors therefore can
be used to gain marketing advantages over rivals
• time consuming
• expensive
• requires specialist researchers
 DESK RESEARCH
Involves the use of SECONDARY data which already exists in some form
having been collected for another purpose. This information may be internal
or external.

INTERNAL SOURCES
• sales figures
• stock figures
• accounting records
• customers’ comments and complaints
• sales representatives’ reports
• market research data gathered earlier
 EXTERNAL SOURCES
Secondary data is available from a wide variety of external sources. Although
this information has been collected for another purpose, firms may be able to
adapt it for their own use. Organisations may have to pay for access to this
data but this will still be cheaper and probably less time-consuming than
primary research

EXTERNAL SOURCES
• Government publications
• Competitors’ information
• Trade directories/journals
• Market research organisations - Mintel
• Newspapers, magazines, CD ROMs
• International publications
 BENEFITS OF MARKET RESEARCH

• aid to decision-making
• Reduces risk
• provides a link to outside world
• public relations