Grade 9 : Market Research (Posted on Tuesday 19 May 2009)

MARKET RESEARCH
Market research : the collection, collation and analysis of data relating to the marketing and consumption of goods and services.
E.g. A business is gathering information a bout likely consumers of a new product and use the data to help in its decision making process.

The data gathered by this research might include :
Whether or not consumers would want such a product.
What type of promotion will be effective.
The functions or facilities it should have.
What style, shape, colour or form it should take.
The price people would be prepared to pay for it.
Where people would wish to purchase it.
Information about consumers themselves-their age, their likes, attitudes, interests and lifestyles.
What consumers buy at present.

Market research is about researching consumers preferences and tastes. Marketing research is a wider term, which also includes the analysis of marketing strategies, e.g. The efect of promotions such as advertising.

The uses of market research
A market is anywhere that buyers and sellers come together to exchange goods and services. The uses of market research are :
-Descriptive reasons
-Predictive reasons
-Explanatory reasons
-Exploratory reasons

-Descriptive reasons : A business wants to identify what is happening in its market.
-Predictive reasons : A business wants to predict what is likely to happen in the future.
-Explanatory reasons : A business wants to explain a variety of matters related to its marketing. E.g. A bus company wants to research why there has been a fall in the number of passangers on a specific route.
-Exploratory reasons : This is concerned with a business investigating new possibilities in a market. E.g. A softdrink company can do trial a new canned drink in a certain area to test customer reaction before market the product nationally.

Once a business has decided how it wishes to use market research data, the next stage is to identify the aspects or areas that it wants to concentrate on.

The Scope of market reseach
Area of reseach : Possible elements to be considered
The market : Identifying market segments
Competition : Analysing the strengths and weaknesses of competitors
Promotion : Deciding the choice of media for promotion
The Product : Identifying customer wants
Distributing the product : Identify suitable retailers
Pricing the product : Discover the value for products

Primary and Secondary research
Primary : The information is collected by researcher. Field research can be done itself or by market research agency.
Secondary : The information is already exist. it is gathered from secondary data. e.g. Within a business : Existing market reseach report, Sales Figure, Reports, internet, stock movement

Methods of field research
Questionnaries
Personal interviews
Telephone interviews
Postal surveys
Observation
IT-based research
Focus group

The benefits of market research
An aid to decision making
Reducing risk
Providing a link to outside world
The size of markets
Public relations

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